Help, I'm a Rock
| "Help, I'm a Rock" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by The Mothers of Invention | ||||
| from the album Freak Out! | ||||
| A-side | "How Could I Be Such a Fool" | |||
| Released | 1966 | |||
| Recorded | 1966, TTG Studios, Hollywood, California | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:12 (single version) 8:37 (album version) |
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| Label | Verve | |||
| Writer(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 experimental musicians Frank Zappa and Kim Fowley. It was recorded by Zappa along with the psychedelic rock band the Mothers of Invention, and the first full-length version appeared on the group's debut album Freak Out!, which was released on Verve Records on June 27, 1966 (see 1966 in music).[1] 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.[2]
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 MMG 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".[3] For the composition's unusual droning background sounds, the band emcompassed screams, duck calls, alien beeps and chatter, tribal chants, and erotic moans that simulated a female orgasm.[4] In the liner notes to Freak Out!, Zappa wrote: "'Help, I'm a Rock' is dedicated to Elvis Presley. Note the interesting formal structure and the stunning four-part barber shop harmony toward the end". He concludes his comments on the song by jokingly remarking about "the obvious lack of commercial potential. Ho hum".[5]
Originally, "Help, I'm a Rock" consisted of three suites: "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 suite, "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".[5] 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".[3] In 1967, psychedelic rock group the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band covered the song on their second album Part One.[6] 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'".[6]
References
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