Frank Zappa, opinions?

He was the best. Period

Frank, I am a big fan of 90% of his music.  The other 10% will eventually come to me.  Even at his worst (the dreaded Flo & Eddie years), there is a lot of great music to be found.

Like a lot of people, it was the funny stuff that got me interested at first.  But it was the quality of the compositions and the musicianship that kept me coming back.  

Good musicians, good albums

Sleep Dirt and the songs from it on Lather are very different, the main difference being the vocals on the album being specifically for Sleep Dirt (Time is Money, Spider of Destiny, etc).

I love Zappa.  I think between the mans more rock outfitted bands, classical, and jazz he is a musical genious.  I got into him through We're Only In It for the Money

my opinion of Frank, simply put:

There is only one Zappa, his name is Frank, later Uncle Frank. While not a huge fan, my first hometown concert was Zappa and it was a guitar fest, no vocals, simply breathtaking! One of my first records was Chunga's Revenge , a delirious , at times puzzling set of music and tunes, namely Peaches in Regalia as well as Transylvanian Boogie. The title cut is no shab job either! The Mothers with Mud Shark and the ridiculously tight (no pun intended) Dinah-Moe Hum , made quite an impression back in the days when sex , was , well , sort of a new still taboo subject!  Roxy and Elsewhere (with a title like that how can I say no  -see avatar) only confirms the genius . Huge influence on a multitude of musicians worldwide, his irascible behaviour and sharp intellect is sorely missed in a world so full of apathy . In everything, just look at the news!

Ah... Frank Zappa.  I pretty much became an instant fan the first time I heard his music.   It was absolutely what I needed right then: something fiercely intelligent, cynical, complex, controversial, different, and above all, Fun.  With A Capital 'F'.

Recently I've been somewhat less interested in his music than I used to be.  I think that's because my needs have changed: subject-matter wise, I want to hear hopeful music now, not so much an incisive summary of all that's stupid and frustrating in the world.  But musically, it's still amazing.  Listen to other people's music, then come back to Zappa, and you suddenly realise how densely-packed it is with ideas, how streamlined it sounds, how invincibly disciplined!

In common with many super-intelligent types, Zappa seems to have combined the attention span of a gnat (sometimes he swaps genres more than once during one song, and a lot of people complain that his albums don't 'flow' or have a 'narrative' to them) with the most incredibly obsessive, zealous devotion and application to his craft (composing, playing, recording).  This mixture of fickleness and monomania gives his music a very distinctive feel.  It's not for everyone.  And he puts many people off with his more off-colour moments in the humour department.  But at its best, his music is utterly sublime - and it doesn't get old.  Albums I've listened to hundreds of times still feel fresh to me after a few years of listening.

A notable exception for me is 'Hot Rats'.  Everyone always recommends 'Hot Rats' but I tend to think of that as a misleading starting point.  It's... Zappa for people who don't like Zappa.   Someone recommended 'Roxy & Elsewhere': yes!  That's an outstanding record.  Excellent songs, amazing playing, and Frank's onstage persona is very entertaining!   Accessible but brilliant.

cacho wrote: That would be perfect to put on the artist page of Frank Zappa for newcommers! Except for the part that Roxy & Elsewhere is accesible Be-Bop Tango accesible?

Aw, thanks!

...well, yeah, you're right... not so much the 'Be-Bop Tango'... although of course it does have a useful beginner's lesson in rhythm!  ("...that's a pedestrian beat...")

'Cheepnis' and 'Village of the Sun' ought to appeal pretty widely though!