I no nothing about Frank Zappa and no none of his music or what he's about but have heard people talking about him in a way that makes me think I am missing something.

Can someone please clue me up briefly into why he any good and if I want to check him out what is the 2 or 3 albums I need to start with

If you have an interest in someone who was an innovative & visionary composer/musician and (actually took the art of music seriously), then Frank Zappa should be checked out.
Also, he one of the very few Music types you could get intelligent conversation out of on a number of subjects (music and beyond).


Where he started...



...Freak Out (1966)


Where he started to stretch compositionally as a solo artist...



...Hot Rats (1969)


Shows a number of his influences...



Roxy & Elsewhere (1974)


What he really wanted to be doing (orchestral)...



...The Yellow Shark (1993)


My personal picks.
There's a ton of good stuff in between.
I'm sure there will be other suggestions.


tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431

theAudience said:

That's actually an awesome summary of Frank Zappa, though not necessarily his best or most accessible albums...

To be honest, if I started with his early MOI stuff, Freak Out, We're Only in it for the Money, Absolutely Free, I probably wouldn't have gone any further. But fortunately I started with some of his more commercial stuff, One Size Fits All, Strictly Commercial, Overnite Sensation, which, though it didn't sound mainstream at the time, sure does now...

Freak Out is an amazing album for it's innovation and daring, but it took me time to warm up to it...

my personal favourite Frank Zappa is his high-polish rock-orchestral works, notably on Hot Rats, the Grand Wazoo, and peppered throughout his entire catalogue.

Frank Zappa was so insanely prolific, there really is so much to explore. I have around 30 of his albums, and every new one I buy continues to impress me...

If you took Prince between 1986 - 1988, you know, when he was making a concert film, touring, recording an aborted Black Album, Crystal Ball, The Madhouse projects, producing the Family, writing for others, UTCM, all that, his insane work ethic...

That was something like Frank Zappa, except for 30 years. And he has much to show for it.

Of the albums that the Audience shows, I would probably start with Hot Rats, and Roxy and Elsewhere...

Better yet, you can buy 3-CD sets of Hot Rats, Waka/Jawaka, and the Grand Wazoo. Go with that. If you like it, move onto his early MOI stuff. If you like that, I don't need to tell you where to go next because you get it, and you will want it all.

"you are what you is" and "sheik yabouti" are two really good albums that mix the rock/funny/weird/social satire elements of zappa in a really fun swirl. they may not be considered his "best" albums, but i think they're really accessible, with lots of catchy stuff going on...a good intro.

everything else listed in this thread is fantastic as well.

Thanks guys. I will definately check Frank out. I need to branch out.

savoirfaire said:

Thanks.


I'm a big believer in perspective.
For someone that knows nothing about an artist, I think it's important to know where they started.
That way you get a sense of their musical progess (or lack of) over time.

That's just my approach with artists I don't know anyway.


tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431

As a little kid I grew up with a family member constantly playing Joe's Garage & Uncle Meat.

I think it permanently warped me.

theAudience said:

And you call me Wiz sheeeeeit

WHY DOES IT HURT WHEN I PEE?

I'm listening to Hot Rats, Jeez, how I have been missing this.

lust said:

It's hard to top that one!

Anxiety said:

I would strongly agree with these two albums, and throw in "Joe's Garage" and "Zoot Allures". But that's the thing about Zappa, he has way too much material out there than to be able to just pick a couple. Though I would caution you: Zappa's not for everyone, and it's very likely you may not like ANY of what anyone is suggesting.

...

Apostrophe--my introduction! I loved it because for me, it was a great indication of his musicianship and his sense of humor! That made me go back to Hot Rats , then I jumped to Overnite Sensation, and continued back and forth from there,









...
[Edited 5/28/09 6:35am]

PDogz said:

i always think of you are what you us and sheik yerbouti as necessary compliments to each other, maybe because i grew up with my mom playing them back to back all the time. that and tinseltown rebellion, of course.

needless to say, looking at my avatar, I´m a huge Zappa fan. I still buy the new releases coming out (like the MOFO cd set, Buffalo etc). Gettinmg into Zappa is quite a journey itself. Zappa viewed his complete output as a giant piece (a whole universe) with lots of references from album to album and song to song. It's known in Zappa terms as teh conceptual continuity.
If you are seriously considering collecting Zappa, start with the first one, Freak Out then slowly work your up, just like the albums were released. This way you'll notice the Zappaverse closing in on you and maintaining the high quality grip of musical interest it has to offer!
If however you'd like a taste of his music I'd recommend :
Apostrophe (')
You are what you is
Freak Out
Joe's Garage
and a DVD like Does humor belong in rnr ?
Succes and have a great Zappa Experience
[Edited 5/28/09 7:23am]

Jazz From Hell -- 1988 Grammy Award winning album.

In terms of DVDs...



...the Apostrophe (')/Over-Nite Sensation disc is an easy on the senses overview of those recordings.

A nice offering from the VH-1 Classic Albums series.


tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431

I'm with tA and starbuck on this one- if ya wanna know about an artist's work it's important to have the context of where they started.

I'm dating myself here. I was 17 when Freak Out was released in the latter half of '66 and I think it's important to point out that culturally, the drugs,sex and rock 'n roll, summer of love thing was in full effect.

In this sense Freak Out was more or less an astute sound track to our lives. It had everything- the psychedelic sounds that to us were "the latest sounds", it provided a linear sense of progression with the doo wop and R&B influences that we'd been listening to before the new San Francisco sounds came in, it captured the experience of being high on weed or acid with the sound collages and the lyrics were spot on in the questioning of phoney values and morals that we hippies were rebelling against having had our minds expanded with the drugs.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that Freak Out, although at first listen might sound terribly dated to younger people today was totally ground breaking and new for its time. It wasn't just a good record, it was a mindblowing record that totally nailed what was going on culturally.

In that sense it was anthemic. You couldn't listen to it for simple entertainment (although I'm sure we thought we were) because Frank's potent lyrics were dynamically interacting with the process of liberation that was going on in our minds at the time.

I don't think its possible to measure what effect that his music alone was having on us because it was embedded in all the other influential music that we were immersing ourselves in- The Doors, Jefferson Airplane, etc. but Frank was different in that he had one foot in the movement and one foot permanently planted outside.

FZ was total iconoclast. Although I didn't fully get it at the time, he was making fun of us as much as he was making fun of our parents generation.

And Anxiety, growing up in a household where your mom was continually playing FZ?! Hmmmm.... what was that like? Were you listening to the lyrics? I'm curious how you perceived FZ from that vantage point if you want to say more.


I'd like to make mention of one particular song on Freak Out that I believe stood out from the rest for the dead on laser focus (ha! we didn't even have lasers back then) of its social commentary about a specific event that further defined the climate of the times, the Watts Riots.

Trouble Comin' Everyday is a powerful description and indictment of the racial situation in the US. Unfortunately there's no good original version left on youtube but here's the only one that features the whole cut (unfortunately you have to put up with the poster noodling around on his guitar in the background. Music starts at 1:03):



And here's a live version some 9 years after the Freak Out release:


[Edited 5/28/09 8:27am]

And like starbuck pointed out, there are references to the Zappaverse on each album if you are familiar enough with his output to hear them. I hear the lead line of Willie the Pimp slipped in there at 7:40 of the guitar solo on this live version.
[Edited 5/28/09 8:34am]
[Edited 5/28/09 8:37am]

TyphoonTip said:

...indeed...2 of my favs

Hope you are well now

May I suggest Lather.... to begin.... nice mix of everything Frank did well.

[Edited 5/28/09 13:55pm]

carlcranshaw said:

Can I just say quickly.... I love everyone here!

Oh, and incidentally, that DVD recommended is a good one for in depth understanding of Frank Zappa's work during that phase of his career. I also just recently found a DVD called Frank Zappa in the 60s, goes through his entire original MOI years, interviews by various MOI members and some cool footage and performances that aren't seen very often.

paligap said:

...don't even know how I forgot to mention this one! An absolute favorite of mine, from start to finish. Definitely in my top 5.

Hmmm.

After listening to Hot Rats and reading everyone's posts I feel that I have opened a pandoras box and feel slightly frightened of stepping inside.
I'm going to have to commit to this aren't I? It seems that you have to be all in or all out.
[Edited 5/28/09 17:07pm]

Jump in. The water's fine.






[Edited 5/28/09 17:13pm]

A classic example of Zappa's arranging chops combined with his sense of humor...



...His take on Led Zep's Stairway To Heaven.



tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431

gotta go with Apostrophe and Hot Rats

lust said:

I know many rave about "Hot Rats", I've never found it to be the easiest Zappa album to get into. In my opinion, that would not have been my choice as a first album to introduce a new Zappa listener to. I know it represents a very important period in his history, however I would expect it'd be a difficult album for a Zappa Newbie to appreciate (...and in fact is why I mentioned you may not even like some of what was being suggested).

one thing you can do, if you have a fairly decent public library, is check out the music section and see what kind of zappa collection they have. pick out as much as you think you can listen to and give it a test drive for free for a couple of weeks. just a thought.