HOT RATS: OVERDUBS

Jazz played a bigger role in Zappa's next release "Hot Rats" (1969). It's an album sometimes referred to as jazzrock, not so much because it combines rock 'n roll with jazz, but because it uses electric as well as acoustic instruments. It's a carefully balanced album with six allmost entirely instrumental pieces:
- "Peaches en regalia" and "Son of mr. Green genes". Two relatively relaxed pieces.
- "Willie the pimp" and "The Gumbo variations". Tracks based upon a riff followed by extensive soloing.
- "Little umbrellas" and "It must be a camel". Complicated music with various interwoven melodic lines. Especially "It must be a camel" is harmonically versatile.

The album shows the synergy of the cooperation between Zappa and Ian Underwood. Ian Underwood made his first appearance on Uncle Meat and pleased Zappa by being able to play all kinds of complicated music, taking away some limitations Zappa had had to deal with earlier. Underwood got stimulated to reach the level he's demonstrating in his saxophone soloing in "The Gumbo variations". The majority of the parts of "Little umbrellas" and "It must be a camel" are played by Underwood, where Zappa is applying a lot of overdubbing. The overdubbing reaches a climax by creating a modern orchestral atmosphere in the intriguing part between 1:45 and 2:25 on "It must be a camel". I've transcribed 11 bars below. Because of its harmonic density the transcription can only be an approximation of what's going on.

It must be a camel, section (midi file)

It must be a camel, section (transcription)

This section starts in A and allmost immediately falls into an enlarged chord. In the second bar the key changes. The key changing and the use of enlarged chords continue except for bars 9 and 10, that are normal and form a short break. These bars are also an example of Zappa's search for rhythmic diversity. Within a 3/4 framework several varieties are being used. Several bars have syncopic figures, some bars have a subdivision into two, while bar 8 is straight.

"Hot Rats" has two songs that have a scent of the classical sonata form for a single movement, namely "Peaches en regalia" and "Little umbrellas". They both have repeated themes at the opening, that return at the end. In between is a block that has a more free variation set up, with new themes related in character to the opening themes (more on this subject in the "Orchestral favorites" section).

For "Peaches en regalia" it goes as:
- 0:00 Theme A, repeated four times.
- 0:22 Theme B, repeated twice.
- 0:41 Theme C.
- 1:05 Middle block.
- 2:07 Theme A returns, repeated four times.
- 2:35 Theme B, repeated several times as coda.

Peaches en regalia, themes A, B and the beginning of C (midi file)

Peaches en regalia, themes A, B and the beginning of C (transcription)

And in the case of "Little umbrellas":
- 0:00 Theme A, repeated twice.
- 1:05 Theme B.
- 1:12 Middle block.
- 2:17 Theme B returns.
- 2:31 Theme A returns.

Ludwig's study has the main melody of "Little umbrellas", whereas about 2/3rd of "Hot rats" got transcribed in 2002 by Andy Aledort (the "It must be a camel" section from above was published just before this release). Andy also includes the main melody of "Little umbrellas", but skipped the middle block. Trying to transcribe an entire Zappa album is in my opinion inhuman. Something I wouldn't and couldn't do, because you are bound to miss finesses or skipp details, transcribing such a lot. Andy would do it again for "Apostrophe (')". The middle block of "Little umbrellas" is a good example of overdubbing, because Ian Underwood is playing three keyboard parts with individual lines. The bass is setting a pedal note per bar. The result is dense harmonies and counterpoint, difficult to transcribe. Next is a section of this middle block, between 1:20 and 1:35.

Litlle umbrellas, fragment (midi file)

Litlle umbrellas, fragment (transcription)

"Peaches en regalia" has become a Zappa classic in another sense as well. It's generally appreciated and Zappa recorded it three times. In 1971 Flo and Eddie did some of the parts vocally for the live version on "Fillmore East". Ten years later another live version appeared on "Tinsel town rebellion", called "Peaches III". To quote Zappa from the album liner notes: "It is called Peaches III because this is the third time I have released Peaches (En Regalia) on record...first on the Hot Rats album, then on Live At The Fillmore...but this version is so bizarre, I figure you wouldn't mind hearing it again". The bizarreness doesn't so much relate to the composed part as on "Hot rats", but more to the epilogue with the "Let's hear it for another great Italian" section followed by the concert ending lines.
Peaches III has some extra counterpoint figures at the return of theme B, that also appear as pizzicato notes in the Ensemble Modern version on their "Greggery Peccary and other persuasions" CD from 2003 (see also the left menu).

In the LP era the length of an album and its format could sometimes be a problem. A contractual side was expected to last between 15 and 20 minutes, some minutes over 20 being possible. Since the latter diminished the sound quality, Zappa avoided that. Then the next size step from a single album was a double album. An EP or a blank side as a way in between never got popular. You can see that for strongly conceptual albums as "Joe's garage" and "Thing-Fish" choices had to be made. In the case of "Joe's garage" the story ends with "Watermelon in eastern hay", leaving still half of a side remaining. It was solved by including the "Little green rosetta" jam. For "Thing-Fish" the quantity of the play got between a double and a triple album. It could fit on a double album, but then you would for instance be forced to cut "The torchum never stops" into two. In this case Zappa made no concessions and chose for six short sides, shorter than normal. With the entrance of the CD this problem belonged to the past.
In the case of "Hot rats" the recording sessions resulted in a lot more than what's on the original album. In this case we later on got to hear the overflow unaltered. Normally Zappa would record the unreleased material anew, so that it would fit better on later albums. Something you might not realise at once is that eventually a double album quantity from the "Hot rats" sessions got released with as additional material:
- Chunga's revenge: Twenty small cigars.
- The lost episodes: Sharleena.
-   idem: Lil' Clanton shuffle.
- Hot rats CD: extension of the Gumbo variations sax solo.

Twenty small cigars, opening (midi file)

Twenty small cigars, opening (transcription)

"Twenty small cigars" from "Chunga's revenge" comes into this album directly from the "Hot rats" sessions. Other than "Sharleena" it wasn't rerecorded with the new band members. It opens with a piano introduction. Just as the "It must be a camel" example from above it contains enlarged chords (bars 1, 3, 5-7), alternating with normal 5th chords (bars 2 and 4). Again rhythmic complexities enter the picture, as the syncopic triplets movement in bars 5 and 6, gliding over a 3/4 basis. In bar 9 the main melody starts with one of the few instances of Zappa playing keyboard and guitar. It's a peaceful entirely instrumental song.