Best Sounding Frank Zappa on CD?

I've found Zappa to be generally well-regarded here. There are a few dissenters once in a while and maybe some who are indifferent to him but mostly I see people who are enthusiastic about his work.

 

It does. Especially in light of Zappa's contemporary opinions re. topics such as the drug culture, Edgard Varese (Zappa's hero, whom had passed away just a couple of years prior to that), and also certain philosophical views expressed on "Sgt Pepper's". I always repeat the same thing, and I just can't get my hands on that darn interview of '68 in which FZ was not at all contemptuous towards the Beatles album in question. (My memory is that it was included in a little book gathering together some press pieces and interviews related to mid-to-late 60s rock...) I always got the strong impression that "Mom and Dad" was his own version of "She's Leaving Home", for instance.

 

I know in these parts where I live Zappa has a mythical like status. He is highly regarded by most music people I have ever met.
Even those people I know that are not familiar with his work and only know albums like Joe's and Shiek have at least the understanding
that he is highly regarded. For me I like it all but love 66 to 79. Frank's music is Island stuff for me I will take his catalog over the Beatles
for instance everyday of the week.

 

My relationship with FZ's music was not the love at first sight the musician himself had experienced as a teenager with Varése's, but in (brief) time I became a great admirer of his eclectic catalogue (rock, jazz, jazz/rock, classical, avant-garde, reggae, doo-wop, blues, insert many other genres here). A true genius, and I really mean it.

 

Zappa was a polarizing figure. Most people either do not like any of his music, or have convinced themselves that they do not like his music without actually hearing any. He was hugely controversial, and struck many as supremely arrogant, which didn't help on the likeability factor. He was prolific and did not limit his output to any one style, which means having to listen to a fair amount of stuff in order to get some kind of overview, and most people do not have the patience for that. Then, there are divisions among his fans. Some only like the MoI period, some the 70s bands/albums, some hate the guitar solos, some hate the Synclavier albums, some hate the classical albums, some hate the puerile, smutty lyrics, etc., etc. So, I don't think you will find a consensus opinion.

I think he was a talented composer and could put together excellent bands, however, I don't think he is the second coming of Stravinsky or Varese, and the more classical music I have heard of that ilk, the more I can hear those influences in Zappa's output. I still think he was one of the best guitar soloists, though.

 

Greasy Love Songs is a bit loud, but the sound is ok. The original production didn't have a huge dynamic range, mainly because Frank was trying to replicate the sound of old R&B singles.

I should add too that GLS has an alternate version of "Stuff Up the Cracks" with the longer guitar solo, so it's worth getting for that.

 

Zappa got a critical roasting in some quarters (the biggest one being Lester Bangs, who hated Zappa and apparently believed that he had ripped off Captain Beefheart), and of course there are people who either don't like (or for propriety's sake feel the need to be seen not to like) the smutty humor.

 

The original 'Bongo Fury'.

 

I think in general, having 3 or more albums by one artist on a 1001 must listen albums list to be extremely limiting to the overall music landscape. 3 out of 60 is a small percent of his output but 1001 albums is a very small percent of the overall output. 3 is more than enough for a single artist on that particular list.

 

Metallica and Radiohead are each represented by 4 or more.

 

The statement Jerry made about the Grateful Dead, another polarizing band, is probably more aptly applied to Zappa; “We're like licorice. Not everybody likes licorice, but the people who like licorice really like licorice.”

Not having that many albums on the list probably says more about the people expected to read the list than the artists on the list.

I also wanted to point out for this thread’s questioner about Zappa on SH Forum, if you want to find out about Zappa and you think the SH Forum is not delivering, go to the Zappa.com forum; those guys get even crazier than around here!

Congrats on getting the 2012 from-the-analog-tape remasters. You are diving right in with some straight-out-of-the-gate fantastic mastered music. I shudder to think how much I strained to put up with ryko zappa cds to hear that music.

 

I love licorice.

The guys on the Zappa.com forum are malicious. The rudest person on the SH forum seems respectful by comparison. That forum is not censored (it IS a Zappa forum) and barely moderated. Spelling out STFU is a common response there.

 

Exactly my point. Lol.

 

In the booklets of both of my 1998 versions it says "remastered by Spencer Chrislu".

 

What about UK's Zappa label?

 

Strictly Genteel seems to edit to a different STUDIO take for the "reach out your hand" verse to my ears. Sorry for the reply.

 

i don't like the remix.

 

They made the change after the new mastering had gone into circulation. Not sure whether it was due to complaints from consumers or retailers, but clearly some identification was needed to tell the versions apart. (My own copies do not have the Chrislu credit.)

Do you mean the discs put out by Music For Nations in the late 80s and early 90s? Some of them are essential because they either lack the glitches found on the US copies or, in the case of Roxy, have the correct Cheepnis. It seems where Barking Pumpkin issued a disc, that version was used on the Zappa label edition. All (most) of the details are here:

http://lukpac.org/~handmade/patio/vinylvscds/index.html

(I still have to find the time to answer some of the open issues there. One day!)

 

Heh, I remember when I first read about the "corrected" versions of YAWYI and Tinseltown on the old alt.fan.frank-zappa group. I went to Best Buy and asked one of the employees if I could open the CDs to check the matrix numbers. Of course, he said no. I went ahead and took the chance, and yep, they were the new and improved ones. This was in 2001 though, so I guess there weren't a whole lot of NOS copies still sitting around.

 

I feel the same way about Sheik Yerbouti and Joe's Garage. I love Zappa's music up to those albums. He just seems to have this bitter tone about him. The jokes don't feel funny anymore after 1978.

 

Yeah, I think he really shifted into a noticeably more bitter and hostile tone somewhere around the late 70s. Perhaps the whole blowup with Warner Bros. really left a lasting anger in him. Tinseltown Rebellion is the real turning point for me. I just recently watched an MTV interview with Frank from the 80s, and I found myself cringing through a lot of it. He really could be a cranky old bastard when he wanted to.

 

I know what you mean about his attitude changing for the worse as the 70's went on. There's an interview on YouTube with a European guy who criticises Zappa for riding in a Cadillac to the show, Zappa proceeds to tear him a new *******

 

I think there may have been quite a few people who were disappointed that Zappa didn't turn out to be as radical in his politics than they probably thought he was going to be based on Absolutely Free and We're Only In It For the Money (Barry Miles comes to mind... he got his revenge by writing that "biography").

 

I stand corrected, yet again.

I actually didn't own a copy of Tinsel Town Rebellion until 2012. It was the only non-posthumous album in the Zappa canon that I didn't have. I wanted to see how long I could hold out before buying it. Frank's catalog going out of print spooked me, though. So when it was restored, I had to pick it up.

For YAWYI, I had found an old LP on ebay a few years before, so I didn't feel the need to pick up the 1998 remaster.

Glad I waited in both cases. I really like the current versions.

 

Fun fact: YAWYI on vinyl was my very first eBay purchase, dating all the way back to 1998.