Frank Zappa-Sheik Yerbouti (1979)

In 1977, Frank Zappa ended his time with Warner, becoming a free agent and soon after founding his own label, Zappa Records. "Sheik Yerbouti", the first album released under his own label, almost perfectly encapsulates the endless sonic experimentation that characterizes Zappa's career. Beneath his typical sarcasm, his songs brimming with obscenities, and his politically incorrect observations, Zappa showcased his most accessible and commercial side with this double album (if his music can even be called that). The repertoire consists of tracks recorded live during the late seventies, but overdubbed in the studio with various effects and vocal lines, creating one of the best live albums of the era. Except, of course, that it's not a live album in the conventional sense. Here appear almost all of Zappa's musical facets, ranging from the obscene rock comedy "I Have Been In You", the doo-wop-acid rock blues "Broken Hearts Are For Assholes", the jazz funk "City Of Tiny Lites", the psychedelic prog "Yo' Mama", the jam rock "Rat Tomago", or the satirical pop rock "Jones Crusher". Backed by an impressive roster of renowned musicians including Adrian Belew (guitar, vocals), Terry Bozzio (drums), Napoleon Murphy Brock (saxophone, vocals), and a host of top performers from the past and present of The Mothers of Invention, "Sheik Yerbouti" became Zappa's best-selling album, with over two million copies sold—an unprecedented feat for an anti-commercial, nonconformist, and anti-establishment musician who proclaimed his weariness with most of the sanctimonious, garbage music heard on radio and TV, which is still more clearly in force today than ever before.