Editing Frank Zappa (section)

===Debut album: ''Freak Out!''===
{{See also|Freak Out!|Absolutely Free|Lumpy Gravy}}
With Wilson credited as producer, the Mothers of Invention, augmented by a studio orchestra, recorded the groundbreaking ''[[Freak Out!]]'' (1966), which, after Bob Dylan's ''[[Blonde on Blonde]]'', was the second rock [[double album]] ever released. It mixed R&B, [[doo-wop]], [[musique concrète]],<ref name="lowe">{{cite book| title = The Words and Music of Frank Zappa| first = Kelly Fisher| last = Lowe| publisher=Praeger Publishers| location = Westport| date = 2006| isbn = 978-0-275-98779-4}}</ref>{{rp|25}} and experimental [[sound collage]]s that captured the "freak" subculture of Los Angeles at that time.<ref name="walley80"/>{{rp|60–61}} Although he was dissatisfied with the final product, ''Freak Out'' immediately established Zappa as a radical new voice in rock music, providing an antidote to the "relentless consumer culture of America".<ref name="miles"/>{{rp|115}} The sound was raw, but the arrangements were sophisticated. While recording in the studio, some of the additional [[session musician]]s were shocked that they were expected to read the notes on sheet music from [[Chord chart|charts]] with Zappa conducting them, since it was not standard when recording rock music.<ref name="miles"/>{{rp|112}} The lyrics praised non-conformity, disparaged authorities, and had [[dada]]ist elements. Yet, there was a place for seemingly conventional love songs.<ref name="watson05">{{cite book| title = Frank Zappa. The Complete Guide to His Music| first = Ben| last = Watson| date = 2005| publisher=Omnibus Press| location = London| isbn = 978-1-84449-865-9}}</ref>{{rp|10–11}} Most compositions are Zappa's, which set a precedent for the rest of his recording career. He had full control over the arrangements and musical decisions and did most [[Overdubbing|overdubs]]. Wilson provided the industry clout and connections and was able to provide the group with the financial resources needed.<ref name="miles"/>{{rp|123}} Although Wilson was able to provide Zappa and the Mothers with an extraordinary degree of artistic freedom for the time, the recording did not go entirely as planned. In a 1967 radio interview, Zappa explained that the album's outlandish 11-minute closing track, "Return of the Son of Monster Magnet" was not finished. The track as it appears on the album was only a backing track for a much more complex piece, but MGM refused to allow the additional recording time needed for completion. Much to Zappa's chagrin, it was issued in its unfinished state.<ref>"How We Made It Sound That Way", interview on WDET Detroit, November 13, 1967 (excerpt included as part of the [[The MOFO Project/Object|MOFO]] album, 2006)</ref>

{{Listen|type=music|filename=Zappa_HungryFreaks.ogg|description=The opening track on ''[[Freak Out!]]''. The album has "consistently been voted as one of top 100 greatest albums ever made".<ref name="miles"/>{{rp|115}}<br />&nbsp;|title="Hungry Freaks Daddy" (1966)|pos=left}}

During the recording of ''Freak Out!'', Zappa moved into a house in [[Laurel Canyon, Los Angeles|Laurel Canyon]] with friend Pamela Zarubica, who appeared on the album.<ref name="miles"/>{{rp|112}} The house became a meeting (and living) place for many LA musicians and [[groupie]]s of the time, despite Zappa's disapproval of their illicit drug use.<ref name="miles"/>{{rp|122}} After a short promotional tour following the release of ''Freak Out!'', Zappa met [[Gail Zappa|Adelaide Gail Sloatman]]. He fell in love within "a couple of minutes", and she moved into the house over the summer.<ref name="Occhiogrosso"/>{{rp|65–66}} They married in 1967, had four children and remained together until Zappa's death.

Wilson nominally produced the Mothers' second album ''[[Absolutely Free]]'' (1967), which was recorded in November 1966, and later [[Audio mixing (recorded music)|mixed]] in New York, although by this time Zappa was in ''de facto'' control of most facets of the production. It featured extended playing by the Mothers of Invention and focused on songs that defined Zappa's compositional style of introducing abrupt rhythm changes into songs that were built from diverse elements.<ref name="lowe"/>{{rp|5}} Examples are "Plastic People" and "Brown Shoes Don't Make It", which contained lyrics that lampooned the hypocrisy and conformity of American society, but also of the [[counterculture of the 1960s]].<ref name="lowe"/>{{rp|38–43}} As Zappa put it, "[W]e're satirists, and we are out to satirize everything."<ref name="miles"/>{{rp|135–138}} At this time, Zappa had also recorded material for an album of orchestral works to be released under his own name, ''[[Lumpy Gravy (1967 album)|Lumpy Gravy]],'' to be released by [[Capitol Records]] in 1967. Due to contractual problems, the album was held back. Zappa took the opportunity to radically restructure the material, adding newly recorded improvised dialogue. After the contractual problems were resolved, [[Lumpy Gravy|a new album of the same name]] was issued by Verve in 1968.<ref name="miles"/>{{rp|140–141}} It is an "incredible ambitious musical project",<ref name="lowe"/>{{rp|56}} a "monument to [[John Cage]]",<ref name="walley80"/>{{rp|86}} which intertwines orchestral themes, spoken words and electronic noises through radical [[audio engineer|audio editing]] techniques.<ref name="lowe"/>{{rp|56}}<ref>{{cite web |url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r22630|pure_url=yes}} | title=Lumpy Gravy. Review | last= Couture |first = François |work=AllMusic |access-date=January 2, 2008}}</ref>{{refn|group="nb"|The initial orchestra-only recordings were released posthumously on the box set ''[[Lumpy Money]]'' (2009). See {{Cite journal |title=The Resurrection of Frank Zappa's Soul |url=http://www.laweekly.com/2008-12-11/music/the-resurrection-of-frank-zappa-8217-s-soul/1 |date=December 8, 2008 |first=Casey |last=Dolan |journal=LA Weekly |access-date=February 2, 2009 |archive-date=October 4, 2012  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121004152903/http://www.laweekly.com/2008-12-11/music/the-resurrection-of-frank-zappa-8217-s-soul/1/ |url-status=dead }}}}