An Anthropological Angle

Overall, if I were to name one lastingly significant contribution Zappa made to the world of rock & pop music it would have to be the concept of using band dialogue, character and other captured aspects of the recording process, to give character to an album. I'm sure somewhere in his catalogue Zappa would've had a word for this as I would certainly presume him the inventor of the technique. When one realizes this was the artist solely to invent the concept album (NOT THE BEATLES), there are lots of considerations to make on the part of what that means. What is the concept to Sergeant Pepper's? Does it matter? I think it's pretty obvious but it really has no relation to the melodies or tunes themselves, it comes out textually. One might take a few seconds when they first hear the title track to be like "wait, isn't this the Beatles not...." and then have someone nudge them and say "duude, its like, a concept, y'know. [cough] Here, smoke this [cough], you'll get it." For Zappa his band was his concept and when he could actually get what they said to tape (which was almost all the time), he often put it on the record. His lyrics, generally, were based on things his band members had said, not completely fabricated and oblique, grandiose fantasies. This gives a unique character to his albums and is a tradition that has gone on to become a fairly commonplace staple of rock records. How many times have you heard a 4-count before a punk tune, or the tape roll to catch the drummer saying "was that recording?". While there are different levels of intention with which these are included on a record they ultimately bring the listener closer into the act of recording the song or album and the atmosphere the band themselves give to it. This type of anthropological documentation is most definitely one of Zappa's most significant contributions to the tradition of rock.