Frank Zappa '88

Frank Zappa - AAAFNRAA The Bundlement (2006 -2012) {Official Digital Download from zappa.com}
mp3 + aac (tracks) | Official Digital Download | Front Cover
Zappa Records / Zappa.com | 5% repair rar
Rock / Experimental Rock

AAAFNRAA was one of Zappa's mottoes. It stood for Anything Anytime Anyplace For No Reason At All. The Frank Zappa AAAFNRAA Birthday Bundle was released as a digital download on iTunes on December 15, 2006. It consists of five previously unreleased tracks performed by Frank Zappa, and six new tracks featuring the Zappa family. (AAAFNRAA stands for "Anything Anytime Anywhere for No Reason At All", Zappa's motto of sorts.)

Frank Zappa - You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore. Vol. 1-6 [Purple Box] (1995) {Rykodisc}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC+CUE+LOG -> 5.40 Gb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 186 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1995 Rykodisc / The Zappa Family Trust | RCD 10561~72
Rock / Experimental Rock

To simplify my life considerably, I'm going to combine the "reviews" of all six Stage releases into a single entry, even though they were released individually. Also, to save a lot of time and effort, I'm not going to give complete track listings of the twelve discs, or do song-by-song reviews (hey, we're talking over 800 minutes of music here, give me a break). If you need to know the track listings, they're probably available through an on-line music sales site like CDNow, or an information site like the All Music Guide. There's probably a few other Zappa sites that list them as well. Maybe one day when I have the time, I'll come back and expand this section to really cover all twelve discs in detail. Until then, I'll just give some general facts and opinions, focusing on highlights and material unique to the Stage series.

On June 18, Zappa’s historic, final American show will be released for the first time as the new live album, Zappa ’88: The Last U.S. Show via Zappa Records/UMe. The first posthumous archival release from the ‘88 touring band, the album features 29 unreleased performances including two additional performances from the same tour: Zappa’s wild interpretations of the Allman Brothers Band’s “Whipping Post” from the March 16 show in Providence, R.I. and Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway To Heaven” from the March 23 Towson, Md. show. The record is also notable for containing the first official release of the much talked about “The Beatles Medley.”

The first posthumous archival release from the 1988 touring band focuses on the historical last show Frank Zappa ever played in the U.S. The live concert material is taken from Uniondale, NY; Providence, RIandTowson, MD newly remixed from the 48-track digital master tapes. It features the first official release of “The Beatles Medley” along with over 25 unreleased performances and liner notes by FZ’s drummer, Chad Wackerman and Vaultmeister, Joe Travers. Available on a 4-LP 180-gram purple vinyl variant available exclusively through the Zappa Store & uDiscover online.

The first posthumous archival release from the 1988 touring band focuses on the historical last show Frank Zappa ever played in the U.S. The live concert material is taken from Uniondale, NY; Providence, RIandTowson, MD newly remixed from the 48-track digital master tapes. It features the first official release of “The Beatles Medley” along with over 25 unreleased performances and liner notes by FZ’s drummer, Chad Wackerman and Vaultmeister, Joe Travers. Available on a 4-LP 180-gram purple vinyl variant available exclusively through the Zappa Store & uDiscover online.

Omnibus Wind Ensemble - Music By Frank Zappa
SACD ISO (2.0/MCH): 2,93 GB | 24B/88,2kHz Stereo FLAC: 1,06 GB | Full Artwork
Label/Cat#: OPUS 3 # CD 19423 | Country/Year: Sweden 2001 | 5% Recovery Info
Genre: Rock, Jazz, Classical | Style: Crossover

"For a long time now, this excellent chamber orchestra from Uppsala has been presenting its own arrangements of Zappa's music. On this CD they are better than ever. Zappa's boundary-breaking music combines elements of jazz, Latin, rock & western art music with humor, irony & a wealth of imagination. And sometimes with total beauty of harmony & melody. Omnibus, combining complicated arrangements with virtuoso elegance, is able to put all the pieces together in a very attractive manner. This recording, with its perfect sound picture, should create opportunities for a wider international launch than any of the group's earlier records have had. Zappa himself would probably have been very impressed with these interpretations." (Hifi & Musik)

Frank Zappa & The Mothers - The Grand Wazoo (1972) + Over-Nite Sensation (1973) {1995 Ryko Remaster Complete Series}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 494 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 170 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 914 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1995 Rykodisc / The Zappa Family Trust | RCD 10517 / RCD 10518
Rock / Experimental Rock / Jazz Rock

This album appeared within the same year as WAKA/JAWAKA and continued Zappa's exploration of the possibilities for composing and arranging material for a big band with a hefty brass and reed section. Both albums were produced during the period in which he was recuperating from injuries sustained when he was thrown from the stage during a London concert the year before. THE GRAND WAZOO still sounds like a fresh and equal marriage of Zappa's already developed and apparent musical sensibilities with large ensemble jazz writing. The couple vocal numbers utilize the singing as another melodic line, and are knitted into the whole fabric rather than laying on top.

Frank Zappa - Does Humor Belong In Music? (2003) [DVD5 PAL] {EMI}
DVD5 -> 3.88 Gb | All Regions | PAL 4:3 | LinearPCM, 2 ch | ~ 57m | ISO Image
5% repair rar | Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 23 Mb | originally released on VHS in 1985
© 2003 EMI Records / Pumpko | 07243 490892 9 7
Rock / Experimental Rock / Jazz Rock

For longtime fans and un-Zapped neophytes alike, Does Humor Belong in Music? presents the late, great Frank Zappa at his mischievous best. Unlike the infamously rambling Baby Snakes, this hour-long, digitally remastered 14-song set (culled from FZ's performance at the Pier in New York City on August 26, 1984) is 95% music, punctuated with brief interview clips (including the inane titular question, and Frank's expectedly affirmative response), and featuring one of the tightest bands that Zappa ever assembled. Everybody participates in Zappa's unique parade of musical fusion, street theater, and defiant anti-establishment sarcasm, with Zappa playing masterful conductor when he's not riffing with nimble-fingered fretwork (notably during "Zoot Allures," "Cosmik Debris," and Greg Allman's "Whipping Post," the set's only cover song).

Frank Zappa - Boulez Conducts Zappa: The Perfect Stranger (1984) {Zappa Records UE Edition 0238692 rel 2012}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 175 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 88 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 128 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1984, 2012 Zappa Records / Universal Music / ZFT | 0238692 / ZR 3869
Classical / Avant-Garde / Modern Composition / Orchestral / Synclavier

Official Release #39. Having recorded some works with a large orchestra in January 1983, in January 1984, Frank Zappa arranged for some of his chamber works to be performed by Pierre Boulez's Ensemble InterContemporain, a 16-piece group. "The Perfect Stranger," "Naval Aviation In Art?," and "Dupree's Paradise" were given this treatment, and the four remaining tracks are the product of Zappa's music synthesizer, the Synclavier. As usual, Zappa's "serious" works are rhythmically interesting and make for challenging listening.