Strictly commercial?  Not quite.  Though Frank Zappa earned his first top ten record and first Gold record with apostrophe (') - the same LP that spun off his first single to make the Billboard Hot 100 - it would be difficult to argue that the singer-songwriter-bandleader had dramatically altered his art in an effort to hit the charts.  Sure, the material was a bit more focused and the album rather tight at 32 minutes in length.  Yeah, the cover artwork, with its instantly recognizable, tightly-cropped image of the long-haired artist, looked much like the kind of album the average rock fan might pick up while flipping through the bins at Sam Goody.  But apostrophe (') was still, unmistakably, Zappa.  It's now returned for its 50th anniversary in a new 5CD/1Blu-ray box set built around a new 2024 Bernie Grundman remaster of the original album.

Building on the sound and style of Over-nite Sensation (and, in fact, including some material from those sessions), Zappa's commercial ascent continued with apostrophe (').  Drop the needle onto the record and the first sound one hears is that of the wind; perhaps it's Zappa goofing on a prog-rock sound effect, but it also sets the stage for "Don't Eat the Yellow Snow."  Like most of his subsequent chart singles ("Disco Boy," "Dancin' Fool," the top 40 "Valley Girl"), it was received as a novelty record.  But it kicks off an at-times goofy, at-times smutty, altogether kooky suite of spoken word and typically offbeat, never uninteresting music that occupies Side One and takes the form of a dream of the singer's.  The album is included in the box set on both CD and Blu-ray Audio, with the immersive surround mix the preferable presentation for those equipped for multi-channel audio.

"Nanook Rubs It" - as in Nanook of the North, hero of a 1922 silent film merging documentary and docudrama, and so named for the Inuit word for "master of bears" - has Zappa rapping in deadpan fashion about the titular character's encounter with a fur trapper.  Said fur trapper, announced by a brass fanfare, wanders his way into "St. Alfonzo's Pancake Breakfast" ("where I stole the mar-juh-reen") where he encounters "Father O'Blivion," who's turned on by leprechauns and makes "sleazy pancakes."  Each song features conceptual continuity clues to past Zappa work while still being accessible in both form and content.  The suite ends with "Cosmik Debris," with Tina Turner and The Ikettes in attendance on background vocals.  Over a typically shifting groove rooted in the blues, Zappa's narrator expresses disdain at those who might peddle hokum, whether sleazy pancakes or psychic readings.

The album shifts gears in Side Two with the instrumental title track (a searing rocker showcasing Zappa's guitar dexterity as well as Jack Bruce's bass - maybe; memories differ - and Jim Gordon's drums) and three additional songs.  "Excentrifugal Forz" is a compact sci-fi spoof and "Stink Foot" returns to the quirky, juvenile humor of "Don't Eat the Yellow Snow."  More pointed is the satirical "Uncle Remus," co-written by and featuring George Duke on acoustic piano, which uses outrageous imagery of Afros, doo-rags, and lawn jockeys to take aim at racism and question whether true equality will ever be achieved.  Duke would later record a version himself on his MPS album The Aura Will Prevail.  Despite - or because of - its sardonic tone, "Uncle Remus" is as serious as "Don't Eat the Yellow Snow" is silly, and it's unquestionably a highlight of a singular record.

The first disc of the new box is rounded out with nine session bonus tracks, seven of which were previously issued on the 2016 collection The Crux of the Biscuit.  As that release is long out-of-print and essential as a companion to apostrophe ('), one wishes that it had been reprised in full here, but the material that's included is choice, including the basic instrumental tracks to Take 3 of "Cosmik Debris."  Of the two new tracks, a nearly 12-minute version of "Apostrophe (')" adds roughly six minutes to the released version.  A remixed and longer, unedited "Uncle Remus" strips it down to piano and vocals, a real treat for fans of Duke's stately, gospel-infused playing and Tina Turner and The Ikettes' committed vocals.

Because the choice was made to not carry over more studio material from The Crux of the Biscuit, the expanded apostrophe (') instead emphasizes contemporaneous live material.  Two concerts premiere on this collection: March 21, 1974 in Colorado Springs, Colorado; and November 20, 1974 in Dayton, Ohio.

The Colorado Springs show - one of a number of shows from this era that exist, per the liner notes - features a number of the musicians heard on apostrophe (') (keyboardist George Duke, woodwind player Napoleon Murphy Brock, trombonist Bruce Fowler, bassist Tom Fowler, percussionist Ruth Underwood, drummer Ralph Humphrey) and couple who aren't (guitarist Jeff Simmons, drummer Chester Thompson).  Zappa was changing arrangements on the fly and adding new songs into the mix, making for a particularly strong setlist.

The suite of laidback, Duke-sung "Village of the Sun," brassy instrumental "Echidna's Arf (Of You)," and the jazz-rooted, kaleidoscopic "Don't You Ever Wash That Thing?" opened the expansive setlist which tapped Over-nite Sensation for the humorous epic "Montana" and apostrophe (') - set to be released on March 22, the very next day - for an extended take on "Cosmik Debris." Fans of Zappa's big-band jazz sound will find much to like in this set, which has been newly mixed from FZ's four-track multitrack tapes.  There's a little bit of everything here, from the tongue-in-cheek doo-wop love song "Babbette" (a vocal specialty for Brock) to the electronic burble of "Dupree's Paradise (Intro)" with its "Louie, Louie" interpolation and the climactic, showstopping "King Kong/Chunga's Revenge/Son of Mr. Green Genes."

The second concert, from November, reflected a number of band lineup changes that had occurred throughout the year.  The nine-piece ensemble had made way for a slimmed-down six-piece unit consisting of Duke, Brock, Underwood, Thompson, and Tom Fowler.  Though lacking in brass, this smaller group had power to spare, with every member accustomed to whatever Zappa might throw their way.  (The very next day, Fowler would break his left hand, causing a number of fill-in players to finish the tour.  This is the last recording of this six-person lineup which never reformed in full.)  Some of the repertoire echoed the earlier show - "RNDZL," "Village of the Sun," "Echidna's Arf (Of You)," "Don't You Ever Wash That Thing?," "Uncle Meat," and "Pygmy Twylyte" - but with arrangements that varied from tweaked to radically different (with a sped-up "Village of the Sun" in the latter category).  Numerous apostrophe (') tracks had finally made their way into the setlist, too, including a more muscular rendering of the "Nanook" suite from Side One of the album.

A handful of bonus tracks, i.e. More Bonus Swill, completes the CD program.  These rarities include a raucous ad for apostrophe ('), the single version of "Don't Eat the Yellow Snow" (remixed and actually extended by FZ from the original album track, incorporating additional music from the album into the song), and two live performances from Europe in fall 1974 in Zappa's original mixes.  "Goteborg GTR" and "Approximate - Bale" both effectively showcase Zappa's scorching tones.

The 50th anniversary apostrophe (') is packaged, like Waka/Wazoo and the Over-Nite Sensation deluxe set, in a small clamshell.  The enclosed 52-page booklet is copiously illustrated with photos and memorabilia along with two essays.  "Vaultmeister" Joe Travers, reissue co-producer with Ahmet Zappa, shares a personal perspective on the album, while Simon Prentis traces the "conceptual continuity" of each track.  Lyrics and credits complete the booklet.  Each disc is housed in its own sleeve with photos of Zappa and the band.

Apostrophe (') might not be "strictly commercial," but it doubtless earned FZ legions of fans which remained with him as he continued to break new and diverse musical ground.  Despite missing some of the material found on The Crux of the Biscuit, this refreshed apostrophe (') - with the best-sounding version of the album yet in both stereo and surround - makes for another potent entry in the Zappa discography.

Apostrophe (') is available now at the below links.  As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

5CD/1BD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Zappa.com
2LP + 7-inch (Expanded Album + Single): Zappa.com
1LP (Metallic Gold Original Album): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Zappa.com