| Track: | Rating: | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. The Closer You Are | | | | ||
| 2. In France | | | | ||
| 3. Ya Hozna | | | | | |
| 4. Sharleena | | | | | |
| 5. Sinister Footwear II | | | | | |
| 6. Truck Driver Divorce | | | | | |
| 7. Stevie's Spanking | | | | | |
| 8. Baby, Take Your Teeth Out | | | | ||
| 9. Marqueson's Chicken | | | | | |
| 10. Planet Of My Dreams | | | | ||
| 11. Be In My Video | | | | ||
| 12. Them Or Us | | | | | |
| 13. Frogs With Dirty Little Lips | | | | | |
| 14. Whippin' Post | | | | | |
All songs written by Frank Zappa except "The Closer You Are" (Lewis/Robinson), and "Whippin' Post" (Allman), and "Frogs With Dirty Little Lips" (co-written with Ahmet Zappa).
Them Or Us is not usually regarded among Frank Zappa's most distinctive albums. While many fans are quick to praise works such as "Sinister Footwear II" and "Marqueson's Chicken" for their guitar/synclavier minglings, the album itself tends to receive comparatively little attention, even from the devout.
This isn't really difficult to explain. Them Or Us is a mixed bag of Zappa's ideas, shifting quickly from extended instrumentals to throwaway novelties and back again. Moreover, it's drenched in early-to-mid-'80s frivolity... and, whether parodic or not, this is something which many of us would simply choose to forget.
As with many other underrated Zappa albums the songs themselves are generally decent-to-great, with several instrumental standouts. "Sinister Footwear II" features guitar solos, classical keyboard lines, synclavier supplements, percussive additions in the "Black Page" tradition, and quite a bit more. This is the sort of piece which tends to dominate the listener, rather than vice versa... in this case, this has to be considered a good thing. This track would receive a
"Marqueson's Chicken", likewise, features an absolutely incredible synclavier melody near the beginning, an unbelievably nasty guitar solo towards the end, and quite a bit in between. Credit must be given to the bass performance on this track as well. Another track which deserves its high reputation, to be sure.
I don't often give high ratings to novelty or semi-novelty tracks, but "Truck Driver Divorce" merits an exception (and not just because of the increasingly freaky guitar solo which develops throughout the piece - this is the main reason, but not the only one). Zappa's absurd introductory vocals are, in this case, both entertaining and well-composed, and deserve to be considered as a component part of the piece, rather than just a superfluous intro.
One might question Zappa's logic, however, in placing one of the less interesting tracks as the first song on the album. "The Closer You Are" (written in 1956), is a fairly inconsequential doowop remake. Although the performance is solid enough, there simply isn't terribly much which makes this piece anything more than an excursion in "music appreciation". A decent track, but not a great one.
I'm sure to ruffle a few feathers by only granting a three-star rating to "In France", but I stand by my decision. Johnny "Guitar" Watson's vocals are certainly good enough, the guitar & harmonica parts are worthwhile, and the lyrics are unquestionably funny. Irrespective of this, however, the song can't quite escape the "just a novelty" category, try though it might.
"Ya Hozna" may be the strangest track on the album, a series of backwards vocals which sound convincingly like the Arabic chanting which the music suggests. The guitar line may be the most rudimentary of any Zappa song until the very end, at which point another incredible solo emerges. A great track, if not a classic one.
This particular version of "Sharleena" commences in a rather unconvincing way, drenching the track in commercial '80s reggae trappings. This might be parody, but that doesn't make it very much better. Then, suddenly, an amazingly fast solo (courtesy Dweezil) and a decent faux-brass arrangement take the track back into "listenable" territory and beyond.
Regarding the other tracks...
"Baby, Take Your Teeth Out" is catchy enough, but ultimately insubstantial... which was the idea, I suppose.
"Stevie's Spanking" tells the sordid tale of Stevie Vai's erotic adventures, thankfully redeemed by the combined forces of "general catchiness" and "a decent guitar solo in the instrumental section". I shall assume, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, that the somewhat "wankish" nature of this solo was a deliberate commentary on the subject matter at hand.
"Planet Of My Dreams" is a rather awkward political statement, and is neither terribly innovative nor interesting from a musical standpoint. This one could probably have been cut from the album.
"Be In My Video" isn't terribly interesting from a musical standpoint either, but the brilliant-if-obvious parody of tacky '80s pop culture redeems it somewhat. A decent throwaway, I suppose.
"Them Or Us" is another extended guitar solo piece, not quite as interesting as the others on the album (although still good). "Frogs With Dirty Little Lips", Ahmet's lyrical tour-de-force, merits its relatively high rating by virtue of the sheer absurdity of the track (and the fact that the music is pretty good too).
"Whippin' Post" gets a four-star rating, also, by virtue of the guitar solo. Otherwise, it's a proficient-if-unspectacular revision of Allman's original tune.
Them Or Us, like Chunga's Revenge, isn't one of Zappa's "classic" albums, but there's enough good material to make it a worthwhile purchase. One could certainly do worse with regard to Zappa's mid-'80s material.
(review originally posted to alt.music.yes on 23 Apr 1997)