I couldn't agree more with the other reviewers here re: this release. It's FZ's most rock-oriented / straightforward / stripped-down album within his entire catalogue .... and it's just as essential, too! Any Zappa fan out there NEEDS this in their collection - trust me.

God, I miss this man and his genius!!!

I like this record a lot. I have read many of the reviews for this record by Amazonians and have found valid points in many. This is not really a typical Zappa album. But I remember in '76 when it came out, Zappa described it as his tribute to Heavy Metal (in his own tougue & cheek way). Thirty years later, I listen to this record and this it excites me more than most metal albums of that era. His mixing from song into next song was so typical for the time and Zappa does it with expertise! It is a fun and RUSHING record. There is lots of the Zappa silliness as well. Excellent spin!

There has never been a BAD Zappa album .... BUT ZOOT ALLURES is by far one of my favorites. BLACK NAPKINS!!!! ZootAllures!! ..
THIS is Frankie's ROCK album .. Terry Bozzio on drums ...
(Terry 's now with JEFF BECK) Buy this album .NOW...

Zoot Allures is one of the most unique albums in Zappa's catalogue. Nearly all of the instruments are played by FZ himself (including bass!), with Ruth Underwood on percussion, the incomparable Terry Bozzio on drums, and some backing vocalists. It really is Zappa "stripped down" as its often described. Most of the songs have the same instruments, tones, and the same heavy-breathed vocals. The drab production, however, makes this album a chore at spots when the songs themselves aren't strong enough to work without a little production effort. What really saves this album are a few incredible instrumental pieces.

The opener is often sneered at, but WIND UP WORKIN' IN A GAS STATION is an actually one of the better tracks on the album. Its a little something like rock-doowop. A relatively simple song with a simple riff that belies a pretty intricate vocal arrangement. BLACK NAPKINS, the one live track on the album, is absolutely incredible. Zappa weaves a beautiful thematic phrase into some of his most inspired guitarwork, creating one of his most somber and emotive tone poems in his career. Its unfortunately followed by the mediocre, over-long and over-used THE TORTURE NEVER STOPS. The next tracks, MS PINKY and FIND HER FINER, are rather typical Zappa sex numbers. They're pretty good songs, but the production here really fails them, and after a few entertaining listens they lost their charm. The same can be said for THE WONDERFUL WINO, although this one manages to keep a lot of panache.

FRIENDLY LITTLE FINGER is an incredible instrumental with a great oriental guitar opening that leads into a rather wandering guitar solo. The real treat here is Zappa's rapid-fire bass work. The title track, ZOOT ALLURES, is another one of Zappa's most amazing solos. The composed portion of this solo is one of the most incredible things FZ wrote in his entire career. The majesty of this number is nicely undercut by the levity of the closer, DISCO BOY, which is absolutely fun.

It should be noted that BLACK NAPKINS and ZOOT ALLURES, along with one other FZ solo (Watermelon in Easter Hay), are believed to have been considered by Zappa himself as his best work. The Zappa Family Trust goes so far as to ask cover bands to not cover these songs, and a posthumous album (Frank Zappa Plays The Music of Frank Zappa) is devoted entirely to tracing the progression of these three songs. Its absolutely incredible that two of these solos are found on this unlikely album.

Although I wouldn't call it his best by any shot, or even one of his best, this album is absolutely essential. There's too much interesting going on here not to count this as an integral part of any FZ collection.

Zappa's catalog is perhaps the greatest of musical endeavors in the history of mankind, and is 'frankly' superior to all other musical forms, be they by specific human design or deed of God. With "Zoot Allures," Zappa has managed to capture the essence of our unqualified social cozenage and transform it into a corporeal musical theorem, while unmistakably showing his distinct intolerance for society as depicted in shampoo and/or beer commercials.

Briefly, "Zoot Allures," (or indeed, the "Zappa" style of composite musical melodrama as a whole), intermingles a certain anthropological, or indeed societal, pathos with a uniquely parallel unisonant structural design, based on his clearly emblematic and euphonious concepts. Like a piquant peanut butter and jelly sandwich --with extra jelly-- for the ear, the listener's (that's YOU) personal audile delectation effect, (due entirely to Zappa's complex incorporation of whimsical lyrical elements), is further compounded when taking into account the sophisticated musicology itself. Without going into all of the philosophical or technical minutiae, the product, (disc: Zoot Allures), with its facetious consonant style, actually adds performance superfluity to what would customarily have been considered an auditory raillery limit. With respect to these specific music/humor objectives, Zappa has once again performed absolutely admirably. Bravo Frank!