"Lemme Take You To The Beach" 2004

Lemme Take You to the Beach is a lovingly assembled tribute to Frank Zappa put together by the folks on the Cowabunga Internet mailing list. This collection works on so many levels it's almost ridiculous, from the tunes themselves to the perfectly parodied cover art…

...As hardcore Zappa fans know, he was involved in producing a number of surf and novelty singles before the Mothers were formed (compiled on the Cucamonga compilation), and surfy elements continued to surface in some of the early Mothers work. Many of the Mothers' early songs could easily be arranged as surf instros, but some of the participants really got creative with the project and went for some unexpected song choices. Tracks like "Lumpy Gravy" and "The Orange County Lumber Truck" or the songs from Cruising With Ruben & the Jets would seem like obvious choices, but who would have ever thought "Jewish Princess" or "We Are Not Alone" would work in this context? (They do!!) "Aybe Sea" is another interesting choice that comes off really well, and what surf band in its right mind would even think of attempting "G-Spot Tornado"?? Well, the answer is the Invisible Birds, and they do a great job with it. "Baby Snakes" is utterly transformed by Don's Mobile Barbers by slowing it way down and putting it in a minor key. "Zoot Allures" isn't a surf tune, and it isn't treated as one here, but the Foolz sure do a nice job with it. "Peaches en Regalia" is also very well done, as is the version of "King Kong," with some monstrous fuzz bass and Dada madness at the end. "You're Probably Wondering Why I'm Here" slips inexplicably into Donna Summer's "I Feel Love" for a moment, but it's a moment Frank probably would have found pretty amusing (Zappa's own work was rife with stolen musical quotes). The title track is the only one with any vocals to speak of, but its inclusion was almost mandatory given the project. Lemme Take You to the Beach is a fun record that would be great for fans of that surfy sound who are looking for something a little more adventurous than "Wipe Out," and it will certainly please Zappa fans. Well done. - AllMusic Review by Sean Westergaard

trax:
1. Introduction - Phil Dirt 2. Lumpy Gravy - The Spoilers 3. Let's Make The Water Turn Black - The Atomic Mosquitos 4. The Orange County Lumber Truck - Fudge 5. Letter From Jeepers - Estrume'n'tal 6. Memories of El Monte - The Bitch Boys 7. Jewish Princess - Sr Bikini 8. G Spot Tornado - The Invisible Birds 9. Baby Snakes - Don's Mobile Barbers 10. We Are Not Alone - The Concaves 11. Zoot Allures - The Foolz 12. I Ain't Got No Heart - The Green Windows 13. Love Of My Life - The Muffinmates 14. Any Way The Wind Blows - The Diamondheads 15. I'm Not Satisfied - The Urban Surf Kings 16. You're Probably Wondering Why I'm Here - The Test Tone Five 17. Lumpy Gravy - Pavlov's Woody 18. Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance - Corky Niedermayer 19. Aybe Sea - Breakfastime 20. Peaches En Regalia - Pollo Del Mar 21. Willie The Pimp - The Vivisectors 22. Mr. Green Genes - The Thurston Lava Tube 23. King Kong - The Wrong Object 24. Cruising For Burgers - Robert Stevie Moore 25. The Air - Our Flying Saucer 26. If We'd All Been Living In California - If We'd All Been Living In California 27. Lemme Take You To The Beach - The Frankie & The Pool Boys