Help, I'm a Rock
"Help, I'm a Rock" | ||||
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Single by The Mothers of Invention | ||||
from the album Freak Out! | ||||
A-side | "How Could I Be Such a Fool" | |||
Released | 1966 | |||
Recorded | March 12, 1966 | |||
Studio | TTG Studios, Hollywood, California | |||
Genre |
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Length | 3:12 (single version) 8:37 (album version) | |||
Label | Verve | |||
Songwriter(s) | Frank Zappa | |||
Producer(s) | Tom Wilson | |||
The Mothers of Invention singles chronology | ||||
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"Help, I'm a Rock" is a song written by American musician Frank Zappa. It was recorded by Zappa along with the rock band the Mothers of Invention on the group's debut album Freak Out!, which was released on Verve Records on June 27, 1966.[3]
Background
The Mothers of Invention entered TTG Studios to record "Help, I'm a Rock"—among other tracks for the Freak Out! album—after record producer Tom Wilson signed the group to MGM Records under the incorrect assumption that they were a traditional blues ensemble. As a testament to its absurdity, Zappa explained "Help, I'm a Rock" was created spontaneously as "just a thing that spewed out. What was happening was what was in the air that night".[4] For the composition's unusual droning background sounds, the band encompassed screams, duck calls, alien beeps and chatter, tribal chants, and erotic moans that simulated a female orgasm.[5] In the liner notes to Freak Out!, Zappa wrote the tongue-in-cheek statement: "'Help, I'm a Rock' is dedicated to Elvis Presley. Note the interesting formal structure and the stunning four-part harmony toward the end". He concludes his comments on the song by jokingly remarking about "the obvious lack of commercial potential. Ho hum".[6]
"Help, I'm a Rock" is a three part suite consisting of: "Okay to Tap Dance", "In Memoriam Edgar Varese" and "It Can't Happen Here". In the first pressing of Freak Out!, the song was credited simply as "Help, I'm a Rock". However, as Freak Out! reissues and compilation albums were made available, the third part, "It Can't Happen Here", has been commonly listed as a separate track. In concert, the composition was typically mixed with other band songs, most regularly "Hungry Freaks Daddy".[6] One music critic notes "Long term, the psychedelic workout had plenty of commercial appeal, with Zappa’s bands playing it throughout the master’s career. 'Help, I’m a Rock' became one of the many catch phrases attached to Zappa over his career".[4]
A section of "Help, I'm a Rock" called "Third Movement: It Can't Happen Here" was also featured as the B-side of the DJ-only "How Can I Be Such a Fool?" single. With a running time of nearly nine minutes, "Help, I'm a Rock" remains one of the Mothers of Invention's most lengthy and experimental pieces in their catalogue.[7]
In 1967, psychedelic rock group the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band recorded the song on their second album Part One.[8] Richie Unterberger described the rendition as a concept that "flung them into freakier pastures", with its style being "emulated convincingly on the group original '1906', an apt soundtrack to a bummer acid trip with its constant spoken refrain, 'I don't feel well'".[8]
References
- ^ Lang, Dave (January 1998). "An Absurdist's Guide to Punk, Vol. 1". Perfect Sound Forever.
- ^ Love, Kelly Fisher (2007). The Words and Music of Frank Zappa. Lincoln, Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press. p. 35. ISBN 978-0803260054. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
- ^ "Pretty Pat". globalia.net. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
- ^ a b "No. 28 "Help I'm a Rock"". psychedelicsight.com. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
- ^ Contour, Francois. "Help, I'm a Rock - Review". allmusic.com. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
- ^ a b Zappa, Frank (2012), Freak Out! (CD booklet), Zappa Records
- ^ Hoffman, Jesse. "The Mothers of Invention - Freak Out!". itsfluffy.com. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
- ^ a b Unterberger, Richie. "Part One - Review". allmusic.com. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
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- Frank Zappa
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(1966–1993)
official releases
- Lumpy Gravy (Primordial)
- The Guitar World According to Frank Zappa
- Beat the Boots!
- Beat the Boots! II
Compilations |
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Birthday Bundle series |
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- "Trouble Comin' Every Day"
- "Who Are the Brain Police?"
- "WPLJ"
- "My Guitar"
- "Peaches en Regalia"
- "I'm the Slime"
- "Cosmik Debris"
- "Don't Eat the Yellow Snow"
- "Du Bist Mein Sofa"
- "Find Her Finer"
- "Disco Boy"
- "Dancin' Fool"
- "Bobby Brown"
- "Joe's Garage"
- "I Don't Wanna Get Drafted"
- "You Are What You Is"
- "Valley Girl"
- "Cocaine Decisions"
- "Stairway to Heaven"
compositions
- "Absolutely Free"
- "Advance Romance"
- "The Adventures of Greggery Peccary"
- "America Drinks & Goes Home"
- "Are You Hung Up?"
- "Billy the Mountain"
- "The Black Page"
- "Brown Shoes Don't Make It"
- "Camarillo Brillo"
- "Cheepnis"
- "Duodenum"
- "Father O'Blivion"
- "Help, I'm a Rock"
- "G-Spot Tornado"
- "I Have Been in You"
- "Inca Roads"
- "Jewish Princess"
- "Let's Make the Water Turn Black"
- "A Little Green Rosetta"
- "Memories of El Monte"
- "Montana"
- "Muffin Man"
- "Nanook Rubs It"
- "Plastic People"
- "The Return of the Son of Monster Magnet"
- "Rollo"
- "Sleep Dirt"
- "St. Alfonzo's Pancake Breakfast"
- "Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance"
- "A Token of My Extreme"
- "The Torture Never Stops"
- "Uncle Remus"
- "Watermelon in Easter Hay"
- "Who Needs the Peace Corps?"
- "Willie the Pimp"
- "Wind Up Workin' in a Gas Station"
- 200 Motels
- Baby Snakes
- The Dub Room Special
- Does Humor Belong in Music?
- Video from Hell
- Uncle Meat
- The True Story of Frank Zappa's 200 Motels
- The Amazing Mr. Bickford
- In popular culture
- Zappa Plays Zappa
- Pachygnatha zappa
- Phialella zappai
- Zappa confluentus
- 3834 Zappafrank
- Frankly a Cappella
- King Kong: Jean-Luc Ponty Plays the Music of Frank Zappa
- Zappa's Universe
- Category