Weasels Ripped My Flesh ~ The Mothers Of Invention

10 months ago
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Released on August 10, 1970, Weasels Ripped My Flesh was the final album to feature the original line-up of The Mothers Of Invention, whom Frank Zappa had disbanded the previous year. It was compiled by Zappa from recordings made between 1967-69 and painstakingly edited into an original and vital album that showcases what the Mothers were capable of.
The title of the album came from the cover story of the September 1956 issue of Man’s Life magazine. The article featured the strapline, “Many claws tore at my skin, putting razor sharp teeth in easy reach of my flesh. The furry animals came from all directions – chewing, gnarling, turning the water red with my blood.” It was sensational stuff and illustrated by an equally out-there cover by Will Husley, featuring a muscle-bound hunk waist-high in water, writhing in agony as he’s set upon by a multitude of weasels. It’s easy to see why it stuck in Zappa’s memory. He showed artist Neon Park the magazine and asked, “What can you do that’s worse than this?”
Neon Park delivered a pop art-inspired illustration that was modeled on a Schick electric razor advertisement that appeared in the Saturday Evening Post in 1953, replacing the razor with a weasel dragging its claws across the face of an all-American man.
The music contained within is every bit as witty and uncompromising, making it a perfect entry into the imaginative and unhinged world of the Mothers.

Tracks
00:00 Didja Get Any Onya?
06:51 Directly From My Heart To You
12:08 Prelude to the Afternoon of a Sexually Aroused Gasmask
15:56 Toads of the Short Forest
20:44 Get a Little
23:15 The Eric Dolphy Memorial Barbecue
30:08 Dwarf Nebula Processional March & Dwarf Nebula
32:20 My Guitar Wants To Kill Your Mama
35:53 Oh No
37:38 The Orange County Lumber Truck
41:00 Weasels Ripped My Flesh

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