At one time I owned every Frank Zappa solo and the Mothers Of Invention album up to 1988’s Broadway The Hard Way. While living at home I had Apostrophe, Overnight Sensation, One Size Fits All, Bongo Fury, and Zoot Allores. Later while living in Cambridge Apartments one of my neighbors said he knew a friend who had a lot of Zappa albums he would sell. He had all of his 70’s recordings which I bought minus the ones I already had. He also had his early 80’s records which I bought and also two three record box sets Sut Up and Play Your Guitar and Thing-Fish. I think I bought about 15 records from him for $30. He needed the money for drugs. When I was living in Upper Darby in the late 80’s I bought Broadway The Hardway. Inside was an order form for his Old Masters box sets. I sent away for Old Masters Box one which had his first five records plus a “Mystery Disc” of older unreleased stuff. The price was $100. When I was in Philly in the early 90’s I bought the few from the 80’s I didn’t have at record stores bringing my total Zappa records to just under 50. In ’92 for a variety of reasons I sold all my Zappa albums plus all my Heavy Metal records. Since moving to Berks County I have bought every used album of his I could find. Most have been reissued but are usually around $40. Used ones are very hard to find and I always look for them in every record store I go to. Cruising With Ruben And The Jets is his fifth release and the fourth with The Mothers of Invention originally released in late 1968. The strange Lumpy Gravy was credited to Frank alone. This record was one I got with the Old Masters Box Set. I found this used copy at the store in Delaware when I was visiting my parents there. It is the reissue from the box set. Zappa re-recorded bass and drums for the box set. It’s a cool record of tributes/parodies of 50’s Do Wop and Rock and Roll. Very authentic sounding many could have been hits back then. Four are reworked songs from their first album. Some of my favorites on the record are “Cheap Thrills”, “How Could I Be Such A Fool”, “Jely Roll Gumdrop”, “You Didn’t Try To Call Me” and “Stuff Up The Cracks” the last track and featuring a fade out guitar solo by Zappa definitely not from the 50’s. The Cover is by Cal Schenkel who did artwork for many of their early records.