10. Frank ZappaHot Rats
Zappa divides opinion massively. Bottom line is, he’s a dick. And you can’t escape it. The years as they’ve gone on have been less kind to him. His later stuff is horrible – misogynistic, very jock-ish. He was famously anti-drugs, would fine band members if they used drugs. He was very showy too. I’ve got a bunch of his records and I never listen to them… apart from Hot Rats, which I just love. The cover is fantastic and deeply unsettling. The band playing it are insanely talented – Ian Underwood, Shuggie Otis… Beefheart. For me, the album is the first two tracks. ‘Willie The Pimp’ has one of my favourite guitar solos ever – it’s completely mind-melting. Zappa had a really big following in Liverpool amongst casuals – I remember going up there in the ’90s and seeing his name daubed on walls in emulsion. Considering how much he hated drugs, he really did seem to connect with stoners.
