Statistical density!

This is probably Zappa's densest, most elaborate "rock" album. It's not Motherish at all (no stormy, atonal jamming) but, like the best Parliament albums, sounds like it took 7500 tracks and 30 years to record. The lyrics are without exception tongue-in-cheek, which works especially beautifully on what was side 2 of the original album (Society Pages thru Conehead) -- "Conehead" itself being the single most misunderstood song in the entire Zappa canon. (Of COURSE it's stupid; try taking it in context.) Check the breathtaking vocal arrangements all over the album (Doreen and Goblin Girl!) and of course FZ's signature guitar solos -- mostly confined to tight-but-eloquent 8- and 16-bar bursts, save for the Sinister Footwear excerpt. Unfortunately you'll have to endure some of Frank's uglier sentiments -- in particular Jumbo Go Away is a brutal, nasty song, and it's always a little strange when FZ takes on the problem of race relations (the title track). But damn, boy! Easily in Frank's top 20 albums (and if you know Zappa, you know that means something). Essential.