Frank Zappa Critical Essay | Critical Essay by Lester Bangs

Critical Essay by Lester Bangs

Frank Zappa is a genius. Right. Frank Zappa probably knows more about music than you and I and 3/4 of the other professional musicians in this country put together. Right. Frank Zappa has made an incredible contribution towards broadening the scope of the average American kid's listening habits. Absolutely. Frank Zappa has certain possibly dangerous Machiavellian, manipulative tendencies. Yeah, probably so, but so what? Frank Zappa is a snob who underestimates his audience. Hmmm. Think so, huh?…

The public may not be quite as ignorant or as debased in its tastes as Zappa possibly thinks, and I suspect a lot of them are going to be even more let down by Chunga's Revenge than they were by the last two albums. It doesn't have the long boring solos, but the grab-bag Weasels feeling remains.

After giving all credit where credit is due, we have to start asking some other questions....
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