Over-Nite Sensation
| Over-Nite Sensation | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 original issue cover | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | September 7, 1973 | |||
| Recorded | March 19–June 1, 1973 | |||
| Studio | Bolic Sound (Inglewood, CA) and Whitney Studios (Glendale, CA) | |||
| Genre | Progressive rock | |||
| Length | 34:37 | |||
| Label | DiscReet | |||
| Producer | Frank Zappa | |||
| Frank Zappa chronology | ||||
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| The Mothers of Invention chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Over-Nite Sensation | ||||
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Over-Nite Sensation is the twelfth album by The Mothers of Invention (credited as The Mothers), and the seventeenth album overall by Frank Zappa, released in September 1973. It was Zappa's first album released on his DiscReet label.
Recording
[edit]Frank Zappa wanted to use backup singers on the songs "I'm the Slime", "Dirty Love", "Zomby Woof", "Dinah-Moe Humm" and "Montana". His road manager suggested The Ikettes, and Ike & Tina Turner were contacted. Ike Turner insisted that Zappa pay the singers, including Tina Turner, no more than $25 per song (equivalent to $170 in 2023).[1] However, an invoice shows that they were actually paid $25 per hour, and in total $187.50 each for 7+1⁄2 hours of work (equivalent to $1,290 in 2023).[2] During the recording sessions at Bolic Sound, Tina brought Ike into the studio to hear the highly difficult middle section of "Montana" which had taken the Ikettes a few days to learn and master. Ike listened to the tape and responded "What is this shit?" before leaving the studio.[1] Ike later insisted that Zappa not credit the Ikettes on the released album.[1] Zappa confirmed in 1973 that Tina and the Ikettes did appear on the record even though he was "not supposed" to say so.[3]
The recording sessions which produced Over-Nite Sensation also produced Zappa's followup, Apostrophe (') (1974),[1] released as a solo album rather than a Mothers of Invention release.
Music and lyrics
[edit]Much of the album's lyrics deal with sex.[1][4] For example, "Dinah-Moe Humm" describes a woman who wagers that the narrator can't give her an orgasm and is ultimately aroused by watching him have sex with her sister.
On other topics, "I'm the Slime" criticizes television, and the playful and musically adventurous "Montana" describes moving to Montana to grow dental floss.[1]
The music of Over-Nite Sensation draws from rock, jazz and pop music.[4] "Zomby Woof" has been described as a "heavy metal hybrid of Louis Jordan and Fats Waller".[4]
Artwork
[edit]The cover was done by Dave McMacken as somewhat in vein of Salvador Dalí's surreal imagery depicting a two-headed man sitting on a waterbed in a Holiday Inn hotel room surrounded by various objects like a Mothers backstage pass and a television set showing Zappa's face with slime oozing out of it. The entire painting is depicted in a frame showing many sexual acts.
Reception
[edit]| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [5] |
| Robert Christgau | (C)[6] |
The album initially received mixed reviews due to its lyrical content, which some critics found puerile.[4] Rolling Stone magazine disliked the album, describing Zappa as a "spent force", and saying that his best work had been recorded with earlier incarnations of the Mothers.[4] New Musical Express said that the album was "not one of Frank's most outstanding efforts."[4] Robert Christgau gave the album a C, mocking the notion that Zappa's humor underscores serious commentary by asking "where's the serious stuff?"[6]
Later reviews evaluated the album far better, with AllMusic writer Steve Huey writing, "Love it or hate it, Over-Nite Sensation was a watershed album for Frank Zappa, the point where his post-'60s aesthetic was truly established".[5] Kelly Fisher Lowe, in The Words and Music of Frank Zappa, wrote that "Over-Nite and Apostrophe (') are important [...] as a return to Mothers of Invention form and as close to traditional pop albums as Zappa would ever come."[4]
The record was certified gold on November 9, 1976.[7]
Legacy
[edit]Over-Nite Sensation (1973) and Apostrophe (') (1974) are the subject of a Classic Albums series documentary from Eagle Rock Entertainment, released on DVD May 1, 2007.
The lines "She was buns-up kneelin' / Buns up! / I was wheelin an' dealin'" from "Dinah-Moe Humm" are quoted (as "So there she was / buns up and kneelin' / I was wheelin' and a-dealin'") in "Girl Keeps Coming Apart", on Aerosmith's Permanent Vacation. Zappa is credited in the liner notes.
Track listing
[edit]All tracks are written by Frank Zappa
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Camarillo Brillo" | 4:01 |
| 2. | "I'm the Slime" | 3:35 |
| 3. | "Dirty Love" | 3:00 |
| 4. | "Fifty-Fifty" | 6:08 |
| Total length: | 16:47 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Zomby Woof" | 5:11 |
| 2. | "Dinah-Moe Humm" | 6:05 |
| 3. | "Montana" | 6:37 |
| Total length: | 17:50 | |
2023 50th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition
[edit]| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Camarillo Brillo" | 4:01 |
| 2. | "I'm the Slime" | 3:35 |
| 3. | "Dirty Love" | 3:00 |
| 4. | "Fifty-Fifty" | 6:08 |
| 5. | "Zomby Woof" | 5:11 |
| 6. | "Dinah-Moe Humm" | 6:05 |
| 7. | "Montana" | 6:37 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 8. | "Wonderful Wino (Complete Edit)" | 3:16 |
| 9. | "Inca Roads (1973 Version) (2023 Mix)" | 3:49 |
| 10. | "RDNZL (2023 Mix)" | 4:17 |
| 11. | "For the Young Sophisticate (Dolby EQ Copy)" | 3:18 |
| 12. | "I'm the Slime (Single Version)" | 3:04 |
| 13. | "Montana (Single Edit with Intro)" | 5:29 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 14. | "Inca Roads (Bolic Take-Home Mix)" | 3:47 |
| 15. | "RDNZL (Take 2)" | 4:41 |
| 16. | "X-Forts (Echidna's Arf (of You))" | 7:22 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Camarillo Brillo (Alternate Mix)" | 3:34 |
| 2. | "Face Down (I'm the Slime - Demo)" | 2:11 |
| 3. | "I'm the Slime (Basic Track Outtake)" | 5:56 |
| 4. | "Dirty Love (Session Rehearsal)" | 3:53 |
| 5. | "Dirty Love (with Quad Guitar)" | 4:13 |
| 6. | "Fifty-Fifty - Pipe Organ Improvisations" | 4:02 |
| 7. | "Fifty-Fifty (Basic Tracks, Take 7)" | 6:21 |
| 8. | "Dinah-Moe Humm (Session Rehearsal)" | 2:05 |
| 9. | "Dinah-Moe Humm (Bolic Take-Home Mix)" | 8:01 |
| 10. | "Montana (Session Rehearsal)" | 7:23 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 11. | "Montana" | 7:26 |
| 12. | "Dupree's Paradise (Intro)" | 8:19 |
| 13. | "Dupree's Paradise" | 12:39 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Cosmik Debris" | 6:35 |
| 2. | ""The Dynamic Sal Marquez!"" | 2:05 |
| 3. | "Big Swifty" | 12:47 |
| 4. | ""...The Successor to Willie the Pimp"" | 0:58 |
| 5. | "The Curse of the Zomboids (I'm the Slime)" | 6:10 |
| 6. | "Don't You Ever Wash That Thing?" | 23:26 |
| 7. | "FZ & the Percussion Section" | 5:17 |
| 8. | "Palladium Jam - Part 1" | 3:56 |
| 9. | "Palladium Jam - Part 2" | 9:01 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Cobo Hall '73 Band Intros and Sound Check" | 6:08 |
| 2. | "Exercise #4" | 2:27 |
| 3. | "Dog Breath" | 1:16 |
| 4. | "The Dog Breath Variations" | 1:32 |
| 5. | "Uncle Meat" | 2:29 |
| 6. | "Fifty-Fifty" | 7:21 |
| 7. | "Inca Roads" | 11:47 |
| 8. | "FZ Introduces the Don't Eat the Yellow Snow Medley" | 1:20 |
| 9. | "Don't Eat the Yellow Snow" | 1:17 |
| 10. | "Nanook Rubs It" | 6:04 |
| 11. | "St. Alfonzo's Pancake Breakfast" | 2:14 |
| 12. | "Father O'Blivion" | 2:34 |
| 13. | "St. Alfonzo's Pancake Breakfast (Reprise)" | 5:25 |
| 14. | "Join the March" | 0:59 |
| 15. | "Cosmik Debris" | 7:34 |
| 16. | "Medley (King Kong / Chunga's Revenge / Son of Mr. Green Genes)" | 12:36 |
Personnel
[edit]Musicians
- Frank Zappa – guitar, vocals on all tracks except "Fifty-Fifty" and most of "Zomby Woof"
- Kin Vassy – vocals on "I'm the Slime", "Dinah-Moe Humm" and "Montana"
- Ricky Lancelotti – vocals on "Fifty-Fifty" and "Zomby Woof"
- Sal Marquez – trumpet, vocals on "Dinah-Moe Humm"
- Ian Underwood – clarinet, flute, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone
- Bruce Fowler – trombone
- Ruth Underwood – percussion, marimba, vibraphone
- Jean-Luc Ponty – violin, baritone violin
- George Duke – synthesizer, keyboards
- Tom Fowler – bass
- Ralph Humphrey – drums
- Tina Turner and the Ikettes – backing vocals (uncredited) (Tracks 2–3 and 5–7)
Production
- Producer: Frank Zappa
- Engineers: Fred Borkgren, Stephen Desper, Terry Dunavan, Barry Keene, Bob Stone
- Remixing: Kerry McNabb
- Arranger: Frank Zappa
- Technician: Paul Hof
- Cover design: Ferenc Dobronyi
- Illustrations: Cover – David B. McMacken, Inside – Cal Schenkel
Charts
[edit]
Weekly charts[edit]
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Year-end charts[edit]
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See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f Miles, Barry (September 2005). Zappa: A Biography. Grove Press. ISBN 9780802142153.
- ^ "Over-Nite Sensation: Notes & Comments". www.donlope.net. Retrieved March 6, 2021.
- ^ "Frank Zappa • Interview (Censorship/Mudsharks/Overnight Sensation/Holiday Inns)• 1973 [RITY Archive]". YouTube. 11 December 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g Lowe, Kelly Fisher (2007). The Words and Music of Frank Zappa. U of Nebraska Press. ISBN 978-0803260054.
- ^ a b Huey, S. (2011). "Over-Nite Sensation - Frank Zappa & the Mothers | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved July 21, 2011.
- ^ a b Christgau, R. (2011). "Robert Christgau: CG: Artist 4155". robertchristgau.com. Retrieved July 21, 2011.
- ^ "Over-Night Sensation - RIAA Database". riaa.com. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
- ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 209. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Frank Zappa & The Mothers – Over-Nite Sensation". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
- ^ "The Mothers Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
- ^ "Austriancharts.at – Frank Zappa & The Mothers – Over-Nite Sensation" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – Frank Zappa & The Mothers – Over-Nite Sensation" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – Frank Zappa & The Mothers – Over-Nite Sensation" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
- ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Frank Zappa & The Mothers – Over-Nite Sensation" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
- ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Frank Zappa & The Mothers – Over-Nite Sensation" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved November 24, 2023.
- ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1974". Billboard. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
