Frank Zappa: Cruising With Ruben & The Jets (1968)

Frank Zappa – guitar, keyboards, sound effects, vocals, bass, drums, Jimmy Carl Black – guitar, percussion, drums, rhythm guitar, Ray Collins – guitar, vocals, Roy Estrada – bass, electric bass, sound effects, vocals, voices, Bunk Gardner – alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, Don Preston – bass, piano, , keyboards, Jim Sherwood – guitar, vocals, wind, Euclid James "Motorhead" Sherwood – baritone saxophone, tambourine, Art Tripp – guitar, rhythm guitar, Ian Underwood – guitar, piano, keyboards, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, wind, Arthur Barrow – bass on Old Masters and compact disc versions (uncredited on CD), Chad Wackerman – drums on Old Masters and compact disc version (uncredited on CD), Jay Anderson - string bass on Old Masters and compact disc version (uncredited)

The album is fashioned as a simultaneous parody of and tribute to the doo-wop music Frank and many of the Mothers grew up with and worked on. The album has been described as a collision of high and low art, with Stravinsky-style chord changes and unusual tempos applied to purposely trite and banal teenage pop love songs.[1]. The backing vocals at the end of "Fountain of Love" sing the opening melody from Stravinsky's Rite of Spring.

The album predated a mini-revival of 1950's rock music styles and touched off the Rock and roll revival movement. Soon after it came out the group Sha-Na-Na formed in New York City to play their own brand of 1950's style doo-wop. Chuck Berry and Elvis Presley relaunched their careers not long after the album was released. Bo Diddley announced "I'm back and I'm feelin' fine" in his comeback single Bo Diddley 1969.

In 1973, a real doo-wop band, consisting of Ruben Guevara, Tony Duran, Robert "Frog" Camarena, Johhny Martinez, Robert "Buffalo" Roberts, Bill Wild, and Bob Zamora approached Zappa to ask him if they could use the name "Ruben and the Jets" for their band. Zappa not only approved of the name, he produced the band's first album, which was titled For Real!, a direct reference to the 1968 Mothers album with the "fake" Ruben & The Jets.

In 1984, Zappa, unhappy with the sound quality of Cruising with Ruben & the Jets,[2] enlisted Arthur Barrow and Chad Wackerman to re-record the original bass and drum parts (although they were not credited) for the Old Masters Box One re-issue of the album. In addition to the new drums and bass, Zappa added several vocal overdubs and heavily remixed the album, resulting in what has been described as "a whole new album" [3] Like Zappa's remix of We're Only in It for the Money, which was prepared at around the same time, it is very controversial among fans [4]. All post-1984 reissues of the album have featured the remix.[3] The 1968 version of the album with the original bass and drum parts has not been officially rereleased on CD, although bootlegs have surfaced.

tracklist:

1. "Cheap Thrills" (Zappa) – 2:39
2. "Love of My Life" (Zappa) – 3:08
3. "How Could I Be Such a Fool?" (Zappa) – 3:34
4. "Deseri" (Buff, Collins) – 2:08
5. "I'm Not Satisfied" (Zappa) – 4:08
6. "Jelly Roll Gum Drop" (Zappa) – 2:24
7. "Anything" (Collins) – 3:05
8. "Later That Night" (Zappa) – 3:00
9. "You Didn't Try to Call Me" (Zappa) – 3:57
10. "Fountain of Love" (Collins, Zappa) – 3:22
11. "No. No. No." (Zappa) – 2:15
12. "Any Way the Wind Blows" (Zappa) – 3:01
13. "Stuff Up the Cracks" (Zappa) – 4:36



If you would like to have Zappa's Studio Tan use this link Studio Tan I renewed the RS link to the album in comments (The main link is unfortunately dead for half of year)