The Frank Zappa Discography Thread - #39 - 'The Perfect Stranger'

[Nihil-Morari]

One, two, buckle my shoe...

Over the coming weeks/months/years, I shall be doing my very best to keep you guys entertained in learning more about the music of the late great Frank Zappa.
I'll start with a short informative piece on this discography thread, followed by a short introduction on Frank Zappa and his works (for the complete newcomers to his music). After those two things are behind us we can finally start with album number one. (I'd like to take a couple of days up to a week for people to gather around)

It's not really common to start one of these threads with a disclaimer, but I feel like I have to. First of all I'm not a doctor of Zappa-ism, haven't done a major in Zappology (thanks Ben Watson for that word) and I may very well not even be his biggest fan on this forum. Nonetheless I might be one of the most active Zappa fans around here, and I really like to talk about his music, to spread the disease so to speak, so that could well be why I chose to do this thread.
Next to that I'm not a native English speaker, making it even more daunting for myself. In principle I want to do this one album at a time. When doing one album a week, you'd get to around 2 years. I think though that in his later works I could do with 2 albums, or even 3 at a time, we'll see.
Finally I love little winks and nudges to Zappa's lyrics, conceptual continuity, and his way of writing, so pardon me for not really writing your everyday piece on music. I've always thought that writing about a certain artist means you have to think like they did, and act like they did.




Right, Frank Zappa. Not that long ago I read 'Zappa was [...] the closest that rock music ever came to producing a bona-fide genius'. I think Keith Gordon was underestimating both rock music and Zappa.  While the concept of being a genius is a difficult one to actually put your finger on, I'm fully convinced that there are (or were) more Rock Geniuses out there. Zappa though wasn't just a rock genius. Although I'm not one of his fans who'd worship his garbage just because he touched it, I do think there's beauty in almost everything that he did. There's an idea behind every word he said, every interview, every note. Now without further ado a very short summary of his life leading up to Album Number 1.

Frank Vincent Zappa was born on December 21st 1940 in Baltimore. His youth consisted mostly of blowing up stuff, moving to different cities and being sick. His father had to move for work related issues all the time, so Frank never really earthed anywhere. He wrote down his youth in his semi-autobiography The Real Frank Zappa book, and whether his music turns out to suit you or not, that book is hysterical to read.
His music career really started when he read an article on a local record store. The actual content of the article is debated on, but it was something along the lines of 'this is a very good record store, the owner could even sell you something as atrocious as Edgar Varese's Ionisation'. Further down it stated that that album was nothing else than drums, dissonant and terrible, the worst music in the world. Zappa was all ears, he had to find that album. Long story short, that was the nudge he needed. He liked the R&B of the fifties, but this was something else.
He started writing music, but without a single training.
Right from the beginning his interest was not only in music, but in other art as well. He painted, he even bought himself his own film-studio in his late teens/early 20's, but music was the best. He met the other Mothers of Invention while filling in for a band called The Soul Giants. They wrote their first songs, and after years of hard work and playing together they finally (1966) convinced a record company buff that he should invest money in them to record their first record.


#1 - Freak Out! https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=44650.msg2015527#msg2015527
#2 - Absolutely Free https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=44650.msg2017694#msg2017694
#3 - Lumpy Gravy https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=44650.msg2019527#msg2019527
#4 - We're Only In It For The Money https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=44650.msg2022116#msg2022116
#5 - Cruising With Ruben & The Jets https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=44650.msg2025316#msg2025316
#6 - Uncle Meat https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=44650.msg2031386#msg2031386
#7 - Mothermania https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=44650.msg2033888#msg2033888
#8 - Hot Rats https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=44650.msg2038063#msg2038063
#9 - Burnt Weeny Sandwich https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=44650.msg2041473#msg2041473
#10 - Weasels Ripped My Flesh https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=44650.msg2046619#msg2046619
#11 - Chunga's Revenge https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=44650.msg2054444#msg2054444
#12 - Fillmore East, June 1971 https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=44650.msg2070465#msg2070465
#13 - 200 Motels https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=44650.msg2076197#msg2076197
#14 - Just Another Band From L.A. https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=44650.msg2082317#msg2082317
#15 - Waka/Jawaka https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=44650.msg2089462#msg2089462
#16 - The Grand Wazoo https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=44650.msg2093496#msg2093496
#17 - Over-Nite Sensation https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=44650.msg2105130#msg2105130
#18 - Apostrophe (') https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=44650.msg2113959#msg2113959
#19 - Roxy & Elsewhere https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=44650.msg2123974#msg2123974
#20 - One Size Fits All https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=44650.msg2138104#msg2138104
#21 - Bongo Fury https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=44650.msg2145821#msg2145821
#22 - Zoot Allures https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=44650.msg2153117#msg2153117
#23 - Zappa In New York https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=44650.msg2169917#msg2169917
#24 - Studio Tan https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=44650.msg2288199#msg2288199
#25 - Sleep Dirt https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=44650.msg2290687#msg2290687
#26 - Sheik Yerbouti https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=44650.msg2292905#msg2292905
#27 - Orchestral Favorites https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=44650.msg2295294#msg2295294
#28 & #29 - Joe's Garage - Acts I, II & III https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=44650.msg2298406#msg2298406
#30 - Tinseltown Rebellion https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=44650.msg2301454#msg2301454
#31, #32 & #33 - Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=44650.msg2304219#msg2304219
#34 - You Are What You Is https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=44650.msg2310211#msg2310211
#35 - Ship Arriving Too Late To Save A Drowning Witch https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=44650.msg2312423#msg2312423
#36 - The Man From Utopia https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=44650.msg2315110#msg2315110
#37 - Baby Snakes https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=44650.msg2319860#msg2319860
#38 - London Symphony Orchestra Vol. 1 https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=44650.msg2321907#msg2321907
#39 - Boulez Conducts Zappa: The Perfect Stranger https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=44650.msg2330978#msg2330978

[hefdaddy42]

Following with great interest, as I have always been interested in exploring Zappa, but was intimidated by the sheer size of his output.

[KevShmev]

I own like 12-13 of his albums (meaning, I have the actual physical CDs!), and I'm still intimidated by the size of his catalogue.

I'll probably only chime in on the albums I know, but will be reading and following with great interest.

[ThatOneGuy2112]

Been anticipating this for quite some time.

Following

[Orbert]

I'll be watching and reading.  Other than Nihil-Morari himself, I know I'm one of the bigger Zappa fans, having followed his work and that of The Mothers for around 40 years now, but the idea of doing the discography was just too daunting.  I'm glad someone else had the balls to do it.  I've got maybe 40 or 50 of his albums in one form or another, but got choosier during the 90's and also didn't have the disposable income I used to have (having kids will do that), so I'm looking forward to learning more about his later work, even though that will be years from now!

[jammindude]

YAY!!! It's happening!!!!

[Tomislav95]

I like his music but I don't know enough album to call myself fan
I will be checking this thread frequently. It would be cool if you, in your writeups, write how accessible is the album for new fan. Because some of the albums are just too weird and can turn off newbies like me

[sneakyblueberry]

Alright! followed

[Nihil-Morari]

I like his music but I don't know enough album to call myself fan
I will be checking this thread frequently. It would be cool if you, in your writeups, write how accessible is the album for new fan. Because some of the albums are just too weird and can turn off newbies like me

Oh totally. I guess that I will give some background info, maybe a track-by-track review (or per vinyl side) and I will definitely write if it's just for completionists, or one of his best albums. Like I wrote, there are a couple of albums out there that only a handful people enjoy, and I'm not one of them 

Thanks for the enthusiasm guys! We'll start with Freak Out! in a couple of days!

[Onno]

I'll probably need to follow this as well.

[Nihil-Morari]

I'll probably need to follow this as well.

Yes. Yes you do.

[hefdaddy42]

Oh good, soon this will be the most-followed thread on DTF. 

[Cyclopssss]

Following!

[Mosh]

Totally following this.

[Nihil-Morari]

Oh good, soon this will be the most-followed thread on DTF. 

Certainly looks like it! I can only say that I like it, makes me looking forward to this thread even more. 

[Kwyjibo]

Following with great interest, as I have always been interested in exploring Zappa, but was intimidated by the sheer size of his output.

... and some things I heard were just shit.

So following in hope to discover the gems.

[kaos2900]

This is going to be awesome! Thanks for doing this.

Good timing as I'll be seeing Zappa Plays Zappa on Wednesday! 

[Podaar]

Yeah, It's hardly surprising that I'll be following this thread.

[darkshade]

This is totally awesome.  I could help out on this thread if you need me to.

If I may...  I suggest at least 2-3 albums per week, most of his albums were 25-40 minutes long until 1988. It's very easy to get through a bunch of albums in a few days.

There's also three ways to do this.

1. Start with Freak Out! and only listen to "cannon" albums, so only posthumous albums Frank intended to release (Lather, The Lost Episodes, Trance Fusion, CPIII, DMT, HIOS?)

2. Same as #1, but using certain posthumous albums to "fill in the holes" of Zappa's discography (could be very subjective), and include "other" albums, like Jean-Luc Ponty's "King Kong" album, or the Greggary Peccary album, for example.

3. Every single friggin album ever released with Frank's name on it, including Beat The Boots series, Cucamonga, and live performances with original material (Classical concerts from 1963 and 1984 for example) starting with the soundtrack to "Run Home Slow" and then the 1963 performance of really early Zappa music. We would also include remixes and alternate versions of albums (Hot Rats, Sleep Dirt, Lumpy Gravy, etc...)
There's also two ways to do this:
a.) Posthumous albums to be listened when it was recorded, (like option #2) using the most recent date of recording if it has multiple recording dates.
b.) Listen in the order in which the albums were released.

I have done a discography run-through once, and I did option #3, but it's easier when doing it alone, with a group, it might be too much, and I doubt everyone has every Zappa album like me (though there's a dozen or so I don't own physical copies of... yet) I have a few lists I could copy and paste with what the correct order of albums is depending on which option the majority prefers. I can't wait to do this, and this come at a perfect time for me, as the seasons change and my tastes are moving towards more prog, jazz, and avant-garde.

[hefdaddy42]

On the other hand, of course, we could just let Nihil-Morari run it however he sees fit, since it's his enterprise.

[darkshade]

On the other hand, of course, we could just let Nihil-Morari run it however he sees fit, since it's his enterprise.

Of course. I just thought I'd share the various ways this could be done, since Zappa released so much music, and basically every album has completely original music, even compilations and remixes. Seeing this thread just got me very excited. Everyone is free to completely ignore my previous post in this thread. 

[Mladen]

Following with great interest, as I have always been interested in exploring Zappa, but was intimidated by the sheer size of his output.

I agree. I'm especially looking forward to the discussion about the album he released with Captain Beefheart, being that I'm a big Beefheart fan.

[hefdaddy42]

On the other hand, of course, we could just let Nihil-Morari run it however he sees fit, since it's his enterprise.

Of course. I just thought I'd share the various ways this could be done, since Zappa released so much music, and basically every album has completely original music, even compilations and remixes. Seeing this thread just got me very excited. Everyone is free to completely ignore my previous post in this thread. 

Just messin' with ya.

[darkshade]

On the other hand, of course, we could just let Nihil-Morari run it however he sees fit, since it's his enterprise.

Of course. I just thought I'd share the various ways this could be done, since Zappa released so much music, and basically every album has completely original music, even compilations and remixes. Seeing this thread just got me very excited. Everyone is free to completely ignore my previous post in this thread. 

Just messin' with ya.

[Nihil-Morari]

Haha, tips and tricks are always welcome. I just think that I'll start off one album at a time. Especially the first 15/20 are pretty mandatory to at least try. After that I could tie them together I think, we'll see. The posthumous albums are a different thing, most of em have a certain interest, but I think it says a lot about the amount of great Zappa music there is, that album no. 99 (Roxy By Proxy) is one of my favorite Zappa records out there. The 'other material' though... It's possible that I touch on that in my reviews, or within a discussion. It's possible that I name a couple of movies, but to include everything? If a 100 albums isn't already making me dizzy, including every single note he's released is making me nauseous 

Expect the first album in this thread tomorrow, or the day after that!

Ready to Freak Out?

[sneakyblueberry]

"freak me out frank, freak me out"

[darkshade]

Haha, tips and tricks are always welcome. I just think that I'll start off one album at a time. Especially the first 15/20 are pretty mandatory to at least try. After that I could tie them together I think, we'll see. The posthumous albums are a different thing, most of em have a certain interest, but I think it says a lot about the amount of great Zappa music there is, that album no. 99 (Roxy By Proxy) is one of my favorite Zappa records out there. The 'other material' though... It's possible that I touch on that in my reviews, or within a discussion. It's possible that I name a couple of movies, but to include everything? If a 100 albums isn't already making me dizzy, including every single note he's released is making me nauseous 

Expect the first album in this thread tomorrow, or the day after that!

Ready to Freak Out?

I just want to help make sure all the necessary albums are covered, at the very least. An album like "King Kong" should be included, as it's a Zappa album credited to Jean-Luc Ponty, and was a big step in Frank's evolution into jazz-fusion. Frank had writing, composition, arrangement, performance, and conductor credits. JLP, George Duke, Art Tripp (all Zappa alumni) are on the album.

Only these posthumous albums should definitely be included:

Civilization Phaze III
Lather
The Lost Episodes
Everything Is Healing Nicely
FZPTMOFZ (makes for a nice final album)
Have I Offended Someone? (can be skipped)
Trance-Fusion
Road Tapes Vol. 2 ('73 lineup with Jean-Luc Ponty is misrepresented in Zappa's canon)
Dance Me This

All the albums I listed (except RT vol. 2 and FZPTMOFZ) were intended for release by Frank, as opposed to the rest of the posthumous albums which weren't.

[Ultimetalhead]

Following. Hopefully this will be the push I need to finally move past One Size Fits All in my exploration.

[Obfuscation]

Have always heard of Zappa but never dedicated time to listen to him but will follow this and will listen.

[Nihil-Morari]

Official Release #1 'Freak Out!'
(Released 06/1966)



Background information:
The first thing you need to know about Freak Out! is that it wasn't at all Zappa's first work in the music industry. He had a studio in Cucamonga (check out the demo's of that if you're interested in surf music with a doo-wop twist), in which he made both movies and the scores to those movies (amongst other things, I'll have to be incomplete, otherwise all these 100 albums would deserve a complete book). It wouldn't be a Zappa project if there weren't any troubles, so in come the local PD, arrest Zappa for making 'pornografic music', and shut down the studio.
Zappa's first big encounter with the law aside, the entire project didn't really bring what Zappa hoped for.
We skip a bit, and let Ray Collins enter the story. In my opinion he and Don Van Vliet (Captain Beefheart) were two of the most important characters in Zappa's early musical life.
After Collins had a fight with the guitar player in his band (The Soul Giants) Zappa filled in. One thing led to another, they started to play Zappa's own music, and The Soul Giants became...

The Mothers
They got a steady gig at The Sunset Strip in LA, where they got a record deal at Verve Records. (note that they got the deal based on just one song: 'Trouble Every Day' which, well, isn't really your typical Zappa song, but more on that later) The record label got ahead right away (again, based on one song and a giant reputation locally) and offered them a budget for a double album. This would make it the first double debut album in history.



The album itself:
Side one
The album starts off in a special way. There are some that link the opening riff of 'Hungry Freaks, Daddy' to '(I can't get no) Satisfaction', but whether that was intentional or not, the fact of the matter is that it's a pretty rockin' riff. The following tracks make very clear that we're not listening to a normal record here, and that this record is not by a normal artist. Just as the studio engineer back then was shocked when he heard this music (he heard there was a white blues band coming, and the second track they recorded was 'Who Are The Brain Police', I would've loved to hear his phone call to the office asking what the hell he should do with this kind of music), I still listen to this record in awe. 'Go Cry', 'Motherly Love' and 'How Could I Be' are three tracks that express both Zappa's love for R&B and Doo- Wop, as well as his love for 'weird music'. Just listen to the kazoo-like breaks in Motherly Love. 'Who Are The Brain Police', however, is in a league of its own on the first side of the album. The lyrics are really strong, the middle bit and mostly the way it jumps back into the song are out of this world. Listening to this I always forget that this was the second song this group recorded. It's a song that showed the bands (and Zappa's) potential. In 'A Complete Guide To Frank Zappa' it says 'if this was Zappa's only release it would've been a big underground hit, and would maybe even still be, but no, way more happened'....

Side Two:
Whereas side one was a mixture of styles portraying everything the band could do, I've always felt that side two was 'just' an entertaining collection of songs. Lyrically there are some good moments (I've always loved 'you're probably wondering why I'm here and so am I'), but musically nothing really stands out. The only tiny thing to be noted is again the kazoo like melody right after the aforementioned lyrics, which is rhythmically quite challenging, and doubled by percussion, which will happen quite a lot more later in the discography.

Side Three:
Aah yes, here we go. Zappa's main political satire on this record is Trouble Every Day. One of the most important tracks, stylistically however, is Help I'm A Rock. So here it gets interesting. Zappa's big youth hero, I don't think he would ever use those words, but still, was Edgard Varese, a classical composer. Zappa getting into his music is one of the best anekdotes surrounding Zappa. When he was very young he read in a newspaper that a local record salesman was such a good talker that he even could make you buy Varese's Ionisation, a record just full of noise and other ugly sounds, in fact the ugliest music the reporter had ever heard. Zappa's first
reaction was 'I gotta find that record'. So he saved up, finally found the record, bought it, and was delighted by its harsh percussive type sound. It had a very big impact on him as a music lover, and later on as a composer. The first time in his music carreer that it gets apparent is during Help I'm A Rock. Trouble Every Day was the groups ticket to a record contract. It's about the Watts riots, and very much about racism.

Side Four:
Zappa's take on Revolution #9, as it's been called, however it's really closer to a Stockhausen piece than to The Beatles' sidelong piece of experimentation. It's his first major tape experiment, and we'll see a couple more of those in the future. There are a lot of things going on, including the Suzy Creamcheese introduction. If you see this weird piece of music more as a statement that as a song, you'll be more likely to enjoy it, although it's one of the most 'freak out' things Zappa has ever done (and yes, that's saying something)

All in all not the easiest Zappa record to get into, but one that got me from liking Zappa's music to admiring his work.


Essential Tracks: (for those of you that don't have all the time in the world)
Trouble Every Day
Who Are The Brain Police
Help I'm A Rock
Motherly Love

[tofee35]

Count me in the 'being excited about this thread' group. As a huge huge fan of  just 4 of his albums (Joe's Garage, Apostrophe', Over-nite Sensation, and Strictly Commercial). I've had a hard time venturing out from those.

I can't wait to read FZ this from such an avid fan of all his life's work!

[Podaar]

I'm not fond of the R&B/Doo Wop songs on this album but most of everything else is brilliant!

To your list of essential songs, I'd add "Hungry Freaks, Daddy", and "The Return of the Son of Monster Magnet". The later mostly because of the rhythmic soundscapes. I get why it isn't some folks cuppa' but I find if you don't listen too closely to the individual sounds, instruments and vocals... just sorta zone out while listening... it becomes a kind of symphony of rhythm.

Honorable mention for "You're Probably Wondering Why I'm Here".

[Nihil-Morari]

I'm not fond of the R&B/Doo Wop songs on this album but most of everything else is brilliant!

To your list of essential songs, I'd add "Hungry Freaks, Daddy", and "The Return of the Son of Monster Magnet". The later mostly because of the rhythmic soundscapes. I get why it isn't some folks cuppa' but I find if you don't listen too closely to the individual sounds, instruments and vocals... just sorta zone out while listening... it becomes a kind of symphony of rhythm.

Honorable mention for "You're Probably Wondering Why I'm Here".

Trust me I'd want to include almost all songs on the first couple of albums, but I thought I'd make it a short list. Actually I was thinking about whether I should include You're Probably Wondering... or Motherly Love.
Hungry Freaks is awesome, not in the last place because it's the first song on the first album. And Monster Magnet... well, like you say, people could get turned off by it. But I love the wackiness, I love the fact that you can hear all the Freaks of the Scene at that time have a good time in the middle of the night with a room full of rented percussion.

[Orbert]

My wife does not like Frank Zappa's music.  I understand; he's certainly not for everyone.  She's seen interviews and thinks he's a cool guy, and very brave and borderline insane to do the things he did, so there's admiration, just not preference.  She's also not a big fan of prog or other forms of music that are too "out there" or have blatantly sexual content, as some of Frank's stuff did.

Imagine her surprise when I told her that I'd played some Zappa for our kids.  And yes, "surprise" is a very mild word for it.  She freaked out, which is oddly appropriate.

The songs I played were "Help, I'm a Rock", "I'm So Cute", and a few others I thought they'd find funny.  This was when they were younger and I was still deliberately exposing them to all kinds of music.  They needed to know that there's more out there than what they hear on the radio and/or the dreck their friends like.  They thought it was awesome.

Help, I'm a Rock?
Yes, it's a song about being a rock.  It's kinda monotonous and boring because being a rock must be pretty boring.
Yeah, I guess so.  Wait, are they saying Help, I'm a cop now?
Yes, because nobody like cops.
I do, cops are good.  They catch bad guys.
True, but bad guys don't like them.
Oh.  Yeah.

[Nihil-Morari]

 

I love how kids could dance to Zappa's early stuff, I've got young kids in my family that really seem to enjoy the old doo-wop stuff.

My girlfriend too, btw. She really doesn't like any Prog or 'complicated' music, but we could dance to Ruben and the Jets all day long.