Your favorite Zappa/Mothers album?

Me too. The first 2 sides.

 

Man that's a hard question.....

Burnt Weenie, Weasels, Uncle Meat, Freak Out, Roxy, and Grand Wazoo all qualify

 

zappa - hot rats
mothers - we're only in it for the money

 

All of them, Overnight has a special place because it was the first I had as a kid and my mom wouldn't let me play Dina mo hum.
Jets is a favorite and Free and Meat and Flesh and and and.

 

Hot Rats. I never tire of Peaches en Regalia.

 

Freak Out!
Absolutely Free
We're Only In It For The Money
Lumpy Gravy

 

No problem, it's a Lather playlist using the songs from the original four albums (the 2012 reissues). I mainly did it at the time because at the time it was 2012 and Sleep Dirt, Orchestral Favorites, Studio Tan and Zappa In New York had all been reissued by the ZFT, but Lather was scheduled for later in the year. I remember searching the internet for some sort of guide to go by, (that was way before I knew about this great site) and in the end I used the track list from wikipedia, using the songs from the 4 albums I mentioned and omitting any songs not on them.

I know this isn't the version Frank wanted, but for some reason I listen to it more than the official release of Lather, which is good too. I guess I prefer "my" version for the same reason I still enjoy listening to some old CDRs of SMiLE albums I made, even though I have both box sets of TSS. I guess it was fun cobeling toghether versions of both with the limited material I had.

Here is the playlist so if you want to give it a listen you can, or for anyone else too. I know it's not as good as the real deal, but I enjoy it.

Regyptian Strut 4:13 Frank Zappa Sleep Dirt Rock
Naval Aviation In Art? 1:22 Frank Zappa Orchestral Favorites Rock
The Illinois Enema Bandit 12:45 Frank Zappa Zappa In New York [Disc 1] Rock
Lemme Take You To The Beach 2:45 Frank Zappa Studio Tan Rock
Revised Music For Guitar And Low-Budget Orchestra 7:35 Frank Zappa Studio Tan Rock
RDNZL 8:13 Frank Zappa Studio Tan Rock
Honey, Don't You Want A Man Like Me? 4:11 Frank Zappa Zappa In New York [Disc 1] Rock
Black Page #2 5:36 Frank Zappa Zappa In New York [Disc 2] Rock
Big Leg Emma 2:17 Frank Zappa Zappa In New York [Disc 2] Rock
Flambay 4:52 Frank Zappa Sleep Dirt Rock
The Purple Lagoon/Approximate 16:39 Frank Zappa Zappa In New York [Disc 2] Rock
Pedro's Dowry 7:41 Frank Zappa Orchestral Favorites Rock
I Promise Not To Come In Your Mouth 3:32 Frank Zappa Zappa In New York [Disc 1] Rock
Spider Of Destiny 3:01 Frank Zappa Sleep Dirt Rock
Duke Of Prunes 4:20 Frank Zappa Orchestral Favorites Rock
Filthy Habits 7:34 Frank Zappa Sleep Dirt Rock
Titties & Beer 7:36 Frank Zappa Zappa In New York [Disc 1] Rock
The Ocean Is The Ultimate Solution 13:20 Frank Zappa Sleep Dirt Rock
The Adventures Of Greggery Peccary 20:54 Frank Zappa Studio Tan Rock

 

Since the reason for this thread seems to be to identify other releases by FZ that are not yet on the OPs's radar, and not just Zappa/Mothers, I'll list my top several favorites of either.

Uncle Meat
Hot Rats
Burnt Weeny Sandwich
Weasels Ripped my Flesh
Chunga's Revenge
Waka/Jawaka
The Grand Wazoo
Roxy
Apostrophe
One Size Fits All
Sleep Dirt

Much like the Grateful Dead, I find much of Zappa's music to be unlistenable. On the other hand, a fair percentage of it is among the best music ever made.

 

Gosh so many choices.....Uncle Meat, Burnt Weeny Sandwich, Only Money, Grand Wazoo...

But I gotta give some love to 200 Motels. Despite the sound quality, the band is rockin' (Magic Fingers, Mystery Roach), the orchestral pieces are sublime, Flo and Eddie nail the vocals, and it's got Strictly Genteel. That and it was my introduction to Zappa. A life changing experience.

 

Interesting playlist.
Thinking of getting the old masters box.

 

Good choice. 200 Motels is terrific.

 

Burnt Weeny Sandwich (= absolutely fabulous, even mind altering musical experience)
Weasels Ripped My Flesh (= ditto but maybe less)
Uncle Meat (= great all over, I'm Suzy Creemcheese because I've never worn fake eyelashes in my whole life)

 

My favorite is Freak Out. There are other titles in the Zappa discography I really like too, including Lumpy Gravy, Uncle Meat, Weasels Ripped My Flesh, Hot Rats, Just Another Band from LA, and Apostrophe. On the opposite side, there are three I completely despise and never plan to listen to again: Absolutely Free, Cruising with Ruben & the Jets, and Burnt Weeny Sandwich

 

That's curious. How come you enjoy Uncle Meat or Weasels but can't stand Sandwich? Could you elaborate a bit on why you hate those three albums you mention?

 

"Just Another Band From L.A." It's a nostalgia thing, remembering my mama singing along to "Billy the Mountain."

 

That wasn't a Mothers album.

 

People will hate me for this.... but "Francesco Zappa" is one of my favorite FZ albums. I dunno why, it's just so pleasant.

 

Nobody's gonna hate you (well, not me, at least). I gave that album several tries, but except for one of the movements (I can't remember which one), I've never liked it.

 

My favorites are the first two. I'm not much of a Zappa fan. Much respect for his artistry, little actual interest in listening to him.

 

Turtles fan?

 

Flo 'n' Eddie fan.

 

Or' Bang A Gong-T.Rex.

 

I don't think of an artist with more ups and downs IMO than Zappa. So much wonderful music, so much unlistenable nonsense.
I like a lot of his songs but only a few entire albums, none more so than Apostrophe. It is a masterpiece of balance and album programming- starting off with some silly comedy that builds into musical excellence. His guitar tone and playing are impeccable and my god the drumming. And it's short so there's not time for Zappa to waste.

 

Apostrophe ('): "This is an album of songs and stories set to music performed for your
dining and dancing pleasure". It seems it worked for you! I really like that album, but I prefer getting rid of uninvited dinners guests with Uncle Meat.

 

Hot Rats