Editing We're Only in It for the Money

{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2012}}
{{Infobox album
| name         = We're Only in It for the Money
| type         = studio
| artist       = [[the Mothers of Invention]]
| cover        = Zappamoney1.jpg
| caption      = original issue cover
| border       = yes
| alt          = 
| released     = {{start-date|March 4, 1968}}
| recorded     = March 6, 1967<br>July – October 8, 1967<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.donlope.net/fz/chronology/1965-1969.html |title=FZ Chronology 1965-69 |website=Donlope |access-date=July 11, 2023}}</ref>
| venue        = 
| studio       = {{hlist|[[TTG Studios|TTG]] (Hollywood) |[[Capitol Studios|Capitol]] (Hollywood)|Mayfair (New York)|[[Apostolic Recording Studio|Apostolic]] (New York)}}
| genre        = *[[Avant-garde music|Avant-garde]]<ref>{{cite web|last=Rathbone|first=Oregano|date=October 10, 2020|title=Hot Rats: Frank Zappa's Game-Changing Jazz-Rock Landmark|url=https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/frank-zappa-hot-rats-album/|access-date=March 7, 2021|website=uDiscover Music}}</ref>
*[[psychedelic rock]]<ref>{{cite web|last=Reed|first=Ryan|date=July 4, 2020|title=Top 25 American Classic Rock Bands of the '60s|url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/60s-american-rock-bands/|access-date=March 7, 2021|website=Ultimate Classic Rock}}</ref>
*[[acid rock]]<ref>{{cite web|date=February 27, 2020|title=Frank Zappa|url=https://www.udiscovermusic.com/artist/frank-zappa/|access-date=March 7, 2021|website=uDiscover Music}}</ref>
| length       = {{Duration|m=39|s=15}}
| label        = [[Verve Records|Verve]]
| producer     = [[Frank Zappa]]
| chronology   = [[Frank Zappa]]
| prev_title   = [[Lumpy Gravy (1967 album)|Lumpy Gravy]]
| prev_year    = 1967
| next_title   = [[Lumpy Gravy]]
| next_year    = 1968
| misc         = {{Extra chronology
 | artist     = [[The Mothers of Invention]]
 | type       = studio
 | prev_title = [[Absolutely Free]]
 | prev_year  = 1967
 | title      = We're Only in It for the Money
 | year       = 1968
 | next_title = [[Cruising with Ruben & the Jets]]
 | next_year  = 1968
}}{{Singles
 | name        = We're Only in It for the Money
 | type        = studio
 | single1     = Lonely Little Girl (b/w Mother People)
 | single1date = 1967 (non-LP version)
}}
}}

'''''We're Only in It for the Money''''' is the third album by American [[rock music|rock]] band [[the Mothers of Invention]], released on March 4, 1968, by [[Verve Records]]. As with the band's first two efforts, it is a [[concept album]], and satirizes [[left-wing politics|left]]- and [[right-wing politics]], particularly the [[hippie]] subculture, as well as [[the Beatles]]' album ''[[Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band]]''. It was conceived as part of a project called ''No Commercial Potential'', which produced three other albums: ''[[Lumpy Gravy]]'', ''[[Cruising with Ruben & the Jets]]'', and ''[[Uncle Meat]]''.

''We're Only in It for the Money'' encompasses [[rock music|rock]], [[experimental music]], and [[psychedelic rock]], with orchestral segments deriving from the recording sessions for ''Lumpy Gravy'', which was previously issued by [[Capitol Records]] as a solo instrumental album by bandleader/guitarist [[Frank Zappa]] and was subsequently reedited by Zappa and released by Verve; the reedited ''Lumpy Gravy'' was produced simultaneously with ''We're Only in It for the Money''. ''We're Only in It for the Money'' is the first "phase" of a conceptual continuity, which continued with the reedited ''Lumpy Gravy'' and concluded with Zappa's final album ''[[Civilization Phaze III]]'' (1994). In 2005, ''We're Only in It for the Money'' was selected for preservation in the [[National Recording Registry]] by the United States' [[Library of Congress]], who deemed it "culturally, historically, and aesthetically significant" and "a scathing satire on hippiedom and America's reactions to it".

== Background ==
While filming ''[[Uncle Meat (film)|Uncle Meat]]'', [[Frank Zappa]] recorded in New York City for a project called ''No Commercial Potential'', which ended up producing four albums: ''We're Only in It for the Money''; a revised version of Zappa's solo album ''[[Lumpy Gravy]]''; ''[[Cruising with Ruben & the Jets]]''; and ''[[Uncle Meat]]'', which served as the soundtrack to the film of the same name, which finally saw a release in 1987, albeit in incomplete form.<ref name=Miles>{{cite book|author=Barry Miles|title=Frank Zappa: The Biography|year=2004|publisher=Grove Press|location=New York|isbn=0-8021-4215-X|pages=[https://archive.org/details/zappa0000mile/page/160 160], 326|url=https://archive.org/details/zappa0000mile |url-access=registration|edition=23. print.|author-link=Barry Miles}}</ref>

Zappa stated, "It's all one album. All the material in the albums is organically related and if I had all the master tapes and I could take a razor blade and cut them apart and put it together again in a different order it still would make one piece of music you can listen to. Then I could take that razor blade and cut it apart and reassemble it a different way, and it still would make sense. I could do this twenty ways. The material is definitely related."<ref name=Miles/>

As the recording sessions continued, [[the Beatles]] released their acclaimed album ''[[Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band]]''. In response to the album's release, Zappa decided to change the album's concept to parody the Beatles album, because he felt that the Beatles were insincere and "only in it for the money".<ref name=Fricke>{{cite AV media notes |title=Lumpy Money |others=Frank Zappa |year=2008|author=David Fricke|author-link=David Fricke|publisher=Zappa Records }}</ref> The Beatles were targeted as a symbol of Zappa's objections to the corporatization of youth culture, and the album served as a criticism of them and [[psychedelic rock]] as a whole.<ref name=Fricke/>

== Recording ==

Recording for ''We're Only in it for the Money'' began on March 6, 1967, with the basic tracking of "Who Needs the Peace Corps?" at TTG Studios which was then under the title of "Fillmore". The working title was inspired by a series of performance the Mothers of Invention held at the [[The Fillmore|Fillmore Auditorium]], finishing a day prior to the recording session. Zappa would then inaugurate a three-day recording stint at Capital Studios to record ''Lumpy Gravy'' from March 14-16, 1967.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=FZ chronology: 1965-1969 |url=https://www.donlope.net/fz/chronology/1965-1969.html#y1967 |access-date=2023-07-14 |website=www.donlope.net}}</ref> The band returned to New York in the following week, where Zappa became acquainted to then [[Cream (band)|Cream]] guitarist [[Eric Clapton]] during an acoustic guitar led jam at his home. The band subsequently spent from April to June rehearsing and gigging locally in support of their previous album ''[[Absolutely Free]]'', which released on May 26, 1967.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Frank Zappa Gig List: 1967 |url=http://fzpomd.net/giglist/1967.html |access-date=2023-07-14 |website=fzpomd.net}}</ref> Popular contemporaries such as guitarist [[Jimi Hendrix]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=FZ Musicians & Collaborators H-L |url=https://www.donlope.net/fz/musicians/H-L.html |access-date=2023-07-14 |website=www.donlope.net}}</ref> and singer-songwriter [[Essra Mohawk]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Secret Diva |url=https://procolharum.com/99/kr_mohawk.htm |access-date=2023-07-14 |website=procolharum.com}}</ref> joined the Mothers of Invention during their New York shows.

In July, band member Ray Collins had left the Mothers before the New York recording sessions took place, but later rejoined when the band was recording the doo-wop songs that formed the album ''Cruisin' with Ruben & the Jets''.<ref name="Fricke" /> [[Gary Kellgren]] was hired as an engineer for the project, and subsequently wound up delivering whispered pieces of dialogue that linked segments of ''We're Only in It for the Money''.<ref name="Walley">{{cite book |title=No Commercial Potential: The Saga of Frank Zappa |last=Walley |first=David |year=1980 |publisher=Da Capo Press |isbn=0-306-80710-6 |pages=85, 89 }}</ref> During the recording sessions, Verve requested that Zappa remove a verse from the song "Mother People". Zappa complied, but reversed the recording and included the backwards verse as part of the dialogue track "Hot Poop", concluding the album's first side,<ref name="Icons Of Rock 363">{{cite book|last=Schinder|first=Scott|title=Icons of Rock : An Encyclopedia of the Legends who Changed Music Forever|year=2008|publisher=Greenwood Press|location=Westport, Connecticut|isbn=978-0-313-33847-2|page=363|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CzWE_J3ZZfoC&pg=PA363 |author2=Schwartz, Andy }}</ref> but this would be removed by Verve themselves on subsequent represses of their own. Also censored on all copies was the [[Lenny Bruce]] reference in "Harry, You're A Beast",<ref name="Courrier" /> and a spoken segment of "Concentration Moon" in which Kellgren called [[the Velvet Underground]] "as shitty a group as Frank Zappa's group".<ref name="Slaven" />

Primary recording sessions ran from July until September 1967 at Mayfair Studios in New York. During this period of work on the album, the band recorded at a continuous rate, only taking breaks on the weekends.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=We're Only In It For The Money: Notes & Comments |url=https://www.donlope.net/fz/notes/We%27re_Only_In_It_For_The_Money.html |access-date=2023-07-14 |website=www.donlope.net}}</ref> While the [[Jimi Hendrix Experience]] occupied Mayfair Studios on July 19 and 20, to record "[[The Stars That Play with Laughing Sam's Dice]]", the band worked on and executed ideas for the cover art for ''We're Only in it for the Money''. Hendrix would make an appearance in the ''[[Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band]]'' mock cover, blending in with the cardboard cutouts of other major figures.<ref>{{Cite web |title=We're Only In It For The Money Cover: Notes & Comments |url=https://www.donlope.net/fz/notes/We%27re_Only_In_It_For_The_Money_Cover.html |access-date=2023-07-14 |website=www.donlope.net}}</ref>  Weekday work was only halted again on August 4, when Bob Dylan booked the studio to mix and press an acetate disc of [[Too Much of Nothing|"Too Much Of Nothing"]].<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=1967 |url=https://www.searchingforagem.com/1960s/1967.htm |access-date=2023-07-14 |website=www.searchingforagem.com}}</ref> A majority of the basic tracks would be finished in August, and September was spent mostly overdubbing onto the basic recordings.<ref name=":0" /> On September 4,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Unterberger |first=Richie |title=White Light/White Heat: The Velvet Underground Day-by-Day |publisher=Jawbone Press |year=2009 |isbn=9781906002220 |pages=61}}</ref> the Velvet Underground, who the Mothers of Invention then detested, entered the studio's second recording space with [[Tom Wilson (record producer)|Tom Wilson]], the band's previous producer, to record their sophomore album, ''[[White Light/White Heat]]''. Both bands did however co-operate in the studio, and Zappa even suggested to Velvet Underground front-man [[Lou Reed]] that he record himself stabbing a cantaloupe with a wrench in the band's song [[The Gift (The Velvet Underground song)|"The Gift"]].<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Epstein |first=Dan |date=2018-01-30 |title=Velvet Underground's 'White Light/White Heat': 10 Things You Didn't Know |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/feature/the-velvet-undergrounds-white-light-white-heat-10-things-you-didnt-know-205478/ |access-date=2023-07-14 |magazine=Rolling Stone |language=en-US}}</ref> The Mothers of Invention halted work on September 22 to pursue what is considered to be their first European tour,<ref name=":1" /> before returning to Apostolic Studios, also in New York, from October 3-8 in order to finish the album off, with final overdubs and mixing occurring.<ref name=":0" />

While recording ''We're Only in It for the Money'', Zappa discovered that the strings of [[Apostolic Recording Studio|Apostolic Studios']] grand piano would resonate if a person spoke near those strings. The "piano people" experiment involved Zappa having various speakers improvise dialogue using topics offered by Zappa. Various people contributed to these sessions, including [[Eric Clapton]], [[Rod Stewart]] and [[Tim Buckley]], who Zappa became familiar with after a concert in December 1966.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Frank Zappa Gig List: 1965-1966 |url=http://fzpomd.net/giglist/1966.html |access-date=2023-07-14 |website=fzpomd.net}}</ref><ref name="James">{{cite book|last=James|first=Billy|title=Necessity is.... : the early years of Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention|year=2002|publisher=SAF Publishing Ltd|location=Middlesex|isbn=0-946719-51-9|pages=59|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q9AkNKdIuEcC&pg=PA59 |edition=2.}}</ref> The "piano people" voices primarily consisted of [[Motorhead Sherwood]], [[Roy Estrada]], Spider Barbour, All-Night John (the manager of the studio) and Louis Cuneo, who was noted for his laugh, which sounded like a "psychotic turkey".<ref name="Slaven">{{cite book |title=Electric Don Quixote: The Definitive Story of Frank Zappa |last=Slaven |first=Neil |year=2003 |publisher=Omnibus Press |isbn=0-7119-9436-6 |pages=85, 100, 105 }}</ref> 

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During the production, Zappa experimented with recording and editing techniques which produced unusual textures and [[musique concrète]] compositions; the album featured abbreviated songs interrupted by segments of dialogue and unrelated music which changed the continuity of the album.<ref name=Huey/> Segments of [[orchestral music]] included on the album came from a solo orchestral album by Zappa previously released by [[Capitol Records]] under the title ''Lumpy Gravy'' in 1967.<ref name=Walley/> MGM claimed that Zappa was under contractual obligation to record for them, and subsequently Zappa re-edited ''Lumpy Gravy'', releasing a drastically different version on [[Verve Records]], after the release of ''We're Only in It for the Money''. The artwork of ''Lumpy Gravy'' identified it as "phase 2 of ''We're Only in It for the Money''", while ''We're Only in It for the Money'' was identified in its artwork as "phase one of ''Lumpy Gravy''", alluding to the conceptual continuity of the two albums.<ref name=Walley/>

For some pressings of the album, MGM censored several tracks without Zappa's knowledge, involvement or permission.<ref name=Walley/><ref name=Zappa>{{cite book| title = The Real Frank Zappa Book| url = https://archive.org/details/realfrankzappabo0000zapp| url-access = registration| first = Frank with Occhiogrosso, Peter| last = Zappa| year = 1989| publisher=Poseidon Press| location = New York| isbn = 0-671-63870-X |page=[https://archive.org/details/realfrankzappabo0000zapp/page/84 84]}}</ref> On the song "Absolutely Free", the line "I don't do publicity balling for you anymore" was edited by MGM to remove the word "balling", changing the meaning of the sentence.<ref name=Walley/> Additionally, on "Let's Make the Water Turn Black", the line "and I still remember Mama, with her apron and her pad, feeding all the boys at Ed's Cafe" was removed.<ref name=Zappa/> Zappa later learned that this line was censored because an MGM executive thought that the word "pad" referred to a [[sanitary napkin]], rather than a waitress's order pad.<ref name=Zappa/> The Kellgren dialogue segment in "Concentration Moon" was also re-edited, making it seem that he was calling the Velvet Underground "Frank Zappa's group." Zappa later declined to accept an award for the album upon being made aware of the censorship, stating "I prefer that the award be presented to the guy who modified this record, because what you're hearing is more reflective of his work than mine."<ref name=Zappa/>

== Themes ==

In his lyrics for ''We're Only in It for the Money'', Zappa speaks as a voice for "the [[freak scene|freaks]]—imaginative outsiders who didn't fit comfortably into any group", according to [[AllMusic]] writer Steve Huey.<ref name=Huey/> Subsequently, the album satirizes [[hippie]] culture and [[left-wing politics]], as well as targeting [[right-wing politics]], describing both political sides as "prisoners of the same narrow-minded, superficial phoniness."<ref name="Icons Of Rock 363"/><ref name=Huey/><ref name=Shuker>{{cite book|last=Shuker|first=Roy|title=Understanding popular music|year=2001|publisher=Psychology Press|isbn=0-415-23509-X|page=121|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PRavFA8l2FQC&pg=PA121 |edition=2.}}</ref>

Zappa later stated in 1978, "hippies were pretty stupid. ... the people involved in [youth] processes ... are very sensitive to criticism. They always take themselves too seriously. So anybody who impugns the process, whether it's a peace march or love beads or whatever it is – that person is the enemy and must be dealt with severely. So we came under a lot of criticism, because we dared to suggest that perhaps what was going on was really stupid."<ref name=Fricke/>

Another element of the album's lyrical content came from the [[Los Angeles Police Department]]'s harassment and arrests of young rock fans, which made it difficult for the band to perform on the West Coast, leading the band to move to New York City for better financial opportunities.<ref name=Fricke/> Additionally, Zappa made reference to comedian [[Lenny Bruce]]; the song "Harry, You're A Beast" quotes Bruce's routine "To Is A Preposition, Come Is A Verb".<ref name=Courrier>{{cite book |title=Dangerous Kitchen: The Subversive World of Zappa |last=Courrier |first=Kevin |year=2002 |publisher=ECW Press |isbn=1-55022-447-6 |pages=9, 81 }}</ref>

The song "Flower Punk" parodies the [[garage rock]] staple "[[Hey Joe]]", and depicts a youth going to San Francisco to become a [[flower child]] and join a [[psychedelic rock]] band.<ref name=pc42>{{Gilliland |url=https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc19801/m1/ |title=Show 42 – The Acid Test: Psychedelics and a sub-culture emerge in San Francisco. [Part 2] |show=42 |track=1}}</ref> Additionally, the track makes a reference to "[[Wild Thing (The Troggs song)|Wild Thing]]", one of the songs that defined the counterculture of that period. The rhythmic pattern of "Flower Punk" is complex, consisting of 4 bars of a fast 5 (2–3), followed by 4 bars of 7 (2–2–3).<ref name=Ulrich>{{cite book |title=The Big Note: A Guide to the Recordings of Frank Zappa |last=Ulrich|first=Charles |year=2018|publisher=New Star Books |page=605 }}</ref>

== Packaging ==
[[File:Zappamoney2.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|The intended front cover of the album was a parody of [[the Beatles]]' ''[[Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band]]''. At the insistence of the record company, the image became part of the gatefold sleeve. Photograph by [[Jerry Schatzberg]].]]

Zappa's art director [[Cal Schenkel]] and [[Jerry Schatzberg]] photographed a collage for the [[album cover]], which parodied the Beatles' ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band''. Zappa spent [[US$]]4,000 ({{Inflation|US|4000|1968|r=-2|fmt=eq}}) on the photo shoot, which he stated was "a direct negative" of the ''Sgt. Pepper'' album cover. "[''Sgt. Pepper''] had blue skies&nbsp;... we had a thunderstorm."<ref name=Fricke/> [[Jimi Hendrix]], a friend of Zappa, took part in the photo shoot.<ref name=Fricke/>

Zappa phoned [[Paul McCartney]], seeking permission for the parody. McCartney told him that it was an issue for business managers,<ref name=Fricke/><ref name=Walley/><ref name=Slaven/> but Zappa responded that the artists themselves were supposed to tell their business managers what to do.<ref name=Walley/><ref name=Slaven/> Nevertheless, Capitol objected, and the album's release was delayed for five months.<ref name=Walley/><ref name=Penney>{{cite journal|last=Penney|first=Stuart|title=Frank Zappa – The Early Albums|journal=[[Record Collector]]|date=May 1987|volume=93|pages=38–44}}</ref> Verve decided to package the album with inverted [[cover art]]work, placing the parody cover as interior artwork (and the intended interior artwork as the main sleeve) out of fear of legal action.<ref name=Fricke/><ref name="Icons Of Rock 363"/> Zappa was angered over the decision; Schenkel felt that the ''Sgt. Pepper'' parody "was a stronger image" than the final released cover.<ref name=Fricke/> In recent years, the album has been reissued with the intended front cover.

==Release==
The album was released on March 4, 1968, by [[Verve Records]]. It peaked at number 30 on the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]].

In 1984, Zappa prepared a remix of the album for its compact disc reissue and the vinyl box set ''[[Old Masters (box set)|The Old Masters]] I''. The remix reinstated audio that had been censored by Verve, as well as the original "Mother People" verse.<ref name=Slaven/> It also featured new rhythm tracks recorded by bassist [[Arthur Barrow]] and drummer [[Chad Wackerman]]. Zappa would later do the same with ''Cruising with Ruben & the Jets'', stating "The master tapes for ''Ruben and the Jets'' were in better shape, but since I liked the results on ''We're Only in It for the Money'', I decided to do it on ''Ruben'' too. But those are the only two albums on which the original performances were replaced. I thought the important thing was the material itself."<ref name=Miles/>

''Lumpy Gravy'' was also remixed by Zappa, but not released at the time.<ref name=Fricke/> After the remixing was announced, a $13 million lawsuit was filed against Zappa by [[Jimmy Carl Black]], [[Bunk Gardner]] and [[Don Preston]], who were later joined by Ray Collins, [[Art Tripp]] and [[Motorhead Sherwood]], increasing the claim to $16.4 million, stating that they had received no royalties from Zappa since 1969.<ref name=Miles/>

Zappa would later prepare a CD of the original stereo mix for release by Rykodisc in 1995. Unlike the remix, this retained the censorship applied to "Concentration Moon," "Harry You're a Beast" and "Mother People" on the original releases.<ref name=Patio>{{cite web |url= http://lukpac.org/~handmade/patio/vinylvscds/money.html#1995cd |title=Zappa Patio |year=2006 |access-date=May 7, 2016}}</ref>

The [[radio documentary|audio documentary]] [[box set]] ''The [[Lumpy Money]] Project/Object'' chronicles the production of ''We're Only in It for the Money'', including the orchestral version of ''Lumpy Gravy'', a 1968 mono mix of ''We're Only in It for the Money'' and 1984 remixes of ''We're Only in It for the Money'' and the reedited ''Lumpy Gravy'' album, as well as additional material from the original recording sessions.

== Reception and legacy ==
{{Album ratings
| rev1 = [[AllMusic]]
| rev1Score = {{rating|5|5}}<ref name=Huey>{{cite web |url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/r22631 |title=We're Only in It for the Money – The Mothers of Invention / Frank Zappa |first=Steve |last=Huey |website=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=June 26, 2011}}</ref>
| rev2 = ''[[Chicago Tribune]]''
| rev2Score = {{rating|4|4}}<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1995/06/30/frankly-speaking-6/ |title=Frankly Speaking |first=Greg |last=Kot |author-link=Greg Kot |work=[[Chicago Tribune]] |date=June 30, 1995 |access-date=June 23, 2018}}</ref>
| rev4 = ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]''
| rev4Score = A<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://ew.com/article/1995/06/09/were-only-it-money/ |title=We're Only in It for the Money |first=Tom |last=Sinclair |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |date=June 9, 1995 |access-date=June 23, 2018}}</ref>
| rev5 = ''[[Martin C. Strong|The Great Rock Bible]]''
| rev5score = 8.5/10<ref>{{cite book|title=The Great Rock Bible|author=Martin C. Strong|author-link=Martin C. Strong|edition=1st|year=2024|isbn=978-1-9127-3328-6|publisher=[[Red Planet Books]]}}</ref>
| rev6 = ''[[MusicHound|MusicHound Rock]]''
| rev6score = {{rating|5|5}}<ref>{{cite book|title=[[MusicHound|MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide]]|editor=Gary Graff|editor-link=Gary Graff|edition=1st|year=1996|location=London|isbn=978-0-7876-1037-1|publisher=[[Visible Ink Press]]}}</ref>
| rev7 = ''[[Q (magazine)|Q]]''
| rev7Score = {{rating|5|5}}<ref>{{cite journal |title=The Mothers of Invention: We're Only in It for the Money |journal=[[Q (magazine)|Q]] |issue=107 |date=August 1995 |pages=150–151}}</ref>
| rev8 = ''[[The Rolling Stone Album Guide]]''
| rev8Score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref>{{cite book |chapter=Frank Zappa |last1=Evans |first1=Paul |last2=Randall |first2=Mac |title=The New Rolling Stone Album Guide |editor1-last=Brackett |editor1-first=Nathan |editor2-last=Hoard |editor2-first=Christian |publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]] |edition=4th |year=2004 |isbn=0-7432-0169-8 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/newrollingstonea00brac/page/902 902–904] |title-link=The Rolling Stone Album Guide }}</ref>
| rev9 = [[Tom Hull (critic)|Tom Hull]]
| rev9score = B−<ref>{{cite web|url=http://tomhull.com/ocston/nm/get_gl.php?n=frank+zappa|title=Grade List: frank zappa|author=Tom Hull|author-link=Tom Hull (critic)|website=Tom Hull|access-date=October 24, 2020}}</ref>
| rev10 = ''[[The Village Voice]]''
| rev10Score = A<ref name=Christgau>{{cite news |url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/cg/cgv1295-95.php |title=Consumer Guide |first=Robert |last=Christgau |author-link=Robert Christgau |work=[[The Village Voice]] |date=December 26, 1995 |access-date=June 26, 2011}}</ref>
| rev3 = ''[[The Encyclopedia of Popular Music]]''
| rev3Score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref>{{cite book|last=Larkin|first=Colin|author-link=Colin Larkin|title=Encyclopedia of Popular Music|year=2007|publisher=[[Omnibus Press]]|edition=5th|isbn=978-0857125958|title-link=The Encyclopedia of Popular Music}}</ref>
}}

[[Dr. Demento|Barret Hansen]] praised the album in an April 1968 review for ''[[Rolling Stone]]''.<ref name=Fricke/> He felt it was the most "advanced" rock album released up to that date, though not necessarily the "best"; he compared Zappa with [[the Beatles]], and felt that the wit and sharpness of Zappa's lyrics was more intelligent, but unless one were to adopt a [[utilitarian]] view, he would not deny the beauty of the Beatles' music. He concluded that while the initial listening may be significantly profound, due to the reliance on shock, subsequent listening may be reduced in value; and he returns to a comparison with the Beatles, in which he feels that Zappa has the greater musical genius, but is less comfortable to listen to.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.afka.net/Articles/1968-04_Rolling_Stone_2.htm|title=1968-04 ''We're Only in It for the Money'' (review)|author=[[Barret Hansen]]|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|date=April 6, 1968|access-date=January 20, 2023|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111112020517/http://www.afka.net/Articles/1968-04_Rolling_Stone_2.htm|archive-date=November 12, 2011}}</ref>

[[AllMusic]] writer Steve Huey wrote, "the music reveals itself as exceptionally strong, and Zappa's politics and satirical instinct have rarely been so focused and relevant, making ''We're Only in It for the Money'' quite possibly his greatest achievement."<ref name=Huey/> [[Robert Christgau]] gave the album an A, writing, "With bohemia permanent and changed utterly, this early attack on its massification hasn't so much dated as found its context. Cheap sarcasm is forever."<ref name=Christgau/> In 2012, ''[[Uncut (magazine)|Uncut]]'' described the album as a "satirical [[psychedelic rock|psych-rock]] gem".<ref>{{cite magazine|first= Tom |last= Pinnock |title= Frank Zappa – Album By Album |date= August 31, 2012 |magazine= [[Uncut (magazine)|Uncut]] |url= http://www.uncut.co.uk/features/frank-zappa-album-by-album-30685 |access-date= July 18, 2016}}</ref>

It was voted number 343 in the third edition of [[Colin Larkin]]'s ''[[All Time Top 1000 Albums]]'' (2000).<ref name="Larkin">{{cite book|title=All Time Top 1000 Albums|author=Colin Larkin|publisher=[[Virgin Books]]|date=2006|edition=3rd|isbn=0-7535-0493-6|page=136|title-link=All Time Top 1000 Albums|author-link=Colin Larkin}}</ref> As of 2015, the album was ranked number 297 on ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' magazine's list of [[Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time|the 500 greatest albums of all time]].<ref>{{cite magazine | magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] | url = https://www.rollingstone.com/500albums | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20051212042543/http://www.rollingstone.com/500albums | url-status = dead | archive-date = December 12, 2005 | title = The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time | access-date = July 12, 2006}}</ref> Additionally, ''Rolling Stone'' ranked the album number 77 in its August 1987 article, "The Top 100: The Best Albums of the Last Twenty Years".<ref>{{cite magazine | magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] | title=The Top 100: The Best Albums of the Last Twenty Years | date=27 August 1987 | issue=507 | pages=144–146 }}</ref> It is also included in the book ''[[1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die]]'' along with the Mothers' first release, ''[[Freak Out!]]''.<ref name="one thousand and one albums book">{{cite book |last=Dimery |first=Robert |title=1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die |publisher=Octopus Publishing Group, London |year=2009 |page=156 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PIyEkArSW0EC |isbn=9781844036240 |access-date= 2012-09-23}}</ref>

In 2005, the U.S. [[National Recording Preservation Board]] included ''We're Only in It for the Money'' in the [[National Recording Registry]], calling it "culturally, historically, and aesthetically significant" and "a scathing satire on hippiedom and America's reactions to it".<ref>{{citation| url=https://www.loc.gov/rr/record/nrpb/registry/nrpb-2005reg.html| title=The National Recording Registry 2005 | date = May 24, 2005 | series=National Recording Preservation Board | publisher=The Library of Congress }}. Retrieved August 18, 2008.</ref>

==Track listing==

{{Track listing
| all_writing     = Frank Zappa
| headline        = Side one
| total_length    = 19:14
| title1          = [[Are You Hung Up?]]
| length1         = 1:23
| title2          = [[Who Needs the Peace Corps?]]
| length2         = 2:34
| title3          = Concentration Moon
| length3         = 2:22
| title4          = Mom & Dad
| length4         = 2:16
| title5          = Telephone Conversation
| note5           = included in "Bow Tie Daddy" on the original LP
| length5         = 0:48
| title6          = Bow Tie Daddy
| length6         = 0:33
| title7          = Harry, You're a Beast
| length7         = 1:22
| title8          = What's the Ugliest Part of Your Body?
| length8         = 1:03
| title9          = [[Absolutely Free (song)|Absolutely Free]]
| length9         = 3:24
| title10          = Flower Punk
| length10         = 3:03
| title11         = Hot Poop
| length11       = 0:26
}}

{{Track listing
| headline        = Side two
| total_length    = 20:00 39:15
| title1          = Nasal Retentive Calliope Music
| length1         = 2:03
| title2          = [[Let's Make the Water Turn Black]]
| length2         = 2:01
| title3          = The Idiot Bastard Son
| length3         = 3:18
| title4          = Lonely Little Girl
| note4           = listed as "It's His Voice on the Radio" on the original LP sleeve
| length4         = 1:09
| title5          = [[Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance]]
| length5         = 1:35
| title6          = What's the Ugliest Part of Your Body? (Reprise)
| length6         = 0:57
| title7          = Mother People
| length7         = 2:32
| title8          = The Chrome Plated Megaphone of Destiny
| length8         = 6:25
}}

==Personnel==
; The Mothers Today / The Mothers Yesterday<ref>{{Cite AV media notes| title=We're Only in It for the Money | year=2012 | last=Mothers of Invention | first=The | type=fold-out insert | publisher=Zappa Records | id=ZR 3837}}</ref>
* [[Frank Zappa]] – [[guitar]], [[piano]], [[Lead vocalist|lead vocals]] & editing
* [[Billy Mundi]] – [[Drum kit|drums]], vocal, yak & black lace [[underwear]]
* [[Bunk Gardner]] – all [[Woodwind instrument|woodwinds]], mumbled weirdness
* [[Roy Estrada]] – [[Bass guitar|electric bass]], vocals, [[asthma]]
* [[Don Preston]] – [[Retirement|retired]]
* [[Jimmy Carl Black]] – Indian of the group, drums, [[trumpet]], vocals
* [[Ian Underwood]] – piano, woodwinds, wholesome
* [[Euclid James Sherwood|Euclid James "Motorhead" Sherwood]] – [[road manager]], [[soprano saxophone|soprano]] & [[baritone saxophone]], all purpose weirdness & teen appeal (we need it desperately)
* Suzy Creamcheese (Pamela Zarubica) – [[telephone]]
* Dick Barber – snorks

; Also
* [[Gary Kellgren]] – creepy whispering
* Dick Kunc – cheerful interruptions
* [[Eric Clapton]] – has graciously consented to speak to you in several critical areas
* Spider – wants you to turn your radio around

; Uncredited
* Charlotte Martin – voice on "Are You Hung Up?"
* Vicki Kellgren – telephone
* Dave Aerni – guitars on "Nasal Retentive Calliope Music"
* Paul Buff – drums, bass, organ, saxes on "Nasal Retentive Calliope Music"
* Ronnie Williams – backwards voice on "Let's Make the Water Turn Black"
* Bob Stone – engineer on 1984 remix
* [[Arthur Barrow]] – bass on 1984 remix
* [[Chad Wackerman]] – drums on 1984 remix

; Production:
* Frank Zappa – composer, arranger, [[Record producer|producer]]
* Sid Sharp – [[Conducting|conductor]] of orchestral segments
* Jerrold Schatzberg – [[photography]]
* Tiger Morse – fashions
* [[Cal Schenkel]] – plaster figures & all other artwork
* [[Tom Wilson (record producer)|Tom Wilson]] – [[executive producer]]
* Nifty, Tough & Bitchen Youth Market Consultants for [[Bizarre Records|Bizarre Productions]] – packaging concept
* Gary Kellgren – [[Audio engineer|engineer]] for two months of basic sessions at Mayfair Studios
* Dick Kunc – record & re-mix engineer for the final months of recording at Apostolic Studios

==Charts==
{|class="wikitable"
! Chart (1968)
! Position
|-
| US [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]]
| align="center"|30
|}

== See also ==
* [[Album era]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

{{Frank Zappa albums}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:We're Only In It For the Money}}
[[Category:1968 albums]]
[[Category:Albums produced by Frank Zappa]]
[[Category:Acid rock albums]]
[[Category:1960s concept albums]]
[[Category:Frank Zappa albums]]
[[Category:The Mothers of Invention albums]]
[[Category:Self-censorship]]
[[Category:Verve Records albums]]
[[Category:Albums recorded at Capitol Studios]]
[[Category:United States National Recording Registry albums]]
[[Category:Satirical albums]]
[[Category:Hippie movement]]