Although the original Mothers of Invention had called it quits in 1969, Zappa still continued releasing more albums with the original Mothers right up until 1970 (basically, leftover material), including Burnt Weeny Sandwich and this one, Weasels Ripped My Flesh. Zappa had the idea of a ten album set of leftover material from this early and innovative version of the Mothers, but he backed down (that would have probably been too much, and probably would have included too much stuff not worth hearing if that was the case). At this point, guitarist Lowell George and bassist Roy Estrada had hopped ship with Little Feat, while Bunk Gardner and Jimmy Carl Black formed Geronimo Black. Zappa released a solo album, Hot Rats, highly rated by many who weren't too keen on his twisted sense of humor (as it only had one vocal track, courtesy of Captain Beefheart), as it emphasized his guitar playing.