Zappa advice

[progmanjum]

I enjoy Zoot Allures and Imaginary Diseases....What else should I look into? Not into the quirky stuff like Yellow Snow, so instrumental albums should be a safe bet.
And just out of curiosity..would Frank compose the music for all instruments, or did band members get to contribute.
Thanks in advance.

[RCCollins]

Check out Waka/Jawaka and The Grand Wazoo. But bear in mind that you will never get Zappa without the "quirk" - that's part of the deal with Frank. You enjoy Zoot Allures but not Yellow Snow?

[Biggbass]

If you have Netflix there is a great Zappa Rockumentary available. It covers a lot of the music writing and contribution from various musicians. Pretty fascinating. Frank wrote almost everything by hand. Some of the musicians still have their charts from the sessions.

[MICKUSS]

HOT RATS

[Rickengeezer]

Originally Posted by progmanjum

I enjoy Zoot Allures and Imaginary Diseases....What else should I look into? Not into the quirky stuff like Yellow Snow, so instrumental albums should be a safe bet.
And just out of curiosity..would Frank compose the music for all instruments, or did band members get to contribute.
Thanks in advance.

Zappa did compose quite a bit but I'm sure that players like George Duke had a say in determining what they played. Yellow Snow aside, I think that era of Zappa was the best, personally. Aside from Apostrophe, which I think you have, other's from that fusion-y era were Over-Nite Sensation, Roxy & Elsewhere (live), and One Size Fits All--all of them worth your while.

[aguacateojos]

Apostrophe was the first album of his I got into.

But Blessed Relief, the last track on The Grand Wazoo, is phenomenal.

[nysbob]

Roxy and Elsewhere remains a very high watermark for live ensemble work.

Still love the early stuff too - Frank knew what he was doing right out of the box. Lumpy Gravy has some great stuff on it...as well as some silliness.

[gravesbass]

Originally Posted by nysbob

Roxy and Elsewhere remains a very high watermark for live ensemble work.

Still love the early stuff too - Frank knew what he was doing right out of the box. Lumpy Gravy has some great stuff on it...as well as some silliness.

What He Said................ Roxy & Elsewhere is a work of art.

[bassinplace]

Hot Rats is a good call. Chunga's Revenge. Sheik Yerbouti. One Size Fits All.

[Tituscrow]

Check out the live show 'Does Humour Belong In Music'. Probably some of the most accessible/playable of his stuff.

Worth it just to see Scott Thunes at his most awesome best

[keiththebassist]

Jazz from Hell is probably not for you then hahaha. It's all Synclavier music and it can get pretty dense at times but still so awesome! +1 to Sheik Yerbouti and Hot Rats. Joe's Garage is a great one and Overnite Sensation is always good. If you're looking for instrumental music that is pure Frank, check out his album "Guitar vol. 1 and 2" it's all instrumental music heavily featuring Franks guitar work, tons of classic Zappa style solos.

Oh and I almost forgot. There was a very cool album released called "Zappa picks" and it's a compilation of some of Larry LaLonde's (primus) favorite Zappa Tracks.

[Barkless Dog]

Weasels Ripped my Flesh & Uncle Meat - the song King Kong is a classic

[bluesblaster]

love the early 70's stuff , but the 60's era stuff is fantastic in its own right. I would recomend "freak out" and "hot rats" for starters.

[Means2nEnd]

If you don't want the crazy well Frank is the crazy. But you might want to check out Shut up and Play yer Guitar and Shut up and Play yer Guitar Some More. Joe's Garage is great and well there is just so many...