The Mothers of Invention—We're Only in It for the Money

The Mothers of Invention—We're Only in It for the Money, seen here with Frank Zappa's intended front cover artwork

We're Only in It for the Money—When people think back on groups that rivaled the Beatles, the usual nominees are the Rolling Stones or the Beach Boys, but it was possibly the Mothers of Invention with whom they had the most direct rapport. Freak Out! (1966) was, by most accounts, the impetus for Paul McCartney to form the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band concept, but at the time of that album's release, Mothers bandleader Frank Zappa was less enthusiastic in return:

"I got the impression from what was going on at the time that they were only in it for the money—and that was a pretty unpopular view to hold." —Frank Zappa, 1987 interview with Rolling Stone

The Mothers of Invention were generally sold as a band, but this was purely nominative: their first two albums and Zappa's debut solo LP included a total of one song between the three not composed solely by Zappa. Freak Out! was one of the first rock concept albums and featured doo-wop, a smidgen of protest music, and experimental music that predated the contemporary Velvet Underground by almost a year. Absolutely Free (1967) was less pointed but continued Zappa's social commentary while mixing in Stravinsky-inspired themes. Lumpy Gravy (1967) was a different beast. That album was first recorded by Zappa and the "Abnuceals Emuukha Electric Symphony Orchestra," but later the same year Zappa took the recording and spliced with it sound bites of various band members and guests speaking near a grand piano, which was causing its strings to resonate.

During those recording sessions, the Mothers were recording material that would eventually span four LPs (We're Only in It for the Money, Cruising with Ruben & the Jets, and the double album Uncle Meat) and parts of others (Burnt Weeny Sandwich and Weasels Ripped My Flesh). Their output during this period was created with "No Commercial Potential" in mind, a loose concept referencing the notion that Zappa and the Mothers' music was not considered radio-friendly or bankable. Money was the first release in this series. The original vinyl record featured a photograph of the Mothers as transvestites on the cover with Zappa's planned artwork as the inner lining: a pastiche parodic of Sgt. Pepper that was shot down in fear of scandal.

Money is an uncommon album for just how many configurations have been released over the years. Upon its release, many songs were censored in places, all of it in varying degrees across international releases and widespread misprints. Musically, there are basically three distinct versions. There are the original mono and stereo mixes, which are not vastly different from one another but do feature some noticeable alterations beyond the number of audio channels. These are the versions likely to be heard on a modern Money CD and collectively constitute the widely preferred mix. There is also the original CD mix on which Zappa added newly-recorded rhythm sections, which is otherwise notable for featuring little to no censorship. The Lumpy Money Project/Object (2009) contains the mono mix and the CD remix but not the stereo mix among other relevant recordings. Inasmuch as these discrepancies go, all mixes have the same songs and are not fundamentally different compositions even if they sound very different to the ear.

"Are You Hung Up?" is a bizarre excerpt of Eric Clapton, engineer Gary Kellgren, and drummer Jimmy Carl Black speaking. "Who Needs the Peace Corps?" attacks hippies, while its counterpart "Concentration Moon" does the same to police. Zappa lets the listener know that no party is safe from scorn, here delivered in a crass, dull manner. What's important to note at this point is that Zappa's harmonies have become inviting compared to Absolutely Free and the non-doo wop portion of Freak Out! material. This makes the music welcome to hear even when the lyrics are not his most incisive. "Mom & Dad" continues Zappa's themes of "plastic people" in a more melancholy light.

"Bow Tie Daddy" does the same in a more gimmicky tone, preceded by a non sequitur "Telephone Conversation" and followed by "Harry, You're a Beast;" the miniature suite passively testifies against male entitlement. "What's the Ugliest Part of Your Body?" is a highlight, based around a paraprosdokian of sorts as the question's answer turns out to be "your mind." It is also one of the few numbers on the album with ties to doo-wop. A great piano interlude by Ian Underwood opens "Absolutely Free," which borrows its title from the Mothers' previous album and is as much a swipe against cheesy culture as it take-off on psychedelic, LSD-washed music. The same can be said of "Flower Punk," which uses "Hey Joe" as its basis while Zappa's myriad vocal overlays snipe the mindsets of people in popular music. "Hot Poop" is a short bout of noise that is more of Gary Kellgren ("the one doing all the creepy whispering" according to the liner notes) and an obscured missing verse from "Mother People" on side two.

"Nasal Retentive Calliope Music" begins the experimental side with more of "noted philosopher" Eric Clapton against a noise background ("an instrumental overture to a series of songs about people with strange personal habits") and a surf interspersion of "Heavies" by the Zappa-produced Rotations. "Let's Make the Water Turn Black" is one of the most accessible songs on Money by contrast, and also one of the only vocal songs that doesn't criticize American culture: the story of Ronnie and Kenny Williams (and Mothers saxophonist and road manager "Motorhead" Sherwood), who played in the Masters, an early 60s group. "The Idiot Bastard Son" continues this story at a slower pace with snippets of several speakers in the mix.

"Lonely Little Girl" was the only single from the album, clocking in at one minute counting a few sped-up fragments of other songs. "Take Your Clothes off When You Dance" has an obscure genesis, having been originally recorded in 1961 by Zappa in Cucamonga as an instrumental and here done as a near-singalong. "What's the Ugliest Part of Your Body? (Reprise)" is done here in basically the same way as on side one, but slightly mellower as the album comes to a close. "Mother People" is an updated Mothers anthem reminiscent of "Motherly Love" from Freak Out!; the orchestral interlude is a part of "Up & Down" from the original Lumpy Gravy. This piece would also be used on the renovated Lumpy Gravy as part of the "I Don't Know If I Can Go Through This Again" segment. This version would be released after Money, whose artwork shows a talk bubble above Zappa saying "Is this phase one of Lumpy Gravy?" "The Chrome Plated Megaphone of Destiny" is another piece of musique concrète that appears to be part of Zappa's series of tributes to Edgard Varèse (Zappa was a notorious fan and included a modified quote from Varèse in his albums' liner notes: "The present day composer refuses to die!").

It is difficult to discuss any of Frank Zappa's work without the larger scope of his immense discography and his life in general. We're Only in It for the Money is no exception. It sits at a crossroads for the Mothers, who would go on to perform and record a lot of material that would not appear on contemporary Mothers releases; the following two albums were recorded alongside Money and the two after that are put together from miscellaneous recordings. Zappa said of "No Commercial Potential" that "It's all one album. All the material [...] is organically related" and, indeed, the four are very close in their impressions. Money and the second Lumpy Gravy are also part of a different continuity that involves Zappa's final work during his lifetime, Civilization Phaze III. Despite this, We're Only in It for the Money is the most cohesive of the Mothers' albums, with a simple sound that masks dense material. Its cultural relevance has faded somewhat, but it is still an important and forward-thinking record, which is why it was selected in 2005 to be part of the United States National Recording Registry. Its music is not for everyone, but it is nonetheless a fascinating piece of history and a work of genius.