Who IS Frank Zappa

I just bought my first Zappa 2012 reissue today: Hot Rats.  I don't think I've heard the vinyl mix since I was a child.  this should be fun.

The only 2012 version that I have bought so far is Lather as I didn't already own it. Only realised after it arrived that it didn't have the bonus tracks  I do intend to buy more when funds allow but have vinyl & CD copies of most already.

Daysbetween wrote: The only 2012 version that I have bought so far is Lather as I didn't already own it. Only realised after it arrived that it didn't have the bonus tracks  I do intend to buy more when funds allow but have vinyl & CD copies of most already.

Apparently, it has a slightly better sound than the 1996 Ryko with the cow on the cover. It's the only reason I'm eventually going to get it (also so I have all the 2012 reissues, 'cause I'm crazy).

I personally never listen to the bonus tracks anyway, as Knick-Knack People and Leather Goods are throwaway tracks, and Time Is Money is on Sleep Dirt. The remix of Regyptian Strut is nothing spectacular and could be throwaway too.


Edited by darkshade - February 10 2013 at 09:57

Does Humor Belong In Music? is a very fun album. Great renditions of classics, some new songs, and overall great rock and jazz soloing going on. The versions of Zoot Allures and Trouble Every Day on there might be my new favorite versions. That album is one of those Zappa albums I listened to once when I first got into his music, but I was too focused on the 72-79 era that I completely overlooked it.

People rag on the 80s albums, but I think to appreciate them, you have to be a bit of a Zappa veteran of sorts, and for me, get tired of the mid-late 70s albums, and the 60s Mothers, and want more Zappa; as I find almost everything from the 80s in Zappa's catalog to be enjoyable. I always liked some stuff here and there, but never explored it deeply as I have been doing recently.

I think I read about that. Is it the same lyrics??

Let's Move To Cleveland is a stand-out tune, it's like the 80s answer to King Kong.

^ For me, I disagree. While the quality of his rock albums at that time went down a little, albums like You Are What You Is, Ship Arriving Too Late..., and Tinseltown Rebellion are great. Maybe a questionable song here or there, but I think they're classic albums. Man From Utopia, Them Or Us, and other 80s albums that came after are hit or miss for sure, but they do include those other classic tunes you mentioned.

Frank Zappa Meets The Mothers of Prevention is interesting because it mixes the rock tunes with synclavier pieces, and I think it's an interesting experiment. I also think those pieces are cool, so I like Jazz From Hell and The Perfect Stranger, which is what he was more focused on at that time anyway; the classical albums. London Symphony Orchestra sounds great, and features, IMO, a great rendition of Strictly Genteel.

Of course, I've always thought the '88 band was the best thing he did since the Roxy Band. All three albums are fire. I really hope the ZFT releases a new '88 band album, full of songs yet unreleased from that lineup.

darkshade wrote: If you did a Zappa catalog run-through chronologically, when would you listen to The Lost Episode, the Stage series, and One Shot Deal? The Lost Episodes - no idea...... You Can't Do That On Stage series - besides vol. 2 and 5, I would listen to them after "Jazz From Hell" and "Feeding The Monkies..." sort of a summary of all the live bands up to that point before the 88 band. One Shot Deal - somewhere in the 70s, but not sure where exactly... Some time around the Lather era maybe?

No one can chime in on this??

I've thought about it, and I thought The Lost Episodes would work as the last Zappa album to listen to, after CPIII, sort of like an epilogue album after the master's final opus. Frank always viewed his albums as tracks, part of one big piece of music.

I thought One Shot Deal could go on after Joe's Garage, sort of as a sum up of the '72-'79 era.

I haven't really paid much attention to those.  I'd also be interested in what people have to say about them.

darkshade wrote: ^ For me, I disagree. While the quality of his rock albums at that time went down a little, albums like You Are What You Is, Ship Arriving Too Late..., and Tinseltown Rebellion are great. Maybe a questionable song here or there, but I think they're classic albums. Man From Utopia, Them Or Us, and other 80s albums that came after are hit or miss for sure, but they do include those other classic tunes you mentioned. Frank Zappa Meets The Mothers of Prevention is interesting because it mixes the rock tunes with synclavier pieces, and I think it's an interesting experiment. I also think those pieces are cool, so I like Jazz From Hell and The Perfect Stranger, which is what he was more focused on at that time anyway; the classical albums. London Symphony Orchestra sounds great, and features, IMO, a great rendition of Strictly Genteel. Of course, I've always thought the '88 band was the best thing he did since the Roxy Band. All three albums are fire. I really hope the ZFT releases a new '88 band album, full of songs yet unreleased from that lineup.

Well, don't get me wrong: The songs that I listed aren't the only ones that I enjoy, just the ones that I think are real classics. I like most of Zappa's 'regular' 80s albums more than not, even though they include a great deal of stuff that would have been left on the cutting room floor in the 70s. The only 'regular' albums I don't generally enjoy are The Man from Utopia (stupid sprechgesang tracks and dull "social critique" songs leave a bad taste in my mouth despite enjoyable instrumentals), FZMTMOP ("One Man, One Vote", "Aerobics in Bondage", "Alien Orifice" and "What's New in Baltimore?" are good, the rest is not) and Broadway the Hard Way (dull and lifeless compositions take the backseat to marginally amusing lyrics). The other two '88 albums have some great stuff on them, but the band is rather sterile-sounding and their collective soloing abilities leave a lot to be desired. The synclavier and classical albums are really only occasionally interesting, and I gave them a lot of chances. The only convincing classical endeavors of Zappa's were the Yellow Shark concerts and the accompanying album, I would say.

darkshade wrote: Can we talk about the "Joe's" albums for a second. I'm a way's away from getting any of them, but after reading reviews, "Joe's Corsage" seems like a worthwhile one to get for a Zappa maniac such as myself, and "Joe's Menage" seems like a good mid-70s live album, though maybe unnecessary considering FZ:OZ exists; but the other two seem like something only completists would want. Can anyone maybe shed some light on how worthwhile they are?

Joe's Corsage is certainly worth a few listens as a Zappa fanatic, especially if you like the Freak Out! album. The performances aren't very impressive, but they have more than just historical value. I was especially interested by the cover of Marvin Gaye's "Hitch Hike" and "I'm So Happy I Could Cry", which is "Take Your Clothes Off" with different lyrics.

Joe's Menage is rather pointless if you have FZ:OZ. The band is the same, and I consider it one of Zappa's weakest lineups: There are simply too few musicians on stage, so everything sounds a bit thin. Apart from some falsetto vocals, Roy is hardly the maniac he used to be and has instead become a faceless and uninteresting background musician. Napoleon suffers from the lack of George Duke and not knowing what to do with the fairly rigid and straightforward material. André Lewis is just completely unremarkable in every way. Terry rarely gets a chance to stretch because the setlist is so song-oriented. The only unique song is "Honey, Don't You Want a Man Like Me?" (which they cut from FZ:OZ for some reason, even though it was performed that evening), and it's not a particularly interesting performance when compared with the versions Zappa released during his lifetime. Really, the only reason to get this is if you liked "Chunga's Revenge" and "Zoot Allures" (the only tunes with a fair amount of improvisation in them) on FZ:OZ and want more. The 'rhythm guitar solo' on "Chunga's Revenge" is pretty funny.

Joe's Domage is a bunch of rehearsals for the Waka/Jawaka and Grand Wazoo albums, so it was never intended to be listened to by anybody, and this clearly shows. You get the chance to witness some in-progress ideas that didn't make it on the albums ("Another Whole Melodic Section", the vocals to "The Grand Wazoo", the medley of "Blessed Relief" and "New Brown Clouds"), but these ideas are raw and performed by a band that is just learning the material. This is the kind of stuff that is so unworthy of release that it might even cure completists of their 'disease'.

Joe's XMASage is, to be honest, a bunch of random pre-Mothers junk that Joe Travers found lying around in the vault. The 'highlights' include: Frank talking about an Xmas dance where he performed, Frank, Ray and some other guy reading a letter they found somewhere (for 11 minutes!), an excerpt from a half-joking college radio show Frank did in the early 60s, a skit where Frank interviews Ray as rock star "Suckit Rockit" and a bunch of woefully inadequate jams with some local guys who never made it beyond the bar band scene. The closest this album comes to interesting are a pair of minute-long early electronic music experiments. In other words, you're really wasting your money if you get this.

Don't forget about Orchestral Favorites, 200 Motels, London Symphony Orchestra, The Yellow Shark, Civilization Phaze III, and even Wazoo (2007) for the performance of Greggary Peccary and Penis Dimension.