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Weasels Ripped My Flesh (Bizarre/Reprise, 1970)

Weasels Ripped My Flesh is the seventh studio album by the American rock group the Mothers of Invention, and the tenth overall by Frank Zappa, released in 1970. It is the second album released after the Mothers disbanded in 1969, preceded by Burnt Weeny Sandwich. In contrast to its predecessor, which almost entirely focused on studio recordings of arranged compositions, Weasels Ripped My Flesh consists of a combination of live and studio recordings and features more improvisation. The album peaked at #189 on the Album chart.

Frank Zappa recruited artist Neon Park to create a subversive image based on a cover story from the September 1956 issue of Man’s Life, a men’s adventure magazine. The magazine’s cover story depicts a shirtless man being attacked by numerous weasels, above the caption “Weasels Ripped My Flesh”. After showing Neon a copy of the magazine, Zappa inquired, “This is it. What can you do that’s worse than this?” Neon’s answer was to craft a parody of an advertisement for Schick brand electric razor based on the “Weasels Ripped My Flesh” theme. The record company released the album despite its reservations about the album cover. German releases of the album featured an album cover showing a metal baby caught in a rat trap. This cover was not approved by Zappa.