Easy Meat

Album: Tinsel Town Rebellion (1981)
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Songfacts®:

  • This song is described by Zappa biographer Barry Miles as "another derogatory attack on women." In his thoroughly researched book, Miles accuses Zappa of double standards, i.e. professing to be in favor of the sexual revolution, and then deriding women with songs like "Crew Slut."

    It is difficult to take issue with this claim, especially as Zappa included "Easy Meat" on the compilation album You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore, Vol. 5 wherein, running to 7 minutes 38 seconds, it appears as track one on Disc 2; the very next track is "Dead Girls Of London," which was written as a polemic against girls who for him were not such easy meat!

    That being said, this track has much to commend it provided one listens only to the middle, instrumental section. Live, rhythm guitarist Ike Willis would perform the bulk of the vocals while Zappa, holding a baton, would walk around the stage conducting the band. Then he would pick up his axe and play a blistering guitar solo totally and pleasingly out of context with the lyrics. Some of these extant recordings are - ahem, music to the ear - especially when with his use of sustain he sounds less like a raging misogynist than like Carlos Santana. >>
    Suggestion credit:
    Alexander Baron - London, England

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