Greasy Frank Zappa

Zappa ’80: Mudd Club/Munich combines two historical performances from the spring/summer 1980 band. The first is from a set at FZ’s favorite NYC nightclub – the famous Mudd Club. Presented from a hi-res transfer of the original master tape. The second, from Olympiahalle in Munich, is the first ever live direct to digital stereo recording of Zappa. Mastering by Bernie Grundman, 2022.

Aside from the experimental side project Lumpy Gravy, Hot Rats was the first album Frank Zappa recorded as a solo artist sans the Mothers, though he continued to employ previous musical collaborators, most notably multi-instrumentalist Ian Underwood. Other than another side project – the doo wop tribute Cruising With Ruben and the Jets – Hot Rats was also the first time Zappa focused his efforts in one general area, namely jazz-rock…

Aside from the experimental side project Lumpy Gravy, Hot Rats was the first album Frank Zappa recorded as a solo artist sans the Mothers, though he continued to employ previous musical collaborators, most notably multi-instrumentalist Ian Underwood. Other than another side project - the doo wop tribute Cruising With Ruben and the Jets - Hot Rats was also the first time Zappa focused his efforts in one general area, namely jazz-rock. The result is a classic of the genre. Hot Rats' genius lies in the way it fuses the compositional sophistication of jazz with rock's down-and-dirty attitude - there's a real looseness and grit to the three lengthy jams, and a surprising, wry elegance to the three shorter, tightly arranged numbers (particularly the sumptuous "Peaches en Regalia")…

Frank Zappa - Greasy Love Songs (2010) {Zappa Records ZR 20010}
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© 2010 Zappa Records / ZFT | ZR 20010
Rock / Experimental Rock / Doo Wop

Another Anniversary Frank Zappa Audio Documentary project/object celebrating Zappa's Cruising With Ruben & The Jets. The Doo Wop and Pachuco references mark this as Zappa's homage to the music and culture of his teenage world in 1950's Southern California. Contains Original 1968 Vinyl Stereo Mix, Interviews and Related Rarities.

Frank Zappa - Chicago '78 (2016) {2CD Set Zappa Records ZR 20025}
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© 1978, 2016 Zappa Records / Vaulternative Records / ZFT / Universal | ZR 20025
Rock / Experimental Rock / Avant-Garde / Art Rock / Jazz Rock

Official Release #108. Original recordings produced by Frank Zappa. In September of 1978, Frank Zappa took the stage with his rockin' teenage combo (Ike Willis, Denny Walley, Tommy Mars, Peter Wolf, Arthur Barrow, Ed Mann, and the great Vinnie Colaiuta) at the Uptown Theater in Chicago. This album is the entire show and fans are going to love it. The leadoff track is a cool unheard guitar instrumental called "Twenty-One." Played in a 21-beat rhythm, it seems related to "Thirteen" from around the same time period (on YCDTOA, Vol. 6). "Easy Meat" features an earlier arrangement and a nasty guitar solo, while "Village of the Sun" adds a weird interlude with some additional lyrics that sets up the vamp for another fantastic guitar solo.

Frank Zappa - FZ-OZ (2002) {2CD Vaulternative Records VR 2002-1 rec 1976}
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© 1976, 2002 Vaulternative Records / Zappanese | VR 2002-1
Rock / Experimental Rock / Avant-Garde / Art Rock / Jazz Rock

Official Release #70. This two-disc set represents almost all of Frank Zappa's concert on January 20, 1976, at Hordern Pavilion in Sydney, Australia. The only problem is that there was only one reel-to-reel machine to record the concert, necessitating missing portions of several songs to change tapes; these gaps were replaced by excerpts from a pitch-corrected bootleg from the same tour, with an obvious drop in sound quality but little loss in continuity. This particular band – with tenor saxophonist Napoleon Murphy Brock, bassist Roy Estrada, drummer Terry Bozzio, and keyboardist Andre Lewis (in his only tour with Zappa) – has only been represented sporadically on Zappa's earlier releases.

Frank Zappa - Zoot Alors! (2017) {4CD Set Coda Publishing CPLCD248 rec 1975-1981}
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© 1975-81, 2017 Coda Publishing / Stormbird | CPLCD248
Rock / Experimental Rock / Avant-Garde / Art Rock / Jazz Rock

This powerful four disc anthology is a wonderful illustration of the genius that was the late, great Frank Zappa in performance and broadcasting live to air. Zappa always defies categorisation. He blended humor, satire, virtuoso guitar, challenging lyrics, bawdy tales, brilliant compositions, and inspired improvisation and somehow managed to make those diverse elements work together in a unique, musical form which defies categorisation, and is known to posterity by the term "Zappa".

Frank Zappa - Cucamonga (1963-1964) {Del-Fi Records DFCD 71261 rel 1998}
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© 1963-64, 1998 Del-Fi Records / Abril Music | DFCD 71261 / 3408002-2
Rock / Experimental Rock / Surf Music / Doo-Wop / Garage Rock / Rock and Roll

CUCAMONGA is a collection of Frank Zappa recordings from the pre-Mothers Of Invention days of the early '60s. Equally enamored of Hubert Sumlin and Edgard Varese, Frank Zappa's musical experimentation in the early '60s was a springboard for his more ambitious latter work. Collaborating with fellow technical iconoclast Paul Buff, Zappa produced and played much of this material at Buff's Pal Recording Studio. At the time, Zappa signed to Bob Keane's Del-Fi Records for a series of singles released under different pseudonyms and with different musicians.