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Joined: January 04 2007
Location: Grok City
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Points: 17529
Topic: Why are Frank Zappa albums so expensive now? Posted: March 02 2012 at 13:09
darkshade wrote:
CDs
Dammit, this is quite frustrating. There was nothing wrong with the original albums. Why don't they focus their energies on releasing unreleased Zappa stuff, like the Roxy DVD, a show or two from the '73 lineup with Jean-Luc Ponty since there's very little of that stuff officially released in good quality. OR... any other material that hasn't seen the light of day. I don't need bonus material from albums I already know, which I guarantee will be remixes, alternate takes, or a couple live versions of songs from their respective album, which I see as unnecessary.
I'm not sure that right now is a good time to ask these questions.
There is no comment, word, or a single response anywhere from the Trust group and I think that Gayle is simply tired of it all and has given up ... I don't blame her ... with WB kicking her on the right ... fans kicking her on the left ... and whatever else ... and it is making things really difficult.
I sincerely doubt that the stuff in the "vault" will ever come out while Gayle is alive. She's a rock'n'roll fan and lady and while I would not consider her a groupie, the material that she is mostly putting out is a rehash of everything that was done before and is not showing Frank in the composer light that he deserves to be in. And his best medium was improvisation and we're not seeing a whole lot of it as we should.
The real question is how Dweezil and the keeper of the vault will work these things after Gayle leaves us ... she has done an incredible job and even taken some serious abuse from Warner Brothers and many other folks while trying like heck to protect Frank's work ... and it has become a thankless job for everyone.
It is my believe that they are hoping all the rights, by anyone else, finally come to an end, so they can do their own releasing ... with one problem ... a lot less people will know Frank and his work then and I'm not sure that Dweezil alone can carry that flag when Gayle is also shutting down tribute bands and many other affairs out there -- which is not helping the legacy any ... but it would suggest that she could use a few dollars to get better lawyer support and help with some movie studios and some other conglomerates ... where the only hope is teh new Copyright Laws that revert the work back to the artist ... but movies? ... you're not an artist! The movie studio is!
Good luck ... wish you the best, and I know that I would like to buy some more stuff from them, but have decided to not do so anymore. I was looking to put together a book with the reviews of all these albums, but getting them was getting way too difficult to bother and I gave up!
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Joined: August 18 2005
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Posted: March 02 2012 at 12:56
Zappa albums have never been cheap. The cheapest one i've bought was about $7, and that was used. New, the prices are in the $15 to $30 range usually, with the higher end of the price spectrum containing the majority of albums.
If it has to do with money and the artist is dead, the family trust is looking for some cash.....That's probably 50% of it.....the other part is just price gouging online.
Joined: June 19 2010
Location: London
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Posted: March 02 2012 at 09:16
Jim Garten wrote:
It's the same in the UK - for virtually every artist/band on Amazon, you can get really good bargains, either through them or through their 'marketplace'...
Zappa? No.
He's one of those artists whose albums hold their value, no matter how cheap the re-issue.
I guess you have to pay for quality
...or the Zappa Family Trust are a tad greedy...
As far as I'm aware the Zappa Family Trust has no European Distributor for their products. As a result the stuff they release is hideously expensive to buy due to the ludicrously expensive US Postal System.
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Joined: March 12 2005
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Posted: March 01 2012 at 16:30
TODDLER wrote:
It's been years since I read about this so called vault on Zappa's property. A small building where he stored live tapes of various line ups from the many years of touring. Besides the point, he recorded a live track or 2 for every official release except for a few and Zappa would either leave the track in it's original form or place in overdubs. If there is such a vault of his or I should say private collection, then we are in for some entertainment beyond our imagination. Maybe he recorded entire shows from every year and decade that we have yet to hear through the availability for cd purchase off his website? I wouldn't mind a extensive version of Roxy and Elsewhere or a live show as a bonus which could be paired up with each studio release from the past. That alone is a Zappa fan's dream.
It certainly isn't my dream to have to rebuy the whole studio catalogue for bonus live releases (assuming the whole show as you said). Just release the shows seperately and I'd be happy to buy...but I don't need duplicates of his material (no matter how much I love it).
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Joined: September 15 2010
Location: Finland
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Posted: March 01 2012 at 16:18
Gerinski wrote:
akaBona wrote:
Gerinski wrote:
Quite some time I didn't buy any FZ, but I would post a similar question about Pekka Pohjola, his albums are f*ing expensive and I don't know why
In Finland you can buy Pekka Pohjola's CDs easily. Prices are between 8,95-12 € per cd. Some time ago they sold main Pohjola, Wigwam and Tasavallan Presidentti CDs at a price of 5,95 €. All remastered versions.
Well they are expensive wherever I have looked so far (I admit I haven't searched too deeply). I have some work colleagues in Sweden, probably they have no idea who Pekka is but I could ask them to buy some CDs for me there if they are well priced.
Will have to ask them to take a look in Sweden for me, 9 to 12 euro is very reasonable
In Sweden they have this CDON. At least four first ones (and the best ones imo) are cheap there.
Joined: February 10 2010
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Posted: March 01 2012 at 16:04
akaBona wrote:
Gerinski wrote:
Quite some time I didn't buy any FZ, but I would post a similar question about Pekka Pohjola, his albums are f*ing expensive and I don't know why
In Finland you can buy Pekka Pohjola's CDs easily. Prices are between 8,95-12 € per cd. Some time ago they sold main Pohjola, Wigwam and Tasavallan Presidentti CDs at a price of 5,95 €. All remastered versions.
Well they are expensive wherever I have looked so far (I admit I haven't searched too deeply). I have some work colleagues in Sweden, probably they have no idea who Pekka is but I could ask them to buy some CDs for me there if they are well priced.
Will have to ask them to take a look in Sweden for me, 9 to 12 euro is very reasonable
Joined: September 15 2010
Location: Finland
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Points: 2082
Posted: March 01 2012 at 15:41
Gerinski wrote:
Quite some time I didn't buy any FZ, but I would post a similar question about Pekka Pohjola, his albums are f*ing expensive and I don't know why
In Finland you can buy Pekka Pohjola's CDs easily. Prices are between 8,95-12 € per cd. Some time ago they sold main Pohjola, Wigwam and Tasavallan Presidentti CDs at a price of 5,95 €. All remastered versions.
Joined: December 23 2009
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Points: 17847
Posted: March 01 2012 at 10:57
If it has to do with money and the artist is dead, the family trust is looking for some cash.....That's probably 50% of it.....the other part is just price gouging online.
Are they? Last time I was at VV, Darkshade, I didn't see the FZ albums any differently priced than usual...though it was a bit ago. Ah man I shoulda bought the Zappa from there when I had the chance!
Joined: April 29 2006
Location: Atlantais
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Posted: March 01 2012 at 08:28
I seriously doubt there is a vast treasure trove of worthy unreleased Zappa material out there now. Wazoo was pretty good. If you are a newbie you'll benefit from getting the classic stuff only once. The only thing I would gripe about is Rykodisc releasing We're Only In It For The Money with "Don't cum in me in me" not bleeped and then on re-release by the ZT the censorship was restored. Ir's a minor thing though.
Edited by Slartibartfast - March 01 2012 at 08:31
Released date are often when it it impacted you but recorded dates are when it really happened...
It's been years since I read about this so called vault on Zappa's property. A small building where he stored live tapes of various line ups from the many years of touring. Besides the point, he recorded a live track or 2 for every official release except for a few and Zappa would either leave the track in it's original form or place in overdubs. If there is such a vault of his or I should say private collection, then we are in for some entertainment beyond our imagination. Maybe he recorded entire shows from every year and decade that we have yet to hear through the availability for cd purchase off his website? I wouldn't mind a extensive version of Roxy and Elsewhere or a live show as a bonus which could be paired up with each studio release from the past. That alone is a Zappa fan's dream.
Joined: February 02 2004
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Posted: March 01 2012 at 02:52
It's the same in the UK - for virtually every artist/band on Amazon, you can get really good bargains, either through them or through their 'marketplace'...
Zappa? No.
He's one of those artists whose albums hold their value, no matter how cheap the re-issue.
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Why are Frank Zappa albums so expensive now?
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darkshade wrote:
