Zappa for the casual listener

[RyRob813]

Never paid much attention to Zappa until coming to music school and realizing that he's un-friggin-real...

I have no Zappa. At all. He has an enormous discography. A good starting point? Is there a good compilation I could check out?

How can I introduce myself into this vast catalogue of such a prolific artist?

Thanks!

[Lesfunk]

Man...ummm....
Sheik Yerbouti
Roxy and Elswhere
Apostrophr/ over nite sensation
Fillmore east
...Bare minimum

[LSquared]

start w/ Apostrophe.

[DeluxeRed]

Zoot Alures. Variety in style and tone. Humor. And Black Napkins is one of the best recorded live solos of all time. Then move on to Joe's Garage...

[fishtx]

I agree...start with "Apostrophe", and "Joe's Garage"..."Overnite Sensation" and "One size fits all" are also great starting points...

[Alvaro Martín Gómez A.]

Originally Posted by RyRob813

Is there a good compilation I could check out?

For the casual listener, there's no better compilation than this one. But that's just the very tip of the iceberg. You are in the path I walked during the second half of the nineties, when Zappa became an obsession to me. After the first from many copies of the official Rykodisc catalog fell in my hands, I started digging as deep as I could into this genius' work, trying to get his most relevant recordings. The result: Ended up buying 47 titles on 63 CDs. The absolute musts I can think from the top of my head are "Hot Rats", "The Grand Wazoo", "Overnite Sensation", "Apostrophe", "Roxy & Elsewhere", "One Size Fits All", "Joe's Garage", "The Yellow Shark", "The Best Band You Never Heard In Your Life", "Make A Jazz Noise Here", "Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar", the "You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore" series...

Now, if you want just one CD (no compilation) to get you started, get "Hot Rats". It will leave you hungry for more and you'll quickly find that Zappa's music can't be easily categorized. Good luck!

[Phalex]

Originally Posted by DeluxeRed

Zoot Alures. Variety in style and tone. Humor. And Black Napkins is one of the best recorded live solos of all time. Then move on to Joe's Garage...

Black napkins does indeed kick butt! I'm not so sure the torture chamber is for the casual listener though.

I'd stick with Apostrphe'/overnight sensation. Everybody loves nanook of the North.

Also, check out his autobiography "The Frank Zappa Book" the man was truly amazing!

[5StringBlues]

Originally Posted by Phalex

Also, check out his autobiography "The Frank Zappa Book" the man was truly amazing!

+1 on that.

To the OP,it would really help if you could narrow down what you would prefer to hear out of Frank:

Jazzy Instrumental?

Orchestral?

60's semi-psychadelic satire?

Guitar oriented rock based music?

Personally I like "We're Only In It For The Money" and "Tinseltown Rebellion' alot.

Youtube is a good place to start.A whole lot of good stuff from the 1988 tour on there.The big band versions of "Black Napkins" and "The Black Page" are great instrumentals,along with "Watermelon in Easter Hay."


Now get outta here and don't let yer meat loaf.

[RD]

The album "Strictly Commercial" gives a good cross-section of his work, for a starting point.
RD

[Jim Campbell]

hot rats would be a good start...........focus is on music and not so much of the antics that took over a lot of albums......overnight sensation and apostrophe,the grand wazoo.......

[UncleFluffy]

+1 to all the above, plus go see "Zappa Plays Zappa" as soon as they tour again in your area. You won't regret it: talented musicians playing interesting, challenging, entertaining music and having incredible fun doing so.

edit: add the "Does humor belong in music?" video to your shopping list...

[Dirk Diggler]

I think for the new listener the live disks "The Best Band You Never Heard Before In Your Life", on the last tour '88 a few good covers that might help to get into things. Plus the band was really hot. Also check out the series "You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore".
Personally you can't go wrong with any Zappa, if you want the start Freak Out is the way to go.
You're on a great quest, basically get as much as you can.
Dirk
p.s. if you're really nuts, check out Zappateers for real boots and more etc..

[UncleFluffy]

Originally Posted by Dirk Diggler

Personally you can't go wrong with any Zappa,.

Lumpy Gravy is somewhat difficult to digest, I've found.

[RyRob813]

Hey thanks for all the feedback, much appreciated!

Seems the general consensus is "Apostrophe." I'll check that one out first. Of course, I imagine my school library has a good deal of Zappa, so I'm gonna eat up the free ones first

Thanks again!

[Jim Campbell]

Originally Posted by RyRob813

Hey thanks for all the feedback, much appreciated!

Seems the general consensus is "Apostrophe." I'll check that one out first. Of course, I imagine my school library has a good deal of Zappa, so I'm gonna eat up the free ones first

Thanks again!

careful.....a lot of stuff in the sheikyerbouti era was rumored to be contract dispute filler,and if billy the mountain were to be your maiden voyage it might not give the best impression.....zappa could be very indulgent at times and even tho i like a lot of his stuff some of the tangents he went on were awful

[Alvaro Martín Gómez A.]

Originally Posted by Jim Campbell

some of the tangents he went on were awful

The first CD of "You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore" Vol. 5 is practically unlistenable to me, although I must admit that "Right There" makes me laugh non-stop.

BTW, I know that Zappa's Flo & Eddie era has lots of fans, but I must say that it's the material I've enjoyed the least, with the exception of "Chunga's Revenge", which is an album I like a lot.

[lowendfriend]

Originally Posted by Alvaro Martín Gómez A.

For the casual listener, there's no better compilation than this one. But that's just the very tip of the iceberg. You are in the path I walked during the second half of the nineties, when Zappa became an obsession to me. After the first from many copies of the official Rykodisc catalog fell in my hands, I started digging as deep as I could into this genius' work, trying to get his most relevant recordings. The result: Ended up buying 47 titles on 63 CDs. The absolute musts I can think from the top of my head are "Hot Rats", "The Grand Wazoo", "Overnite Sensation", "Apostrophe", "Roxy & Elsewhere", "One Size Fits All", "Joe's Garage", "The Yellow Shark", "The Best Band You Never Heard In Your Life", "Make A Jazz Noise Here", "Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar", the "You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore" series...

Now, if you want just one CD (no compilation) to get you started, get "Hot Rats". It will leave you hungry for more and you'll quickly find that Zappa's music can't be easily categorized. Good luck!

+100

and of course Jazz from Hell

[DesertCreature]

Originally Posted by Jim Campbell

careful.....a lot of stuff in the sheikyerbouti era was rumored to be contract dispute filler,and if billy the mountain were to be your maiden voyage it might not give the best impression.....zappa could be very indulgent at times and even tho i like a lot of his stuff some of the tangents he went on were awful

Perhaps that explains why I tailed off of Zappa after Joe's Garage. Liked the earlier stuff better. However I had the fortune of seeing him live in '76 (3rd row, front ), and quite "frank"ly (), nothing he recorded ever came close to that performance.

Zappa plays Zappa sounds intriguing.

+1 on Hot Rats to start.

[steamthief]

My first Zappa had both the Apostrophe and Overnight Sensation albums on one CD. Pure awesome.

[Passinwind]

Originally Posted by Alvaro Martín Gómez A.

BTW, I know that Zappa's Flo & Eddie era has lots of fans, but I must say that it's the material I've enjoyed the least, with the exception of "Chunga's Revenge", which is an album I like a lot.

I can see that for the albums, but that band killed live.

Make mine Hot Rats, first and foremost. Or as Dirk said, Freak Out for first.