Frank Zappa '88

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) -> 6 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 - 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.

Frank Zappa - Boulez Conducts Zappa: The Perfect Stranger (1984) {1995 Ryko Remaster Complete Series}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 176 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 88 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 23 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1995 Rykodisc / The Zappa Family Trust | RCD 10542
Classical / Avant-Garde / Modern Composition / Experimental Rock

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.

Over-Nite Sensation is a studio album by Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention, released in September 1973. It was followed by Zappa's solo album Apostrophe (') (1974), which was recorded during the same sessions.
Frank Zappa wanted to use backup singers on the songs "I'm the Slime", "Dirty Love", "Zomby Woof", "Dinah-Moe Humm" and "Montana". His road manager suggested The Ikettes, and Ike & Tina Turner were contacted. Ike Turner insisted that Zappa pay the singers, including Tina Turner, no more than $25 per song.

Frank Zappa - Zappa In New York (2019) {5CD Box Set, 40th Anniversary Deluxe Edition ZR20029 rec 1976}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 1.88 Gb | MP3 @320 -> 724 Mb
Full Artwork @ 200 dpi (jpg) -> 152 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1976, 2019 Zappa Records / UMe | ZR20029
Rock / Experimental Rock / Avant-Garde / Art Rock / Jazz Rock

Of all the Zappa live albums out there (and there’s a lot, so we have to be careful what we say), the double album rendering of his December 1976 New York shows has always occupied a prominent position in the fan club’s “best of” ratings. There are misgivings, of course. The omission of the showstopping “Punky’s Whips”; the mass of edits and rearrangements that went into the final running order; the fact that close to two years elapsed between concert and LP…. But, if you stopped worrying about what could have been, and focus simply on what you got, it was a fabulous album.

Frank Zappa - Sleep Dirt (1979) {1995 Ryko Remaster}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC+CUE+LOG -> 257 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 88 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 32 Mb
© 1995 Rykodisc / The Zappa Family Trust | RCD 10527
Rock / Experimental Rock

Always a prolific, restless artist, Frank Zappa was constantly recording. The songs on his 1979 release SLEEP DIRT, which stem from as early as 1974, were originally intended for release on a planned four-platter package, but when the record company balked, they were eventually issued separately. Drawing on the talents of such stalwart accompanists as George Duke, Ruth Underwood, and Terry Bozzio, SLEEP DIRT is an intricate, multi-textured record. Initially all instrumental, the CD version was released with soprano vocalist Thana Harris on three tracks.

SLEEP DIRT opens with "Filthy Habits," a minor-key, somewhat Spanish-sounding workout. The stately, keyboard-dominated "Flambay" follows, with tinkling marimbas and lyrical bass work, sequing into "Spider of Destiny." These are not so much songs as compositions, mini-operas composed of distinct, often skewed melodic runs. "Time is Money" features the distinctive jazzy, intricate excursions that characterize much of Zappa's "serious" work, but the title track is a surprisingly gentle acoustic number featuring FZ's lovely guitar playing. With its five songs sprawling unhurriedly; this is serious stuff, despite punning titles like "Regyptian Strut" and "The Ocean is the Ultimate Solution."

'Panorama of American Piano Music' is a comprehensive survey of 20th century piano works, beginning with Ives’ “The Alcotts” movement from the 'Concord Sonata' (1912) through Lou Harrison’s 'Summerfield Set' (1988). Every decade is represented with works from between those years. Pianist Yvar Mikhashoff (1941–93) was a master at presenting marathon concerts on a single theme. The 'Panorama' was one of them, exploring the remarkable diversity of 20th century American music, from serialism to minimalism, populist to avant garde experimentalism, short works for amateur pianists to virtuoso pieces. Never before has such a survey of piano music been represented.