''For Real!'' is an album by

Ruben and the Jets Ruben and the Jets was an American rock and roll band from Los Angeles, California. The band originated as an alias for The Mothers of Invention, Frank Zappa's band, to release ''Cruising with Ruben & the Jets'' (1968). Later, musician Rubén Gu ...

, and the debut of musician Rubén Guevara Jr.'s new lineup, after the group name had previously been used as an alias of

The Mothers of Invention The Mothers of Invention (also known as the Mothers) were an American rock music, rock band from California. Formed in 1964, their work is marked by the use of sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Originally an ...

in 1968. Released in 1973, ''For Real!'' was produced by

Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American guitarist, composer, and bandleader. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa composed Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, jazz fusion, orchestra ...

, who wrote the first track and played guitar on the second track. The album consists of

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated within African American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predomina ...

and

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...

music.

Background

During a recording session, engineer Richard Kunc and

the Mothers of Invention The Mothers of Invention (also known as the Mothers) were an American rock music, rock band from California. Formed in 1964, their work is marked by the use of sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Originally an ...

discussed their high school days and love for

doo-wop Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a subgenre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, ...

songs. Ray Collins and some of the other members of the band started singing and performing the songs, and

suggested that they record an album of doo wop music. Collins later left the Mothers of Invention, and Zappa began working on a project entitled ''No Commercial Potential'', which included doo-wop and

experimental pop Experimental pop is pop music that cannot be categorized within traditional musical boundaries or which attempts to push elements of existing popular forms into new areas. It may incorporate experimental music, experimental techniques such as m ...

songs which were later reconstituted into a

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...

called ''

Cruising with Ruben & the Jets ''Cruising with Ruben & the Jets'' is the fourth album by the Mothers of Invention, and fifth overall by Frank Zappa, released under the alias Ruben and the Jets. Released on December 2, 1968 on Bizarre and Verve Records with distribution by MG ...

'' (1968). Zappa described the songs in the doo-wop sessions as an homage to the 1950s vocal music that he was "crazy" about. Collins rejoined the Mothers of Invention for the doo-wop sessions, as his high falsetto was suited for the recordings. Although the recordings generally tried faithfully to reproduce the sound of 1950s doo wop and

, the arrangements included quotes from

Igor Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ( – 6 April 1971) was a Russian composer and conductor with French citizenship (from 1934) and American citizenship (from 1945). He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century c ...

pieces and unusual chord changes and tempos. For the album's release, the Mothers of Invention adopted the alias Ruben & the Jets. The album was popular with radio stations, as they believed it to be an unearthed doo wop album by an unknown 1950s band. A single was issued ("Deseri" b/w "Jelly Roll Gum Drop") credited to "Ruben and the Jets", with no mention of the Mothers of Invention.Frank Zappa, "Serious Fan Mail", ''Greasy Love Songs'', Zappa Records ZR20010, 2010. Subsequently, Zappa stated that the Mothers of Invention would record a second Ruben & the Jets album. Musician Rubén Guevera Jr. met Frank Zappa and heard the ''Cruising with Ruben & the Jets'' album at a record listening party at Zappa's Laurel Canyon home, where Zappa suggested that Guevera Jr. continue Ruben and the Jets, and Guevara Jr formed his own lineup. Guevara Jr.'s Ruben and the Jets toured alongside the Mothers of Invention in 1972. Euclid James "Motorhead" Sherwood was the only musician to play with both the Zappa-led and Guevara-led lineups of Ruben and the Jets, after Sherwood joined in 1973. Zappa agreed to produce their debut album, ''For Real!'', which was released in 1973 on

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. Mercury Records released ...

, wrote the album's opening song, "If I Could Only Be Your Love Again", and played guitar on the second track, "Dedicated to the One I Love".

Track listing

;Side one #"If I Could Only Be Your Love Again" – 3:34 (

) #"Dedicated to the One I Love" – 5:45 (Lowman Pauling,

Ralph Bass Ralph Basso Jr. (May 1, 1911 – March 5, 1997), known as Ralph Bass,The birth surname of Ralph Bass's paternal grandfather, who was born in Italy, was DuBasso. was an American rhythm-and-blues record producer and talent scout for several indepe ...

) #"Show Me the Way to Your Heart" – 5:04 (Tony Duran, Leonard Duran) #"Sparkie" – 4:30 (Tony Duran, Ruben Guevara) #"Wedding Bells" – 2:58 (Robert "Frog" Camarena) ;Side two #"Almost Grown" – 2:20 (

Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, guitarist and songwriter who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and de ...

) #"Charlena" – 5:54 (Manuel Chavez, H. Chaney) #"Mah Man Flash" – 2:38 (Ruben Guevara) #"Santa Kari" – 4:29 (Ruben Guevara) #"Spider Woman" – 3:58 (Paul Hof, Lonnie Scott, Tony Duran, Ruben Guevara) #"All Night Long" – 2:22 (John Gray)

Personnel

Personnel adapted from

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

. ; Ruben and the Jets * Rubén Guevara Jr. – vocals, tambourine, keyboards * Tony Duran – guitar, keyboards, vocals * Robert "Frog" Camarena – rhythm guitar, vocals * John Martinez – vocals, Hammond organ * Robert "Buffalo" Roberts – tenor saxophone * Bill Wild – bass guitar, tenor vocals * Bob Zamora – drums *

Jim Sherwood Euclid James "Motorhead" Sherwood (May 8, 1942 – December 25, 2011) was an American rock musician notable for being a member of the original version of Frank Zappa's band the Mothers of Invention, providing soprano, tenor and baritone saxoph ...

– baritone saxophone, tambourine ; Additional personnel *

– producer, guitar on "Dedicated to the One I Love"

References

{{Authority control 1973 debut albums Ruben and the Jets albums Mercury Records albums Albums produced by Frank Zappa