Offical Frank Zappa Thread
- Thread starter grooveman
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jblnut
Don't Overthink It
I'm a huge Duke fan...he influenced my own playing a great deal. So you want some Duke recommendations?
On FZ recordings I'd say Grand Wazoo ( eat that question) and Roxy are my faves.
On his own, I love Duke's early BASF label stuff. Feel is a great and raw funky synth trip with some Killer (!) FZ appearances (under a wacky pseudonym). From Me To You also has some really good tunes on it but no FZ. Reach for It is Duke at his funky 70s best and highly recommended.
Jblnut
mkuhl2000
Tape Rotation Coordinator
First turned on to Zappa by my uncle in the late 70's. He was playing Sheik Yer Bouti and I went out and picked it up and then worked my way back through his catalog. I had a hard time "getting" the older stuff and wrote it off as a bunch of noise, but once you see concert footage of it, that's when you "get it". Currently I have a total of 207 Zappa LP's/CD's/DVD's in my collection. Guess he grew on me a little bit.
DJ G-Man
Purvis Of Sound
I saw Frank at the Uptown Theatre in Chicago in '81 when he was collecting ladies underwear for his quilt. It was about halfway through the show, and in between songs he asked the ladies to start givin' them up - Panty Rap! - I forget what the next song was, but in the middle of it this big mama, at the least 300 lbs, comes up to the stage and whips her big red panties at Frank, who picks them up, stops the band in mid-stride, admiring them and showing the audience, we're all bustin' a gut, then puts them over his head, starts the band up, and sang the rest of the song THRU them! I laughed so hard tears were comin' down my face............and he collected more underwear in Chicago than anywhere else.
Girl, you thought he was a man, but he was a muffin.........................
Girl, you thought he was a man, but he was a muffin.........................
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Dswankey
Lunatic Member
Thanks for the Duke references, I listened to "Fillmore East, June 1971" yesterday. The guy likes his groupies.
noogies
My Favorite Woofers.
I can't remember where I read this (or if I just dreamt it or something), but ...
FZ's audience as gauged by the letters he received was largely comprised of adolescent males. And what do adolescent males like best? Dick jokes, fart jokes and gross humor. So his modus operandi was to use those as bait to hook the little bastards into ACTUALLY LISTENING TO SOME MUSIC! Worked on me -- I was taken in by the off-color material, but eventually I realized that it was disguising some very sophisticated musical ideas and performances.
FZ opened me up to all kinds of new auditory experiences and made me, by turns, a prog-rock fan, a jazz fan and a (still-limited, but even the genius of Frank can't completely turn a sow's ear into a silk purse!) classical fan.
Jeez, I miss him.
And I think "One Size Fits All" is my favorite too ... although, maybe "Apostrophe" or "Overnite Sensation" or "Waka-Jawaka" or "Roxy & Elsewhere" or ...
FZ's audience as gauged by the letters he received was largely comprised of adolescent males. And what do adolescent males like best? Dick jokes, fart jokes and gross humor. So his modus operandi was to use those as bait to hook the little bastards into ACTUALLY LISTENING TO SOME MUSIC! Worked on me -- I was taken in by the off-color material, but eventually I realized that it was disguising some very sophisticated musical ideas and performances.
FZ opened me up to all kinds of new auditory experiences and made me, by turns, a prog-rock fan, a jazz fan and a (still-limited, but even the genius of Frank can't completely turn a sow's ear into a silk purse!) classical fan.
Jeez, I miss him.
And I think "One Size Fits All" is my favorite too ... although, maybe "Apostrophe" or "Overnite Sensation" or "Waka-Jawaka" or "Roxy & Elsewhere" or ...
Dswankey
Lunatic Member
Just picked up this gem and if your down for some serious jamming sans lyrics check out " The Grand Wazoo (Think It Over)" & "Big Swifty". Some great jazz, boogie, fusion stuff. WOW!!!! The meters on my amp are groovin & jumpin
Live recording from Boston Music Hall 1972
Live recording from Boston Music Hall 1972
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I got into Zappa about two years ago when I got a mint copy of Grand Wazoo on Bizarre. In the last few months I have acquired a nice little collection, I keep finding keepers at a used store for cheap
Grand Wazoo on Bizarre
Uncle Meat on Bizarre
Studio Tan on Discreet
Orchestral Favorites on Discrete(found sealed)
Absolutely Free on Verve MONO
Lumpy Gravy on Verve 1972 UK reissue
I recently won an auction on eBay for 10 other zappa LP's
But I have a question for you zappaheads, what is the best sounding vinyl version of Freak Out! ?
I would like to buy a copy because I've never heard it before. I've looked at original pressings but should I buy MONO or STEREO? I always try to buy the best version the first time I make a purchase on any certain record if I seek it out
Grand Wazoo on Bizarre
Uncle Meat on Bizarre
Studio Tan on Discreet
Orchestral Favorites on Discrete(found sealed)
Absolutely Free on Verve MONO
Lumpy Gravy on Verve 1972 UK reissue
I recently won an auction on eBay for 10 other zappa LP's
But I have a question for you zappaheads, what is the best sounding vinyl version of Freak Out! ?
I would like to buy a copy because I've never heard it before. I've looked at original pressings but should I buy MONO or STEREO? I always try to buy the best version the first time I make a purchase on any certain record if I seek it out
DJ G-Man
Purvis Of Sound
I've heard both, not much difference, at least to my ears. I think the biggest difference would lie in the condition of the vinyl, since it's almost 50 years old. I have a pristine copy of the stereo version that I bought sealed about 30 years ago. I've traced it about maybe a dozen times. I wouldn't let it go for any amount of money in the world. (But every man has his price!)
Good luck!
Me Tarzan
EARTH
I saw Frank at the Uptown Theatre in Chicago in '81 when he was collecting ladies underwear for his quilt. It was about halfway through the show, and in between songs he asked the ladies to start givin' them up - Panty Rap! - I forget what the next song was, but in the middle of it this big mama, at the least 300 lbs, comes up to the stage and whips her big red panties at Frank, who picks them up, stops the band in mid-stride, admiring them and showing the audience, we're all bustin' a gut, then puts them over his head, starts the band up, and sang the rest of the song THRU them! I laughed so hard tears were comin' down my face............and he collected more underwear in Chicago than anywhere else.
Girl, you thought he was a man, but he was a muffin.........................
Enlightening. Now "The Jazz Discharge Party Hat" from "Man From Utopia" makes a little more sense now.
I saw Frank at the Uptown Theatre in Chicago in '81 when he was collecting ladies underwear for his quilt. It was about halfway through the show, and in between songs he asked the ladies to start givin' them up - Panty Rap! - I forget what the next song was, but in the middle of it this big mama, at the least 300 lbs, comes up to the stage and whips her big red panties at Frank, who picks them up, stops the band in mid-stride, admiring them and showing the audience, we're all bustin' a gut, then puts them over his head, starts the band up, and sang the rest of the song THRU them! I laughed so hard tears were comin' down my face............and he collected more underwear in Chicago than anywhere else.
Girl, you thought he was a man, but he was a muffin.........................
Were those the famous voodoo butter underpants? You know, the ones that almost broke Napoleon Murphy Brock's neck?
Frank Zappa and his music as a composer and musician is an absolutely essential part of my life since 1978.
The afternoon my beloved father died in my arms suffering from blood cancer in 1999 I listened for many hours to Live Boston 1968 (and drinking gallons of beer), nobody else could comfort me in those darkest moments of my life than Frank and his lively music.
The afternoon my beloved father died in my arms suffering from blood cancer in 1999 I listened for many hours to Live Boston 1968 (and drinking gallons of beer), nobody else could comfort me in those darkest moments of my life than Frank and his lively music.
DJ G-Man
Purvis Of Sound
Yes, I do believe they were.
For those interested there is a Zappa Pod Cast (ZappaCast) that has been around for a couple of years now. There have been 9 episodes so far. Some pretty interesting stuff. The very first episode the guy plays the entire Alternate Freak Out bootleg album that someone up thread mentioned. I downloaded the podcast and then was able to break up the songs and put it into my iTunes library. Just click on the hyperlink above.
I never got to see FZ, I didn't get into him until after he died. I have seen Dweezils Zappa Plays Zappa band a couple of times. They put on a really great show and Dweezil can pull off his dad's playing quite nicely. The show I went to see in Charlotte had Ray White as a special guest on vocals, it was a really good show.
I never got to see FZ, I didn't get into him until after he died. I have seen Dweezils Zappa Plays Zappa band a couple of times. They put on a really great show and Dweezil can pull off his dad's playing quite nicely. The show I went to see in Charlotte had Ray White as a special guest on vocals, it was a really good show.
