*** Frank Zappa ***

[jlhoots]

Weasels Ripped My Flesh.

Still may have been (probably was ) an idiot.

[mjzee]

FYI, I see the next batch of Zappa releases has been added to Amazon, with a release date of August 28. Strangely, the label listed is "Xenon", but the descriptions have the "official release" #. This batch seems to go through One Size Fits All.

[thedwork]

Hmmm....

In late 1967 or early 1968 when the Mothers were first breaking on the scene, someone in the Zappa management team, working for Tom Wilson suggested I take Lester Bowie and Roscoe Mitchell to meet Frank when they came to town for a gig. It took a bit of convincing to get them to drive to the North side for this meeting. Frank came out from the dressing room and dismissed me as a white guy exploiting black artists and dismissed Lester and Roscoe because they were my n...ers. I have never been able to take him seriously or listen to his music. He was an ASSHOLE of the first order.

wow. that's quite an anecdote. do you remember what he actually said, as in a quote? could you paraphrase it? i'd be interested.

[Д.Д.]

First reviews of the new remasters are glowing, so I placed an order for "Hot Rats" at amazon.it, and noticed it is at #51 of the amazon.it top CD sellers - in between Police's "Regatta..." and Joe Henderson's "Mode for Joe" . I assume amazon.it sells CDs in low volumes, so a few odd orders can skew the 'Top' list, but it's amusing nonetheless.

Edited August 7, 2012 by Д.Д.

[7/4]

I bought the Uncle Meat remaster, it sounds great, but I still haven't done an A/B listening test yet.

[Quincy]

From what I've read the ones to get are those from the original analog tape:

Absolutely Free - No more Ryko digital reverb.

Hot Rats - Lacks extended versions of Ryko (along w/ the reverb).

Burnt Weeny Sandwich - I never had a problem w/ the Ryko but many are saying it's a big improvement. If you first heard it on Ryko you might not be as gaga about the lack of reverb. I'll have to get it since it's BWS.

Chunkga's Revenge - Sounds better than anything, even the original LP.

Weasel's Rip My Flesh - Again, original mix w/out digital reverb.

Just Another Band From LA - More good reports as above.

Fillmore East - Better sound and both parts of Willie The Pimp are on it though with fades.

-----

Same as the Rykos - Freak Out, We're Only In It For The Money, Lumpy Gravy, Uncle Meat, Ruben & The Jets.

If there's any difference between the Rykos it's very small. I believe the waveforms say they're the same.

The next batch is supposed to be similar. Some will be remasters, some will be the same old Rykos in new clothing.

Edited August 8, 2012 by Quincy

[Head Man]

The sound of Hot Rats is fantastic compared to my existing CD copy. It was like hearing it for the first time again. Pity I don't have my original vinyl to compare it against.

[Д.Д.]

The sound of Hot Rats is fantastic compared to my existing CD copy. It was like hearing it for the first time again. Pity I don't have my original vinyl to compare it against.

Got Hot Rats today, and it indeed sounds good - better than the Ryko edition. However, I miss the 1987 mix - better guitar solo edits on Willie, additional instruments on a few tracks (Little Umbrellas really sounds 'empty'), and the long Ian Underwood alto sax solo. Ideally, I would have the 1987 mix mastered properly .

Edited August 10, 2012 by Д.Д.

[ATR]

The sound of Hot Rats is fantastic compared to my existing CD copy. It was like hearing it for the first time again. Pity I don't have my original vinyl to compare it against.

Got Hot Rats today, and it indeed sounds good - better than the Ryko edition. However, I miss the 1987 mix - better guitar solo edits on Willie, additional instruments on a few tracks (Little Umbrellas really sounds 'empty'), and the long Ian Underwood alto sax solo. Ideally, I would have the 1987 mix mastered properly .

I would split the difference. Gumbo Variations sounds better to me without the countdown, bass/drum intro, and long sax solo (Although I'm fascinated by the seamlessness of the editing. It almost sounds as if those have to be different takes) but keep the other '87 edits and balance of the instruments. Lose the digital reverb. That was probably added to the mix, not in the mastering. I like having both the '87 and current CD editions to compare.

[Д.Д.]

I would split the difference. Gumbo Variations sounds better to me without the countdown, bass/drum intro, and long sax solo (Although I'm fascinated by the seamlessness of the editing. It almost sounds as if those have to be different takes) but keep the other '87 edits and balance of the instruments. Lose the digital reverb. That was probably added to the mix, not in the mastering. I like having both the '87 and current CD editions to compare.

Particularly given that these were scissor and adhesive tape edits. In general, FZ was great with editing and you realize it in particular when you hear the source live material and what Zappa made out of it on released records. For example, the guitar tour de force from Sheik Yerbouti, Rat Tomago (4'43'') - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NuDLlgRuI6Y is an edited version of a Torture Never Stops solo from the '78 performance in Berlin (6'39'') - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6fKl-huexE . When you compare them you realize how masterfully the edits were done and how much better the edited version sounds.

[robertoart]

First reviews of the new remasters are glowing, so I placed an order for "Hot Rats" at amazon.it, and noticed it is at #51 of the amazon.it top CD sellers - in between Police's "Regatta..." and Joe Henderson's "Mode for Joe" . I assume amazon.it sells CDs in low volumes, so a few odd orders can skew the 'Top' list, but it's amusing nonetheless.

Must be payola.

[StarThrower]

Did they fix that horrible sounding Transylvania Boogie on Chunga's Revenge? The Ryko version sounds like the band recorded in a locker room.

[StarThrower]

I bought the Uncle Meat remaster, it sounds great, but I still haven't done an A/B listening test yet.

According to this link, it's the same as the Ryko version.

http://www.gandsmusic.com/ZappaCD1.htm

[7/4]

I bought the Uncle Meat remaster, it sounds great, but I still haven't done an A/B listening test yet.

According to this link, it's the same as the Ryko version.

http://www.gandsmusic.com/ZappaCD1.htm

So I found out. I'll probably give it away to a friend.

[StarThrower]

That is a nice gift for a friend. Uncle Meat being an amazing album! The added movie dialog notwithstanding.

[Д.Д.]

These have been confirmed to be new remasters:

Absolutely Free

Burnt Weeny Sandwich

Weasels Ripped My Flesh

Chunga's Revenge

Fillmore East, June 1971

Just Another Band From L.A.

Waka/Jawaka

The Grand Wazoo

Over-nite Sensation

Apostrophe(‘)

One Size Fits All

Bongo Fury

Zoot Allures

Studio Tan

Sleep Dirt

Sheik Yerbouti

Joe's Garage Acts 1, 2 & 3

Tinseltown Rebellion

Shut Up 'N Play Yer Guitar

You Are What You Is

Them or Us

The rest are straight Ryko reissues.

[StarThrower]

Remastering is not the issue with many of these titles, it's the mixes. Hot Rats is not a "straight" Ryko reissue, the new one is the original vinyl version.

[AllenLowe]

just remember, 7/4, when you do the A/B listening test, to compare the same recordings - remember last time when you tried to say that Hot Rats didn't sound as good as Last Train to Clarksville.

[Head Man]

just remember, 7/4, when you do the A/B listening test, to compare the same recordings - remember last time when you tried to say that Hot Rats didn't sound as good as Last Train to Clarksville.

Well....it doesn't.

[Д.Д.]

Remastering is not the issue with many of these titles, it's the mixes.

Not really. Adding digital reverb and messing with EQ (which is what was done to earlier Rykos) does not constitute a remix. Real remixes were a few - Hot Rats, Sleep Dirt, etc. Good summary has been already prepared here: http://lukpac.org/~handmade/patio/vinylvscds/2012hotpoop.html

[StarThrower]

Yeah, I realize that. I don't want remixes, I want the original Sleep Dirt. Anyway, good to know they improved Chunga's Revenge, and Burnt Weeny Sandwich too.

[jlhoots]

FWIW, I saw / heard a group on the Santa Fe plaza last night with 2 sons of Jimmy Carl Black playing guitar & drums. They were pretty good.

[Big Wheel]

Virtually all of the Zappa catalog is now available for streaming on Rdio/Spotify. Not sure if they are the new remasters. I've been going through in chronological order and listening to the ones I don't have...so far I'm almost done with Shut Up N' Play Yer Guitar.

Much better than I expected/remembered: Overnite Sensation (which I liked the first time I heard bits of it, just not as much)

Better than I expected: Apostrophe (which I thought was blah at best on a first hearing awhile back)

About as good as I expected: Freak Out, Fillmore East, Waka Jawaka, Bongo Fury (not meaning to damn them with faint praise, they're all very good to great), Sheik Yerbouti, Joe's Garage, Tinsel Town Rebellion

Disappointments: Studio Tan and Sleep Dirt - I know a lot of people here love these records....so far I thought Greggery Peccary was sort of an inferior version of Billy the Mountain and the records lacked any coherent focus, which is unsurprising because they weren't really supposed to be standalone albums anyway.

Skipped over for now: Orchestral Favorites

Soldiering through: Shut Up N' Play Yer Guitar - fine solos, just very monotonous

[Quincy]

Virtually all of the Zappa catalog is now available for streaming on Rdio/Spotify. Not sure if they are the new remasters.

The 2012 date next to the titles suggests they are. I'm checking to see how the times matched up on the couple where I kept the Ryko and bought again. And the 1 second time difference on "Peaches" also suggests Spotify is using the remasters. IIRC the stated time for "Gumbo" on LPs & CDs is off by about 4 minutes compared to actual playing time.

Shut Up N' Play Yer Guitar works better if you think of it in its vinyl form and as a collection of 78s. In other words, just nibble, don't gorge.

Edited March 5, 2013 by Quincy

[mjzee]

The parts of SUNPYG that work best are the more composed works, that function best as stand-alone tunes: five-five-FIVE, Treacherous Cretins, Canarsie, and Ship Ahoy (perhaps my favorite). The rest are the guitar solo portions of other performances or unstructured jams that seem aimless. If you're soldiering through SUNPYG, wait till you encounter "Guitar." I don't envy you there.