Frank Zappa

moom · Post by **moom** » Fri Nov 03, 2006 12:44 pm

so... what do you think of this cool man, who additionally released about 60 studio albums with ORIGINAL material (how did he ever manage to

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kagee · Post by **kagee** » Fri Nov 03, 2006 12:55 pm

A veritable genius who was taken from us far too early.

From the Mothers of Invention up to the Yellow Shark he released an amazing amount of material.

Admittedly there was a lot of dodgy stuff in there (the mothers of prevention springs to mind) but there was also some classics (bongo fury, overnight sensation etc).

I love the amount of live stuff he put out in particular the You can't do that on stage anymore series.

Just an amazing artist.

moodyblue · Post by **moodyblue** » Fri Nov 03, 2006 7:01 pm

Underated really because he wasn't mainstream as such and was more of a cult figure in some ways i would say.
I don't think i have ever heard a radio station play any Frank Zappa records ever and why ?????
I remember putting on Joes Garage on at work once, 5 of us working in the room and as soon as Frank said anything risque, the boss got up and said 'right i am turning that off'.....silly sod really.

I loved the way he'd suddenly bring out an album with nothing but instrumental music on it.
Just why oh why was he such an underated guitar player ???
Must admit, if he's brought out 60 albums, i must have heard just a handful of them.

J Ed · Post by **J Ed** » Fri Nov 03, 2006 7:36 pm

the only song I remember hearing on the radio was Dont Eat That Yellow Snow
too bad, cuz for years I dismissed him as a juvenile novelty act

my favourite album I ever heard from him was a later live album called Make A JazzNoise Here, the comedy routines were minimised and the playing maximised

Sonic Destruction · Post by **Sonic Destruction** » Fri Nov 03, 2006 9:39 pm

I haven't got that much of his stuff, just because there is so much to buy. I love "Apostrophe (')" (especially the awesome title track with Jack Bruce on bass and Jim Gordon on drums), "Overnight Sensation", "Hot Rats" and "Chunga's Revenge". Also have a few Zappa DVDs.

What other albums would be particularly good to go for (I am much more a fan of his rock stuff than his more avant garde work)?

2066 · Post by **2066** » Fri Nov 03, 2006 9:41 pm

He's a very prolific brilliant musical iconoclast. He's probably a genius. He always seemed to surround himself with top notch intuitive players. That's because his compositions could be very dense and stylistically varied and complex and he needed each guy to be a virtuoso. He could write an extended composition that could move seamlessly through an unbelievable amount of tempo, stylistic and dynamic changes and yet make it all flow organically...and then he goes and opens his fucking mouth........

azza200 · Post by **azza200** » Fri Nov 03, 2006 10:39 pm

a genuis and a funny chap with songs Disco Boy surely taking the mick out of JT of saturday night fever which came out at that time Disco Boy

funny songs in general and his Guitar playing is underrated i have seen some of his live stuff on video and he is an excellent guitarist RIP

The Gunner's Dream · Post by **The Gunner's Dream** » Sat Nov 04, 2006 2:07 am

I'm proud to say that I own all of Zappa's studio and live albums, plus about 15 bootlegs. Around 120 discs in total.

I prefer pretty much everything after 1971. I'm not a fan of the early line up's though I will admit both We're only in it for the money and Hot Rats are masterpieces. My favorite line-up was probably the 1981/1982 line up with Steve Vai. Possibly the most talented group of players ever to be on stage at once. You have to hear it to know what I mean.

fatoldbob · Post by **fatoldbob** » Sat Nov 04, 2006 6:04 am

My favorite is Sheik Yerbouti which was one of the first albums I ever bought.

Massed Gadgets · Post by **Massed Gadgets** » Sat Nov 04, 2006 6:15 am

I love his instrumental works, ingenious, complex, challenging stuff...but the scatalogical and often offensive humour of his works with vocals kind of ruined those albums for me, except for the more whacked out and intellectually satirical humour of his early classics such as the brilliant Freak Out! But overall, I prefer his instrumental repretoire, especially the album Hot Rats, which is probably my favourite of his.

I agree, he was taken from this world at far too early an age. It's hard to believe that he was just a couple of years older than I am now when he died. He accomplished so much in his short life. Imagine what he might have done had he had another 20, 30 or 40 years.

Sonic Destruction · Post by **Sonic Destruction** » Sat Nov 04, 2006 8:28 am

Yeah, I agree with you, Massed Gadgets. The humour is okay at times, offensive at others, but his instrumental brilliance really shines through for me.

"Hot Rats" is legendery; I am sure that everyone would agree with that. The track "Son Of Mr Green Genes" is absolutely stunning.

I have a few of Frank's DVDs, the best one being "The Dub Room Special" which includes some footage of Zappa with his Steve Vai band. I thought "Baby Snakes" was not so good as it was too much "humour", not enough music, although the band all get a chance to really cut loose in the second half. "Does Humour Belong In Music?" is pretty good, but he doesn't get to play enough guitar; the album of the same name actually has a lot more awesome guitar stuff on it. What other Zappa is out there on DVD?

moom · Post by **moom** » Sat Nov 04, 2006 2:31 pm

The Gunner's Dream wrote:I'm proud to say that I own all of Zappa's studio and live albums, plus about 15 bootlegs. Around 120 discs in total.

I prefer pretty much everything after 1971. I'm not a fan of the early line up's though I will admit both We're only in it for the money and Hot Rats are masterpieces. My favorite line-up was probably the 1981/1982 line up with Steve Vai. Possibly the most talented group of players ever to be on stage at once. You have to hear it to know what I mean.

120

I guess Zappa's worth it

and yeah, he's really underrated. I wonder why do some people get underrated, while others - overrated. Is it only about the public and show-biz? I declare that some artists are ABOVE that

The Gunner's Dream · Post by **The Gunner's Dream** » Sat Nov 04, 2006 5:32 pm

Pat Albertson wrote: What other Zappa is out there on DVD?

A new release from the Zappa family is coming soon. Supposedly they are releasing the entire performance from Halloween 1981 (same footage from the dub room special but complete)

that should be great

But currently Dub room special, Baby snakes, and Does humor belong and music are the only substanital "zappa movies" out there. There are a few more rare films, such as 200 motels (1971 era zappa) and Uncle Meat (huge variety of footage with more stuff from 1981/1982) but both of these are almost impossible to find.

In fact, until The dub room special was re-released on dvd last year, it was only available as a bootleg.

J Ed · Post by **J Ed** » Sat Nov 04, 2006 6:18 pm

200 Motels is not on DVD?
if thats the one Im thinking of, I saw it in the theatre once in the early80s
the movie I saw featured Ringo Starr playing Frank Zappa, and Frank Zappa playing God

Sonic Destruction · Post by **Sonic Destruction** » Sat Nov 04, 2006 8:26 pm

I have a few minutes of "200 Motels" on video, those being the tracks (I think) "Mystery Roach", "Shove It Right In" and "Provaocative Squats". They are great, and Aynsley Dunbar is a wicked drummer. However, I was somewhat disappointed with the movie as a whole. Too much mucking around and too little rock. I much prefer the album "Chunga's Revenge", which I think was recorded at around the same time with the same band (I think

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