Just had another thought... I wonder if We're Only in It for the Money will have the cover flipped. From the picture on the pre-order link, it looks like that might be the case. If so, I might be crazy enough to buy it just to have a copy with the proper cover on the outside.
It is easy to turn originals inside and have them look good. I did it to one that has severe ring wear, and it gave it a fresh new look.
Amazon has all 5 titles up for pre-order with brief descriptions of the new pressings. WOIIFTM - "We're Only In It For The Money is one of the most essential rock albums of all time. With its scathing messages, use of parody, Musique Concrète & Dadaist tendencies, there truly is nothing like it. Rolling Stone ranks it among its 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time. The restored original 1968 mix is pressed on 180g vinyl." Weasels Ripped My Flesh - "Weasels Ripped My Flesh, released in 1970, is the last release featuring the original Mothers Of Invention which FZ disbanded the year prior. Comprised of studio and live tracks, its musical diversity is showcased by incorporating elements ranging from avant-garde and experimental to R&B and Rock. Newly pressed from the master analog tape to 180g vinyl." Ruben & Jets - "'Is this the Mothers Of Invention recording under a different name in a last ditch attempt to get their cruddy music on the radio?' Cruising With Ruben & The Jets, FZ's homage to Doo-Wop and classic R&B, is re-issued with the original 1968 mix on 180g vinyl from the master analog tape." Lumpy Gravy - "The unique work, Lumpy Gravy, is comprised of orchestral performances recorded at Capitol Studios in 1967. Interspersed with tape collage and dialogue brilliantly edited by FZ and his razor blade, it went on to become Frank and Gail Zappa's favorite record of the catalog. Pressed on 180g vinyl from a pristine 1968 analog safety tape found in the Vault." Joe's Garage - "One of the most iconic and infamous titles in FZ's entire catalog, Joe's Garage, has gone down in history as one of Frank Zappa's greatest works. This 1979 epic in three acts, on three discs, predicted the future of censorship, self described by FZ as: 'A stupid little story about how the government is going to do away with music.'"
This likely means the version that has been available since 1995. I believe they (Frank and Spencer Chrislu) pieced it together from various sources. I'll stick with my Ryko pressing. Pretty sweet. The Zappa/UMe CD already sounds great. This will be a must for vinyl fans. Just like I thought. Good news. What? A pristine safety tape found in the vault? They're killing me. So far, so good.
What... you think a safety copy found is great news? To me it means the original master is toast, and we found something that sounds pretty good. It's an admission that original master is not used. Lumpy Gravy is not my fave by a long shot anyway. I'd also like to think that Joe was able to assemble a new WOITFTM master that beats the dead sounding Ryko issue of the original mix. I did a needle drop from vinyl that beats the Ryko.
Burnt Weenie Sandwich and Weasels Ripped My Flesh are the two I would be most interested in. I have originals in near mint condition, but I think they are both top sounding recording and mix jobs, and Grundman mastering will do them one better than the originals.
Zappa could have done these records this well back in 1985 for the big box sets. SR/1, RL, and Bernie were all in business back at the time. But he wanted to mess with them and make them different for some reason.
Given how the CDs were presented, and the various machinations that Bob Stone and Spencer Chrislu went through to assemble them, it was pretty much assumed that the original master is toast. This is not news. A good sounding safety copy could very well sound better than the original two-fer and have the first "Oh No" portion in stereo unlike the 1995 CD. Lumpy Gravy is one of my top five Zappa albums, so this is significant for me. It's a nice thought, but "the restored 1968 mix" sounds like the 1995 Ryko version to me. I think the statement would explicitly state a new edit if one were created. It doesn't. The 1986 CD was "the new remix". The 1995 CD and LP is "the restored 1968 mix". That's how I interpret it. I welcome being corrected if this is not the case.
That's my interpretation as well. If it were a new master, I think they'd be more explicit about it as a selling point.
Considering how great the 2013 Uncle Meat sounds, use of safeties is far from a deal-breaker for me. Factor in the high cost of a minty original Lumpy these days (plus unworn LP sized artwork) and we're getting farther into Win-Win territory, IMO.
The phrase "pristine 1968 analog safety tape" sounds pretty good to me (in the context of Lumpy Gravy, anyway). It's preordered.
Never heard Lumpy Gravy. Orchestral? I love Waka and Wazoo. Similar stuff? I know I want Weasels, Joe's and Reuben.
It has been so easy the past few years to get original Zappa vinyl around town that I have no need for these.
It's a lot more avant-garde. Think collages where several bits of spoken dialogue (some funny, some not so) come colliding violently with orchestral sections (some consonant and tuneful, some dissonant).
WhaaaaAAAAAAAAT? I love, love, LOVE "Lumpy Gravy", and I've written in many threads here how this album 'changed my life'! .... then, again, I have a taste for the BIZARRE!
I've posted in the past that I'm grateful for the Ryko WOIIFTM/Lumpy Gravy CD, even though it had the 80's remix of Money, because without it I would have probably put off buying Lumpy Gravy. On some days it is my favorite Zappa record.
I do like early Residents albums, which are bizarre, so maybe if I get the others I'll take a chance on Lumpy Gravy, although I still dont have Uncle Meat yet, and may get that before it.
That's good... "Lumpy.." made me make the move to BOTH the Residents, AND NEGATIVLAND; who's albums "Escape From Noise" & "Helter Stupid" were quite natural progressions of the 'style', only with a point.
