History Music / CruisingWithRubenAndTheJets

* RepurposedPopSong: Some songs are new and different recordings of material from ''Music/FreakOutAlbum'', namely "How Could I Be Such a Fool", "I'm Not Satisfied", "You Didn't Try to Call Me" and "Anyway the Wind Blows".

''Cruising with Ruben & the Jets'' is a 1968 album by Music/FrankZappa, in which he and the Mothers of Invention play under the monicker of the FakeBand ''Ruben & The Jets''. The entire album is a nostalgic {{Homage}}[=/=]AffectionateParody to 1950s {{Doowop}}, of whom Zappa was a fan.

At the time ''Cruising with Ruben & the Jets'' was considered to be a remarkable departure from Zappa's trademark style. There was no political {{Satire}}, no sudden experimental changes, no combination of [[GenreRoulette different musical styles]], and no bawdy comedy. For Zappa's already small fanbase this was a huge AudienceAlienatingPremise. Especially since many hippie youngsters considered {{Doowop}} to be completely unhip and passé. As a result many Zappa fans were initially perplexed and disappointed, a reaction this album can still conjure today. [[ParodyDisplacement Especially with later generations who, unfamiliar with doowop, may think Zappa is overdoing it with all the high pitched silly voices and greasy arrangements]]. However, it has been VindicatedByHistory as a very enjoyable easy-listening experience and very accessible compared to many of his other albums.

In a case of LifeImitatesArt/ TheRedStapler a man named Rubén Guevara started a group named ''Ruben & The Jets'' in the 1970s. Their debut album was aptly titled ''For Real! (1973)'' and produced by Music/FrankZappa too! He even performed the guitar solo during ''Dedicated To The One I Love'' and Mothers of Invention band member, Jim "Motorhead" Sherwood played baritone sax. Despite that the songs on that album were all new compositions.

Unfortunately, when releasing ''Cruising With Ruben & The Jets'' on CD in the 1980s Zappa replaced the bass and drum tracks with a New Wavesound, which completely destroys the authentic doo-wop sound he mimicked in the 1960s. For a long time this butchered TheNotRemix was the only available version of this album on CD, which made collectors [[KeepCirculatingTheTapes search for the original]] vinyl version instead. In 2010 the original album was finally released as it was intended, be it under a different name and album cover: ''Greasy Love Songs''. The [=UMe=] remasters of Zappa's catalogue, released in 2012, used the 80s remixed version of this album.

!! Tracklist

''''

** "Cheap Thrills" re-uses the line "up and down my spine" from "Wowie Zowie" from ''Music/FreakOut''.

** Ruben & The Jets would reappear in the liner notes of the album ''Music/UncleMeat'', where Zappa wrote down a script for a movie he once planned on making. In his script ''The Story Of Uncle Meat'' Ruben and The Jets are a band brainwashed by Uncle Meat to seduce the youth. Zappa also explains that the weird noses of the band were created by a nasal mist squeezer which made them erect.

** Different versions of "Anyway The Wind Blows" and "Fountain of Love" can be heard on Zappa's "The Lost Episodes" (1995).

* FakeBand: Ruben & The Jets even received a fake backstory in the liner notes. Averted when Ruben & the Jets indeed became a real band for a couple of years, separate from Zappa's camp (their debut album, produced by Zappa, was even titled, ''For Real!'')

* {{Homage}}: Zappa was inspired to pay homage to all the doowop and pachuco bands from the 1950s he liked so much, and by Music/IgorStravinsky's neoclassical music, in which the 20th century composer made pastiches of 18th century classical baroque music. In a stretch of dialogue included on ''Greasey Love Songs'', Zappa even mentions hiding Stravinsky references inside ''Cruising''.

* {{Lampshading}}: The album cover looks like it's made by a band named Ruben & The Jets, though a text balloon informs us: "Is this the Mothers of Invention recording under a different name in a last ditch attempt to get their cruddy music on the radio?"

* NewSoundAlbum: To the average listener this album doesn't sound new or innovative, but to Zappa fans familiar with the psychedelic/neo-classical/musique concrète/jazz fusion rock sound like on ''Music/FreakOut'' or ''Music/WereOnlyInItForTheMoney'', it is.

* RepurposedPopSong: Some songs are new and different recordings of material from ''Music/{{Freak Out}}'', namely "How Could I Be Such a Fool", "I'm Not Satisfied", "You Didn't Try To Call Me" and "Anyway The Wind Blows".

* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: "I'm Not Satisfied". "Stuff Up rhe Cracks" takes a morbid turn with this, by having the protagonist consider suicide over a broken love.

** Four songs appeared earlier on ''Music/{{Freak Out}}'', in different forms.

** A live version of "Love Of My Life" appeared on Zappa's ''Music/TinseltownRebellion'' (1981).
** Different versions of "Anyway The Wind Blows" and "Fountain Of Love" can be heard on Zappa's "The Lost Episodes" (1995).

* QuestioningTitle: "How Could I Be Such A Fool?"

* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: "I'm Not Satisfied". "Stuff Up The Cracks" takes a morbid turn with this, by having the protagonist consider suicide over a broken love.

** The introductory notes of Music/IgorStravinsky's ''Theatre/TheRiteOfSpring'' are heard at the start of "Fountain Of Love" and an extract from "Sincerly" by {{Doowop}} band The Moonglows is heard during the "ooohs" and Frank's baritone vocals.

** The album cover of ''Music/JustAnotherBandFromLA'' claims that "any similarities between this album cover and the one for ''Music/CruisingWithRubenAndTheJets'' are purely coincidental".

At the time ''Cruising with Ruben & the Jets'' was considered to be a remarkable departure from Zappa's trademark style. There was no political {{Satire}}, no sudden experimental changes, no combination of [[GenreRoulette different musical styles]], and no bawdy comedy. For Zappa's already small fanbase this was a huge AudienceAlienatingPremise. Especially since many hippie youngsters considered {{Doowop}} to be completely unhip and passé. As a result many Zappa fans were initially perplexed and disappointed, a reaction this album can still conjure today. [[WeirdAlEffect Especially with later generations who, unfamiliar with doowop, may think Zappa is overdoing it with all the high pitched silly voices and greasy arrangements]]. However, it has been VindicatedByHistory as a very enjoyable easy-listening experience and very accessible compared to many of his other albums.

* ManlyTears: "You Didn't Try to Call Me" and "Later That Night", takes this UpToEleven.

'''Personnel'''

* GeorgeLucasAlteredVersion / ReCut: ''Cruising'', along with Zappa's other albums, were remixed in studio between 1986-1995. ''Cruising'' and ''Music/WereOnlyInItForTheMoney'' received massive bass and drums overdubs using 80s production techniques, along with effects like digital reverb, which changed the entire tone of the album. Despite [=UMe=]'s 2012 reissue series using the original analog tapes as remastering sources, ''Cruising''[='=]s 1986 remix made it onto the 2012 reissue, because the original version of the album was remastered and reissued under the name of ''Greasy Love Songs''.

''Cruising with Ruben & the Jets'' is a 1968 album by Music/FrankZappa, in which he and the Mothers of Invention play under the monicker of the FakeBand ''Ruben & The Jets''. The entire album is a nostalgic {{Homage}}/ AffectionateParody to 1950s {{Doowop}}, of whom Zappa was a fan.

* {{DooWop}} and DoowopProgression: Duh!

'''Cruising with Ruben & the Jets''' is a 1968 album by Music/FrankZappa, in which he and the Mothers of Invention play under the monicker of the FakeBand ''Ruben & The Jets''. The entire album is a nostalgic {{Homage}}/ AffectionateParody to 1950s {{Doowop}}, of whom Zappa was a fan.

* GenreAdultery: This album was considered an ununusual departure in his oeuvre. It contains no pointed political {{Satire}}, no BawdySong material, no sudden musical experimentations, no clashing of different musical genres, but is just an honest, straight faced {{Homage}}/{{Pastiche}} to the {{Doowop}} bands he adored. For his fans this was a huge AudienceAlienatingPremise.

# ""No. No. No."" (2:16)

[[caption-width-right:350: ''"Is this the Mothers of Invention recording under a different name in a last ditch attempt to get their cruddy music on the radio?"'']]

# "Cheap Thrills" - 2:39
# "Love of My Life" - 3:08
# "How Could I Be Such a Fool?" - 3:34
# "Deseri" - 2:09
# "I'm Not Satisfied" - 4:08
# "Jelly Roll Gum Drop" - 2:24
# "Anything" - 3:06
# "Later That Night" - 3:00
# "You Didn't Try to Call Me" - 3:58
# "Fountain of Love" - 3:22
# ""No. No. No."" - 2:16
# "Anyway the Wind Blows" - 3:02
# "Stuff Up the Cracks" - 4:38

** A live version of "Love Of My Life" appeared on Zappa's "Tinseltown Rebellion" (1981).

* DoowopProgression: Duh!

** The introductory notes of Music/IgorStravinsky's ''Theatre/TheRiteOfSpring'' are heard at the start of "Fountain Of Love" and an extract from "Sincerly" by The Moonglows is heard during the "ooohs" and Frank's baritone vocals.

!! Cheap tropes, up and down my spine, I need it, I need it, 'cause I feel so fine...

* BreakupSong: "Stuff Up the Cracks", "Later That Night", "You Didn't Try to Call Me", "Anyway the Wind Blows" and "How Could I Be Such a Fool".

* GeorgeLucasAlteredVersion / ReCut: ''Cruising'', along with Zappa's other albums, were remixed in studio between 1986-1995. '"Cruising'' and ''We're Only in It for the Money'' received massive bass and drums overdubs using 80s production techniques, along with effects like digital reverb, which changed the entire tone of the album. Despite [=UMe=]'s 2012 reissue series using the original analog tapes as remastering sources, ''Cruising''[='=]s 1986 remix made it onto the 2012 reissue, because the original version of the album was remastered and reissued under the name of ''Greasey Love Songs''.

** The album cover of ''Music/JustFromAnotherBandFromLA'' claims that "any similarities between this album cover and the one for ''Music/CruisingWithRubenAndTheJets'' are purely coincidental".

Unfortunately, when releasing ''Cruising With Ruben & The Jets'' on CD in the 1980s Zappa replaced the drum tracks with a New Wavesound, which completely destroys the authentic doowop sound he mimicked in the 1960s. For a long time this butchered TheNotRemix was the only available version of this album on CD, which made collectors [[KeepCirculatingTheTapes search for the original]] vinyl version instead. In 2010 the original album was finally released as it was intended, be it under a different name and album cover: ''Greasy Love Songs''.

# "Cheap Thrills" (2:39)
# "Love Of My Life" (3:08)
# "How Could I Be Such A Fool?" (3:34)
# "Deseri" (2:09)
# "I'm Not Satisfied" (4:08)
# "Jelly Roll Gum Drop" (2:24)
# "Anything" (3:06)
# "Later That Night" (3:00)
# "You Didn't Try To Call Me" (3:58)
# "Fountain Of Love" (3:22)
# "No. No. No." (2:16)
# "Anyway The Wind Blows" (3:02)
# "Stuff Up The Cracks" (4:38)

* AffectionateParody: The cheesy and greasy songs hold the middle between a cartoony, ironic parody and an affectionate homage to doowop.

* BreakupSong: "Stuff Up The Cracks", "Later That Night", "You Didn't Try To Call Me", "Anyway The Wind Blows" and "How Could I Be Such A Fool".

** Four songs appeared earlier on ''Music/{{Freak Out}}''.

** "Later That Night" references dogs and collar, which are part of Zappa's conceptual continuity.

* FakeBand: Ruben & The Jets even receive a fake backstory in the liner notes.
* {{Homage}}: Zappa was inspired to pay homage to all the doowop bands from the 1950s he liked so much by Music/IgorStravinsky's neoclassical music in which the 20th century composer made pastiches of 18th century classical baroque music.

* JustHereForGodzilla: ''Cheap Thrills'', a song about getting some ''cheap thrills''.

* LyricalDissonance: "Stuff Up The Cracks", about a man who decides to stick his head in the oven and end it all, because his lover left him. The jolly arrangement makes the listener glance over this dark subject matter, which consequently is also the closing track of the album, making this an example of a LastNoteNightmare.

* ManlyTears: "You Didn't Try To Call Me" and "Later That Night", takes this UpToEleven.
* NewSoundAlbum: To the average listener this album doesn't sound new or innovative, but to Zappa fans familiar with stuff like ''Music/FreakOut'' or ''Music/WereOnlyInItForTheMoney'' it is.

* RepurposedPopSong: Some songs are new and different recordings of material from ''Music/{{Freak Out}}'', namely "How Could I Be Such A Fool", "I'm Not Satisfied", "You Didn't Try To Call Me" and "Anyway The Wind Blows".

* SpokenWordInMusic: "Later That Night", "Love Of My Life" and "You Didn't Try To Call Me" have a parlando.

Unfortunately, when releasing ''Cruising With Ruben & The Jets'' on CD in the 1980s Zappa replaced the drum tracks with a New Wavesound, which completely destroys the authentic doowop sound he mimicked in the 1960s. For a long time this butchered TheNotRemix was the only available version of this album on CD, which made collectors [[KeepCirculatingTheTapes search for the original]] vinyl version instead. In 2010 the original album was finally released as it was intended, be it under a different name and album cover: ''Greasy Love Songs''.

''Cruising with Ruben & the Jets'' is a 1968 album by Music/FrankZappa, in which he and the Mothers of Invention play under the monicker of the FakeBand ''Ruben & The Jets''. The entire album is a nostalgic {{Homage}}/ AffectionateParody to 1950s {{Doowop}}, of whom Zappa was a fan.