Over-Nite Sensation Oshkosh WI

Over-Nite Sensation

Frank Zappa

Rykodisc, 1973

REVIEW BY: Christopher Thelen

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 09/08/2005

Over-Nite Sensation marked possibly the height of FrankZappa's popularity, at least in terms of sales. Coming off a yearhe spent in a wheelchair (thanks to a "fan" pushing him off aLondon stage in 1971), Zappa marked his return as a lead singer(albeit an octave lower than before the attack) by taking thelessons learned from the "Flo & Eddie" period of the Mothers OfInvention - namely, the sophomoric sex humor - and milking it forevery drop it was worth. (And, despite what the venerable All-MusicGuide claims, this was not a Mothers album; even Zappa's ownwebsite credits this one solely to Zappa.)

Yet, despite the increase in sales - this became Zappa's firstgold album - Over-Nite Sensation can't shake a feeling of tentativenessabout it. Even though this disc has some of Zappa's most notableconcert favorites, such as "Camarillo Brillo" and "Dinah Moe-Humm,"it really sounds like Zappa wasn't quite sure that this was the wayhe wanted to take his music. Unlike what he'd produce one albumlater on Apostrophe ('), Over-Nite Sensation is the musical equivalent of stickingone's toe into the water to gauge the climate.

It's kind of a shame, really. Sonically, Zappa was applying thelessons he had learned on The Grand Wazoo that would help him create a trulyfull-sounding band, though he now replaced some of theinstrumentation with his own lead vocals. But the vehicles withwhich he tries to deliver the goods just don't have the horsepower.Take "Dirty Love," a track which became legendary in concert. Thetempo on this one is far too plodding to deliver the smirkingvocals the right way, and the crispness of the instruments -especially in the opening riff - just isn't there. Or, for anexperience that is the musical equivalent of falling flat on yourface, check out "Fifty-Fifty," undoubtedly the worst song on thedisc.

This isn't to say that there is no hope to the disc. "I'm TheSlime," Zappa's slam against television, does have the finesse andpower to get the message across, and is one of the best efforts onthe disc. The other track that shares the honor is "Zomby Woof,"one of Zappa's under-rated numbers.