View source for Hot Rats

{{Short description|American rock album}}
{{For|the band named in tribute to Zappa's album|The Hotrats}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2019}}
{{Infobox album
| name       = Hot Rats
| type       = [[Album]]
| artist     = [[Frank Zappa]]
| cover      = Hot Rats.jpg
| caption    = 
| border     = yes
| alt        =
| released   = October 10, 1969
| recorded   = July 18 – August 30, 1969<br />T.T.G., Los Angeles<br />[[Sunset Sound Recorders|Sunset Sound]], Los Angeles<br />Whitney Studios, Glendale using 16-track
| venue      =
| studio     =
| genre      = {{flatlist|
*[[Jazz fusion]]<ref name=Reed>{{cite web |url=https://www.spin.com/2023/06/frank-zappa-funky-nothingness-album-review/ |title=Frank Zappa’s Funky Nothingness Is Full Of Meandering, Revelatory Jams|last=Reed |first=Ryan |date= |website= |publisher= |access-date=June 30, 2023 |quote=a missing link between the fiery, fusion-meets-blues-rock swirl of Hot Rats and the freewheeling musical buffet of Chunga’s Revenge.}}</ref>
*[[blues rock]]<ref name=Reed/>
*[[instrumental rock]]<ref name="Ellen 2015">{{cite web |last=Ellen |first=Mark |title=The true story of Frank Zappa In The 70s |website=louder |date=2015-06-12 |url=https://www.loudersound.com/features/frank-zappa-in-the-70s |access-date=2023-11-19 |quote=an instrumental rock album played mostly by jazz musicians}}</ref>
}}
| length     = 43:11
| label      = [[Bizarre Records|Bizarre]]/[[Reprise Records|Reprise]]
| producer   = [[Frank Zappa]]
| prev_title = [[Uncle Meat]]
| prev_year  = 1969
| next_title = [[Burnt Weeny Sandwich]]
| next_year  = 1970
| misc       = {{Extra chronology
 | artist     = [[Frank Zappa]] (solo)
 | type       = studio
 | prev_title = [[Lumpy Gravy]]
 | prev_year  = 1968
 | title      = Hot Rats
 | year       = 1969
 | next_title = [[Chunga's Revenge]]
 | next_year  = 1970
}}
{{Singles
 | name        = Hot Rats
 | type        = studio
 | single1     = [[Peaches en Regalia]]
 | single1date = 1970
}}
}}
{{Album ratings
| rev1      = [[AllMusic]]
| rev1Score = {{Rating|4.5|5}}<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.allmusic.com/album/r22632 |title=Hot Rats - Frank Zappa &#124; AllMusic |first=Steve |last=Huey |work=allmusic.com |year=2011 |access-date=11 July 2011}}</ref>
| rev10 = ''[[The Village Voice]]''
| rev10Score = C<ref name="Christgau">{{cite news|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|date=January 29, 1970|url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/cg/cg7.php|title=Consumer Guide (7)|newspaper=[[The Village Voice]]|location=New York|access-date=April 29, 2013}}</ref>
| rev2= ''[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music]]''
| rev2Score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref>{{cite book|last=Larkin|first=Colin|author-link=Colin Larkin|title=Encyclopedia of Popular Music|year=2002|publisher=[[Omnibus Press]]|edition=4th|isbn=978-0857125958|title-link=Encyclopedia of Popular Music}}</ref>
| rev3 = ''[[Martin C. Strong|The Great Rock Bible]]''
| rev3score = 9/10<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>
| rev4 = ''[[MusicHound|MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide]]''
| rev4score = {{rating|4|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>
| rev5 = ''[[OndaRock]]''
| rev5score = 8/10<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ondarock.it/songwriter/frankzappa.htm|title=Frank Zappa - biografia, recensioni, streaming, discografia, foto :|website=[[Ondarock.it]]|access-date=October 10, 2024}}</ref>
| rev6 = ''[[Record Collector]]''
| rev6score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://recordcollectormag.com/reviews/hot-rats|title = Hot Rats - Record Collector Magazine}}</ref>
| rev7 = ''[[The Rolling Stone Album Guide]]''
| rev7Score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref name=RSguide>{{cite book |chapter=Frank Zappa |editor1-last=Brackett |editor1-first=Nathan |editor2-last=Hoard |editor2-first=Christian |first=Rob |last=Sheffield |author-link=Rob Sheffield |title=[[The Rolling Stone Album Guide|The New Rolling Stone Album Guide]] |edition=4th |year=2004 |publisher=[[Fireside Books]] |location=London |isbn=0-7432-0169-8 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t9eocwUfoSoC&q=frank+zappa|access-date=October 24, 2020 }}</ref>
| rev8 = [[Tom Hull (critic)|Tom Hull]]
| rev8score = 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 - on the web|access-date=October 24, 2020}}</ref>
| rev9 = ''[[Uncut (magazine)|Uncut]]''
| rev9Score = 9/10 <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.uncut.co.uk/reviews/album/frank-zappathe-mothers-of-invention-reissues |title=Frank Zappa/The Mothers of Invention reissues |first=David |last=Cavanagh |work=uncut.co.uk |year=2016 |access-date=25 December 2016 |archive-date=December 26, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161226145620/http://www.uncut.co.uk/reviews/album/frank-zappathe-mothers-of-invention-reissues |url-status=dead }}</ref>
}}
'''''Hot Rats''''' is the second solo album and eighth overall album by [[Frank Zappa]], released in October 1969. It was Zappa's first recording project after the dissolution of the original lineup of [[the Mothers of Invention]]. Five of the six songs are instrumental, while "[[Willie the Pimp]]" features vocals by [[Captain Beefheart]].  In his original sleeve notes, Zappa described the album as "a movie for your ears".

Zappa dedicated the album to his newborn son, [[Dweezil Zappa|Dweezil]]. In February 2009, Dweezil's tribute band to his father, [[Zappa Plays Zappa]], won a Grammy for Best Rock Instrumental Performance for their rendition of "Peaches en Regalia".<ref>{{cite magazine | url = https://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/frank-zappa/biography | title = Frank Zappa: Biography | access-date = 2011-02-22 | magazine = Rolling Stone}}</ref>

==Background==
Because ''Hot Rats'' largely consists of instrumental jazz-influenced compositions with extensive soloing, the music sounds very different from earlier Zappa albums, which featured satirical vocal performances with extensive use of [[musique concrète]] and editing.  Besides Zappa, multi-instrumentalist [[Ian Underwood]] and guitarist [[Lowell George]] are the only members of the Mothers to appear on the album, with Underwood being Zappa's primary musical collaborator. Other featured musicians were bassists [[Max Bennett (musician)|Max Bennett]] and [[Shuggie Otis]] (who was only 15 years old at the time of the session); drummers [[John Guerin]], [[Paul Humphrey (American musician)|Paul Humphrey]] and Ron Selico; and electric violinists [[Don "Sugarcane" Harris]] and [[Jean-Luc Ponty]].

This was the first Frank Zappa album recorded on [[Multitrack recording|16-track]] equipment and one of the first albums to use this technology.  Machines with 16 individual tracks allow for much more flexibility in multi-tracking and [[overdubbing]] than the professional 4 and 8-track [[reel-to-reel]] tape recorders that were standard in 1969.

In the ''[[Q (magazine)|Q]]'' & ''[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo]]'' Classic Special Edition ''Pink Floyd & The Story of Prog Rock'', the album was number 13 in its list of "40 Cosmic Rock Albums".<ref>''Q Classic: Pink Floyd & The Story of Prog Rock'', 2005.</ref> It was also included in the book ''[[1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/1001Albums.htm|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120629180450/http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/1001Albums.htm|url-status=usurped|archive-date=June 29, 2012|title=1001 Albums You Must Hear - 2008 Edition|website=Rocklistmusic.co.uk}}</ref> In 2000 it was voted number 123 in [[Colin Larkin (writer)|Colin Larkin]]'s ''[[All Time Top 1000 Albums]]''.<ref name="Larkin">{{cite book|title=All Time Top 1000 Albums|editor=Colin Larkin|editor-link=Colin Larkin (writer)|publisher=[[Virgin Books]]|date=2000|edition=3rd|isbn=0-7535-0493-6|page=81|title-link=All Time Top 1000 Albums}}</ref>

==Recording==
The album was recorded on what Zappa described as a "homemade sixteen track" recorder; the machine was custom built by engineers at [[TTG Studios]] in [[Hollywood, Los Angeles|Hollywood]] in late 1968. Additional tracks made it possible for Zappa to add multiple horn and keyboard overdubs. Only a few musicians were required to create an especially rich instrumental texture which gives the sound of a large group. It was this use of advanced overdubbing that was the main motivation for Zappa, who hated playing in a studio.<ref name=EDQ>{{Cite book |title=Electric Don Quixote |author=Neil Slaven |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZaGs3UTVm1sC |pages=141–144 |date=2003-03-01 |isbn=978-0-7119-9436-2 }}</ref>

==Artwork==
The colorful, [[psychedelia|psychedelic]] aura of the late sixties is apparent in the graphic design and photography of ''Hot Rats''. This one-disc album had a gatefold featuring the elaborate artwork of [[Cal Schenkel]], at a time when gatefold covers were less common and just coming into vogue. The front and back cover photos by Andee Nathanson use [[infrared photography]] and reflect Zappa's taste for striking visual images, combined with the absurdly humorous. The woman pictured on the cover is  Christine Frka, alias Miss Christine of [[The GTOs]].  For years these cover photos were incorrectly credited to [[Ed Caraeff]].

==Release history==
The LP was released on the blue [[Bizarre Records|Bizarre]] label in the United States in 1969. The inside of the original gatefold LP cover has a collage of color pictures, many of which were taken during the recording sessions. In 1973 the album was re-issued by [[Reprise Records]]. This version was deleted in 1981 when Zappa's contract with record distributor [[Warner Bros. Records]] ended.

In 1987 Zappa [[Audio mixing (recorded music)|remixed]] ''Hot Rats'' for re-issue on CD by [[Rykodisc]]. On this edition many of the photos were removed, and the few that were included were printed in black and white. "Willie the Pimp" is edited differently during the introduction and guitar solo. "The Gumbo Variations" is four minutes longer; it includes an introduction and guitar and saxophone solo sections which were left out of the LP version. On "Little Umbrellas", the piano and flute are more prominent than on the LP. Other differences include significant changes to the overall ambiance and dynamic range. The 1995 CD reissue restored the full gatefold artwork.

A 2008 remaster of the original mix was used for a 2009 limited edition audiophile LP by Classic Records and for the 2012 Universal Music CD reissue.
<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://theseconddisc.com/2012/07/30/would-you-go-all-the-way-zappa-reissues-arrive-and-details-emerge-next-batch-announced|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120802022949/http://theseconddisc.com/2012/07/30/would-you-go-all-the-way-zappa-reissues-arrive-and-details-emerge-next-batch-announced|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 2, 2012|title=Would You Go All the Way? Zappa Reissues Arrive and Details Emerge, Next Batch Announced « The Second Disc|date=August 2, 2012}}</ref> Zappa Records reissued the album in a 180 gram LP in 2016, remastered by [[Bernie Grundman]]. On 20 December 2019, Zappa Records released ''[[The Hot Rats Sessions]]'', a 50th anniversary 6 CD box set of music recorded during the sessions for the album which included the no longer available 1987 mix and many previously unissued takes and mixes.

The album was a top ten hit in Britain and the Netherlands in 1969–1970.

==Track listing==
{{Track listing
| headline        = Side one
| total_length = {{Duration|m=21|s=57}}
| all_writing     = Frank Zappa

| title1          = [[Peaches en Regalia]]
| length1         = 3:38

| title2          = [[Willie the Pimp]]
| length2         = 9:21

| title3 = Son of Mr. Green Genes
| length3 = 8:58
}}

{{Track listing
| headline = Side two
| total_length = {{Duration|m=21|s=14}}
| title4 = Little Umbrellas
| length4 = 3:06

| title5 = The Gumbo Variations
| length5 = 12:53
| title6 = It Must Be a Camel
| length6 = 5:15
}}

{{Track listing
| headline = 1987 remixed CD version

| total_length    = 47:05

| title1 = Peaches en Regalia
| length1 = 3:37

| title2 = Willie the Pimp
| length2 = 9:16

| title3 = Son of Mr. Green Genes
| length3 = 8:58

| title4 = Little Umbrellas
| length4 = 3:04

| title5 = The Gumbo Variations
| length5 = 16:55

| title6 = It Must Be a Camel
| length6 = 5:15
}}

==Personnel==
Credits are adapted from ''Hot Rats'' liner notes.<ref name=booklet>(1969). "Hot Rats liner notes". In ''Hot Rats'' [Album cover]. Bizarre.</ref>

*[[Frank Zappa]] – [[guitar]], octave bass, [[percussion instrument|percussion]]
*[[Ian Underwood]] – [[piano]], [[organ (music)|organus maximus]], [[flute]], all [[clarinet]]s, all [[saxophone|sax]]es

;Also featuring
*[[Captain Beefheart]] – [[Singing|vocals]] on "Willie the Pimp"
*[[Max Bennett (musician)|Max Bennett]] – [[bass guitar|bass]] on all tracks except "Peaches en Regalia"
*[[Shuggie Otis]] – bass on "Peaches en Regalia"
*[[John Guerin]] – [[Drum kit|drums]] on "Willie the Pimp", "Little Umbrellas" and "It Must Be a Camel"
*[[Paul Humphrey (American musician)|Paul Humphrey]] – drums on "Son of Mr. Green Genes" and "The Gumbo Variations"
*Ron Selico – drums on "Peaches en Regalia"
*[[Don "Sugarcane" Harris]] – [[violin]] on "Willie the Pimp" and "The Gumbo Variations"
*[[Jean-Luc Ponty]] – violin on "It Must Be a Camel"
*[[Lowell George]] – rhythm guitar (uncredited)<ref name=EDQ/>

===Production===
*Producer: Frank Zappa
*Director of engineering: Dick Kunc
*Engineers: Cliff Goldstein, Jack Hunt, Brian Ingoldsby, Dick Kunc
*Arranger: Frank Zappa
*Cover design: Cal Schenkel
*Design: Cal Schenkel, John Williams

==Charts==
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
! Chart (1969–70)
! Peak<br />position
|-
!scope=row|Australian Albums ([[Kent Music Report]])<ref name=aus>{{cite book|last=Kent|first=David|author-link=David Kent (historian)|title=Australian Chart Book 1970–1992|edition=illustrated|publisher=Australian Chart Book|location=St Ives, N.S.W.|year=1993|isbn=0-646-11917-6|page=209}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"|19
|-
{{Album chart|Netherlands|6|artist=Frank Zappa|album=Hot Rats|rowheader=true|accessdate=August 10, 2025}}
|-
{{Album chart|UK2|9|date=19700412|rowheader=true|accessdate=August 10, 2025}}
|-
{{Album chart|Billboard200|173|artist=Frank Zappa|rowheader=true|accessdate=August 10, 2025}}
|}

{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
! Chart (2019–20)
! Peak<br />position
|-
{{Album chart|Germany|45|artist=Frank Zappa|album=Hot Rats|id=38267|rowheader=true|accessdate=August 10, 2025}}
|-
{{Album chart|UKRock|2|date=20191227|rowheader=true|accessdate=August 10, 2025}}
|}

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite book|title=A Brief History of Album Covers|first=Jason|last=Draper|publisher=Flame Tree Publishing|location=London|year=2008|pages=80–81|isbn=9781847862112|oclc=227198538}}

{{Frank Zappa albums}}
{{Jean-Luc Ponty}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1969 albums]]
[[Category:Albums produced by Frank Zappa]]
[[Category:Albums recorded at Sunset Sound Recorders]]
[[Category:Bizarre Records albums]]
[[Category:Blues rock albums by American artists]]
[[Category:Frank Zappa albums]]
[[Category:Jazz fusion albums by American artists]]
[[Category:Reprise Records albums]]