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Joe's Garage: Acts I, II & III,Frank Zappa

- Joe's Garage: Acts I, II & III
- - 77,535 plays
  - 103 favs
  - 9 shares
Frank Zappa
Released 1979

Joe's Garage
06:10
7,278 plays

Catholic Girls
04:26
6,264 plays

Why Does It Hurt When I Pee?
02:36
5,688 plays

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songs

- 1
- Central Scrutinizer
- 03:28
- 4,752 plays

- 2
- Joe's Garage
- 06:10
- 7,278 plays

- 3
- Catholic Girls
- 04:26
- 6,264 plays

- 4
- Crew Slut
- 06:31
- 5,515 plays

- 5
- Fembot in a Wet T-Shirt
- 04:45
- 4,795 plays

- 6
- On the Bus
- 04:19
- 3,921 plays

- 7
- Why Does It Hurt When I Pee?
- 02:36
- 5,688 plays

- 8
- Lucille Has Messed My Mind Up
- 05:43
- 4,216 plays

- 9
- Scrutinizer Postlude
- 01:35
- 3,471 plays

- 10
- A Token of My Extreme
- 05:30
- 3,965 plays

- 11
- Stick It Out
- 04:34
- 4,350 plays

- 12
- Sy Borg
- 08:56
- 3,383 plays

- 13
- Dong Work for Yuda
- 05:03
- 2,865 plays

- 14
- Keep It Greasey
- 08:22
- 2,645 plays

- 15
- Outside Now
- 05:50
- 2,555 plays

- 16
- He Used to Cut the Grass
- 08:35
- 2,464 plays

- 17
- Packard Goose
- 11:34
- 2,981 plays

- 18
- Watermelon in Easter Hay
- 09:09
- 3,398 plays

- 19
- A Little Green Rosetta
- 08:15
- 3,030 plays

album review

Joe's Garage was originally released in 1979 in two separate parts; Act I came first, followed by a two-record set containing Acts II & III. Rykodisc's reissue puts all three acts together on two CDs. Joe's Garage is generally regarded as one of Zappa's finest post-'60s conceptual works, a sprawling, satirical rock opera about a totalitarian future in which music is outlawed to control the population. The narrative is long, winding, and occasionally loses focus; it was improvised in a weekend, some of it around previously existing songs, but Zappa manages to make most of it hang together. Acts II & III give off much the same feel, as Zappa relies heavily on what he termed "xenochrony" -- previously recorded guitar solos transferred onto new, rhythmically different backing tracks to produce random musical coincidences. Such an approach is guaranteed to produce some slow moments as well, but critics latched onto the work more for its conceptual substance. Joe's Garage satirizes social control mechanisms, consumerism, corporate abuses, gender politics, religion, and the rock & roll lifestyle; all these forces conspire against the title protagonist, an average young man who simply wants to play guitar and enjoy himself. Even though Zappa himself hated punk rock and even says so on the album, his ideas seemed to support punk's do-it-yourself challenge to the record industry and to social norms in general. Since this is 1979-era Zappa, there are liberal applications of his trademark scatological humor (the titles of "Catholic Girls," "Crew Slut," "Why Does It Hurt When I Pee?," and "Keep It Greasey" are self-explanatory). Still, in spite of its flaws, Joe's Garage has enough substance to make it one of Zappa's most important '70s works and overall political statements, even if it's not focused enough to rank with his earliest Mothers of Invention masterpieces. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide

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listener reviews

- - They Played in Joe's Garage
  - - By xORx Alrik
    - 2/12/2009 20:58:02
  - This album is a great example of Zappa at his best. His distinctive sense of humor is everywhere in this album, with Zappa taking a stab at so many organizations and theories that are so definitive in our world today. The foresight that Zappa displays by creating the "Central Scrutinizer" a character who enforces the laws that have not yet been made, illuminates the constant efforts of various agencies to sanction and restrict the artistic methods of music. The songs in this album are everywhere, and there are some peaks and valleys. There are songs that don't quite stand up to the others, and some like "Joe's Garage" and "Lucille Has Messed My Mind Up" really stand above the others. Yet the album is an amazing display of the variety of sounds and styles that Zappa can produce. "Why Does It Hurt When I Pee?" and "Catholic Girls" and probobly some of the funniest and lighthearted songs I've ever heard, while "Outside Now", "He Used to Cut the Grass" and "Packard Goose" are suprisingly emotional works. I enjoy listening to Zappa because of the range and scope of his artistic vision and this Album exemplifies that range and showcasing Zappa's talent amazingly.
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