It is an entirely orchestral recording written by Zappa and performed by a group of session players he dubbed the Abnuceals Emuukha Electric Symphony Orchestra.

In 1968, a second album was released under the Lumpy Gravy title by Verve on May 13, 1968, which consisted of two musique concrète pieces that combined elements from the original orchestral performance with aspects of surf music and spoken word.

Following the release of Freak Out!, the debut album of the rock band the Mothers of Invention, Capitol Records A&R representative Nick Venet commissioned an album of orchestral music composed by the Mothers of Invention's leader, Frank Zappa, a self-taught composer.

However, upon meeting them, Zappa handed the musicians the scores for the pieces, which were dense, complex, and varied in time signatures.

[3] The bassoonist and bass clarinetist hired for the sessions refused to perform their parts, declaring them impossible to play.

[3] By the end of the recording sessions, Richards and Tedesco became convinced of Zappa's talent and became friends with the composer.

[3] Capitol released Lumpy Gravy on August 7, 1967, only on the 4-track cartridge format, apparently in limited numbers.