We're Only In It For The Money
	Produced by Frank Zappa
	Released on September 1968
	US CHART POSITION #30 . . . UK CHART POSITION #32
	Find it at GEMM
RCD 10503 cover

A brilliant lampoon of psychedelic pop, We’re Only In It For The Money creates a collage of strange conversations, social criticism, and pop music far too catchy to carry such a heavy message. Best to take a big gulp of air before it starts, because the album’s sensory overload won’t present an opportunity until it’s all over. Frank the cranky genius skewers everything from flower power to conservative America: no one is spared, including The Mothers. That many of the songs work as self-standing pieces is amazing: “Absolutely Free,” “Flower Punk,” “Mother People,” “Bow Tie Daddy” and “Let’s Make The Water Turn Black” have all been separated from this egg without ill effect. It’s all part of a larger theme however, punctuated by internal musings, lapses into dementia, and reprises of earlier material. Some of the pieces are instrumental experiments in noise (“Nasal Retentive Calliope Music,” “The Chrome Plated Megaphone of Destiny”) that make Todd Rundgren’s studio noodling seem tame by comparison. It’s brazen stuff, all of it, but the standoffish arrangements belie a musical sophistication few were prepared for in 1968. That the album charted as well as it did still amazes me, though the novelty factor must have been huge. In a sense the closest parallel might be the albums of Firesign Theatre, which share the same rambling social commentary and spelunkering into the deepest recesses of strangeness. As a direct response to contemporary music, We’re Only In It For The Money isn’t for everyone. Who cares if The Mothers flip the finger to Jimi Hendrix and the Haight-Ashbury scene, you may wonder. But it’s more than that; this is an open challenge to musicians, an opportunity to push music kicking and screaming out of its comfort zone. Extreme? Of course. But Zappa did nothing by halves, and the world is a whole lot better for it.

RCD 10503 booklet gatefold	RCD 10503 booklet back cover

TRACK LISTING

1. ARE YOU HUNG UP?    1:24
2. WHO NEEDS THE PEACE CORPS?    2:34
3. CONCENTRATION MOON    2:22
4. MOM & DAD    2:16
5. TELEPHONE CONVERSATION    0:48
6. BOW TIE DADDY    0:33
7. HARRY, YOU'RE A BEAST    1:21
8. WHAT'S THE UGLIEST PART OF YOUR BODY    1:03
9. ABSOLUTELY FREE    3:24
10. FLOWER PUNK    3:03
11. HOT POOP    0:26
12. NASAL RETENTIVE CALLIOPE MUSIC    2:02
13. LET'S MAKE THE WATER TURN BLACK    2:01
14. THE IDIOT BASTARD SON    3:18
15. LONELY LITTLE GIRL    1:09
16. TAKE YOUR CLOTHES OFF WHEN YOU DANCE    1:32
17. WHAT'S THE UGLIEST PART OF YOUR BODY? (REPRISE)    1:02
18. MOTHER PEOPLE    2:26
19. THE CHROME PLATED MEGAPHONE OF DESTINY    6:25
    
    All the music heard on this album was composed, arranged & scientifically mutilated by Frank Zappa (with the exception of a little bit of surf music)

CREDITS

JIMMY CARL BLACK -- Indian of the group, drums, trumpet, vocals
ROY ESTRADA -- electric bass, vocals, asthma
BUNK GARDNER -- all woodwinds, mumbled weirdness
BILLY MUNDI -- drums, vocals, yak & black lace underwear
DON PRESTON -- retired
EUCLID JAMES MOTORHEAD SHERWOOD -- Road manager, soprano & baritone saxophone, all purpose weirdness & teen appeal (we need it desperately)
IAN UNDERWOOD -- piano, woodwinds, wholesome
FRANK ZAPPA -- guitar, piano, lead vocals, weirdness & editing
Dick Barber -- snorks
Eric Clapton -- has graciously consented to speak to you in several critical area
Suzy Creamcheese -- telephone
Gary Kellgren -- engineer for two months of basic sessions at Mayfair Studios is the one doing all the creepy whispering
Dick Kunc -- record & re-mix engineer for the final month of recording at Apostolic Studios is the one responsible for the cheerful interruptions
Spider -- is the one who wants you to turn your radio around
Tom Wilson -- executive producer
Jerrold Schatzberg -- photography
Tiger Morse -- fashions
Cal Schenkel -- plaster figures & all other artwork

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