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Zappa Help

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PunkerTrav

Jul 18, 2001
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#1
I've been diggin' hard on Apostrophe and Hot Rats lately. We're Only In It For The Money has been getting solid rotation too.

Riding the wave, I bought Sheik Yerbouti a while back and just haven't been able to get into it. I can't really put my finger on it; it kinda sounds like the 80's are right around the corner.:hmm:;)

Can any of you Zappa fans recommend me some Zappa more along the lines of Apostrophe/Hot Rats or even W.O.I.I.F.T.M.?
 
#2
One Size Fits All, Over-Nite Sensation and the live album Roxy & Elsewhere are a bit like Apostrophe. I dig it. Also, check out the DVD "the dub room special" which has quite a bit of concert material from a 1974 TV appearence which is very cool IMO.
 
#7
I like all of Zappa's stuff, but I admit he went down hill in the 80's. I think Zoot Allures was his last great LP for rock.

In the 90's his modern music was no longer relevant
Classical pieces are a different story.
 
#10
Personally, my favorite Zappa albums were with the original Mothers Of Invention, so that's all the way from Freak Out! to Weasels Ripped My Flesh. Doesn't sound like the kind of stuff your looking for though, so I'll tell you that Cheap Thrills is a great live/studio album and, as the title may suggest, it's priced at like $5.


I also have Freak Out in Mono. Go team!
 
#11
Deluge Of Sound said:
Personally, my favorite Zappa albums were with the original Mothers Of Invention, so that's all the way from Freak Out! to Weasels Ripped My Flesh. Doesn't sound like the kind of stuff your looking for though, so I'll tell you that Cheap Thrills is a great live/studio album and, as the title may suggest, it's priced at like $5.


I also have Freak Out in Mono. Go team!
Click to expand...


I dig We're Only In It For The Money so I'll check out some of the other Mothers of Invention stuff too.

I'll head down to the record shop soon. Hopefully I'll get a decent trade in for Sheik Yerbouti; I have no interest in keeping it for the sake of collection.

Thanks for the suggestions guys.
 
#13
My favorite Zappa is the early '70s band with George Duke, Napoleon Murphy Brock, Ruth Underwood, and bassist Tom Fowler. Try "You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore Vol. 2: The Helsinki Concert" for a good idea what they sounded like live! Essentially the same lineup as "Roxy & Elsewhere" but without the overdubs.
 
#14
The albums that Frank was making in the late 60's and early 70's are fairly unique. Here is the best FZ discography (and more) site that I know of:

http://globalia.net/donlope/fz/lyrics/

You can see that there are a LOT of records, and they cover an enormous amount of musical ground.

I'd suggest that Hot Rats, Chunga's Revenge, Fillmore East, Overnite Sensation, Apostrophe, Roxy, and One Size Fits All make a fairly contiguous series of albums. Add in YCDTOSA 2 (an immortal Zappa release. That band was at the peak of their skills when this show was taped) for the aforementioned Helsinki concert, and you have a lot of listening to do.

The Wakka Jawakka and Grand Wazoo albums are awesome, but they are his "big band" album and don't share a lot with the rock band sound. Even given that, they do make a nice fit with Hot rats and Chunga's Revenge!

I'm not a big fan of his work in the 80's. It is a reminder to me that NOBODY escaped bad hair and questionable fashion statements :ninja: But there is some amazing music there as well. I prefer the selections that made it onto the You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore series to the album tracks. Also, live albums like Tinseltown Rebellion contain some fine stuff.

Last, the Lather (pr. leather) box set is the collection of material that is also on Zappa in New York, Orchestral Favorites, Sleep Dirt, and Studio Tan. This series has some of my favorite FZ material ever. It ranges *very* widely, so you probably won't like everything, but some of it is simply amazing. The 3cd box release is excellent.

And then you hit the material derived from the 1988 tour: Best band You Never Heard in Your Life, Make a Jazz Noise Here, and Broadway The Hard Way. In some ways this has more in common with the early 70's material. My preference is my playlist made from my favorite tracks from all three of those.

Enjoy!
 
#15
fretlessrock said:
Last, the Lather (pr. leather) box set is the collection of material that is also on Zappa in New York, Orchestral Favorites, Sleep Dirt, and Studio Tan. This series has some of my favorite FZ material ever. It ranges *very* widely, so you probably won't like everything, but some of it is simply amazing. The 3cd box release is excellent.
!
Click to expand...

Lather is amazing. One of my favorites.
 
#16
PunkerTrav said:
I've been diggin' hard on Apostrophe and Hot Rats lately. We're Only In It For The Money has been getting solid rotation too.

Riding the wave, I bought Sheik Yerbouti a while back and just haven't been able to get into it. I can't really put my finger on it; it kinda sounds like the 80's are right around the corner.:hmm:;)

Can any of you Zappa fans recommend me some Zappa more along the lines of Apostrophe/Hot Rats or even W.O.I.I.F.T.M.?
Click to expand...

Apostrophe is totally different to Hot Rats, which is different again to We're Only In It For The Money...

if you like Apostrophe, then you'll like: One Size Fits All and Overnite Sensation, Roxy & Elsewhere, You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore 2

if you like Hot Rats, then try: Waka/Jawaka, Grand Wazoo, Sleep Dirt & Studio Tan...

if you like We're Only In It For The Money, try Absolutely Free and Freak Out!


my fave Zappa album... Make A Jazz Noise Here

if you like Zappa bass playing I urge you to check out my website:

Link Removed
 

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