*** Frank Zappa ***

[Д.Д.]

I bought three from Oldies for $7 each recently, and they had quite a few other titles in stock. Not sure what the deal is.

Listened to side 2 of Sleep Dirt today. 'The Ocean Is the Ultimate Solution' is one of Zappa's greatest performances. No one ever seems to mention it. Who else is on this record anyway?

Bertrand.

Frank Zappa - guitar, synthesizer

Patrick O'Hearn - bass

Terry Bozzio - drums

I remember having read that FZ was apparently contemplating a tour with this trio (he was suing Warner Bros, and was not sure he could finance a larger band). A shame it never happened, probably would have been the most improv-heavy Zappa's tour.

[Big Wheel]

I bought three from Oldies for $7 each recently, and they had quite a few other titles in stock. Not sure what the deal is.

Bertrand.

This is probably the result of a repricing that Ryko did for its Zappa titles last winter (see this post upthread). When I was researching this nobody really gave a good explanation for the price drops, so I'm still not sure whether Ryko is trying to dump overstock to prepare for a big deletion of its Zappa catalog, or whether it was just a more routine move on their part.

[mjzee]

This topic should probably be merged with the larger Zappa thread here. Sorry, Big Al, that your thread got diverted.

I'll stick to what I wrote in the other thread: Zappa's inspired creativity peaked in the '68 - '71 timeframe. After the accident, there was the Wazoo tour (which I caught at the Felt Forum in '72), but then something in him seemed to have changed. Whatever the source of creativity is, it slowed down to a trickle in him. Overnite Sensation, Apostrophe are perfect examples of this. Even when he had a smokin' band (the Brock/Duke agglomeration), the material didn't rise to their talents: monster movies, I get it, Frank watched a lot of monster movies in the '50's, but it sounded like he was groping for subject matter to write about. And then, starting with Zoot Allures, it really went downhill. I found Sheik Yerbouti shocking in its vacuousness, similar to my hearing Beefheart with the "Tragic Band" in 1973. I liked the Drowning Witch album, and Utopia had some nice moments, but Them Or Us was the end for me. Count me among the "them," I suppose.

But....the 1988 big band tour. The recordings from that tour have some amazing moments, especially on 'Make a Jazz Noise Here.'

I've never heard the music from that tour, so it's nice that there's always unheard music to aspire to. The last time I saw Frank was at the Felt Forum in '84 or '85. I found it to be dull and depressing... more the Ray White and Ike Willis show than Frank's. Frank had this glassy stare all night; it seemed he knew his cues when to solo (and the rhythm always dropped down at those moments to that slow lope like in the bridge to Inca Roads...and it would then speed up to the song's original tempo after his solo), almost like he was trotted out at those moments. With the benefits of hindsight, I wonder whether he was sick and on meds even at that point.

If you want a taste of what I'm referring to about the glassy stare, I remember seeing it all over "Does Humor Belong In Music?"

[Big Wheel]

If you want a taste of what I'm referring to about the glassy stare, I remember seeing it all over "Does Humor Belong In Music?"

I can see why this edition of the band is not to everyone's tastes, but when they were on during that night at the Pier, they were ON. That version of Whippin' Post kills!

[7/4]

that was the only time I heard Zappa perform....crap seats too, I'm glad the video came out.

[Hot Ptah]

The 1988 tour featured a five piece jazz horn section and a lot of improvisation, including trumpet, trombone and saxophone solos. Again, 'Make a Jazz Noise Here' is the best example, although 'The Best Band You Never Heard in Your Life' has its fine sections.

[Д.Д.]

The 1988 tour featured a five piece jazz horn section and a lot of improvisation, including trumpet, trombone and saxophone solos. Again, 'Make a Jazz Noise Here' is the best example, although 'The Best Band You Never Heard in Your Life' has its fine sections.

The only problem with this tour for me is that FZ's solos were probably some of the least interesting since the sixties, IMHO.

[7/4]

I bought three from Oldies for $7 each recently, and they had quite a few other titles in stock. Not sure what the deal is.

Listened to side 2 of Sleep Dirt today. 'The Ocean Is the Ultimate Solution' is one of Zappa's greatest performances. No one ever seems to mention it. Who else is on this record anyway?

Bertrand.

Frank Zappa - guitar, synthesizer

Patrick O'Hearn - bass

Terry Bozzio - drums

I remember having read that FZ was apparently contemplating a tour with this trio (he was suing Warner Bros, and was not sure he could finance a larger band). A shame it never happened, probably would have been the most improv-heavy Zappa's tour.

wouldn't that be something...he probably would have sung a lot of songs and guitar solos, the keys would be missed.

[AmirBagachelles]

Freak Out is one of the all-time great records, in my opinion. I very highly recommend you buy, borrow "or check out the library copy of" the expanded 4 CD MOFO audio journal. It tells a big chunk of the story of the very good, sharp, beloved first Mothers.

The Flo & Eddie stuff, music and "lyrics", was well-conceived, honest projection/parody of the era of rock star deification. Sizzling FZ band too.

[mjzee]

Freak Out is one of the all-time great records, in my opinion. I very highly recommend you buy, borrow "or check out the library copy of" the expanded 4 CD MOFO audio journal. It tells a big chunk of the story of the very good, sharp, beloved first Mothers.

The Flo & Eddie stuff, music and "lyrics", was well-conceived, honest projection/parody of the era of rock star deification. Sizzling FZ band too.

I agree. The Flo & Eddie band was firing on all cylinders. I saw them about a year before the Fillmore East album; it was a great show. I think they inspired Frank to do some great writing (didn't they get a credit on a Zappa album for contributed material?). "Eddie Are You Kidding?" is just a perfect song. "I'm coming over shortly/because I am a portly/You promised you could fit me in a 50-dollar suit/What!/Eddie are you kidding?/No! No!"

[7/4]

Happy Birthday Frank Zappa.

[7/4]

The lore of Southern California permeated Frank Zappa's music and self-image

A list of local place names that appear in the satirical songs of Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention group would be long.

January 09, 2011|By Anthony Mostrom

It was a rare, early Hollywood television appearance for future rock music renegade Frank Zappa. Lean and hungry and unknown, the 22-year-old composer appeared on "The Steve Allen Show" in 1963.

He wore a pressed suit and thin tie, and short, well-greased hair — standard for those pre-Beatles, pre-psychedelic days. But Zappa was there to perform sounds on a bicycle with drumsticks and a bow (the bike belonged to his sister Candy).

Allen was no slouch in the world of beatnik-era hipness himself, but he couldn't help cracking one-liners during Zappa's noisy, atonal demonstration, and he kept pronouncing his guest's name "Zoppa." "Well, Mr. Zappa … I congratulate you on your farsightedness," Allen said. "As for your music, don't ever do it around here again!"

Frank Zappa was born in Baltimore — Dec. 21, 2010, would have been his 70th birthday — but his self-image and musical output from 1963 until his death in 1993 were soaked in the lore of Southern California, where he grew up.

A list of local place names that appear in the satirical songs of his avant-garde-meets-novelty-rock group, the Mothers of Invention, would be long.

more

[Rooster_Ties]

Almost the ONLY place I've encountered any of the CA place-names listed in the article, is from listening to Zappa.

[7/4]

Burbank, Downey, El Monte, Fullerton, Glendale, Hawthorne, Irwindale, Lomita, Newhall, Pacoima, Palmdale, Rolling Hills, Shadow Hills — he loved, hated and sang about all of them. In retrospect, it seems that Zappa and the Mothers played in other cities during their heyday in the late 1960s only because they had to.

Burbank is one I'd heard of outside of Zappa lore.

"beautiful downtown Burbank"

...and Fullerton is the birthplace of Fender guitars.

[mjzee]

Frank Zappa, his groupies and me

She was a strait-laced English typist. He was a sexually incontinent rock innovator. So why on earth did Pauline Butcher become Frank Zappa's secretary?

The Guardian UK

[Chalupa]

Another one of the original Mothers has passed. Jim "Motorhead" Sherwood died on Christmas day. He was 69.

Obit

Watch this

Edited December 26, 2011 by J.H. Deeley

[thedwork]

Frank Zappa, his groupies and me

She was a strait-laced English typist. He was a sexually incontinent rock innovator. So why on earth did Pauline Butcher become Frank Zappa's secretary?

The Guardian UK

that looks like it could be a good read. but this:

"My name is Raven. I brought you a present," this stranger announced, handing to Zappa a transparent bag, apparently filled with blood, before pointing a revolver at his chest.

Calmly, Zappa cajoled and manipulated Raven into walking with him, and numerous spectators, including Zappa's 24-year-old English secretary, to a nearby lake. He then persuaded everyone present to start throwing things into the water, including Raven, who threw in his gun.

... thats's kinda odd. are you all aware of this story? i've read barry miles's biography and i don't recall this being mentioned. an insanely spectacular event like this, that happens to one of the most celebrated and famous american musicians of the 20th century, with "many spectators" present, seems like it would be mentioned in that excellent biography. it seems it would also become a well-known tale. if you all could, lemme know if i just happened to miss this story for some reason or if this insane story is just out now for the first time...

[Д.Д.]

Frank Zappa, his groupies and me

She was a strait-laced English typist. He was a sexually incontinent rock innovator. So why on earth did Pauline Butcher become Frank Zappa's secretary?

The Guardian UK

that looks like it could be a good read. but this:

"My name is Raven. I brought you a present," this stranger announced, handing to Zappa a transparent bag, apparently filled with blood, before pointing a revolver at his chest.

Calmly, Zappa cajoled and manipulated Raven into walking with him, and numerous spectators, including Zappa's 24-year-old English secretary, to a nearby lake. He then persuaded everyone present to start throwing things into the water, including Raven, who threw in his gun.

... thats's kinda odd. are you all aware of this story? i've read barry miles's biography and i don't recall this being mentioned. an insanely spectacular event like this, that happens to one of the most celebrated and famous american musicians of the 20th century, with "many spectators" present, seems like it would be mentioned in that excellent biography. it seems it would also become a well-known tale. if you all could, lemme know if i just happened to miss this story for some reason or if this insane story is just out now for the first time...

This was mentioned in Zappa's own Real Frank Zappa Book.

[thedwork]

Frank Zappa, his groupies and me

She was a strait-laced English typist. He was a sexually incontinent rock innovator. So why on earth did Pauline Butcher become Frank Zappa's secretary?

The Guardian UK

that looks like it could be a good read. but this:

"My name is Raven. I brought you a present," this stranger announced, handing to Zappa a transparent bag, apparently filled with blood, before pointing a revolver at his chest.

Calmly, Zappa cajoled and manipulated Raven into walking with him, and numerous spectators, including Zappa's 24-year-old English secretary, to a nearby lake. He then persuaded everyone present to start throwing things into the water, including Raven, who threw in his gun.

... thats's kinda odd. are you all aware of this story? i've read barry miles's biography and i don't recall this being mentioned. an insanely spectacular event like this, that happens to one of the most celebrated and famous american musicians of the 20th century, with "many spectators" present, seems like it would be mentioned in that excellent biography. it seems it would also become a well-known tale. if you all could, lemme know if i just happened to miss this story for some reason or if this insane story is just out now for the first time...

This was mentioned in Zappa's own Real Frank Zappa Book.

thanks "organissimo member w/ symbol thingie i can't type."

while i haven't read that "autobiography," i've heard it's not very reliable. and since that seems to be the only other source, i'm still skeptical.

[Д.Д.]

Frank Zappa, his groupies and me

She was a strait-laced English typist. He was a sexually incontinent rock innovator. So why on earth did Pauline Butcher become Frank Zappa's secretary?

The Guardian UK

that looks like it could be a good read. but this:

"My name is Raven. I brought you a present," this stranger announced, handing to Zappa a transparent bag, apparently filled with blood, before pointing a revolver at his chest.

Calmly, Zappa cajoled and manipulated Raven into walking with him, and numerous spectators, including Zappa's 24-year-old English secretary, to a nearby lake. He then persuaded everyone present to start throwing things into the water, including Raven, who threw in his gun.

... thats's kinda odd. are you all aware of this story? i've read barry miles's biography and i don't recall this being mentioned. an insanely spectacular event like this, that happens to one of the most celebrated and famous american musicians of the 20th century, with "many spectators" present, seems like it would be mentioned in that excellent biography. it seems it would also become a well-known tale. if you all could, lemme know if i just happened to miss this story for some reason or if this insane story is just out now for the first time...

This was mentioned in Zappa's own Real Frank Zappa Book.

thanks "organissimo member w/ symbol thingie i can't type."

while i haven't read that "autobiography," i've heard it's not very reliable. and since that seems to be the only other source, i'm still skeptical.

What's the point for Butcher to repeat imaginary stories already mentioned elsewhere (and already known by nearly everybody who would ever read her book)? No novelty factor, won't help her sell the book. Her mentioning this story at all actually corroborates its credence, in my opinion. And the anecdote does not seem out of ordinary to me. Have you seen the movie about John Lennon's recording of "Imagine" with footage of a drugged deranged fan walking into his estate?

[thedwork]

What's the point for Butcher to repeat imaginary stories already mentioned elsewhere (and already known by nearly everybody who would ever read her book)? No novelty factor, won't help her sell the book. Her mentioning this story at all actually corroborates its credence, in my opinion. And the anecdote does not seem out of ordinary to me. Have you seen the movie about John Lennon's recording of "Imagine" with footage of a drugged deranged fan walking into his estate?

thanks again. if you say this story is "...already known by nearly everybody who would ever read her book," then i take your word for it.

and if that anecdote doesn't seem out of the ordinary to you, you've got an awesomely exciting life going! be careful out there

and yeah, i've seen that Lennon footage.

[Д.Д.]

Apparently Warner (current owner of Rykodisc) has confirmed that they do not own the rights to Zappa material anymore, and that all the Ryko FZ CDs are effectively OOP. This is sad - Ryko has done a remarkable job in keeping the whole catalog (even the most esoteric titles) continuously in print and widely available at very affordable prices since '95. From what I know, Ryko has never really recouped the investment they made in the FZ catalog. Gail has been pouring so much shit on Ryko for handling the Zappa legacy, I wonder what alternative she will be able to offer now.

[GregK]

so who does own the rights then?

[mjzee]

More on Pauline Butcher's book: look at the first customer review:

Amazon

[7/4]

More on Pauline Butcher's book: look at the first customer review:

Amazon

He'll help you with your back problems.....for a price.