ZAPPA

[marinville]

Somebody said we needed a Zappa thread here. I tend to agree.
I'll start here, in the interest of starting somewhere. Hopefully much more to come (unless I get bored or run out of steam.) Please feel obligated to discuss all things Zappa here. Godspeed.



the mothers - weasels ripped my flesh (1970)

1. didja get any onya
2. directly from my heart to you
3. prelude to an the afternoon of a sexually aroused gas mask
4. toads of the short forrest
5. get a little
6. eric dolphy memorial barbeque
7. dwarf nebula processional march & dwarf nebula
8. my guitar wants to kill your mama
9. oh no
10. the orange county lumber truck
11. weasels ripped my flesh

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A fascinating collection of mostly instrumental live and studio material recorded by the original Mothers of Invention, complete with horn section, from 1967-1969, Weasels Ripped My Flesh segues unpredictably between arty experimentation and traditional song structures. Highlights of the former category include the classical avant-garde elements of "Didja Get Any Onya," which blends odd rhythmic accents and time signatures with dissonance and wordless vocal noises; these pop up again in "Prelude to the Afternoon of a Sexually Aroused Gas Mask" and "Toads of the Short Forest." The latter and "The Eric Dolphy Memorial Barbecue" also show Frank Zappa's willingness to embrace the avant-garde jazz of the period. Yet, interspersed are straightforward tunes like a cover of Little Richard's "Directly From My Heart to You," with great violin from Don "Sugarcane" Harris; the stinging Zappa-sung rocker "My Guitar Wants to Kill Your Mama," and "Oh No," a familiar Broadway-esque Zappa melody (it turned up on Lumpy Gravy) fitted with lyrics and sung by Ray Collins. Thus, Weasels can make for difficult, incoherent listening, especially at first. But there is a certain logic behind the band's accomplished genre-bending and Zappa's gleefully abrupt veering between musical extremes; without pretension, Zappa blurs the normally sharp line between intellectual concept music and the visceral immediacy of rock and R&B. Zappa's anything-goes approach and the distance between his extremes are what make Weasels Ripped My Flesh ultimately invigorating; they also even make the closing title track ג€” a minute and a half of squalling feedback, followed by applause ג€” perfectly logical in the album's context.

[marinville]

The Mothers - Burnt Weeny Sandwich (1970)

1. WPLJ
2. Igor's Boogie, Phase One
3. Overture to a Holiday in Berlin
4. Theme from Burnt Weeny Sandwich
5. Igor's Boogie, Phase Two
6. Holiday in Berlin, Full-Blown
7. Aybe Sea
8. The Little House I Used to Live In
9. Valarie

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Burnt Weeny Sandwich is the first of two albums by the Mothers of Invention that Frank Zappa released in 1970, after he had disbanded the original lineup. While Weasels Ripped My Flesh focuses on complex material and improvised stage madness, this collection of studio and live recordings summarizes the leader's various interests and influences at the time. It opens and closes on '50s pop covers, "WPLJ" and "Valarie." "Aybe Sea" is a Zappafied sea shanty, while "Igor's Boogie" is named after composer Igor Stravinsky, the closest thing to a hero Zappa ever worshipped. But the best material is represented by "Holiday in Berlin," a theme that would become central to the music of 200 Motels, and "The Little House I Used to Live In," including a virtuoso piano solo by Ian Underwood. Presented as an extended set of theme and variations, the latter does not reach the same heights as "King Kong." In many places, and with the two aforementioned exceptions in mind, Burnt Weeny Sandwich sounds like a set of outtakes from Uncle Meat, which already summarized to an extent the adventures of the early Mothers. It lacks some direction, but those allergic to the group's grunts and free-form playing will prefer it to the wacky Weasels Ripped My Flesh.

[marinville]

Frank Zappa - Hot Rats (1969)

1. Peaches en Regalia
2. Willie the Pimp
3. Son of Mr. Green Genes
4. Little Umbrellas
5. The Gumbo Variations
6. It Must Be a Camel

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Aside from the experimental side project Lumpy Gravy, Hot Rats was the first album Frank Zappa recorded as a solo artist sans the Mothers, though he continued to employ previous musical collaborators, most notably multi-instrumentalist Ian Underwood. Other than another side project ג€” the doo wop tribute Cruising With Ruben and the Jets ג€” Hot Rats was also the first time Zappa focused his efforts in one general area, namely jazz-rock. The result is a classic of the genre. Hot Rats' genius lies in the way it fuses the compositional sophistication of jazz with rock's down-and-dirty attitude ג€” there's a real looseness and grit to the three lengthy jams, and a surprising, wry elegance to the three shorter, tightly arranged numbers (particularly the sumptuous "Peaches en Regalia"). Perhaps the biggest revelation isn't the straightforward presentation, or the intricately shifting instrumental voices in Zappa's arrangements ג€” it's his own virtuosity on the electric guitar, recorded during extended improvisational workouts for the first time here. His wonderfully scuzzy, distorted tone is an especially good fit on "Willie the Pimp," with its greasy blues riffs and guest vocalist Captain Beefheart's Howlin' Wolf theatrics. Elsewhere, his skill as a melodist was in full flower, whether dominating an entire piece or providing a memorable theme as a jumping-off point. In addition to Underwood, the backing band featured contributions from Jean-Luc Ponty, Lowell George, and Don "Sugarcane" Harris, among others; still, Zappa is unquestionably the star of the show. Hot Rats still sizzles; few albums originating on the rock side of jazz-rock fusion flowed so freely between both sides of the equation, or achieved such unwavering excitement and energy.

by the way, this is the cd re-issue version. meaning:

In 1987 Zappa remixed Hot Rats for re-issue on compact disc. This caused some conflict between fans who preferred the original 1969 mix on the LP versus those who preferred the remix version. "Willie the Pimp" is edited differently during the introduction and guitar solo. "The Gumbo Variations" has 4 minutes of additional material including an introduction and guitar and saxophone solo sections which were cut from the vinyl. Other differences in the 2 mixes include added piano and flute on "Little Umbrellas" and significant changes to the overall ambiance and dynamic range.

[marinville]

The Mothers - Uncle Meat (1969)

Disc one

1. Uncle Meat: Main Title Theme
2. The Voice of Cheese
3. Nine Types of Industrial Pollution
4. Zolar Czakl
5. Dog Breath, in the Year of the Plague
6. The Legend of the Golden Arches
7. Louie Louie (At the Royal Albert Hall in London)
8. The Dog Breath Variations
9. Sleeping in a Jar
10. Our Bizarre Relationship
11. The Uncle Meat Variations
12. Electric Aunt Jemima
13. Prelude to King Kong
14. God Bless America
15. A Pound for a Brown on the Bus
16. Ian Underwood Whips It Out
17. Mr. Green Genes
18. We Can Shoot You
19. If We'd All Been Living in California...
20. The Air
21. Project X
22. Cruisin' for Burgers

Disc two

1. Uncle Meat Film Excerpt, Pt. 1
2. Tengo Na Minchia Tanta
3. Uncle Meat Film Excerpt, Pt. 2
4. King Kong Itself
5. King Kong II
6. King Kong III
7. King Kong IV
8. King Kong V
9. King Kong VI

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Just three years into their recording career, the Mothers of Invention released their second double album, Uncle Meat, which began life as the largely instrumental soundtrack to an unfinished film. It's essentially a transitional work, but it's a fascinating one, showcasing Frank Zappa's ever-increasing compositional dexterity and the Mothers' emerging instrumental prowess. It was potentially easy to overlook Zappa's melodic gifts on albums past, but on Uncle Meat, he thrusts them firmly into the spotlight; what few lyrics there are, Zappa says in the liner notes, are in-jokes relevant only to the band. Thus, Uncle Meat became the point at which Zappa began to establish himself as a composer and he would return to many of these pieces repeatedly over the course of his career. Taken as a whole, Uncle Meat comes off as a hodgepodge, with centerpieces scattered between variations on previous pieces, short concert excerpts, less-realized experiments, doo wop tunes, and comedy bits; the programming often feels as random as the abrupt transitions and tape experiments held over from Zappa's last few projects. But despite the absence of a conceptual framework, the unfocused sprawl of Uncle Meat is actually a big part of its appeal. It's exciting to hear one of the most creatively fertile minds in rock pushing restlessly into new territory, even if he isn't always quite sure where he's going. However, several tracks hint at the jazz-rock fusion soon to come, especially the extended album closer "King Kong"; it's his first unequivocal success in that area, with its odd time signature helping turn it into a rhythmically kinetic blowing vehicle. Though some might miss the gleeful satire of Zappa's previous work with the Mothers, Uncle Meat's continued abundance of musical ideas places it among his most intriguing works.

[marinville]

Frank Zappa - Lumpy Gravy (1968)

The Way I See It, Barry
Duodenum
Oh No
Bit Of Nostalgia
It's From Kansas
Bored Out 90 Over
Almost Chinese
Switching Girls
Oh No Again
At the Gas Station
Another Pickup
I Don't Know If I Can Go Through This Again
Very Distraughtening
White Ugliness
Amen
Just One More Time
A Vicious Circle
King Kong
Drums Are Too Noisy
Kangaroos
Envelops the Bath Tub
Take Your Clothes Off

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[quote]Lumpy Gravy, Frank Zappa's first solo album, was released months before the Mothers of Invention's third LP (even though its back cover asked the question: "Is this phase two of We're Only in It for the Money?") and both were conceptualized and recorded at the same time. We're Only in It for the Money became a song-oriented anti-flower power album with one contemporary/musique concr

[marinville]

The Mothers - Cruising with Ruben and The Jets (1968)

1. Cheap Thrills
2. Love of My Life
3. How Could I Be Such a Fool?
4. Deseri
5. I'm Not Satisfied
6. Jelly Roll Gum Drop
7. Anything
8. Later That Night
9. You Didn't Try to Call Me
10. Fountain of Love
11. No. No. No.
12. Any Way the Wind Blows
13. Stuff Up the Cracks

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Frank Zappa loved '50s doo wop music. He grew up with it, collected it, and it was the first kind of pop music he wrote (like "Memories of El Monte," recorded by the Penguins in 1962). Cruising With Ruben & the Jets, the Mothers of Invention's fourth LP, is a collection of such music, all Zappa originals (some co-written with MOI singer Ray Collins). To the unexperienced, songs like "Cheap Thrills," "Deseri," and "Jelly Roll Gum Drop" can sound like an average doo wop song. A closer look reveals unusual chord sequences, Stravinsky quotes, and hilariously moronic lyrics -- all that wrapped in four-way harmony vocals and linear piano triplets. A handful of songs from the group's 1966 debut, Freak Out, were rearranged ("How Could I Be Such a Fool" and "Anyway the Wind Blows" give the weirdest results), old material predating the Mothers was recycled ("Fountain of Love"), "Love of My Life," and "You Didn't Try to Call Me" became live staples. [For the album's first CD reissue in 1985, Zappa had bassist Scott Thunes and drummer Chad Wackerman re-recording rhythm tracks for all but one song. Since then, all reissues have followed the 1985 mix, leaving "Stuff up the Cracks" the only surviving example of what Cruising With Ruben & the Jets really sounded like. Unless listeners are particularly fond of Doo Wop music, this album is definitely not the best place to start in Zappa's catalog.

[marinville]

Personally, I think this is my favorite.


Frank Zappa - Apostrophe (') (1974)

1. Donג€™t Eat the Yellow Snow
2. Nanook Rubs It
3. St. Alfonzoג€™s Pancake Breakfast
4. Father Oג€™Blivion
5. Cosmik Debris
6. Excentrifugal Forz
7. Apostrophe'
8. Uncle Remus
9. Stink-Foot

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The musically similar follow-up to the commercial breakthrough of Over-Nite Sensation, Apostrophe became Frank Zappa's second gold and only Top Ten album with the help of the "doggy wee-wee" jokes of "Don't Eat the Yellow Snow," Zappa's first chart single (a longer, edited version that used portions of other songs on the LP). The first half of the album is full of nonsensical shaggy-dog story songs that segue into one another without seeming to finish themselves first; their dirty jokes are generally more subtle and veiled than the more notorious cuts on Over-Nite Sensation. The second half contains the instrumental title cut, featuring Jack Bruce on bass; "Uncle Remus," an update of Zappa's critique of racial discord on "Trouble Every Day"; and a return to the album's earlier silliness in "Stink-Foot." Apostrophe has the narrative feel of a concept album, but aside from its willful absurdity, the concept is difficult to decipher; even so, that doesn't detract from its entertainment value.

[marinville]

Frank Zappa & The Mothers (1973)

1. Camarillo Brillo
2. I'm the Slime
3. Dirty Love
4. Fifty-Fifty
5. Zomby Woof
6. Dinah-Moe Humm
7. Montana

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Love it or hate it, Over-Nite Sensation was a watershed album for Frank Zappa, the point where his post-'60s aesthetic was truly established; it became his second gold album, and most of these songs became staples of his live shows for years to come. Whereas the Flo and Eddie years were dominated by rambling, off-color comedy routines, Over-Nite Sensation tightened up the song structures and tucked sexual and social humor into melodic, technically accomplished heavy guitar rock with jazzy chord changes and funky rhythms; meanwhile, Zappa's growling new post-accident voice takes over the storytelling. While the music is some of Zappa's most accessible, the apparent callousness and/or stunning sexual explicitness of "Camarillo Brillo," "Dirty Love," and especially "Dinah-Moe Humm" leave him on shaky aesthetic ground. Zappa often protested that the charges of misogyny leveled at such material missed out on the implicit satire of male stupidity, and also confirmed intellectuals' self-conscious reticence about indulging in dumb fun; however, the glee in his voice as he spins his adolescent fantasies can undermine his point. Indeed, that enjoyment, also evident in the silly wordplay, suggests that Zappa is throwing his juvenile crassness in the face of critical expectation, asserting his right to follow his muse even if it leads him into blatant stupidity (ironic or otherwise). One can read this motif into the absurd shaggy-dog story of a dental floss rancher in "Montana," the album's indisputable highlight, which features amazing, uncredited vocal backing from Tina Turner and the Ikettes. As with much of Zappa's best '70s and '80s material, Over-Nite Sensation could be perceived as ideologically problematic (if you haven't got the constitution for FZ's humor), but musically, it's terrific.

[marinville]

The Mothers - We're Only in it For The Money (1968)

1. Are You Hung Up? (1:24)
2. Who Needs the Peace Corps?
3. Concentration Moon
4. Mom & Dad
5. Telephone Conversation
6. Bow Tie Daddy
7. Harry, You're a Beast
8. What's the Ugliest Part of Your Body?
9. Absolutely Free
10. Flower Punk
11. Hot Poop
12. Nasal Retentive Calliope Music
13. Let's Make the Water Turn Black
14. The Idiot Bastard Son
15. Lonely Little Girl
16. Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance
17. What's the Ugliest Part of Your Body? (Reprise)
18. Mother People
19. The Chrome Plated Megaphone of Destiny

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From the beginning, Frank Zappa cultivated a role as voice of the freaks -- imaginative outsiders who didn't fit comfortably into any group. We're Only in It for the Money is the ultimate expression of that sensibility, a satirical masterpiece that simultaneously skewered the hippies and the straights as prisoners of the same narrow-minded, superficial phoniness. Zappa's barbs were vicious and perceptive, and not just humorously so: his seemingly paranoid vision of authoritarian violence against the counterculture was borne out two years later by the Kent State killings. Like Freak Out, We're Only in It for the Money essentially devotes its first half to satire, and its second half to presenting alternatives. Despite some specific references, the first-half suite is still wickedly funny, since its targets remain immediately recognizable. The second half shows where his sympathies lie, with character sketches of Zappa's real-life freak acquaintances, a carefree utopia in "Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance," and the strident, unironic protest "Mother People." Regardless of how dark the subject matter, there's a pervasively surreal, whimsical flavor to the music, sort of like Sgt. Pepper as a creepy nightmare. Some of the instruments and most of the vocals have been manipulated to produce odd textures and cartoonish voices; most songs are abbreviated, segue into others through edited snippets of music and dialogue, or are broken into fragments by more snippets, consistently interrupting the album's continuity. Compositionally, though, the music reveals itself as exceptionally strong, and Zappa's politics and satirical instinct have rarely been so focused and relevant, making We're Only in It for the Money quite probably his greatest achievement. [Rykodisc's 1987 reissue restored passages censored on the LP, but included re-recorded rhythm tracks and sounded quite different. Their 1995 re-reissue contained both the original music and content edits.]

[marinville]

Frank Zappa - The Grand Wazoo (1973)

1. The Grand Wazoo
2. For Calvin (And His Next Two Hitch-Hikers)
3. Cletus Awreetus-Awrightus
4. Eat That Question
5. Blessed Relief

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Like its immediate predecessor, Waka/Jawaka, The Grand Wazoo was a largely instrumental jazz rock album recorded during Frank Zappa's convalescence from injuries sustained after being pushed off a concert stage. While Zappa contributes some guitar solos and occasional vocals, the focus is more on his skills as a composer and arranger. Most of the five selections supposedly form a musical representation of a story told in the liner notes about two warring musical factions, but the bottom line is that, overall, the compositions here are more memorably melodic and consistently engaging than Waka/Jawaka. The instrumentation is somewhat unique in the Zappa catalog as well, with the band more of a chamber jazz orchestra than a compact rock unit; over 20 musicians and vocalists contribute to the record. While Hot Rats is still the peak of Zappa's jazz-rock fusion efforts, The Grand Wazoo comes close, and it's essential for anyone interested in Zappa's instrumental works.

[marinville]

Frank Zappa - Waka/Jawaka (1972)

1. Big Swifty
2. Your Mouth
3. It Just Might Be a One-Shot Deal
4. Waka/Jawaka

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When Frank Zappa found himself stuck in a wheelchair for most of the year 1972 (after a "fan" pushed him off the stage on December 10 of the previous year), he relieved his then-current band (including singers Flo & Eddie) of its duties and turned to studio work. One of the first things he tried was to write jazz fusion music scored for wider instrumentation than an average rock band. Waka/Jawaka was conceived in parallel to The Grand Wazoo, but with fewer players. The album, released in July 1972, is comprised of two extended instrumental pieces and two shorter songs. "Big Swifty," a theme-and-solos showcase, would become a live favorite, but the highlight came in the form of the orgiastic title track, recorded with ex-Mothers of Invention keyboardist Don Preston, trumpeter Sal Marquez, trombonists Bill Byers and Ken Shroyer, saxophonist Mike Altschul, bassist Erroneous, and drummer Aynsley Dunbar. The songs, never performed live, feel like filler material. Waka/Jawaka was Zappa's second solo album and is occasionally referred to as "Hot Rats II" (the handles of the faucets on the cover artwork show the words "hot" and "rats" instead of "hot" and "cold"). His writing and recording technique had matured a lot in very little time. The dirty blues jamming of the 1969 LP was replaced by clean, crisp jazz improvisations ג€” no need to say this was also an abrupt change in style from the Mothers' 1969-1971 incarnation. But this album was only transitional: Zappa's big-band stylings would really flourish in The Grand Wazoo a few months later.

[marinville]

The Mothers - Absolutely Free (1967)

1. Plastic People
2. The Duke of Prunes
3. Amnesia Vivace
4. The Duke Regains His Chops
5. Call Any Vegetable
6. Invocation & Ritual Dance of the Young Pumpkin
7. Soft-Sell Conclusion
8. Big Leg Emma
9. Why Don'tcha Do Me Right?
10. America Drinks
11. Status Back Baby
12. Uncle Bernie's Farm
13. Son of Suzy Creamcheese
14. Brown Shoes Don't Make It
15. America Drinks and Goes Home

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Frank Zappa's liner notes for Freak Out! name-checked an enormous breadth of musical and intellectual influences, and he seemingly attempts to cover them all on the second Mothers of Invention album, Absolutely Free. Leaping from style to style without warning, the album has a freewheeling, almost schizophrenic quality, encompassing everything from complex mutations of "Louie, Louie" to jazz improvisations and quotes from Stravinsky's Petrushka. It's made possible not only by expanded instrumentation, but also Zappa's experiments with tape manipulation and abrupt editing, culminating in an orchestrated mini-rock opera ("Brown Shoes Don't Make It") whose musical style shifts every few lines, often in accordance with the lyrical content. In general, the lyrics here are more given over to absurdity and non sequiturs, with the sense that they're often part of some private framework of satirical symbols. But elsewhere, Zappa's satire also grows more explicitly social, ranting against commercial consumer culture and related themes of artificiality and conformity. By turns hilarious, inscrutable, and virtuosically complex, Absolutely Free is more difficult to make sense of than Freak Out!, partly because it lacks that album's careful pacing and conceptual focus. But even if it isn't quite fully realized, Absolutely Free is still a fabulously inventive record, bursting at the seams with ideas that would coalesce into a masterpiece with Zappa's next project.

[marinville]

The Mothers - Freak Out (1966)

1. Hungry Freaks, Daddy
2. I Ain't Got No Heart
3. Who Are the Brain Police?
4. Go Cry on Somebody Else's Shoulder
5. Motherly Love
6. How Could I Be Such a Fool?
7. Wowie Zowie
8. You Didn't Try to Call Me
9. Any Way the Wind Blows
10. I'm Not Satisfied
11. You're Probably Wondering Why I'm Here
12. Trouble Every Day
13. Help, I'm a Rock
14. It Can't Happen Here
15. The Return of the Son of Monster Magnet

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[quote]One of the most ambitious debuts in rock history, Freak Out! was a seminal concept album that somehow foreshadowed both art rock and punk at the same time. Its four LP sides deconstruct rock conventions right and left, eventually pushing into territory inspired by avant-garde classical composers. Yet the album is sequenced in an accessibly logical progression; the first half is dedicated to catchy, satirical pop/rock songs that question assumptions about pop music, setting the tone for the radical new directions of the second half. Opening with the nonconformist call to arms "Hungry Freaks, Daddy," Freak Out! quickly posits the Mothers of Invention as the antithesis of teen-idol bands, often with sneering mockeries of the teen-romance songs that had long been rock's commercial stock-in-trade. Despite his genuine emotional alienation and dissatisfaction with pop conventions, though, Frank Zappa was actually a skilled pop composer; even with the raw performances and his stinging guitar work, there's a subtle sophistication apparent in his unorthodox arrangements and tight, unpredictable melodicism. After returning to social criticism on the first song of the second half, the perceptive Watts riot protest "Trouble Every Day," Zappa exchanges pop song structure for experiments with musique concr

[Prophecy]

[sun ra]

1. Frank Zappa, Captain Beefheart - Debra Kadabra (3:54)
2. Frank Zappa, Captain Beefheart - Carolina Hard-Core Ecstasy (5:59)
3. Frank Zappa, Captain Beefheart - Sam With The Showing Scalp Fla (2:51)
4. Frank Zappa, Captain Beefheart - Poofter's Froth Wyoming (3:03)
5. Frank Zappa, Captain Beefheart - 200 Years Old (4:32) (sample)
6. Frank Zappa, Captain Beefheart - Cucamonga (2:24)
7. Frank Zappa, Captain Beefheart - Advance Romance (11:17)
8. Frank Zappa, Captain Beefheart - Man With The Woman Head (1:28) (sample)
9. Frank Zappa, Captain Beefheart - Muffin Man (5:32)

Recorded live at Armadillo World Headquarters in Austin, Texas in 1975 (and originally released later that same year), Bongo Fury reunites FZ and the inimitable Captain Beefheart (the pair hadn't been heard together since "Willie the Pimp" on HOT RATS). Track highlights include the concert encore fave "Muffin Man," "Carolina Hard-Core Ecstasy" and two Beefheart compositions unavailable elsewhere -- "Sam With The Showing Scalp Flat Top" and "Man With The Woman Head." Also here is "200 Years Old," a backhanded anthem released in advance of the US bicentennial.

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also, anyone's intersted in his animations with bruce bickford?

A claymation video. Bruce Bickford animates a fantasy world of strange creatures to music by Frank Zappa and Pierry Boulez performed by the London Symphony Orchestra and the Ensemble InterContemporain.

Bruce Bickford was born in 1947 in Seattle Washington. He began animating clay in the summer of 1964 at the age of 17. He graduated from high school in 1965; and engaged in military service from 1966 to 1969. Upon his return he resumed animation, and did his first line animation in 1970, then in 1973 he went looking for work in Los Angeles-where he met Frank Zappa. He worked for him from 1974 through 1980. Afterwards, he returned to Seattle and resumed animating mostly his own personal work. http://www.brucebickford.com

"Beeeeernie thought he was a man, but he was a MUFFIN" - someone should write a detailed analysis of these lyrics!

[Verge]

Zappa was the gawd. I have a bunch of these on vinyl, but needed the mp3's. Thank you.

[deepfriedjellol]

wow

threadappreciationinasentencecontainingnospaces!

[Verge]

Also, it's hard to pick my favorites but I probably mostly enjoy the ones
where George Duke was in the mix. The first Zappa jawns that spring to mind as ones I love are-
Hot Rats
Chunga's Revenge

Not sure if Duke is even on those, but they're great regardless.

Also, I'm having problems downloading the GRAND WAZOO. Just a heads up.
I don't know if it's another zshare glitch or what.

[marinville]

tomorrow, be on the lookout for:

200 motels
baby snakes
the perfect stranger
chungas revenge
shut up and play yer guitar
london symphony orchestra
sleep dirt
zoot alures
roxy & elsewhere
sheik yerbouti

[marinville]

frank zappa - zoot allures (1976)

1. Wind Up Workin' in a Gas Station
2. Black Napkins
3. The Torture Never Stops
4. Ms. Pinky
1. Find Her Finer
2. Friendly Little Finger
3. Wonderful Wino
4. Zoot Allures
5. Disco Boy

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http://www.mediafire.com/?az3gjuamz1e

Zoot Allures, released in October 1976, is mostly a studio album (there are some basic live tracks, as in the title track and "Black Napkins") featuring a revolving cast of musicians who, oddly, do not correspond to the ones pictured on the album cover (for instance, Patrick O'Hearn and Eddie Jobson did not contribute). Compared to previous releases like One Size Fits All, Roxy & Elsewhere, or even Over-Nite Sensation, and to upcoming ones such as Zappa in New York, Studio Tan, or Sheik Yerbouti, Zoot Allures sounds very stripped down to bare essentials. Zappa focused on limited instrumentation, lots of bass, and whispered vocals to create a masterpiece of dark, slow, sleazy rock. Except for the opening and closing numbers ("Wind Up Workin' in a Gas Station" and "Disco Boy"), all the material is slow to medium tempo with Zappa delivering the closest he'll ever get to a crooner vocal performance. "The Torture Never Stops" is the highlight, ten minutes of suggestive lyrics, crawling riffs, searing solos, and female screams of pain. That song and "Disco Boy" became classic tracks; "Black Napkins" and "Zoot Allures" rate among the man's best guitar solos. Historical note: The album was first devised as a two-LP set and would have included "Sleep Dirt," "Filthy Habits," and "The Ocean Is the Ultimate Solution," which all also fit the mood. Although humor has not been completely evacuated, Zoot Allures comes through as a much more serious rock record. Yet, it is more than a transitional album; it represents one of Zappa's strongest accomplishments.

[marinville]

frank zappa - chunga's revenge *(1970)

1. Transylvania Boogie
2. Road Ladies
3. Twenty Small Cigars
4. The Nancy and Mary Music
5. Tell Me You Love Me
6. Would You Go All the Way?
7. Chunga's Revenge
8. The Clap
9. Rudy Wants to Buy Yez a Drink
10. Sharleena

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Chunga's Revenge marks the debut of Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan (among several other musicians) with the Mothers, and while their schtick has not reached the graphic proportions it later would, the thematic obsessions of the 200 Motels period are foreshadowed on tracks like "Road Ladies" and "Would You Go All the Way?" Other vocal numbers include the hard-rocking "Tell Me You Love Me," the musicians' union satire "Rudy Wants to Buy Yez a Drink," and the doo wop-influenced "Sharleena." Meanwhile, Frank Zappa's strong instrumental music incorporates Eastern European influences ("Transylvania Boogie"), cocktail jazz ("Twenty Small Cigars"), and the percussion-only "The Clap." Zappa's guitar tone is wonderfully biting and nasty throughout; George Duke provides another musical highlight by scat-singing a "drum solo." But while there are plenty of fine moments, Chunga's Revenge is in the end more of a hodgepodge transitional album, with less coherence than Zappa's other 1969-1970 works. Still, it will appeal to fans of that creatively fertile period in Zappa's oeuvre.

[marinville]

Frank Zappa - London Symphony Orchestra vol. 1 & 2 (1983 & 1987)

vol. 1
1. Sad Jane
2. Pedro's Dowry
3. Envelopes
4. Mo 'n Herb's Vacation, First Movement
5. Mo 'n Herb's Vacation, Second Movement
6. Mo 'n Herb's Vacation, Third Movement

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This LP contains the first set of recording to be released from a session held in January 1983 at which some of Frank Zappa's orchestral works were recorded by The London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Kent Nagano. The pieces are "Sad Jane," "Pedro's Dowry (large orchestra version)," "Envelopes," and "Mo 'N Herb's Vacation," in three movements. Although Zappa himself has criticized these recordings, they represent the best rendition so far of his orchestral ambitions, more accomplished than Lumpy Gravy or Orchestral Favorites. The music is moody and ponderous, slow with sudden dramatic passages, in the manner of Stravinsky, and exhibits little of Zappa's usual melodic invention and humor. (In 1986, Rykodisc released a CD version of the sessions under the title London Symphony Orchestra (RCD 10022) that deleted "Sad Jane" and "Pedro's Dowry" and added the 24 1/2-minute "Bogus Pomp.")

vol. 2
1. Bogus Pomp
2. Bob in Dacron
3. Strictly Genteel

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This LP completes the release of the recordings of Frank Zappa's music made by The London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Kent Nagano, in January 1983. Zappa Volume I, released on June 9, 1983, was the first part. London Symphony Orchestra, a 1986 Rykodisc CD reissue, added "Bogus Pomp" to the first volume while deleting "Pedro's Dowry" and "Envelopes." This album contains "Bogus Pomp" plus "Bob In Dacron" and "Strictly Genteel." Although Zappa himself has criticized these recordings, they represent the best rendition so far of his orchestral ambitions, more accomplished than Lumpy Gravy or Orchestral Favorites. The music is moody and ponderous, slow with sudden dramatic passages, in the manner of Stravinsky, and exhibits little of Zappa's usual melodic invention and humor.

[marinville]

frank zappa - sheik yerbouti (1979)

1. I Have Been in You
2. Flakes
3. Broken Hearts Are for Assholes
4. I'm So Cute
5. Jones Crusher
6. What Ever Happened to All the Fun in the World
7. Rat Tomago
8. Wait a Minute
9. Bobby Brown (Goes Down)
10. Rubber Shirt
11. The Sheik Yerbouti Tango
12. Baby Snakes
13. Tryin' to Grow a Chin
14. City of Tiny Lites
15. Dancin' Fool
16. Jewish Princess
17. Wild Love
18. Yo' Mama

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In order to finance his artier excursions, which increasingly required more expensive technology, Frank Zappa recorded several collections of guitar- and song-oriented material in the late '70s and early '80s, which generally concentrated on the bawdy lyrical themes many fans had come to expect and enjoy in concert. Sheik Yerbouti (two LPs, one CD) was one of the first and most successful of these albums, garnering attention for such tracks as the Grammy-nominated disco satire "Dancin' Fool," the controversial "Jewish Princess," and the equally controversial "Bobby Brown Goes Down," a song about gay S&M that became a substantial hit in European clubs. While Zappa's attitude on the latter two tracks was even more politically incorrect than usual for him, it didn't stop the album from becoming his second-highest charting ever. Social satire, leering sexual preoccupations, and tight, melodic songs dominated the rest of the record as well, as Zappa stuck to what had been commercially successful for him in the past. The "dumb entertainment" (as Zappa liked to describe this style) on Sheik Yerbouti was some of his dumbest, for better or worse, and the music was undeniably good -- easily some of his best since Apostrophe, and certainly the most accessible. Even if it sometimes drifts a bit, fans of Zappa's '70s work will find Sheik Yerbouti on nearly an equal level with Apostrophe and Over-Nite Sensation, both in terms of humor and musical quality.

[marinville]

frank zappa - shut up n play yer guitar (1981)

1. five-five-FIVE
2. Hog Heaven
3. Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar
4. While You Were Out
5. Treacherous Cretins
6. Heavy Duty Judy
7. Soup 'n Old Clothes

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[quote]Who would ever want to hear half an hour of wall-to-wall guitar instrumentals? When the soloist in question is Frank Zappa, the answer is anyone who should ever require proof that Zappa was one of the most gifted electric (and occasionally acoustic) guitarists of the rock & roll era. Granted, his previous recordings had included copious examples of his epic fretwork. However, it wasn't until the 1981 release of the Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar trilogy -- which was among the first offerings on the artist's indie-owned and operated Barking Pumpkin Records label -- that devotees had the opportunity to hear Zappa's consistently provocative playing. With the exception of the studio-derived "While You Were Out," this initial seven-song installment was lifted from a handful of performances circa 1979 and 1980. During that era, the supporting configuration bore the talents of rhythm guitarists Warren Cuccurullo, Denny Walley, Ike Willis, Ray White, and Steve Vai; keyboardists Tommy Mars, Peter Wolf, and Bob Harris; bassist Arthur Barrow; percussionist Ed Mann; and drummer Vinnie Colaiuta. The selections unleash specific facets in Zappa's omni-versatile styles and sonic palettes. Likewise revealed is his remarkable interaction with the band, as the two are heard upping the proverbial ante and pushing one another. The results range from the edgy, piledriving opener "Five-Five-Five" and the reggae-influenced "Treacherous Cretins" through to the blues-informed closer, "Soup 'n Old Clothes." For sincere students of Zappa's techniques, the liner notes make mention of the exact axe that Zappa used on each respective title. Similarly, keen-eared enthusiasts might discern brief spoken "conceptual continuity"-related extracts courtesy of Davey Moire, Terry Bozzio, and Patrick O'Hearn. These are from the same conversational caches featured on Sheik Yerbouti (1979), Tinseltown Rebellion (1981), the Baby Snakes soundtrack recording (1979), and most prominently throughout L

[marinville]

frank zappa - sleep dirt (1979)

1. Filthy Habits
2. Flambay
3. Spider of Destiny
4. Regyptian Strut
5. Time Is Money
6. Sleep Dirt
7. The Ocean Is the Ultimate Solution

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[quote]Sleep Dirt was never conceived as a stand-alone album. Five of its seven tracks were suppose to appear on the ill-fated 1976 box set L

[marinville]

frank zappa & the mothers - one size fits all (1975)

1. Inca Roads
2. Can't Afford No Shoes
3. Sofa No. 1
4. Po-Jama People
1. Florentine Pogen
2. Evelyn, a Modified Dog
3. San Ber'dino
4. Andy
5. Sofa No. 2

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[quote]Released soon after the live Roxy & Elsewhere, One Size Fits All contained more of the material premiered during the 1973-1974 tour, but this time largely re-recorded in the studio. The band remains the same: George Duke, Napoleon Murphy Brock, Chester Thompson, Tom Fowler, and Ruth Underwood. Johnny "Guitar" Watson overdubbed some vocals and Captain Beefheart (credited as Bloodshot Rollin' Red) played some harmonica ("when present," state the liner notes). The previous album focused on complex music suites. This one is more song-oriented, alternating goofy rock songs with more challenging numbers in an attempt to find a juste milieu between Over-Nite Sensation and Roxy & Elsewhere. "Inca Roads," "Florentine Pogen," "Andy," and "Sofa" all became classic tracks and live favorites. These are as close to progressive rock (a demented, clownish kind) Zappa ever got. The obscurity of their subjects, especially the flying saucer topic of "Inca Roads," seem to spoof prog rock clich

[marinville]

frank zappa & the mothers - roxy & elsewhere (live) (1974)

1. Penguin in Bondage
2. Pygmy Twylyte
3. Dummy Up
1. Village of the Sun
2. Echidna's Arf (Of You)
3. Don't You Ever Wash That Thing?
1. Cheepnis
2. Son of Orange County
3. More Trouble Every Day
1. Be-Bop Tango (Of the Old Jazzmen's Church)

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After his affair with jazz fusion (Waka/Jawaka and The Grand Wazoo, both released in 1972), Frank Zappa came back in late 1973 with an album of simple rock songs, Over-Nite Sensation. But the temptation for more challenging material was not long to resurface and, after a transitional LP (Apostrophe, early 1974), he unleashed a double LP (reissued on one CD) of his most complex music, creating a bridge between his comedy rock stylings and Canterbury-style progressive rock. Three-quarters of the album was recorded live at the Roxy in Hollywood and extensively overdubbed in the studio later. Only three tracks ("Dummy Up," "Son of Orange County," and "More Trouble Every Day"), taken from other concerts, are 100 percent live. The band is comprised of George Duke (keyboards), Tom Fowler (bass), Ruth Underwood (percussion), Bruce Fowler (trombone), Walt Fowler (trumpet), Napoleon Murphy Brock (vocals), and Chester Thompson (drums) -- drummer Ralph Humphrey, keyboardist Don Preston, and guitarist Jeff Simmons appear on the non-Roxy material. The sequence "Echidna's Arf (Of You)"/"Don't You Ever Wash That Thing?" stands as Zappa's most difficult rock music and provides quite a showcase for Underwood. Other highlights include "Penguin in Bondage" and "Cheepnis," a horror movie tribute. All the pieces were premiere recordings, except for "More Trouble Every Day" and "Son of Orange County," a revamped, slowed down "Orange County Lumber Truck"/"Oh No." Compared to the man's previous live recordings (Fillmore East, June 1971, Just Another Band From L.A.), this one sounds fantastic, finally providing an accurate image of the musicians' virtuosity. For fans of Zappa's intricate material like "RDNZL," "The Black Page," or "Inca Roads," this album is a must-have.

[Seiko Flossberg]

Awesome thread.

Thanks.

[marinville]

boulez conducts zappa - the perfect stranger (1984)

1. The Perfect Stranger
2. Naval Aviation in Art?
3. The Girl in the Magnesium Dress
4. Dupree's Paradise
5. Love Story
6. Outside Now Again
7. Jonestown

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Frank Zappa often complained about how difficult it was to find a classical orchestra that would actually take the time to learn the scores it is presented and try its best to do a honorable job when it comes to contemporary composition. Late in his career, he found such a group of musicians, the Ensemble Modern (which recorded The Yellow Shark), but in the mid-'80s Pierre Boulez' Ensemble InterContemporain recorded a worthy session of material, released in August 1984 on EMI's classical imprint, Angel, as The Perfect Stranger. The title track was commissioned by Boulez, and sees the composer coming back to the days of 200 Motels, both in terms of style (the music is very programmatic) and references (at the center of the piece is the vacuum cleaner found in the aforementioned movie and in the cover artwork of the album Chunga's Revenge). "Naval Aviation in Art?" and "Dupree's Paradise," the latter an old rock piece from 1973 rearranged for orchestra, are also performed by Boulez' ensemble. The remaining four tracks are credited to "The Barking Pumpkin Digital Gratification Consort" -- i.e., Zappa's Synclavier, a keyboard computer. "Outside Now, Again" and "Jonestown" are among the darkest, moodiest pieces of computer music the man has written. The composer remixed the album in 1992 and a moved a couple of tracks around. Compared to the London Symphony Orchestra sessions, The Perfect Stranger is a much stronger album with a better, rehearsed ensemble. Still, those not interested in the man's so-called serious music should steer clear of it.

[marinville]

frank zappa - baby snakes (1983)

1. Intro Rap/Baby Snakes
2. Titties & Beer
3. The Black Page #2
4. Jones Crusher
5. Disco Boy
1. Dinah-Moe Humm
2. Punky's Whips

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This short but delectably sweet release is for most intents and purposes the soundtrack to the Frank Zappa concert film of the same name. Both were captured on location at New York City's Palladium (formerly the Academy of Music) in 1977, during the artist's brief yearly residency in the Big Apple in and around Halloween. By the time of these concerts, Zappa was embroiled in all manner of unpleasantness with Warner Bros. Records -- a fact not lost to listeners as he comments upon their tumultuous relationship during some off the cuff dialogue with Terry Bozzio (percussion/vocals), as heard on "Titties and Beer." That behind-the-scenes drama certainly didn't best the perpetually resilient Zappa as he, Bozzio, Adrian Belew (guitar/vocals), Ed Mann (percussion), Patrick O'Hearn (bass), Tommy Mars (keyboards/vocals), Peter Wolf (keyboards), and vintage Mothers of Invention member Roy Estrada (not so sexually aroused gas mask/vocals) are joined by some of "New York's finest crazy persons" for half an hour-plus of musical madness as only Zappa could deliver. The "Intro Rap" features a brief dressing-room dialogue between Zappa and one of his longtime enthusiasts who just happens to be Warren Cuccurullo. If the name sounds familiar, it might be because he would serve a tenure in Zappa's late-'70s lineup as a guitarist before becoming a co-founding member of Missing Persons alongside other Zappa alumni Bozzio and O'Hearn, prior to settling into the re-formed Duran Duran in the mid-'80s and 1990s. Although the title track, "Baby Snakes," is essentially the same studio version that graced 1979's Sheik Yerbouti, the rest of the material is live. "Black Page, No. 2" is a jaunty instrumental that Zappa had composed specifically with Bozzio in mind. It then developed into a full-blown ensemble piece, and in the context of both the film and aural companion was used to accompany an enforced recreational audience-participatory dance contest. "Jones Crusher" is a hard-drivin' rocker with lead vocals from Belew, marking one of his finest moments in the Zappa band to have ever made it onto a legit release. "Disco Boy" and the somewhat obligatory "Dinah-Moe Humm" are typically excellent renderings of these performance staples and obvious crowd-pleasers. The platter concludes with the tongue-in-cheek epic homoerotic ode "Punky's Whips," with Bozzio once again demonstrating why he was such a faultless multifaceted foil for Zappa.