Frank Zappa Thought Folk Rock Was A Drag

In the early days of The Mothers of Invention when Frank Zappa was still hungry, he did something he probably wouldn't have considered later in his career after meeting with success; a blatant commercial product endorsement. The ad to the left was actually one of several to which Zappa lent his image for the Hagstrom Guitar Company. It was a bold move on the part of the manufacturer, not only in their choice of spokesperson, but also in their approach; the anti-ad campaign wherein one thing is stated, but another is implied. Despite its negative sales pitch, Zappa's underground status no doubt lent street credibility to their wares, and the text neatly summed up Zappa's unwavering disdain of the folk rock genre, hence the smaller tag line toward the bottom of the page reading, 'Freedom of Speech.' Note the way Frank held the guitar with only one finger, as though he were afraid to touch it for fear it may be somehow contaminated.

Zappa's opinions regarding folk rock certainly didn't deter the genre from growing in popularity however, as more and more groups, particularly those in L.A. mid to late 1960's, turned to electro/acoustic guitars for additional texture in their new hybrid material. The Byrds who are largely credited for giving birth to the genre were huge in their time (and at the time of this ad), and Roger McGuinn almost singularly made 12 string guitars a fashionable instrument of choice. Others followed in their footsteps too, as the deep-rooted acoustic folk scene collided head-on with the electric jangle of the British Invasion, creating a new, refreshing and well needed take on an old form. I might add as well, that the incursion from the British Isles came none too soon. Jazz and blues notwithstanding, the folk 'scare' of the 60's threatened to keep American pop music squarely in the realm of mediocrity if it had continued unabated, leaving us with a choice between the schmaltzy white bread pap of Steve Lawrence, Eydie Gorme, Mitch Miller and their ilk on one hand, or the fiddle and banjo caterwaul that nearly buried rock and roll under one too many hootenannies on the other. Imagine your life today! The Brits thankfully reminded Americans of the power and potential of rock as a creative expression, and we owe them eternally from the balcony of our minds to the basement of our hearts. God save the Queen!

Of course, folk rock has now become so much larger than the small corner it once occupied in pop music. Without pointing fingers, I'd have to agree with Zappa that some of it's early practitioner's bordered on MOR pop, but then again, many of the finest pop songs to emerge from the United States in the 1960's and 70's, came directly from the folk rock canon. This in turn spawned the English electric folk equivalent which followed, and from there, the lines rapidly began to blur, incorporating singer/songwriters, Celtic rock, folk punk, alt-country, Americana, and the twee neo-folk of today. To attempt a comprehensive overview of all the forms that folk rock has taken since it's inception would be a huge undertaking, and it's one that I am not prepared to tackle, nor would you likely be interested in hearing. But in this week's mix are 42 examples of the genre that are both new and old, British and American, acoustic and electric, all hopefully serving to disprove Zappa's one time contention that 'Folk Rock is a Drag.'

Part One

1) Sit Down, I Think I Love You/Buffalo Springfield
2) I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better/Byrds
3) Tell Me Why/Beau Brummels
4) Subterranean Homesick Blues/Bob Dylan
5) California Dreaming/Mamas & Papas
6) She Comes In Colors/Love
7) I'm Looking Through You/Beatles
8) Do You Believe In Magic?/Lovin' Spoonful
9) Outside Chance/Turtles
10) Everything But Time/Critters
11) Beside You/Van Morrison
12) Don't Make Promises/Tim Hardin
13) Live/Merry-Go-Round
14) Killing Me/Aztec Two-Step
15) Mrs. Robinson/Simon & Garfunkel
16) Darkness, Darkness/Youngbloods
17) They Who Have Nothing/Clear Light
18) Rollin' Home/Eric Andersen
19) Box Of Rain/Grateful Dead
20) This Flight Tonight/Joni Mitchell
21) Mississippi Summer/Oyster Band w/June Tabor
22) Reno, Nevada/Ian Matthews
23) Sally Free And Easy/Pentangle
24) Hazey Jane II/Nick Drake

Part Two

25) Tell Me Why/Neil Young
26) I Don't Know Where I Stand/Fairport Convention
27) Carry On/CSN&Y
28) Seed Of Memory/Terry Reid
29) On The Streets Of This Town/Steve Forbert
30) Wall Of Death/Richard & Linda Thompson
31) The Way I Feel/Fotheringay w/Sandy Denny
32) Talk About The Passion/R.E.M.
33) Backwards And Forwards/Aztec Camera
34) A Life Of Sundays/Waterboys
35) King Of California/Dave Alvin
36) Don't Need You/Alejandro Escovedo
37) Fearless/American Music Club
38) Out Of The Picture/Son Volt
39) Wichita/Jayhawks
40) Get Me Away From Here, I'm Dying/Belle & Sebastian
41) Guess I'm Doing Fine/Beck
42) I Had This To Say/Clientele

To download Part One, click here. For Part Two, here.