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General => General Music Discussion => Topic started by: Birch Boy on January 19, 2010, 07:48:09 PM
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This thread is for anything (Frank) Zappa related. This includes Frank Zappa, Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention, Zappa Plays Zappa, and anything Zappa-related.
I recently borrowed Hot Rats, Over-Nite Sensation, and One Size Fits All from a friend and am loving them. I'm listening to HR right now and it's really good. It's really amazing how many albums he has (80, I think). Discussion?
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I thought there was a Zappa thread? I remember posting in it way back when I had my Zappa avatar. Perhaps it was on of those threads lost in the fire.
Anyway. Zappa is good. Very good. Check out Roxy and Elsewhere, a truly great live album.
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Yeah I searched for one but nothing came up.
I hear that that one's good. Any other recommendations? I only have the three in the OP.
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I love Frank Zappa! Strictly Commercial really shows off his rock side. Such an amazing compilation! My Dad and I love listening to it.
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I started off with the albums you mentioned. One Size Fits All is probably my favourite of the 3. Zappa's discography is so vast, it can be hard to know where to start. I kinda think of Zappa in 3 different ways, there's the older blues/do-wop stuff, then there's the awesome period with Hot Rats and the stuff you mentioned, then there's the weird stuff, including his orchestral and synclavier albums.
I'd reccomend checking out some live Zappa, Roxy and Elsewhere, Live in New York. Also, the Baby Snakes DVD is a must see!
Other than that, I'd also recommend you get Nihil in this thread right quick.
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If you love the jazz fusion vibe of Hot Rats, get The Grand Wazoo. Even though they were recorded three years apart (which means there are probably 184 albums between them :lol :lol :lol), they are stylistically very similar; I think of them as like brothers...or close cousins at worst. ;)
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I've got maybe 40 or 50 Zappa/Mothers albums, and most of my favorites have already been mentioned here. Hot Rats, The Grand Wazoo, One Size Fits All, Over-Nite Sensation, and Roxy & Elsewhere are all killers. If you like that side of Zappa, I suggest Zoot Allures and Sheik Yerbouti, which are not that similar in terms of sound, but have something of a similar "attitude". There's also the concept album Joe's Garage from the end of that era, which should not be missed.
For more instrumental madness, try Orchestral Favorites, an unfairly maligned album.
A different version of early Mothers featuring Flo & Eddie made a few fun ones that I really like: Live - Fillmore East and Just Another Band from L.A. are both hilarious. For now, avoid Chunga's Revenge from that same period, as it is mostly out-takes and somewhat inconsistent.
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Yay for Zappa!
He's my hero, has been for a year now, so I'm still fairly new, but I guess he will continue to blow my mind.
I've got 27 albums, I believe, and I love all of em.
Highlights: Roxy and Elsewhere, Zappa in New York, one Size Fits All, Just Another Band From L.A., We're Only In It For The Money, wow I can really go on like this.
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For now, avoid Chunga's Revenge from that same period, as it is mostly out-takes and somewhat inconsistent.
Although the riff to the song Chunga's Revenge is awesome for being heavy without really trying.
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BTW, there was an old Zappa thread, started by me. I don't know where it went either.
Doesn't matter, all Zappa praise is welcome.
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For now, avoid Chunga's Revenge from that same period, as it is mostly out-takes and somewhat inconsistent.
Although the riff to the song Chunga's Revenge is awesome for being heavy without really trying.
Agreed. Also "Tell Me You Love Me" has a great riff and is quite heavy for the time, but it felt like Frank wasn't quite sure whether he was writing a tough love song, or a parody of a tough love song.
There are definitely some moments, but overall it left me feeling like I hadn't really gotten an album's worth of Zappa. I felt that way long before the Internet and discovering that it was a bunch of outtakes.
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I've got the ZPZ CD, but I need an actual Zappa album. I was thinking about getting Hot Rats, Over-Nite Sensation, or whichever album has Willie the Pimp on it.
EDIT: lol, just checked, WTP is on Hot Rats :lol
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Also, that album is an excellent starting point. It was his first solo album, first time he really felt free to do his own thing and not worry about the band. The Mothers were definitely a band, even if Frank was the driving force. Hot Rats is the "real" beginning of a lot of stuff to come.
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This thread is for anything (Frank) Zappa related. This includes Frank Zappa, Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention, Zappa Plays Zappa, and anything Zappa-related.
I recently borrowed Hot Rats, Over-Nite Sensation, and One Size Fits All from a friend and am loving them. I'm listening to HR right now and it's really good. It's really amazing how many albums he has (80, I think). Discussion?
The most recent offering is Philly '76, According to the packaging, it is official release #86.
I just saw Zappa Plays Zappa in Baltimore last Friday (Jan 15). Great show. I got a setlist from the stage and got autographs from Dweezil and Ben on it. Dweezil must have been hanging out on stage for nearly an hour after the show was finished signing autographs and chatting with fans.
Also picked up the afore mentioned Philly '76 show at the concert. It is an excellent listen...
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I've got the ZPZ CD, but I need an actual Zappa album. I was thinking about getting Hot Rats, Over-Nite Sensation, or whichever album has Willie the Pimp on it.
EDIT: lol, just checked, WTP is on Hot Rats :lol
My Zappa journey began with You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore Vol. 1. Disc 2 of that collection to be precise. There was something about "The Torture Never Stops" that really caught my ear, but there is a lot of things also on that disc that I really like - Plastic People, the sequence of Dumb All Over > Heavenly Bank Account > Suicide Chump and others. I used that disc as my guide to branch out (and my collection is a bit more than 25 percent complete), so I have plenty of different versions of Torture, as well as other stuff. Philly '76 and Zappa in NY are the two that are in rotation right now, and Sheik Yerbouti is probably the disc without Torture that I play the most...
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Listening to Zappa in New York right now. Zappa rules :metal.
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I've listened to Absolutely Free, Hot Rats, Over-Nite Sensation, and Apostrophe. I didn't much care for AF, but the other three were definitely enjoyable - particularly Hot Rats. But they didn't compare to the awesomeness that was Zappa Plays Zappa in Montreal last summer (and, presumably, Frank Zappa himself live, but he was before my time).
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Yeah but remember that ZPZ is essentially an all-star greatest hits show. The most well-known and well-loved songs only, because that's what people want to see. Even when he was alive, Frank never did that.
I saw Frank once, in 1980 ("Crush All Boxes") and even though the musicianship was superb, and I was finally seeing someone I'd practically worshipped for years, I was left somewhat disappointed overall. There was a focus on newer material, which most bands do; but in the case of Zappa, there are many "classic" songs that you'd more or less expect to hear, and Frank had no interest in playing them. He did pull out tunes from the back catalogue, but how they were chosen, I have no idea. I thought I knew a lot of Zappa, having accumulated probably 10 or 15 albums by then, and I was looking forward to singing along or whatever, and most of the material was unfamiliar. The ones I recognized were ones that I feel pretty "meh" about. (I actually hate the word "meh", but it's exactly the right word here. I didn't consider them particularly good or funny songs.)
Anyway, my point is that Frank's albums are all over the place, and while most fans have at least a few that they can listen to all the way through, most also admit that they skip tracks pretty freely, and have certain releases that they avoid altogether.
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I might listen to Over-Nite Sensation tonight, concluding my first-listens to my first Zappa music. I have no clue what the music is like, but beating One Size Fits All will be hard.
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Over-Nite Sensation does not have to beat it; it only has to equal it (which it does IMO). Those two albums are siblings. Same band, same time period, same sound. One Size Fits All will always have a special place for me, though, as it was the first Zappa I ever heard, but they're both awesome.
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I think I'll go give Inca Roads a listen...
Godly.
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Just bought Ruben And The Jets and Absolutely Free.
What is your Zappa collection, post em here:
This is mine:
Freak Out! 1966 1CD
Absolutely Free 1967 1CD
Cruising With Ruben & The Jets 1968 1CD
We're Only In It For The Money 1968 1CD
Hot Rats 1969 1CD
200 Motels 1971 1DVD
Fillmore East June 1971 1971 1CD
Just Another Band From L.A. 1972 1CD
Roxy And Elswhere 1974 1CD
One Size Fits All 1975 1CD
Zoot Allures 1976 1CD
In New York 1977 2CD
Joe's Garage Act 1 1979 1LP
Sheik Yerbouti 1979 1CD
Baby Snakes 1979 1DVD
Dancin' Fool 1979 1LP
Bobby Brown 1979 1LP
You Are What You Is 1981 1CD
The Dub Room Special 1982 1DVD
Does Humor Belong In Music? 1985 1DVD
Peaches en Regalia 1987 1CD
You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore Vol. 1 1988 2CD
You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore Vol. 2 1988 2CD
You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore Vol. 3 1988 2CD
You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore Vol. 4 1988 2CD
Broadway The Hard Way 1988 1CD
Zappa In Barcelona 1988 1DVD
The Best Band You Never Heard In You Life 1991 2CD
Playground Psychotics 1992 2CD
Ahead Of Their Time 1993 1CD
Civization Phaze III 1994 2CD
Cheap Thrills 1998 1CD
The Best Of 2004 1CD
A Token Of His Extreme 2004 1DVD
Zappa Plays Zappa 2007 2DVD
:laugh:
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Sure, I'll play.
Freak Out!
Absolutely Free
Lumpy Gravy
We're Only in It for the Money
Hot Rats
Burnt Weeny Sandwich
Chunga's Revenge
Weasles Ripped My Flesh
Fillmore East: June 1971
Playground Psychotics
Swiss Cheese (Fire!)
Just Another Band from L.A.
Waka/Jawaka
Over-Nite Sensation
The Grand Wazoo
Apostrophe (')
Roxy & Elsewhere
One Size Fits All
Bongo Fury
Zoot Allures
Studio Tan
Joe's Garage (I, II, and III)
Orchestral Favorites
Sheik Yerbouti
Sleep Dirt
Shut Up 'n' Play Yer Guitar
Shut Up 'n' Play Yer Guitar Some More
The Return of the Son of Shut Up 'n' Play Yer Guitar
Tinsel Town Rebellion
The Man from Utopia
The Perfect Stranger
Jazz from Hell
Broadway the Hard Way
Guitar
The Best Band You Never Heard in Your Life
Make a Jazz Noise Here
You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol 1
You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol 2
You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol 3
You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol 4
You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol 5
You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol 6
Civilization Phaze III
The Yellow Shark
London Symphony Orchestra, Vol 1
London Symphony Orchestra, Vol 2
Various Bootlegs
Not as many as I thought, honestly. I was sure I was pushing 60 or 70.
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Yeah but remember that ZPZ is essentially an all-star greatest hits show. The most well-known and well-loved songs only, because that's what people want to see. Even when he was alive, Frank never did that.
I am still new to Zappa, so I don't know if your comment on ZPZ holds true. Anyway, here is the setlist from January 15 at Ram's Head Live! in Baltimore, MD. I can think of more than a handful of songs that were not played that I wanted to hear:
Black Napkins >
Broken Hearts Are For Assholes >
Bamboozled By Love >
Jones Crusher >
Dirty Love
RDNZL
You Didn't Try To Call Me >
Road Ladies
T'mershi Duween
Keep It Greasy
Catholic Girls
Crew Slut
Outside Now
Dumb All Over >
What's New In Baltimore?
Wino Man / Drum Break
Apostrophe
Ms. Pinky
Pygmy Twylyte QT >
Room Service / Band Intros >
Echidna's Arf
===
Purple Lagoon >
Stinkfoot >
Muffin Man >
Purple Lagoon
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Here's my extensive Zappa collection and their ratings:
One Size Fits All - 9.5/10
Hot Rats - 8.5/10
Over-Nite Sensation - 9.0/10
:D
Keep in mind, the ratings are based on 1-2 listens each.
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Strictly Commercial is the only Zappa album I have, and while good, hasn't really gotten me to branch out to other albums.
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That's because it's a collection of his most commercial material. I have no idea why the compilation was even created, other than as some attempt by somebody to "prove" that Zappa has some kind of commercial appeal. It is a horrible representation of what Zappa was all about; in fact, it's a misrepresentation. It's like taking the one mellow song off of each album by some metal band, putting them together and saying "see, they're really a mellow band".
There are tons of good suggestions in this thread already, but believe me, if all you've heard is Strictly Commercial, you have not yet listened to a Zappa album.
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The only two Zappa albums I have are Hot Rats and Apostrophe. I haven't been able to really get into Hot Rats, but Apostrophe is awesome.
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That's because it's a collection of his most commercial material. I have no idea why the compilation was even created, other than as some attempt by somebody to "prove" that Zappa has some kind of commercial appeal. It is a horrible representation of what Zappa was all about; in fact, it's a misrepresentation. It's like taking the one mellow song off of each album by some metal band, putting them together and saying "see, they're really a mellow band".
There are tons of good suggestions in this thread already, but believe me, if all you've heard is Strictly Commercial, you have not yet listened to a Zappa album.
Actually, it seems to me that they did a good job of getting all of his "hits" on one album, and the title is supposed to be ironic...
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I own these physical CDs:
Apostrophe (')
The Grand Wazoo
Hot Rats
Joe's Garage
One Size Fits All
Over-Nite Sensation
Sheik Yerbouti
Zoot Allures
And then I have assorted songs on my computer from We're Only In It For the Money, Jazz From Hell, Freak Out!, Lumpy Gravy and Roxy & Elsewhere.
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That's because it's a collection of his most commercial material. I have no idea why the compilation was even created, other than as some attempt by somebody to "prove" that Zappa has some kind of commercial appeal. It is a horrible representation of what Zappa was all about; in fact, it's a misrepresentation. It's like taking the one mellow song off of each album by some metal band, putting them together and saying "see, they're really a mellow band".
There are tons of good suggestions in this thread already, but believe me, if all you've heard is Strictly Commercial, you have not yet listened to a Zappa album.
Actually, it seems to me that they did a good job of getting all of his "hits" on one album, and the title is supposed to be ironic...
To be honest, I like the way they've assembled 'radio friendly' Zappa songs. When I play these songs to my teachers at school, they're still in shock, but not as much as when I would play Dumb All Over (lyrical shock), or The Bebop Tango(musical shock). Hell, I've even lend out the CD to my vocal teacher, who sang on broadway a couple of years, and isn't into any other music than musical and classical, and a couple of classmates.
So I guess it's a good a best of as it can be. It has Zappa-esque moments, and when you start to like those moments just as much as the catchy moments, you're ready for your first real Zappa album.
As to people being afraid that they have to get into Hot Rats, or else they won't like Zappa. I can assure you that Hot Rats is maybe my 15th or 20th favourite Zappa album. Maybe I don't 'understand' it yet, but it hasn't grasped me.
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Okay, I guess Strictly Commercial would be useful for exposing people to Zappa via his most accessible stuff. I just can't see many people listening to it, though, and thinking "Wow, so this is Frank Zappa?" and buying more of his albums and liking them. I honestly doubt that Frank would have bothered creating such a collection for that purpose. He said many times that he didn't really give a fuck if people liked his work or not; he was doing it for exactly one person: himself.
That said, I'm not sure I believe that, either. I think that all artists, at some level, want people to experience and enjoy their work. I just don't think Frank would have put together a "best of" compilation like that. And MetalManiac said it himself. He's listened to it, thinks it's good, and it still hasn't inspired him to check out anything else.
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I saw Zappa plays Zappa last night and it was fantastic. The venue was a bit poor, and I really struggled making out some of the higher parts cos it was just so reverby and boomy, but the band was immense and the music was great.
The band started out really good, but kinda got into a rut where they were just playing the songs in the middle. Then a big group of people started dancing down the front and the band got really into it and were given a new lease of life! For the first song in the encore they got all the dancin folk up on stage which was hilarious, particularly the fat guy that kept shakin his booty at everyone!
Really good gig. And a good intro to Zappa's music!
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can one of you recommend me some Zappa?
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There are lots of great recommendations already in this thread. Pick some!
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Valley Girl has one of the catchiest basslines in the history of music. I don't really care for Hot Rats, but I'm really thinking about Ship Arriving Too Late to Save a Drowning Witch. Is the rest of the album as good as Valley Girl?
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I don't really care for Hot Rats
[size=9]WHAT[/size]
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I don't really care for Hot Rats
[size=9]WHAT[/size]
Neither man. I like Envelopes on SATLTSADW (lol) but haven't given the album a proper listen in a long time. I'd recommend Zoot Allures, its got a similar feel to ...Witch, IMO. Black Napkins ftw.
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Listening to Drowning Witch right now. This may be the greatest song I have ever heard.
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Frank Zappa is my god. Currently my clan tag on both Modern Warfare's is [FZ4L]. While as a whole, I like His work with The Mothers more than his later material without them, my very favourite albums of His come from that era (i.e Joe's Garage, Apostrophe).
If I ever got a tattoo I would choose the one like on MP's leg.
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I saw Zappa plays Zappa last night and it was fantastic. The venue was a bit poor, and I really struggled making out some of the higher parts cos it was just so reverby and boomy, but the band was immense and the music was great.
The band started out really good, but kinda got into a rut where they were just playing the songs in the middle. Then a big group of people started dancing down the front and the band got really into it and were given a new lease of life! For the first song in the encore they got all the dancin folk up on stage which was hilarious, particularly the fat guy that kept shakin his booty at everyone!
Really good gig. And a good intro to Zappa's music!
I also saw them on their current tour. Amazing show! I got my ticket stub signed by Dweezil and while he was handing it back to me he slipped in a pick too, which was cool.
can one of you recommend me some Zappa?
I started with One Size Fits All.
Frank Zappa is my god. Currently my clan tag on both Modern Warfare's is [FZ4L]. While as a whole, I like His work with The Mothers more than his later material without them, my very favourite albums of His come from that era (i.e Joe's Garage, Apostrophe).
If I ever got a tattoo I would choose the one like on MP's leg.
I see what you did there :laugh:
And I'd also get one like Mike Portnoy's if I ever got a Zappa tattoo (only one I'm seriously thinking of getting is John Bonhams's trinity symbol on my right shoulder/bicep).
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Do a search for "zappa" and this is the first result: https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=884.35
:P
Anyway, a huge Zappa lover here but don't have a huge collection. My most recent is Fillmore East 1971 and my friend got me this on vinyl for my birthday: https://www.lukpac.org/~handmade/patio/vinylvscds/m-o-p.html#usvinyl
:D
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Fillmore East 1971 is one of my favorite Zappa/Mothers albums. I love the whole "storyline" with the guys in the band trying to pick up the groupies. It's actually based on a true story, too.
Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan, a.k.a. "The Phlorescent Leech & Eddie" a.k.a. "Flo & Eddie" were the lead singers of the 60's band The Turtles, who were known for such hits as "Happy Together". They joined The Mothers after The Turtles broke up. After a Mothers show one time, Flo and Eddie were trying to pick up these girls who had been at the show, but they weren't impressed, as it wasn't really their kind of music. They were more into songs like you'd hear on the radio. Flo and Eddie said "Hey, we were in The Turtles. You know the song Happy Together? We sang that." But the girls wouldn't believe them unless they actually sang the song for them. So they did, and everyone got laid that night. True story. I love rock and roll.
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Been feeling like Im catching the Zappa bug, as listened to the Yellow Snow suite on Apostrophe(), and listened to the entire Joe's Garage album today. Thought I'd bump this thread to get more pages on this thread. I am about to purge my Zappa collection :yarr
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Purge? Why?
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hahaha :blush i didnt mean purge (does that even make sense, unless i was getting rid of albums i hate?)
i cant recall the word i meant, but i just started to attempt to listen to his discography.
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Ah, that's a relief. Maybe you were thinking "plunge" as in "plunge into"
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Ah, that's a relief. Maybe you were thinking "plunge" as in "plunge into"
lol yea i think so :facepalm:
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This doesn't really have anything to do with Frank Zappa, but I couldn't find a better place to post it.
I just realized that one of the remaining contestants on the current season of American Idol, Sophia Wackerman James, is the daughter of Chad Wackerman, who played drums with Zappa in the 80s and also played with Allan Holdsworth and others of that ilk (she's also the niece of current Avenged Sevenfold drummer Brooks Wackerman).
No, I don't watch AI, but I have been inundated with updates because she graduated from my daughter's high school a few years ago. Her grandfather was the band director a bunch of years ago, and my daughter tells me that they have a "shrine" to Sophia in the choir room. I knew the name sounded familiar and finally figured out why.
I watched a couple videos and don't really care for her voice, but it's kinda cool anyway.
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Hi all I haven't posted in awhile to DTF, but I've been on a Zappa kick and I have some things I'd like to discuss to those interested:
1. Does anybody know when, where, or how the "ZAPPA" movie by Alex Winter may be consumed? The movie was claimed by COVID early-on, and the internet has swallowed up any updates.
2. Upon discovering all of his discography on Apple Music this year, I can't help but be amazed at all I was missing for the past 17 years since I started listening to him. I've had "Strictly Commercial" and "Joe's Garage" on repeat for most of those years not knowing what I was missing. My favorites in recent years from most to least:
-"Halloween Live at Palladium in 77" : Bozzio is on fire here. I'm a huge metal and rock fan in general. This seems to be the hardest rocking band of his career. There's no better way to end a show than "camarillo Brillo" with that halftime breakdown into Muffin Man.
-You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore Vol. 6": I love this version of the band (78-81?) It has such a different version of the two songs mentioned above with less rock and more humor & reggae.
-"Sheik Yerbouti", "Apostrophe" & "Over-Nite Sensation": I just love them all. There's nothing I can say about them that hasn't already been said in previous Zappa Threads. I'll just leave it at how much I love them. As a drummer, I can really appreciate the compositions and complexity of these albums. So good.
-Tof
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Any Jazz From Hell fans in this thread? G-Spot Tornado is somewhere in my top 10 songs of all time.
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The version of G Spot Tornado on The Yellow Shark is truly unbelievable - music that was designed to be unplayable by humans being played by humans. Check out the video on Youtube with the dancers. That YS footage really needs a quality DVD release.
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Jazz From Hell was the first Zappa CD I ever bought. I was all vinyl until that point. I still love it.
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Jazz From Hell was the first Zappa CD I ever bought. I was all vinyl until that point. I still love it.
it's great. So many notes, so complex. Lovely.
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It looks like the Frank Zappa movie by Alex Winter will be out on VOD and select Theaters on November 27. Finally! See below from Alex Winter's page. I can't wait.
http://alexwinter.com/film-projects/zappa-movie-to-be-released-by-magnolia-films/ (http://alexwinter.com/film-projects/zappa-movie-to-be-released-by-magnolia-films/)
-Tof
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Any Jazz From Hell fans in this thread? G-Spot Tornado is somewhere in my top 10 songs of all time.
I get down on JFH. I like Dance Me This a lot as well.
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It looks like the Frank Zappa movie by Alex Winter will be out on VOD and select Theaters on November 27. Finally! See below from Alex Winter's page. I can't wait.
http://alexwinter.com/film-projects/zappa-movie-to-be-released-by-magnolia-films/ (http://alexwinter.com/film-projects/zappa-movie-to-be-released-by-magnolia-films/)
-Tof
FINALLY!!!
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A Frank Zappa documentary by Bill S. Preston? Interesting.
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It looks like the Frank Zappa movie by Alex Winter will be out on VOD and select Theaters on November 27. Finally! See below from Alex Winter's page. I can't wait.
http://alexwinter.com/film-projects/zappa-movie-to-be-released-by-magnolia-films/ (http://alexwinter.com/film-projects/zappa-movie-to-be-released-by-magnolia-films/)
-Tof
:tup
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The new Halloween 81 box set is out. I've not been keeping up with all these box sets they keep releasing. That's all they've released since 2016. I applaud the ZFT releasing all this music, more live Zappa is never bad, but where are the unreleased compositions??? There are allegedly hundreds of Zappa tunes that have not been released. I thought they were starting to release more of Frank's unreleased works when they released "Frank Zappa For President" in 2016, which had 3 unreleased "new" tunes, and Dance Me This, which was an album completed in 1992 and released in 2015. There's also an album of Varese compositions recorded at FZ's home studio in the early 90s, called "The Rage and The Fury", which has still yet to be released.
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The new Halloween 81 box set is out. I've not been keeping up with all these box sets they keep releasing. That's all they've released since 2016. I applaud the ZFT releasing all this music, more live Zappa is never bad, but where are the unreleased compositions??? There are allegedly hundreds of Zappa tunes that have not been released. I thought they were starting to release more of Frank's unreleased works when they released "Frank Zappa For President" in 2016, which had 3 unreleased "new" tunes, and Dance Me This, which was an album completed in 1992 and released in 2015. There's also an album of Varese compositions recorded at FZ's home studio in the early 90s, called "The Rage and The Fury", which has still yet to be released.
I listened to Halloween '81 this weekend (admittedly only about 1/3 of it). The sound quality is great and the band is spot on. This is probably my least favorite version of his band. I think they're better with Ike. The reason I feel that way is that this band is going more vocal and those two improve the band from this version. It doesn't rock as much as Halloween '77, but the playing is more precise (good or bad depending on your preference). It was obvious that he was getting to be more of the band's boss instead of one of the guys. The players were getting younger and he was getting older so it makes sense. I think this was the last Halloween year. IMO, this version of the band only gets better from here in terms of live performances. The playing was very on. I'm especially impressed with Chad on the drums here. I think at this point he had only been in the band for a few months and his playing is reminiscent of what Vinnie was putting out (lots of ghosting and off-beat playing). Perhaps, not as fluid, but who is more fluid than Vinnie? I'm sure this release will grow on me like the other did. It just didn't hit right away.
I didn't know about the unreleased "new" songs. That would be amazing to hear. His family hasn't been shy about releasing archived music. I'm not sure he, himself, would have released the halloweens, for example, in their unedited and raw glory. He seemed to relish in overdubbing, producing and really creating a piece of art from the live material. I'm a big fan of both takes on his live music.
I noticed some tracks from the Dub Room Special soundtrack too. The more I listen, the better it gets. I think each show improves more.
::edited::
-Tof
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These Halloween boxsets are over-packaged (I've got nowhere to store them!) and I don't like the way they release a single disc highlights rather than an entire show like they did for the Halloween 77 set. I also agree that if we're going to get later Frank, we'd be better off with stuff from the 84 or 88 tours - I'd love a Roxy-style boxset from the 88 tour.
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The new Halloween 81 box set is out. I've not been keeping up with all these box sets they keep releasing. That's all they've released since 2016. I applaud the ZFT releasing all this music, more live Zappa is never bad, but where are the unreleased compositions??? There are allegedly hundreds of Zappa tunes that have not been released. I thought they were starting to release more of Frank's unreleased works when they released "Frank Zappa For President" in 2016, which had 3 unreleased "new" tunes, and Dance Me This, which was an album completed in 1992 and released in 2015. There's also an album of Varese compositions recorded at FZ's home studio in the early 90s, called "The Rage and The Fury", which has still yet to be released.
I listened to Halloween '81 this weekend (admittedly only about 1/3 of it). The sound quality is great and the band is spot on. This is probably my least favorite version of his band. I think they're better with Ike. The reason I feel that way is that this band is going more vocal and those two improve the band from this version. It doesn't rock as much as Halloween '77, but the playing is more precise (good or bad depending on your preference). It was obvious that he was getting to be more of the band's boss instead of one of the guys. The players were getting younger and he was getting older so it makes sense. I think this was the last Halloween year. IMO, this version of the band only gets better from here in terms of live performances. The playing was very on. I'm especially impressed with Chad on the drums here. I think at this point he had only been in the band for a few months and his playing is reminiscent of what Vinnie was putting out (lots of ghosting and off-beat playing). Perhaps, not as fluid, but who is more fluid than Vinnie? I'm sure this release will grow on me like the other did. It just didn't hit right away.
I didn't know about the unreleased "new" songs. That would be amazing to hear. His family hasn't been shy about releasing archived music. I'm not sure he, himself, would have released the halloweens, for example, in their unedited and raw glory. He seemed to relish in overdubbing, producing and really creating a piece of art from the live material. I'm a big fan of both takes on his live music.
I noticed some tracks from the Dub Room Special soundtrack too. The more I listen, the better it gets. I think each show improves more.
::edited::
-Tof
There's only been a few releases that feature some of his previously unreleased new music in the last decade. Congress Shall Make No Law (2010), Feeding the Monkies At Maison (2011), Dance Me This (2015), and Frank Zappa For President (2016). Supposedly there's at least a couple hundred unreleased works still in the vault. I would think this would be a priority to release this parallel to the big live releases, and I'm not sure we've gotten a whole lot of info as to why there's not been much released so far.
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The movie "ZAPPA" by Alex Winter is officially streaming, to rent. It is fantastic. It's definitely produced along the lines of a found footage zappa-directed movie than an album by album, band by band account of the man. There's definitely a character study type of theme to it. I'm happy about that even if they didn't focus on the parts of his bands that I enjoy the most. By the end, I felt extremely sad that he's gone and left wondering what he would have been doing all these years. President Zappa anyone? I'll definitely be re-watching. Anybody see it and have thoughts?
-Tof
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Can't find it to rent in the UK yet...
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I need to watch, I've been on a serious Zappa kick lately, in serious lather, serious chains.
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Shrink tubing with a hair dryer
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It's become somewhat of a tradition to put some FZ on during the Christmas season, particularly during Christmas Eve/Day.
Putting this on, Vinny on drums is always excellent.
(https://www.united-mutations.com/z/frank_zappa/fz_chicago78.jpg)
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New ZAPPA release. 88 Band.
https://www.zappa.com/news/frank-zappas-final-american-show-be-released-first-time (https://www.zappa.com/news/frank-zappas-final-american-show-be-released-first-time)
(https://www.zappa.com/sites/g/files/aaj776/f/styles/suzuki_breakpoints_image_desktop-lg_16x9/public/news/202104/Zappa88-Home-banner-03.jpg?itok=3JsIk2AA)
About time.
Of course, it isn't the 'complete' show, due to unfortunate in-family politics..
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About time we got something from the 88 band.
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About time we got something from the 88 band.
There are three releases from this band, IIRC...
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About time we got something from the 88 band.
There are three releases from this band, IIRC...
I think he meant posthumously by the ZFT.
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About time we got something from the 88 band.
There are three releases from this band, IIRC...
I think he meant posthumously by the ZFT.
Yeas, that's what I meant. Also nice to see it without a fancy-dress kit in an oversized and overpriced box.
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Saw the movie last weekend. Was v enjoyable.
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The Alex Winter movie?
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I bought it on Blu-ray at my last trip to the CD shop. I thought it was really informative and insightful to a point.
But the omissions I thought were very glaring. Ahmet produced The film, but not a single modern interview with any of the kids? None at all? Several of the original mothers have gone on record since Frank‘s passing, but so few of them appeared here. Not a single modern interview with Flo and Eddie?
But on the whole I considered it to be a good overview of the man and his career
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Me: "Think I'll spin Hot Rats on this lovely Sunday morning :hat "
My wife: "God, this music is awful"
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Me: "Think I'll spin Hot Rats on this lovely Sunday morning :hat "
My wife: "God, this music is awful"
:lol
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It's out!
(https://superdeluxeedition.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/2CD600.jpg)
https://open.spotify.com/album/4tZnzmbfXRwgz7RcqeCKSa (https://open.spotify.com/album/4tZnzmbfXRwgz7RcqeCKSa)
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The sound is fantastic, just like the first three '88 Band albums. So great to have this release, the first Zappa album to solely feature this band in 30 years.
The first 3 are near perfect, as they were highly edited by Frank. This is a (mostly) uncut performance so we hear the occasional mistake from band members but generally they really are as tight as you hear on the older albums (and anyone who's ever checked out boots of this band already know)
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Ahmet announced in a Dutch interview on Zappateers that 3 new releases are coming soon.
200 Motels box set
Bongo Fury box set
The Rage & The Fury (unreleased Frank album from 1993)
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Not sure about Bongo Fury, but the other two are long overdo. The Rage and the Fury is Varese compositions right?
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I enjoyed the 1988 show album, but I did feel it wasn't the bast show from the tour that they could have picked to release. The band did rather seem to run out of steam during the covers at the end - I'd have loved it if they'd have found a show with a bit more energy. But let's be honest, when the 88 band were on form, as they were for much of this, they were unstoppable. More please!
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TR&TF is Varese, featuring the Ensemble Modern, (The Yellow Shark, CPIII, and EIHN) not sure if there is any Synclavier. It is the last publicly known album Zappa put together himself completely, that has not had an official release yet.
As far as I'm aware there are no live releases from the Bongo Fury lineup other than tracks that appeared on the You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore albums.
I agree that the '88 live album that just came out could have been better if they picked a better show, this is a show I could see them releasing after putting out at least two other killer '88 show. Not to mention, the incomplete track list and the background behind it, is disconcerting. It's also censoring history, something that goes against everything Frank Zappa stands for. Glad to get an official release of a couple of songs not presented on the other 3 official '88 releases, like Pound For A Brown, and just happy we finally got a show released from this tour.
I'm still hoping there's plans to release more of Frank's unreleased music that he was working on in the 70s, 80s, and 90s. There's allegedly hundreds of unreleased compositions in the vault. I do recall that a "Lost Episodes 2" was made known from Travers or Ahmet some time in the past year, I think, as something that would be a release in the future, so hopefully it's twice as long as the first one, and features all kinds of "new" music from Frank. There are many pieces of music from Frank out there floating around on the internet, from various sources, but never officially released on an album. Stuff like, "The Fly": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBjDERuqs-Y (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBjDERuqs-Y)
The Rage & The Fury is a good start, and while it is Edgard Varese's music, it's his music that is one of the main ingredients of what makes Zappa's music... Zappa, so to hear how this sounded is something many Zappa fans are eager to hear.
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Here it comes!
Frank Zappa - 200 Motels 50th Anniversary Edition
https://www.zappa.com/news/200-motels-50th-anniversary-edition-available-november-19-zappa-recordsume (https://www.zappa.com/news/200-motels-50th-anniversary-edition-available-november-19-zappa-recordsume)
"MONSTROUS COLLECTION BRINGS TOGETHER NEWLY REMASTERED SOUNDTRACK WITH STAGGERING AMOUNT OF UNRELEASED AND RARE MATERIAL UNEARTHED FROM THE VAULT, INCLUDING ORIGINAL DEMOS, STUDIO OUTTAKES, WORK MIXES, INTERVIEWS AND EARLY AUDIO EDIT OF THE FILM.
SOUNDTRACK WILL ALSO BE AVAILABLE ON 2LP AND 2CD, AND EVERYTHING WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR STREAMING IN STANDARD AND HI-RES AUDIO..."
200 Motels is one of my least favorite FZ albums, but this is a big deal.
This album's been out of print for a long time, so not only is this a new box set release,
this is also a long-awaited re-issue of the original album, as it appears to be its own release.
If you don't want the big box set, but don't have this album, the 2 CD set is the way to go.
(https://www.zappa.com/sites/g/files/aaj776/f/200-Motels-6CD-slipcase-and-booklet.png)
(https://www.zappa.com/sites/g/files/aaj776/f/200Motels_2LP_Black-2.png)
(https://www.zappa.com/sites/g/files/aaj776/f/200Motels_2LP_RED-2.png)
(https://www.zappa.com/sites/g/files/aaj776/f/200-Motels-2CD-Productv2.png)
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I thought the movie was fun, and of course insanely entertaining in that Zappa way. But I've tired a few times to listen to the soundtrack and found myself wanting to turn it off and just watch the movie. Or maybe skip watching the movie and do something else. It's definitely something I have to be in the mood for and, sadly, I'm finding that to be less and less often these days.
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This is good news for any completionist who doesn't have this album.
I never listen to 200 Motels. If I do, it's because I'm doing a run-through of all his albums or something. I always preferred the alternate versions of the songs here that appear on later albums. The sound quality is also possibly Frank's worst. Apparently the album is remastered, but not sure how much could be done with whatever copy MGM had, which I don't believe was the master reels.
I'm not very much into the Flo n Eddie era either.
The movie was incredibly boring to me, I know it was on Netflix for a while. I'm not sure I've sat through the entire thing beginning to end.