One Size Fits All
Encyclopedia
One Size Fits All is a 1975 rock
album by Frank Zappa
and The Mothers of Invention
. It is the last Zappa album to be released with the subheading of "Mothers of Invention". A special four-channel Quadraphonic
version of the album was prepared and advertised, but not released.
The album features the final version of The Mothers of Invention
, with George Duke
, Chester Thompson
, Ruth Underwood
, Tom Fowler and Napoleon Murphy Brock
. Zappa continued to tour and record, oftentimes with members of previous "Mothers of Invention" lineups.
The album itself features one of Zappa's most complex and well-known tracks, "Inca Roads". One of Zappa's heroes, Johnny "Guitar" Watson, guests on two tracks.
Early U.S. LP pressings of One Size Fits All are particularly notable, for two reasons:
In 1988, One Size Fits All was released on CD
by Rykodisc
.
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
album by Frank Zappa
Frank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed...
and The Mothers of Invention
The Mothers of Invention
The Mothers of Invention were an American band active from 1964 to 1969, and again from 1970 to 1975.They mainly performed works by, and were the original recording group of, US composer and guitarist Frank Zappa , although other members have had the occasional writing credit...
. It is the last Zappa album to be released with the subheading of "Mothers of Invention". A special four-channel Quadraphonic
Quadraphonic
Quadraphonic sound – the most widely used early term for what is now called 4.0 surround sound – uses four channels in which speakers are positioned at the four corners of the listening space, reproducing signals that are independent of one another...
version of the album was prepared and advertised, but not released.
The album features the final version of The Mothers of Invention
The Mothers of Invention
The Mothers of Invention were an American band active from 1964 to 1969, and again from 1970 to 1975.They mainly performed works by, and were the original recording group of, US composer and guitarist Frank Zappa , although other members have had the occasional writing credit...
, with George Duke
George Duke
George Duke is a multi-faceted American musician, known as a keyboard pioneer, composer, singer and producer in both jazz and popular mainstream musical genres. He has worked with numerous acclaimed artists as arranger, music director, writer and co-writer, record producer and professor of music...
, Chester Thompson
Chester Thompson
Chester Cortez Thompson is an American drummer and session musician.-Biography:Thompson made his name as a session drummer, going on to play in Frank Zappa's touring band and with Weather Report...
, Ruth Underwood
Ruth Underwood
Ruth Underwood is a retired professional musician, best known for playing xylophone, marimba, vibraphone and other percussion instruments in Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention from 1967 to 1977....
, Tom Fowler and Napoleon Murphy Brock
Napoleon Murphy Brock
Napoleon Murphy Brock is an American singer, saxophonist and flute player who is best known for his work with Frank Zappa in the 1970s, including the albums One Size Fits All, Roxy and Elsewhere, and Bongo Fury...
. Zappa continued to tour and record, oftentimes with members of previous "Mothers of Invention" lineups.
The album itself features one of Zappa's most complex and well-known tracks, "Inca Roads". One of Zappa's heroes, Johnny "Guitar" Watson, guests on two tracks.
Early U.S. LP pressings of One Size Fits All are particularly notable, for two reasons:
- Many early copies contain a skip during "Inca Roads" at approximately 4:40 into the track. This error was a manufacturing defect not caught during the test pressing stage. The album was recalled after the mistake was caught, but a significant number had already been sold. The highly complex nature of the music made it difficult to recognize the error without comparing it to the correct version.
- Some copies also have the catalog number "BS 2879" inscribed - and crossed out - in the runoff matrix, indicating that at one point One Size Fits All was (perhaps mistakenly) planned to be released on Warner Bros. RecordsWarner Bros. RecordsWarner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
, whose Reprise RecordsReprise RecordsReprise Records is an American record label, founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operated through Warner Bros. Records.-Beginnings:...
subsidiary distributed Zappa's DiscReet RecordsDiscReet RecordsDiscReet Records was a company founded by Frank Zappa and his then business partner/manager Herb Cohen. It was created in 1973 when their previous companies Bizarre Records and Straight Records were discontinued...
label. The album was ultimately released on DiscReet with a catalog number in Reprise's sequence, DS 2216. Warner Bros. did not reassign the number BS 2879 to another album.
In 1988, One Size Fits All was released on CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
by Rykodisc
Rykodisc
Rykodisc Records is an American record label. It is owned by Warner Music Group, operates as a unit of WMG's Independent Label Group and is distributed through Alternative Distribution Alliance.-Company history:...
.
Side one
- "Inca Roads" – 8:45
- "Can't Afford No Shoes" – 2:38
- "Sofa No. 1" – 2:39
- "Po-Jama People" – 7:39
Side two
- "Florentine Pogen" – 5:27
- "Evelyn, a Modified Dog" – 1:04
- "San Ber'dino" – 5:57
- "Andy" – 6:04
- "Sofa No. 2" – 2:42
Musicians
- Frank ZappaFrank ZappaFrank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed...
– vocals, guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with... - George DukeGeorge DukeGeorge Duke is a multi-faceted American musician, known as a keyboard pioneer, composer, singer and producer in both jazz and popular mainstream musical genres. He has worked with numerous acclaimed artists as arranger, music director, writer and co-writer, record producer and professor of music...
– keyboards, vocals, backing vocals, synthesizerSynthesizerA synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones... - Ruth UnderwoodRuth UnderwoodRuth Underwood is a retired professional musician, best known for playing xylophone, marimba, vibraphone and other percussion instruments in Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention from 1967 to 1977....
– marimbaMarimbaThe marimba is a musical instrument in the percussion family. It consists of a set of wooden keys or bars with resonators. The bars are struck with mallets to produce musical tones. The keys are arranged as those of a piano, with the accidentals raised vertically and overlapping the natural keys ...
, vibraphoneVibraphoneThe vibraphone, sometimes called the vibraharp or simply the vibes, is a musical instrument in the struck idiophone subfamily of the percussion family....
, percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration... - Johnny "Guitar" Watson – vocals
- James "Bird Legs" Youman – bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Chester ThompsonChester ThompsonChester Cortez Thompson is an American drummer and session musician.-Biography:Thompson made his name as a session drummer, going on to play in Frank Zappa's touring band and with Weather Report...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, sound effects, voices - Tom Fowler – bass guitar
- Captain BeefheartCaptain BeefheartDon Van Vliet January 15, 1941 December 17, 2010) was an American musician, singer-songwriter and artist best known by the stage name Captain Beefheart. His musical work was conducted with a rotating ensemble of musicians called The Magic Band, active between 1965 and 1982, with whom he recorded 12...
(credited as 'Bloodshot Rollin' Red') – harmonicaHarmonicaThe harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes... - Napoleon Murphy BrockNapoleon Murphy BrockNapoleon Murphy Brock is an American singer, saxophonist and flute player who is best known for his work with Frank Zappa in the 1970s, including the albums One Size Fits All, Roxy and Elsewhere, and Bongo Fury...
– tenor saxophoneTenor saxophoneThe tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble...
, vocals, backing vocals, fluteFluteThe flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
Production staff
- Kerry McNabb (credited as Kerry McNab) – engineer, remixing
- Cal SchenkelCal SchenkelCal Schenkel is an artist specialising in album cover design. He was the main visual collaborator for Frank Zappa and was responsible for the art and graphic design of many of Zappa's most well-known album covers. Schenkel's work is iconic and distinctive in style; a forerunner of punk art and...
– design, illustrations, paintings - Robert Stone – engineer
- Michael Braunstein – engineer
- Unity – assistant engineer
- Dick Barber – assistant engineer, assistant
- Gary O. – engineer
- Ferenc Dobronyi – design
- J.E. Tully – design
- Coy Featherstone – assistant engineer
- Paul Hof – assistant engineer, assistant
- Matti Laipio – voices, assistant engineer
- Bill Romero – voices, assistant engineer
- Richard "Tex" Abel – assistant engineer, assistant
- Jukka – engineer
Charts
Album| Year | Chart | Peak |
|---|---|---|
| 1975 | Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
26 |