of irony versus the smutty crowd pleaser with a puerile sense of humor. No matter how much fans of Hot Rats complain that their hero's "seriousness" is compromised by the "frivolousness" of "Don't Eat the Yellow Snow" (or vice versa), Zappa remains true to himself: the mensch with a dirty mind.

Written in three acts and released by Zappa's custom label in two packages (one single LP, one double), Joe's Garage ties the dual extremes of Frank Zappa's sensibility closer together than ever. An attack on authoritarianism in which fascist governments, self-help pseudoreligions and the music industry are inextricably linked, the opera simultaneously tells the tale of a boy and girl. The boy, Joe, sings the title tune about his humble rock & roll band whose day of fame came and quickly went. Most of Act I is given over to the saga of Joe's girlfriend, Mary, who moves from blowing Catholic boys in the church basement (having been tutored by the parish's resident expert, Father Riley) to being "Crew Slut" for a touring rock group to competing in a "Wet T-Shirt Nite" contest for bus fare home, where she arrives wrecked for good. Hearing of her exploits, Joe seeks consolation from a taco-stand waitress, who gives him VD.

In Act II, Joe joins L. Ron Hoover's Church of Appliantology, in which he learns that he's a "latent appliance fetishist." He studies German (don't ask why), dresses as a housewife (ditto) and goes to a bar called the Closet. There, he picks up a Kitchen Machinery named Sy Borg, who "plooks" him with his "hot curly weenie" and takes him home for an orgy with an orally fixated Gay Bob doll. However, Joe destroys Sy Borg in some S&M byplay, is sent to jail and gang-banged by a squadron of record-company executives. Music has been outlawed by the government in an attempt to unify the people through "total criminalization," so our hero survives his prison term by imagining guitar solos.

Released from jail at the beginning of Act III, Joe enters an orderly society of mindless, obedient consumers. Still crazed, he thinks that everyone can hear his imagined guitar solos and that critics are even reviewing them. Then, after a vision of Mary convinces him it's all in his head, he dutifully forgets music and gets a job in the Utility Muffin Research Kitchen. This pleases the Central Scrutinizer, who's narrated the entire fantastic story.

As a stage musical