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Brown Shoes Don't Make It

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Wikipedia article




'"Brown Shoes Don't Make It"' is a song by The Mothers of Invention, written by band leader Frank Zappa. It is the 14th and penultimate song on their second album 'Absolutely Free'. The song is one of his most widely renowned works, declared by the 'AllMusic' as "Zappa's first real masterpiece".

History



The title was inspired by an event covered by 'Time' magazine reporter Hugh Sidey in 1966. The reporter correctly guessed that something was amiss when the fastidiously dressed President Lyndon B. Johnson made the sartorial faux pas of wearing brown shoes with a gray suit. Johnson flew to Vietnam for a surprise public relations visit later that day.

Live versions of this song are featured on the albums 'Tinsel Town Rebellion' and 'Road Tapes, Venue 2'.

Music and lyrics



The song was written in April 1966 during a trip to Honolulu where The Mothers played for a week at a club called "Da Swamp". The lyrics are derived from Zappa's belief that people who make laws are sexually maladjusted. It starts as a general attack on suburban American society: TV, greed and conformity are all mocked openly. The story then moves to a city hall official fantasizing about having sex with a thirteen-year-old girl.

The music makes several stylistic shifts, covering hard rock, classical, psychedelic rock, vaudeville and jazz. It is cited by AllMusic as being a "condensed two-hour musical". The song lasts 7:30 and is the twelfth track (fourteenth on CD reissues) on 'Absolutely Free'. According to Zappa, the beginning background music was inspired by Lightnin' Slim's "Have Your Way".

Reception



The song has received widespread acclaim from critics, and is considered by many as "Zappa's first masterpiece". In a positive review of the album, Dominique Chevalier said "there are snatches of dodecaphonic scales, ballads, rock, R&B, Beach Boys, soap opera and more ... and ensures that this is no piece of easy listening".Chevalier, Dominique "Viva Zappa!" 1985 Page 62 As well as giving its parent album 4.5 stars, AllMusic gave a very positive review of the song.http://www.allmusic.com/song/brown-shoes-dont-make-it-t998763 allmusic review It is also included in The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.

Personnel



*Frank Zappa guitar, vocals

*Jimmy Carl Black drums, vocals

*Ray Collins vocals, tambourine

*Roy Estrada bass, vocals

*Bunk Gardner woodwinds

*Billy Mundi drums, percussion

*Don Preston keyboards

*Jim Fielder guitar, piano

with:

*Suzy Creamcheese (Lisa Cohen) vocals

*Jim Getzoff violin

*Marshall Sosson violin

*Alvin Dinkin viola

*Armand Kaproff cello

*Don Ellis trumpet

*John Rotella contrabass clarinet

References




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