Following on the heels of the success of Valley Girl, Frank gives the fan a single release for the year of 1983 - somewhat uncharacteristic for Frank, as he would usually dish out 2 or more releases per year. Having said that, we are now in the 80s, and the musical landscape has changed, leaving Frank the duty to be more selective with his material. The Man From Utopia is essentially a pop record filtered through the lens of Frank Zappa. Satire and comedy (ahem, porn) rock is a plenty on here.
Cocaine Decisions is a satire on government figures and industry execs inhaling cocaine to create “expensive ugliness” - or, in other words, Frank warns us of the danger of having an abundance of these air-headed freaks in society, who go on to make bad decisions while under the influence, and these bad choices impact the daily lives of everyday consumers. SEX is a fad-bashing song that uses the backing of Crew Slut (from Joe’s Garage) as its main melody. Pretty lazy if you ask me, and I know Frank had greater intentions than that. There are 3 tracks on here (the names of which you shall have no difficulty in figuring out) that are just spoken-word bits detailing humorous real-life scenarios (some involving the group), underscored by impressive note for note guitar lines echoing the vocals, courtesy of Steve Vai. For lovers of trivia in Frank’s case, the aforementioned exercise was Vai’s ticket to his gig with Zappa. How cool is that?! Having said this, 3 tracks of such is one too many, and from what I read, Frank was pleaded with by his wife and record engineers to not include these bits on the album, however, Frank and his unilateral vision won out. After all, Frank knew what he was doing. Amirite?
Tink Walks Amok and Moggio are instrumentals that Frank felt an obligation to include on every record, and there is nothing wrong with that. The former is something of just avant-garde noise put to a fast beat, while the latter is a slightly more enjoyable piece of modern-classical, augmented by what sounds like the synclavier? I almost forgot to mention We Are Not Alone! This one is a steady melodic composition punctuated by guitar, vibes, and brass, and is quite enjoyable as such. Stick Together is another of many union-bashing songs Frank wrote to voice his displeasure with kinky, nit-witty workers - I made that one up. Lyrics like “there won’t be no food, there won’t be no dough, common sense is your only hope” and “you know we got to stick together” strike a chord even today. The gospel-tinged harmonies add a new element, and would also become a technique Frank would begin to utilize during this time period.
‘The Man’ Meets Mary Lou is two songs condensed into one - telling the story of these two coupled fictional characters who exploit one another. This one is pop for the sake of pop, and I like it. This one is a much needed breather among all the weirdness. Luigi and The Wise Guys is SO much of its time! Remember that kids movie Cars? The first one. I swear, this one could play as a soundtrack to one of those scenes where Lightning encounters the Italian-owned tire factory - yeah, remember that one?? What’s the more impressive is that Zappa predated this movie by two decades. But really, what kind of music is this? Perverted doo-wop? Sign me up for NO FAN.
This record earns the infamy of having a bad LP sleeve (I can’t argue with that), and a very diversified and inconsistent track listing. Some fans rate this album as his worst, but I wouldn’t go that far. There are some novelty and highlight songs to this collection, but I don’t hasten to add that it’s only one or two. The Zappa fanatic might not even own this record, and I can’t really blame them. If you are starting to enjoy Zappa’s work, save this one for an afterthought. This record is below average. 3/10
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