FRANK ZAPPA — Sheik Yerbouti (review)

FRANK ZAPPA — Sheik Yerbouti album cover Live album · 1979 · Jazz Related Rock Buy this album from MMA partners
2/5 ·
Warthur
Having split from Warner Bros. Records and set up his own label, Zappa appeared to follow a strategy of producing garishly commercial albums of songs geared for the novelty music crowd in order to rake in cash for his more experimental projects. The first of these was Sheik Yerbouti, showcasing a compositional approach much like that on Zappa In New York.

Like that album, Zappa's lyrics become increasingly obnoxious. It's not just that they are offensive (although they are - the idea that gay men end up that way because they were effeminised by strong women is abhorrent and an unworthy sentiment for a song with such a wonderful backing track as Bobby Brown Goes Down) - it's that they're both offensive and stupid. Whilst Zappa had always been the former (and didn't we all love him for it), it was rare that he was the latter, but there you have it. Simplistic parodies, sneering attacks which make ample use of racial stereotypes, yet another attack on disco (as if the one on Zoot Allures weren't enough), the lyrics lack the playful and imaginative side which made albums like the similarly crude Overnite Sensation so compelling.

However, looking beyond the lyrics to the music, it's undeniable that the standard is higher this time around. It's just that the album is incredibly schizophrenic. One moment there'll be a driving art rock wonder like City of Tiny Lights or a burst of high-quality fusion like Rat Tomago, the next there'll be goofy, shallow parodies of other musical genres pitched for the Dr. Demento crowd. Were the music up to scratch, I'd have passed by the lyrics, but as it is the album is a little too inconsistent for me to give a passing mark to.
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