STRICTLY COMMERCIAL

This was my second Zappa purchase back when it came out. Shortly after Frank died, I bought Hot Rats after reading an article about him in RollingStone magazine. That issue had Nirvana on the cover, and future issues had letters complaining that Zappa should have been on the cover instead. I agree. The mainstream press and audience generally ignored Frank his whole career. Presented here is some of his most mainstream songs. Only one being an actual hit.

Three of the songs are single edits. The original Mothers are represented by three songs. The version of this compilation here is the European one; it has a different cover to the American version and contains "Bobby Brown" instead of "Tell Me You Love Me". The instrumental "Sexual Harassment..." from Guitar is a strange choice. The only really essential songs here are "Peaches En Regalia", "My Guitar Wants To Kill Your Mama" and maybe "I'm The Slime".

This collection left me confused more than anything. After becoming acquainted with Zappa's discography, I can say that few of the songs here are among my favourites. This is a nice sampler I guess, but doesn't really give you a hint about how creative and important this man's music was. Zappa is one of those artists where you have to listen to whole albums to understand him. 2 stars.