Apostrophe (‘)
by Frank Zappa
- Type: Album
- Released: March 22, 1974
- Label: DiscReet
- Country: United States
- Length: 31:55
- Community rating: 4.29/5 from 13 ratings
Album Notes & Community Reviews
Building on the jazz-rock fusion of 'Over-Nite Sensation', 'Apostrophe (')' became Frank Zappa's highest-charting and most commercially successful album, blending technically complex arrangements with absurdist humor. The record's production combines studio recordings from various sessions between 1969 and 1974, creating a backdrop for both bizarre narrative suites like "Don't Eat the Yellow Snow" and pointed social commentary such as "Uncle Remus". Virtuosic performances are prominent throughout, notably featuring a heavily fuzzed, improvisational bass contribution from Jack Bruce on the title track.
Genres
Descriptors: satirical, virtuosic, storytelling, diverse, rhythmic
Tracklist
- Don't Eat The Yellow Snow (02:05)
- Nanook Rubs It (04:37)
- St. Alfonzo's Pancake Breakfast (01:50)
- Father O'Blivion (02:17)
- Cosmik Debris (04:15)
- Excentrifugal Forz (01:33)
- Apostrophe' (05:49)
- Uncle Remus (02:49)
- Stink-Foot (06:40)
Credits
- Frank Zappa - vocals, guitar, bass, bouzouki, producer, arranged by, mixed by [quad mix]
- Sal Marquez - trumpet
- Ian Underwood - saxophone
- Napoleon Murphy Brock - saxophone, back-up vocals
- Bruce Fowler - trombone
- Tom Fowler - bass guitar
- Don "Sugarcane" Harris - violin
- Jean-Luc Ponty - violin
- Ruth Underwood - percussion, vibraphone
- George Duke - keyboards, back-up vocals
- Tony Duran - rhythm guitar
- Harper May - bass guitar
- Erroneous (Alex Dmochowski) - bass guitar
- Jack Bruce - bass on "apostrophe'"
- Ralph Humphrey - drums (side one)
- Johnny Guerin - drums on "excentrifugal forz"
- Aynsley Dunbar - drums on "uncle remus" and "stink-foot"
- Jim Gordon - drums on "apostrophe'"
- Lynn (Linda Sims) - back-up vocals
- Robert "Frog" Camarena - back-up vocals
- Ruben Ladron de Guevara - back-up vocals
- Debbie (Debbie Wilson) - back-up vocals
- Ray Collins - back-up vocals
- Sue Glover - back-up vocals
- Kerry McNabb - back-up vocals, engineer, re-mix
- Tina Turner - uncredited back-up vocals
- Steve Desper - engineer
- Terry Dunavan - engineer
- Barry Keene - engineer
- Bob Hughes - engineer
- Cal Schenkel - graphics
- Emerson-Loew - front photo
- Paul Hof - technical
- Oscar Kergalvis - technical
- Kansas & sometimes Dunt - technical
- Brian Krokus - technical
- Bob Ludwig - technical
- Unity - technical
- Mark Aalyson - photography by [back]