An introduction to Zappa: The Muffin Man

Quoting Frank Zappa’s lyrics from the introductory spoken part: The Muffin Man is seated at the table in the laboratory of the utility muffin research kitchen. Reaching for an over-sized chromed spoon, he gathers an intimate quantity of dried muffin remnience and brushing his scapular aside proceeds to dump these inside of his shirt. He turns to us and speaks. «Some people like cupcakes better, but I for one care less for them.» Arrogantly twisting the sterile canvas snute of a fully charged icing enointment utensil he puts forth a quarterounce green rosette near the summit of a dense but radiant muffin of his own design. Later he says: «Some people, some people like cupcakes exclusively while myself I say there is not nor aren’t there be nothing so exalted on the face of God’s great earth as that prince of foods; the MUFFIN!»

FULL CHANGE! Zappa drønner igang sine fete gittarriff. Zappa synger ut de siste kakestrofene med dyp fyldig stemme:

Girl you thought he was a man, but he was a muffin. He hung around till you found that he didn’t know nothing. Girl you thought he was a man, but he only was a puffin…..»

Muffin Man anbefales varmt som den perfekte introduksjon til Zappa – for de som fortsatt måtte befinne seg uvitende om innholdet hans musikalske skattekiste. Her får vi smakebiter på hans forkjærlighet for blåsere og «sirkusmusikk», hans unike verbalhumor kommer tydelig fram – og ikke minst: kaskader av røffe, drivende riff og «take no prisoner» gitarsoloer på høyeste nivå! Muffin Man er siste kutt på Zappas 1975 utgivelse Bongo Fury (i samarbeid med Captain Beefheart) – et liveopptak fra en konsert i Austin, Texas.