This album blows. It's based on 50s doo-wop and I don't like it at all BBP - 8-11-2005 at 16:33
I only have the CD, and I don't really like the sound of it... my 2nd least played album. (least played being Man From Utopia). I've read the vinyl is
tons better, but it's rare to find. I've seen a second-hand at E 25, which is slightly more than I'm willing to pay.James - 8-11-2005 at 16:53
Ah well...Puptent - 8-11-2005 at 17:15
I kinda like the tunes on this album, they definitely do grow on you. The vinyl does sound better, with the original drum and bass tracks. You should
be able to get it from Soulseek or another file sharing service if you don't want to pay for the vinyl. James - 8-11-2005 at 21:35
Nah, I just don't like the songs.Isis - 8-11-2005 at 23:38
I'm a fan of Ruben. I like the simulated moronicity and Zappa's po-faced lampooning of an entire genre.
Then again, it's probably one of Zappa's more banal releases. I strongly urge those who haven't heard the vinyl mix to track it down, because the CD
edition is appalling.James - 9-11-2005 at 10:08
Banal or anal? Pappawas1975 - 9-11-2005 at 12:27
Cruising With Ruben RULES!!! Its all about satire and tributes man, a very important Zappa record IMO. All the songs are great on it too, I am
astounded by the apathy here!James - 9-11-2005 at 14:21
I disagree, but I'll give it another listen.Pappawas1975 - 9-11-2005 at 17:14
Its all part of the big picture! Get all his releases, and eventually they will all make sense to you. Conceptual Continuity is a very deep thing, and
EVERYTHING MATTERS!It will all make sense to you in the end, if you continue to delve...wazoodust - 9-11-2005 at 19:33
I like it...James - 9-11-2005 at 20:34
Re-listening to it now, it's better now than it was to me. I still don't like the way they've re-recorded some FO! material, I prefer the originals.Pappawas1975 - 10-11-2005 at 16:34
Its strange how at first they seem alien to you, then all of a sudden it all makes sense.....As I said, Conceptual Continuity is a deep thing, but
above all, it WORKS for the enthusiast...Pappawas1975 - 10-11-2005 at 16:35
Next up try Francesco Zappa, that sucker is a tough one!! For ages it didnt get a chance with me, but now every now and then it does get aired. After
reading Them Or Us, it became more apparent in the grand scheme of things....( see how this all works? )....And alot of people seem to have major
problems with Thing Fish, which I really cant see why.....BBP - 10-11-2005 at 17:43
Am listening to Cruisin' now... It's fun, surely, but why does it remind me of Grease?Pappawas1975 - 10-11-2005 at 17:44
Same era, same greasey hairstyles??mutronboy - 17-11-2005 at 17:27
I really think you have to listen to the original...
the overdubbed one sucks
For me, it's all in the 'aroma' of it
It's a great album, and it's a good one to sing along with
I never used to sing...but singing and playing some Ruben's
songs helped me get my voice happening
I like to sing 'Fountain of Love' & 'Later That Night'
It's funny, I worked in a guitar shop in the 70's..and my boss
(who was a club muso) had a copy of Ruben's, and he would
play it sometimes. He actually thought it was a genuine 50's
doo-wop group (I didn't have the heart to tell him...heh)
You'd think the wah-wah pedal at the end would've been a giveaway...hehBBP - 27-11-2005 at 00:17
I really like Francesco Zappa, in spite of being on my worst album lists. I thought it was really very funny, nice, cheerful music.Pappawas1975 - 27-11-2005 at 00:28
I do like it, but I cant say I listen to the whole thing all the time....I agree viv, I think thats the case, and why not?BBP - 27-11-2005 at 00:35
FZ's influence on it is minimal... besides something's got to be in your worst 5... Francesco is just beaten by all that fantastic music Frank made.Pappawas1975 - 28-11-2005 at 10:48
I agree.....I think there are very few Zappa fans that would rather play Francesco than say, Hot Rats or something.....Puptent - 29-11-2005 at 10:11
From a technical point of view, I guess the new parts are actually played better than on the original (eg. on the vinyl Ruben, JCB clearly has trouble
holding a steady beat). It's just that 1980s style overdubs on a 60s record sound oddly anachronistic.
The first WOIIFTM cd with overdubs is even worse from that point of view, people didn't play slapped bass in the 1960s (until Larry Graham and Bootsy
Collins came along, that is).
I've always thought that FZ just removed the original drum and bass parts to piss off some of the original Mothers, who were sueing him for royalties
at the time. On the first Burnt Weeny Sandwich cd issue, FZ also removed JCB's and Don Preston's photos from the booklet, a petty thing to do IMO.
[Edited on 29-11-2005 by Puptent]Pappawas1975 - 30-11-2005 at 14:16
Would they be on points for the recordings though? We cant be sure, they couldve been paid outright for their services at the time of recording the
album.....Seeing as JCB and Roy didnt write any of the songs, its difficult to ascertain whetehr they would make money from the re-releases of records
they performed on....I would say they wouldnt be entitled to any monies....Isis - 3-12-2005 at 08:27
Quote:
Originally posted by vivien_o_blivion
i have to disagree with this -i don't think it's lampooning the genre on the contrary,i think it's a genuine tribute to music that zappa genuinely
loved
There's no doubt in my mind that Zappa did indeed love doo-wop. But it's clear from the lyrics (which Zappa himself describes as moronic) and the
constant references to popular doo-wop outfits of yesteryear that there are intended parody elements in Ruben.
Quote:
Originally posted by vivien_o_blivion
i agree with the point about the vinyl-but what always strikes me as strange is that it was zappa's choice to do the remix
Zappa did all sorts of mad (and maddening) things with albums when they were reissued on CD. Zappa didn't seem to like the original drum/bass
performances on Ruben (or WOIIFTM either), and thusly rerecorded them. While I don't particularly enjoy the overdubs, I accept Zappa's artistic
decision to include them. I cannot, however, defend the remixed and reconstructed elements of the songs. Ruben on CD is a completely different album
to Ruben on vinyl.Pappawas1975 - 3-12-2005 at 18:13
Its about time the ZFT released the original Ruben for us all to compare.....BBP - 3-12-2005 at 18:53
I can't wait for a true Ruben-re-release. What keeps them?Puptent - 3-12-2005 at 19:20
I don't think the ZFT is going to tamper with an 'FZ approved master'. For whatever reason (lack of time?), he did re-release the original WOIIFTM but
not Ruben or Sleep Dirt.StudebakerHoch - 8-12-2005 at 03:41
It's a music on the radio joke.
It's classic.
Maybe you had to be there in the time frame; it's just a s funny as some of the "Funnier" albums.Isis - 8-12-2005 at 05:39
Quote:
Originally posted by Gojira1975
Its about time the ZFT released the original Ruben for us all to compare.....
It's about time the ZFT released anything.Pappawas1975 - 8-12-2005 at 17:12
Damn straight Isis.....BBP - 13-7-2007 at 12:05
Ahoi!
Bumping another old thread just to get rid of the spam links...punknaynowned - 25-7-2007 at 16:24
guess it might not help for me to go off the deep end raving about how much I LOVE this one. Didn't used to think much of it and now play it whenevr
I can. vinyl, casette, cd, whatever. They're all a bit different and definitely worthy of sing-alongs, for karaoke, in the car, waiting at the
dentist, scaring people at the grocery store, you name it punknaynowned - 25-7-2007 at 16:27
"You surely must be trying
To break this heart of mine
I thought you knew I loved you
And we'd share a love so fine
But later that night
(You threw a) padlock on my door
(You threw my) clothes out on the street
('Cause you) don't want my love no more
And I cryyyd
I-I-I cryyyd
I cried
(I cried)
My heart out
Cried
My heart out
Later that night " BBP - 26-7-2007 at 15:15
Well sung!punknaynowned - 30-7-2007 at 05:52
thanx Hey!
I played Cruisin at work today like 3 times in a row and people didn't want me to take it off!!!!
jelly roll gum drop got my eye on you
I didn't really sing much of it. sometimes the high falsetto backup parts that Roy would throw in. . .
hey now I'm gonna listen to what I have of the Mudd Club NY '80 show with that special club 'feel' for "Love Of My Life": it says here it's May 8,
1980BBP - 30-7-2007 at 13:11
Take what off?
(picture naked Punky... )punknaynowned - 30-7-2007 at 13:49
you!
no I meant taking the cd off the player!
ha!
and
maybe you've sleep cleaning to get that mosquito off the wall . . .BBP - 30-7-2007 at 18:19
Good one!
It's a mystery... I don't know how it got away... can't get rid of any other mosq stains...
Sorry about the bad joke... but you know...polydigm - 3-4-2008 at 22:15
Ruben is not one of my favourite Zappa Albums, but I do like it. I'm listening to the vinyl right now for the first time in about 20 years. As far as
the overdubbing issue is concerned, one of the things I've always found interesting about Zappa's earlier albums, pre Chunga's but not counting Hot
Rats, was the eclectic production and adding in those bass and drum tracks just seemed in keeping with that to me and didn't spoil my enjoyment of
either Money or Ruben. I have another problem with the overdubbed Money, which is that the overall audio quality is not as good as the Ryko remaster.scallopino - 4-4-2008 at 09:11
I love the original songs on Ruben. I don't like most of the reworkings of previous songs. I HATE Wackerman's drumming and the drum sounds. Chad is
usually one of my favourite drummers, but he nearly single-handedly destroyed this album. I think Frank could take some credit for his playing as
well...he would have controlled what went on. The bass parts don't annoy me as much.
I've never heard the overdubbed version of WOIIFTM.
I think Jelly Roll Gumdrop has some of the funniest lyrics ever written, almost as funny for me as 'The Air'.BBP - 8-4-2008 at 08:18
Still need to get the vinyl somehow... getiing it under E 20 seems to be impossible. I rarely listen to the CD, apart from Cheap Thrills I couldn't
bear to listen to the cymbals.punknaynowned - 16-6-2008 at 01:31
Somebody gave me a vinyl copy this spring. The cover a bit bowed, the spine cracked and worn thru but the record plays good.
But I listen to the re-done version. Go figure!scallopino - 16-6-2008 at 04:52
WHAT? Jakeobs - 16-6-2008 at 05:04
Of the 28 FZ albums I've listened to so far, this is the only one that I can honestly say I did NOT like. An entire album of doo wop songs just isn't
my thing. However, I do like all the doo wop songs on the other FZ albums though (even the songs that are also on Ruben). Go figure.Batchain - 22-8-2008 at 13:52
Here's yet, still, even another reason I have to say, "Thank You, Frank!": Without Ruben I'd probably never have heard Doo-Wop in my life
and, least of all, the way FZ did it.
But of all the FZ vinyl I have Ruben took the worst punishment and is barely playable. Shit! Even other vinyls I bought at that time remain
within the listenability line (Uncle Meat, Burnt Weenie Sandwich, 200 Motels, June '71 Filmore East) but Ruben somehow suffered the
worst ravages of time and really sounds like shit, nearly unplayable.
But the worst thing is the '80s overdubbed version that completely destroys all the subtlety and original dynamics of Ruben. That's just
sloppy crap and I can't imagine FZ giving it his "OK" except that it was legally out of his hands once he signed the original Ryko deal.
And it sounds like shit! I still want an original Ruben And The Jets even if it's in digital format but faithful to the analog recording.
Otherwise it's just doo-slop. Yuck!
--Bat
[Edited on 22-8-08 by Batchain]
[Edited on 22-8-08 by Batchain]BBP - 22-8-2008 at 14:33
I'm still looking for a proper record... but I'll get it digital as soon as I can! I never listened much to my Zappa vinyls. I taped Sheik Yerbouti
which I did play many times.
If I get one Bat, you can have a copy on me.punknaynowned - 19-10-2008 at 16:59
I am working on that vinyl to digital transfer
one copy for Massachusetts, one to Holland?BBP - 19-10-2008 at 18:41
You could upload it and link to us...
or with http://www.toldacuccot.hu/en you can send huge e-mails to people!scallopino - 20-10-2008 at 03:33
Quote:
Originally posted by punknaynowned
I am working on that vinyl to digital transfer
one copy for Massachusetts, one to Holland?
And one to Mel Bourne of Melbourne, Australia.punknaynowned - 20-10-2008 at 17:10
I am SO 20th century!
I had sugarplum visions of mixtapes handwound by a #2, 3cm pencil, packaged in foil and garish ribbon, hand-delivered by a muleteer, driving a mule
eating only wheatgrass extract drawn thru a special distiller, but sanctioned by Barack Obama for the new world-reduction of earth-borne gases . .
.
but delivered in time for xmas, of course.
Melbourne?
Of course.
I let ya know when I get it to flacscallopino - 21-10-2008 at 05:34
I do appreciate it! Perhaps you should consider some kind of sea-going
vessel, propelled only by the winds and a sense of wonder, because the mule and the muleteer might not handle the salt.
)
