Frank Zappa - 10 Essential cd titles?

Can some kind frank-lovers tell me?

What are the 10 essential cd releases of Frank Zappa?

Thanks!

 

thing fish
you can't do that on stage 1-6
live in nyc
live at filmore east(w/ the mothers of invention, 71)


real hard to just pick ten.

 

"Freak Out"
"Absolutely Free"
"Lumpy Gravy"
"Where Only In It For The Money"
"Live At The Fillmore 1971"
"Apostrophe'"
"Overnite Sensation"
"Zoot Allures"
"Hot Rats"
"Joe's Garage"

 

no matter what all the supposed experts and obsessives tell you, everything after about 1978 is lame in comparisson (and I've been into him since about 1980 so I think I know a little more than all the people with smirking Zappa avatars, but maybe not)

1. Hot Rats
2. Apsotrophe
3. Waka Jawaka
4. Chunga's Revenge
5. Roxy and Elsewhere
6. Weasels Ripped My Flesh
7. Overnight Sensation
8. Freak Out
9. Zoot Allures
10. One Size Fits All..............

 

You didn't. That's only nine.

 

If you're a beginner, my advice is to start with:

We're Only in It for the Money
Uncle Meat
Hot Rats
Over-Nite Sensation

to get acquainted with Frank's many different personas and styles.

Freak Out! is also an essential LP.

 

Gotta include Lumpy Gravy on any list.

 

I've got almost all of the FZ catalog (I think they're up to 80 albums now). Off the top of my head:

Apostrophe
Overnight Sensation
Sheik Yerbouti
Hot Rats
We're Only in it for the Money
Freak Out
Joe's Garage
Baby Snakes (DVD)

That'll definitely get you started. Once you decide what FZ you prefer, I'll be happy to make more suggestions..

SteveMTNO

 

I almost put Zoot Allures on my list too (gotta have Black Napkins), I wouldn't start anyone off on Waka/Jawaka, Weasels, or Chunga's Revenge tho. Roxy's a good starting point too (parts of it).

I don't think I'd go as far as saying anything past 1978 is lame by comparison tho. Don't forget - Watermelon in Easter Hay is from '79 (Joe's Garage Act III - hell, the whole Joe's Garage set has some of the best FZ soloing EVER)

SteveMTNO

 

You're not going to get any consensus on this one!

The first three MOI albums (Freak Out, Absolutely Free, We're Only In It for the Money)

Hot Rats, Waka Jawaka The Grand Wazoo

Bongo Fury, Overnight Sensation, 200 Motels

and I really liked his last band, so Broadway the Hard Way.

Of course other's opinions may vary. Come to think of it, so might mine.

 

Definitely not Thing-Fish. Most of the tracks on there are inferior versions of earlier tracks. Better to start with "the real thing"..

Live in New York is excellent. The YCDTOSA series definitely has its moments too..

 

Bongo Fury... yep - gotta have Muffin Man too...

Broadway the Hard Way (even tho it's chopped to bits) definitely has its moments too. Great version (albeit heavily edited) of Murder by Numbers with Sting on vocals. Only on the CD - not the vinyl...

 

As phish said, it's hard to pick 10, and I'm sure they are not "the" 10 (in the universe I inhabit, they're all essential, but I digress). But here are 10, with various reasons:

1. Freak Out - an introduction to the music and humor of FZ
2. We're Only In It For The Money - for an alternative take on the 60s
3. Uncle Meat - a huge variety of styles and approaches
4. Hot Rats - what fusion should have sounded like. Rated highly by non-fans as well.
5. Apostrophe - wherein the rockin' teenage combo poots forth "Don't Eat the Yellow Snow" and "Cosmik Debris", which were quite popular in the day.
6. Roxy & Elsewhere - arguably the greatest incarnation of the Mothers of Invention.
7. One Size Fits All - if you haven't heard "Inca Roads", then you haven't heard Zappa
8. Joe's Garage Acts I, II, and III - great sounding disc with excellent performances, including the FZ signature tune "A Watermelon in Easter Hay". Not for the easily offended however.
9. You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore Volume 2 - a complete concert (more or less) by the Roxy band (see above).
10. Lather - a microcosm of all that is the music of FZ, minus the Synclavier.

Those ten would give you a nice overview. I would have put Sheik Yerbouti on the list, but the CD is horrible.

 

The import Sheik Yerbouti CD sounds good (mine does anyway - I know there have been several different incarnations). The original vinyl sounds GREAT.

Lather is excellent, but the CD sounds awful. Look for a copy of the original 4LP boot for the best quality (unless the Japanese vinyl sounds better - haven't heard it)

 

The EMI is the better sounding CD but it is OOP, and consequently rare and expensive. The vinyl is fantastic however, so long as one avoids the pressings done with the digital masters.

 

Yeah, but the first 8 are all 2 CD sets!

I'll have a think about the question and get back to you with my suggestions.

 

Its so hard to just pick ten! I thought I'd just give some input on the quality of the current CDs.

1. Lumpy Gravy- CD sounds great, although their is a few seconds of mono
2. Absolutely Free- CD has some re-verb(?)
3. Were Only In It For The Money- Available in original vinyl mix now
4. 200 Motels- Not so good sound quality, amazing mix of songs
5. Uncle Meat- CD has some re-verb+penalty track(not on the original vinyl)
6. Apostrophe- the audiophile disc is quite enjoyable!
7. Joes Garage- CD sounds a little off.
8. Waka/Jawaka- CD sounds pretty accurate
9. You Are What You Is- 1998 CD remaster is as close as you can get to the vinyl mix(Guitar solo of Dumb All Over is shorten)
10. Sheik Yerbouti- Definately the original CD issues. The current Ryko disc is plagued with Reverb

 

Yeah is really hard to pick only ten, but here are my suggestions:

1.-Apostrophe
2.-One Size Fits All
3.-Hot Rats
4.-Freak Out
5.-Cruising With Ruben And The Jets
6.-Guitar (double set)
7.-Waka Jawaka
8.-The Grand Wazoo
9.-Sleep Dirt
10.-Joe's Garage

Bonus mentions:
11.-Chunga's Revenge
12.-Lumpy Gravy
13.-Over Nite Sensation

 

We've got a troll on the Zappa newsgroup, too.

Whaddya say you start with One Size Fits All, come back and tell us what you liked about it, and we'll give you 9 more that will knock your socks off? There's no way an artist with over 60 legit releases is going to have a focused fan base that can tell you the essential 10, because every band, every album, every project/object has its' own benefits.

We'd probably be spot-on with a list of 10 to avoid if you're just starting out, though!

 

Me too, though I'm behind on their latest few releases out of the vaults....

Here's my top 10 essential Zappa picks:

One Size Fits All
Apostrophe
Overnite Sensation
Roxy and Elsewhere
Freak Out
Absolutely Free
Uncle Meat
Joe's Garage
We're Only In It For The Money
Hot Rats

These are mostly my favorites too, but I interpreted "essential" to mean what someone would need to hear to get a good first impression of what Zappa's all about. I think with those 10 albums, someone (especially someone from a rock-centric musical background) would have a pretty good idea of what Zappa's all about.

For my personal favorites, I would toss out Apostrophe, Overnite Sensation, and We're Only In It For The Money (three great, GREAT albums), and put in three others that I happen to play a lot more often: Sheik Yerbouti, Zoot Allures, and Bongo Fury. (Even though I'll be the first to admit they're not as "GREAT" or "classic" as the three I decided to toss out.)

Right on the fringe of the top 10 for me would be Läther, Lumpy Gravy, and 200 Motels, but I've already abused the limit of "10" that was imposed!

Craig(VC).

 

Probably not.

No matter what cuddles23 tells you, Zappa grew exponentially as a composer as time went on, and the live shows were astounding.

In other words, no consensus, as suggested upthread...

Civilization Phaze III
The Yellow Shark
Jazz From Hell
Make a Jazz Noise Here
Buffalo
One Size Fits All
Hot Rats
Lather
Them Or Us
Uncle Meat

 

Perhaps the question is, what KIND of Zappa do you want? I mean, some people HATE the orchestral albums, some people love them. The guitar solo albums, the 'jazzy' album, the 'toilet humor' albums, and the 'kitchen sink' albums. Very few love it all, and, if you're like me, the obsessive compulsive nature kicks in, and you'll want to 'get-'em-all'!

 

Yeah if you've got a couple hundred dollars to spare! I thought the Lather cd was one of the better-sounding ones? Compared to some of the other cds mentioned in these lists, many of which have serious sound problems or remix or re-recording issues. For essential Frank cds (not best albums) I'd say:
Tinseltown Rebellion - secret remaster
You Are What You Is - secret remaster
(buy new from Amazon - a tip I got from a member here - to make sure you get the "secret remasters" and not one of the older issues with bad sound)
Lather - essential for some of the Sleep Dirt cuts without the newly recorded vocals, plus early versions of some tunes, plus original mixes of Live in NY tracks and IIRC better sound than the cd issues of the 4 individual albums
Sleep Dirt - some of the tracks are edited on Lather
Joe's Garage - regular cd set is ok sound-wise
Shut Up 'n' Play Yer Guitar - get the newer 3 cd set instead of the older 2-cd version, some great FZ solos on this one
One Size Fits All - AU20 audiophile cd, expensive though
Apostrophe - AU20 audiophile cd
Sheik Yerbouti - import EMI cd, if you can find it, other cd issues have serious sound problems
Overnite Sensation - Don't get the two-fer, the newer single issue is better

 

Only In It For The Money
Apostrophe'
Joe's Garage
Them Or Us
Uncle Meat
Hot Rats
You Can't Do That On Stage, Vol 1
Absolutely Free
Freak Out
Overnite Sensation

Stay away from Lumpy Gravy!