Help, I'm a Rock

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"Help, I'm a Rock"
Help, I'm a Rock.jpg
Single by The Mothers of Invention
from the album Freak Out!
A-side "How Could I Be Such a Fool"
Released1966
RecordedMarch 12, 1966
Studio TTG Studios, Hollywood, California
Genre
Length3:12 (single version)
8:37 (album version)
Label Verve
Songwriter(s) Frank Zappa
Producer(s) Tom Wilson
The Mothers of Invention singles chronology
"Help, I'm a Rock"
(1966)
"Trouble Every Day"
(1966)

"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. [1]

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". [2] 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. [3] 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". [4]

"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". [4] 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". [2]

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. [5]

In 1967, psychedelic rock group the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band recorded 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]

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References

  1. "Pretty Pat". globalia.net. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
  2. 1 2 "No. 28 "Help I'm a Rock"". psychedelicsight.com. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
  3. Contour, Francois. "Help, I'm a Rock - Review". allmusic.com. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
  4. 1 2 Zappa, Frank (2012), Freak Out! (CD booklet), Zappa Records
  5. Hoffman, Jesse. "The Mothers of Invention - Freak Out!". itsfluffy.com. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
  6. 1 2 Unterberger, Richie. "Part One - Review". allmusic.com. Retrieved February 17, 2016.