I got into Zappa and a few years ago and bought Hot Rats and Roxy and Elsewhere and really dug them. After not listening to him for a while and getting deeper into jazz and classical I thought my tastes might have changed and I wouldn't be able to get back into his stuff. I was surprised then that Hot Rats sounds just as good now as when I first listened to it. I like more of his instrumental or serious work as opposed to his funny/novelty records like 'Bobby Brown goes down' but overall, it's good he was eclectic and most supremely prolific. What do people think of his classical side? I've read his biography and know he was really influenced by Varese, but is it apparent in his work.

Not only was he a good composer but I think he was a great guitarist. People always say he could only improvise over a couple of chord changes or he wrote parts too difficult for him to play live but he had a really unique voice in his solos and wasn't afraid to take chances and sound bad occasionally. Any musician who's played any of his songs will know how hard they are with constant time changes and fast unison runs between instruments.

So is anyone else on here fans of the Zappa? What records of his should I get next?

I am thinking of maybe the Grand Wazoo or Apostrophe or maybe one of the compilation CD's like You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore. His Shut Up N' Play Yer Guitar box set looks good but I can't find it anywhere. Also' why are most of his CD's so expensive. I'd buy more, but if every CD is over £10 it seems like a rip off. Same with Brian Eno.

Apostrophe' is entertaining, and I think it's available c/w the terrific Overnite Sensation.
If you desire a challenge, try to get your head round Jazz From Hell.
As for Eno, I downloaded the Neroli album for the price of one track from Amazon.

ive never really gotten into zappa, but when i do listen to his stuff i dig it.

I didn't even know this thread was here.

Argus - check out his earlier stuff too. Uncle Meat is a double album (when it was vinyl) and contained an earlier slower version of "Son of Mr. Green Genes" that features beautiful, if quirky, vocals. It's really hard to find though.

My favorite Zappa album is One Size fits All. It's loaded with a lot of the silliness you expect from Zappa - but in all seriousness it;s one of the best progressive rock albums I've ever heard. (He would probably have hated me calling it that.) There are two versions of a piece called "Sofa" that features one of the more lyrical melodies anyone has ever written. "Sofa No.2" is the same melody with comic German vocals done in unbelievably epic harmonies. The rest of the album is chock full of impossible rhythms and amazing musical acrobatics.

I do not recommend Shut Up N' Play Yer Guitar. It is guitar solos only. To me they don't work as well out of context. For the completist only.

Well I finally found some Zappa on offer, so I picked up these:





I've been listening to them for about a week now and can say that I like them both.

I bought Weasels Ripped My Flesh based purely on the album cover and some of the track names. The Eric Dolphy Memorial Barbecue, Prelude to The Afternoon of a Sexually Aroused Gas Mask and Dwarf Nebula Processional March are just great titles. The music is just as weird and eclectic as the names. I'd only heard My Guitar Wants to Kill Your Mama so it was a bit of a gamble, but it was a good one. I particularly like The Orange County Lumber Truck and the title track.

One Size Fits All sounds more like Roxy and Elsewhere but more cohesive. Inca Roads, Po-Jama People, San Berdino and Andy are my favourite songs at the minute, but the whole album works well. Lots of nice guitar work and funky instrumental passages to contrast the crazy vocals. I like Sofa No.1 can't see the point of Sofa No.2 though, except as a joke to finish the album.

I think I still prefer Hot Rats to the two as I'm not a fan of zany lyrics and vocals but they definetely have enough good stuff in them to warrant repeat listenings in the future.

Also, I would've liked to have bought Uncle Meat but it wasn't in stock anywhere.

True for most listeners but as guitarist I'll probably enjoy three CD's of fretwankery more than the average Zappa fan. But at £25 it's a bit steep for me anyway.

Dweezil Zappa has been trotting around the globe performing his dad's stuff for a few years now giving us all a chance to hear this incredible muzic live. I caught one of the shows at the Roxy in LA on the anniversary of FZ's legendary concerts there. It was pretty amazing being in such an intimate venue with a virtuoso performance lasting nearly three hours! DZ has put together an excellent group and IMO is an even better guitarist than FZ, believe it or not. (I heard once that FZ had mandated that DZ be the only one to play lead on a few of his songs. Can't confirm that however.) Check out the DVD of "Zappa Plays Zappa" and click here for the current tour schedule.

Some of my favorite compositions by FZ are on the ZPZ release including Inca Roads, Florentine Pogen, Black Napkins, The Torture Never Stops, Echidna''s Arf (of You), and of course, Peaches en Regalia.

His best album (of those I've heard anyway) is "Hot Rats."




The others I've heard are quite uneven in quality as far as I'm concerned. My number two would be "Uncle Meat" which besides the usual nonsense (just my opinion) has a lot of stuff on it that I like.




I also like "Zappa in New York", but I could easily live without "Freak Out" or "We're Only in it For the Money", even though those two are considered classics by most Zappa fans. So, I love Zappa at his best, but he seldom is at his best for an entire album. He is on "Hot Rats" though.

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Martha doesn't signal when the orchestra comes in, she's just
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