The second part of this 'two albums on one CD re-issue' by Zappa is 1973's Overnite Sensation, bought in a charity shop just before Christmas. I'll freely admit that I find Zappa much harder work these days than I did 30 years ago. Perhaps it's me, perhaps the times, let's see.
Opener Camarillo Brillo is a quite commercial pop song, about a female character, who inevitably Zappa paints in a less than flattering light, but it's quite listenable, with a seventies country-rock feel without being too cruel. I'm The Slime has a more funky/metal feel about it, but never really feels to have got started before a guitar solo leads it away. Dirty Love is sleazy and forgettable, while Fifty-Fifty doesn't even achieve that standard, until the Jean-Luc Ponty violin solo kicks in, followed by a Zappa guitar solo - both of which are far more interesting than the song which houses them.
Zomby Wolf is more interesting, although stylistically all over the place, with metal and blues seeming to predominate. Dinah-Moe-Hum is a sleazy tale which is frankly juvenile and embarrassing. Thankfully, Montana closes, a little more musically adventurous and playful without resorting to the puerile.
But it's not enough to save a lacklustre effort from Zappa and the Mothers, which suggests an ennui with the music which was to become more apparent with time.
2* - definitely not a classic
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