We're Only in It for the Money

1	Are You Hung Up? 1968 1:25
2	Who Needs the Peace Corps? 1968 2:34
3	Concentration Moon 1968 2:22
4	Mom & Dad 2:16
5	Telephone Conversation 1968 0:48
6	Bow Tie Daddy 1968 0:33
7	Harry, You're a Beast 1968 1:21
8	What's the Ugliest Part of Your Body? 1968 1:03
9	Absolutely Free 1968 3:24
10	Flower Punk 1968 3:03
11	Hot Poop 1968 0:26
12	Nasal Retentive Calliope Music 1968 2:02
13	Let's Make the Water Turn Black 1968 2:01
14	The Idiot Bastard Son 1968 3:18
15	Lonely Little Girl 1968 1:09
16	Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance 1968 1:32
17	What's the Ugliest Part of Your Body? (Reprise) 1968 1:02
18	Mother People 1968 2:26
19	The Chrome Plated Megaphone of Destiny 1968 6:26

Barnes & Noble

Folks who were thrilled to be soaking in the summer of love might not have thrilled to its strains, but this sharp, cynical foray may be the single finest document of the era -- thanks to heaping helpings of Frank Zappa's abrasive humor and pigeonhole-defying compositions. Veering from dark, troubling rock missives like "Let's Make the Water Turn Black" to faux-'20s crooning like "Concentration Moon" (guaranteed to raise goose bumps on anyone who cares to listen close enough), this tour de force never lets the listener settle in for any easy listening. Although Zappa took shots at just about everyone over the course of the dizzying disc, he saved his harshest -- and most humorous -- criticism for his supposed allies in the hippie movement, as evidenced by "Who Needs the Peace Corps?" and the pseudo-biographical "Mother People." Long on musical intricacy -- especially evident in the hairpin twists and turns that transpire during interludes like "What's the Ugliest Part of Your Body?" and "Take Your Clothes off When You Dance." Proof positive that the punk mentality preceded punk rock by eons. David Sprague

All Music Guide

From the beginning, Frank Zappa cultivated a role as voice of the freaks -- imaginative outsiders who didn't fit comfortably into any group. We're Only in It for the Money is the ultimate expression of that sensibility, a satirical masterpiece that simultaneously skewered the hippies and the straights as prisoners of the same narrow-minded, superficial phoniness. Zappa's barbs were vicious and perceptive, and not just humorously so: his seemingly paranoid vision of authoritarian violence against the counterculture was borne out two years later by the Kent State killings. Like Freak Out, We're Only in It for the Money essentially devotes its first half to satire, and its second half to presenting alternatives. Despite some specific references, the first-half suite is still wickedly funny, since its targets remain immediately recognizable. The second half shows where his sympathies lie, with character sketches of Zappa's real-life freak acquaintances, a carefree utopia in "Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance," and the strident, unironic protest "Mother People." Regardless of how dark the subject matter, there's a pervasively surreal, whimsical flavor to the music, sort of like Sgt. Pepper as a creepy nightmare. Some of the instruments and most of the vocals have been manipulated to produce odd textures and cartoonish voices; most songs are abbreviated, segue into others through edited snippets of music and dialogue, or are broken into fragments by more snippets, consistently interrupting the album's continuity. Compositionally, though, the music reveals itself as exceptionally strong, and Zappa's politics and satirical instinct have rarely been so focused and relevant, making We're Only in It for the Money quite probably his greatest achievement. [Rykodisc's 1987 reissue restored passages censored on the LP, but included re-recorded rhythm tracks and sounded quite different. Their 1995 re-reissue contained both the original music and content edits.] Steve Huey