AllenLowe Posted July 15, 2005 Report Share Posted July 15, 2005 (edited) find the Boulez-conducted LP/CD of Zappa's compositions, as well - I saw this band in their prime (ca. 1969) and they were astounding - precise and wild, a real rock and roll show, in spite of Zappa's protestations - I always thought, though he professed contempt for the rock and roll audience, that Zappa was, in reality, very deeply ensconced in that tradition, along with the blues - listen to his early guitar playing in a T-Bone Walker vain- when I saw them they were nothing short of amazing. The highlight was Zappa's introduction of Sam the Sham, who was in the audience; he brought him on stage where they did a letter-perfect version fo Wooly Bully - greatest band I ever saw, jazz or otherwise - Edited July 15, 2005 by AllenLowe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porcy62 Posted July 15, 2005 Report Share Posted July 15, 2005 (edited) I am a Zappa's fanatic, so I would say that all his works are great. In order to be less fanatic, I say that the above suggestions are pretty correct. I will add some of his later records: 'Joe's Garage' 'The Best Band You Never Heard In Your Life' 'Make A Jazz Noise Here' and the earlier 'Zappa In New York'. A nice Zappa's record is 'King Kong' credited to JL Ponty. It's the only record of Ponty I like, I suspect because he 'plays the music of Frank Zappa' Edited July 15, 2005 by porcy62 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert J Posted July 15, 2005 Report Share Posted July 15, 2005 My list 1. We're Only In It For The Money (just listened the other day "Flower Punk" - the riff on Hey Joe - still smokes both musically and lyrically: Hey punk, where you goin? with that Button on your shirt? I'm goin? to the love-in to sit & play My bongos in the dirt.) 2. Apostrophe (as Jim said - this was grade 11 for me) 3. Joe's Garage II and III (wacked out as a concept album, but some serious guitar soloing and textures. Plus one of the best rhythm sections Frank had - Vinne Colaiuta and Arthur Barrow "Keep It Greasy" and "Watermleon in Easter Hay" are my highlights.) 4. Sheik Yerbouti (deadly satire, but has Terry Bozzio and Adrian Belew) 5. Ship Arriving Too Late To Save A Drowning Witch (I know it has Valley Girl, but it also has Steve Vai and Chad Wackerman - saw this version of the band live at Pine Knob, Michigan about a year later) others, no order Roxy & Elsewhere Just Another Band from LA - the only tolerable Flo & Eddie album, though not for everyone Man From Utopia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
couw Posted July 15, 2005 Report Share Posted July 15, 2005 Besides most of the albums mentioned, I would have recommended Ruben and the Jets as an album full of the silly doo wop pop song deconstructions found on Freak Out! but driven to the extreme. For some reason FZ decided to redo the bass and drums on this album way way after the fact and the current CD version of Ruben and the Jets is really awful. More so as the stiff in-the-closet drums and bass of the original LP contributed a whole lot to the atmosphere to make this a great album. Similarly, the CD mix of Hot Rats is dramatically different from the LP version. The original vinyl has a much jazzier sound than the CD. Another pity. As mentioned before, luckily you can simply skip the "enhancements" made to the Uncle Meat album when it came out on CD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aggie87 Posted July 15, 2005 Report Share Posted July 15, 2005 One of my local stores has the 3 disc Shut Up & Play Yer Guitar box. Anybody have all three discs in this series? I've picked it up a few times and put it back down, just need to be pushed over the edge and buy the damn thing... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porcy62 Posted July 15, 2005 Report Share Posted July 15, 2005 One of my local stores has the 3 disc Shut Up & Play Yer Guitar box. Anybody have all three discs in this series? I've picked it up a few times and put it back down, just need to be pushed over the edge and buy the damn thing... ← It's a 'must have' if you are a guitarist, only guitar solos, a sort of 'Frank Zappa's version' of Dean Benedetti' recordings, obviously the sound quality is much better! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porcy62 Posted July 15, 2005 Report Share Posted July 15, 2005 (edited) Besides most of the albums mentioned, I would have recommended Ruben and the Jets as an album full of the silly doo wop pop song deconstructions found on Freak Out! but driven to the extreme. For some reason FZ decided to redo the bass and drums on this album way way after the fact and the current CD version of Ruben and the Jets is really awful. More so as the stiff in-the-closet drums and bass of the original LP contributed a whole lot to the atmosphere to make this a great album. Similarly, the CD mix of Hot Rats is dramatically different from the LP version. The original vinyl has a much jazzier sound than the CD. Another pity. As mentioned before, luckily you can simply skip the "enhancements" made to the Uncle Meat album when it came out on CD. ← FZ remastered, and often remixed, personally all his records in his personal studio for the latest cd versions. Original vinyl versions are often very different, like 'Over-Nite Sensation'. Zappa Records putted out three box sets of vinyl called 'The Old Masters', with the 'old master' digitally mastered. At those times a lot of people tought it was a good thing to have a digital master from the analog source to use for pressing an analog record! Edited July 15, 2005 by porcy62 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nate Dorward Posted July 15, 2005 Report Share Posted July 15, 2005 "Freak Out", "Weasels Ripped My Flesh", and "Shut Up 'N Play Yer Guitar" get the most play. ← Yeah I like Weasels too.... but I wouldn't recommend it as a good place to start! But "My Guitar Wants to Kill Your Mama", "The Eric Dolphy Memorial Barbeque" & the really heavy cover of "Directly from My Heart to You" are great stuff. I never quite fathom the love for Joe's Garage, which I find bloated, though I guess if you're looking for just the guitar solos it's a good one to go to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllenLowe Posted July 15, 2005 Report Share Posted July 15, 2005 I actually found the guitar album disappointing - like most rock guitarists Zappa relies on patterns and scales in lieu of actual improvisation, and it's a little tiresome - Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kh1958 Posted July 15, 2005 Report Share Posted July 15, 2005 No one has mentioned "Jazz from Hell." There's a couple of good tracks on that one. I like several tracks on Shut Up and Play Your Guitar, but overall it's kind of monotonous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7/4 Posted July 15, 2005 Report Share Posted July 15, 2005 (edited) No one has mentioned "Jazz from Hell." There's a couple of good tracks on that one. ← Look at my post - #7 in this thread. I mentioned it already. Great album, but when ever I see a Favorite Zappa poll on the net, it always ranks low, because it doesn't have funny songs. All instrumental. Edited July 15, 2005 by 7/4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DatDere Posted July 15, 2005 Report Share Posted July 15, 2005 I like the compositions on Jazz From Hell, but the Synclavier sounds have dated pretty badly, IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest akanalog Posted July 15, 2005 Report Share Posted July 15, 2005 my rankings of zappa albums-the top 5 1. waka jawaka 2. hot rats 3. studio tan 4. burnt weenie sandwich 5. you can't do that on stage volume 2 (the helsinki concert-is it not number 2? i think it is) 6. the grand wazoo 7. sleep dirt 8. apostrophe 9. overnite sensation 10. weasels ripped my flesh if you have friends privy to live unreleased material look for some live material from the 1973 band with george duke, ralph humphrey, tom fowler, bruce fowler, ian underwood, ruth underwood and jean luc ponty. the album "piquantique" represents this band but it is not a good representation. my favorite zappa band though. the next band was good too but the addition of napoleon murphy brock added too much typical zappa sillyness (like on the helsinki concert). it is too bad more petite wazoo band material doesn't exist in high quality form. i would seek that out too (his small big band) but all the recordings i have heard are so muddy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BFrank Posted July 15, 2005 Report Share Posted July 15, 2005 One of my local stores has the 3 disc Shut Up & Play Yer Guitar box. Anybody have all three discs in this series? I've picked it up a few times and put it back down, just need to be pushed over the edge and buy the damn thing... ← I have that set. It is just guitar solos, so if you are looking for something more, it might not be for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BruceH Posted July 15, 2005 Report Share Posted July 15, 2005 My favorite is We're Only In It For the Money, his trashing of Sgt. Pepper, and the hippie thing in general, but I've got to admit that I haven't listened to it in many years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris olivarez Posted July 16, 2005 Report Share Posted July 16, 2005 "Roxy and Elsewhere" is my favorite. Some juvenile humor on that one, but the band is very tight and some of the instrumentals are jaw-dropping. Another personal favorite is "The Grand Wazoo", mostly big band stuff with little vocals. ← Good start here. I would also add "One Size Fits All" (similar style to "Roxy") and "Waka/Jawaka" (similar, mostly-instrumental, jazzy style to "Grand Wazoo"). "Hot Rats" is generally considered one of Frank's masterpieces, so you really can't go wrong with that one, either. ← Most excellent choices here. Also I like "Absolutely Free" and "Overnite Sensation"towards the end it seemed the music became more obscene for no real good reason and harder to enjoy. I still miss Frank though. He was a hero as far as I'm concerned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregK Posted July 16, 2005 Report Share Posted July 16, 2005 Make a Jazz Noise Here is probably the best of the latter day material. Very little silliness and some serious playing by his excellent band (not as many solos by Frank as I'd like, but he wanted to showcase the band) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kalo Posted July 16, 2005 Report Share Posted July 16, 2005 I have to agree with the Hot Rats recommendation as the most obvious place to start if you are interested. We're Only In It for the Money is overall a better album (surprisingly nobody's mentioned it yet) musically than Freak Out though probably not as innovative. Guy ← My favorite is We're Only In It For the Money, his trashing of Sgt. Pepper, and the hippie thing in general, but I've got to admit that I haven't listened to it in many years. ← We're Only In It for the Money is the only one I still listen to at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BFrank Posted July 16, 2005 Report Share Posted July 16, 2005 "You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore, Vol. 2 - The Helsinki Concert" has some pretty smokin' stuff on it. It's all one show with the George Duke/Napolean Murphy Brock band - which was one of his most entertaining and talented lineups (see "Roxy & Elsewhere") Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Free For All Posted July 16, 2005 Report Share Posted July 16, 2005 "Roxy and Elsewhere" is my favorite. Some juvenile humor on that one, but the band is very tight and some of the instrumentals are jaw-dropping. Another personal favorite is "The Grand Wazoo", mostly big band stuff with little vocals. ← Roxy and Elsewhere is definitely a winner IMHO. Some amazing Bruce Fowler solos (as well as ensemble playing)- check out "Don't You Ever Wash That Thing?" and also some grooving George Duke solos ("Village Of The Sun"). Juvenile humor, yes. I like juvenile humor as it comes from FZ. BTW; Zappa=best tune titles ever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 16, 2005 Report Share Posted July 16, 2005 Hot Rats, Uncle Meat, Grand Wazoo, Yellow Shark, Burnt Weanie Sandwhich, Lather, Chunga's Revenge, One Size Fits All, Shut Up And Play Yer Guitar, Make A Jazz Noise Here, Weasels Ripped MY Flesh, Overnight Sensation, We're Only In It For The Money. JEEZ!!!! There's too much to check out. Go to a used CD store, buy one for $10, take it home & check it out. If ya like it-keep it. If ya don't, take it back and sell it ($5) and check out another one. It will depend on whether you like the avant/jazzy sides or the musique concrete sides or the R&R sides or the 70's/80's fusiony sides or the guitar solo sides or the jokey stuff or the symphony stuff....Good luck. I like damn near all of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nate Dorward Posted July 16, 2005 Report Share Posted July 16, 2005 I should add that my 7-year-old is addicted to The Yellow Shark (one of the few Zappa discs that hasn't got off-colour lyrics). That's one of his "classical" ventures, & it's pretty strong. There's a surprisingly beautiful &, er, moving piece on there written for a documentary on the environmental effects of the Exxon Valdez oilspill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7/4 Posted July 16, 2005 Report Share Posted July 16, 2005 I should add that my 7-year-old is addicted to The Yellow Shark (one of the few Zappa discs that hasn't got off-colour lyrics). That's one of his "classical" ventures, & it's pretty strong. There's a surprisingly beautiful &, er, moving piece on there written for a documentary on the environmental effects of the Exxon Valdez oilspill. ← A very beautiful recording too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Posted July 16, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 16, 2005 Very cool ... thanks to everyone for their POV. Now I used need to find a used record store in KC that has some used Frank ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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