Forget Black Friday, Franksgiving is the real event as today ushers in the long-awaited release of Alex Winter’s highly acclaimed documentary, ZAPPA, about the prolific genius composer, free speech activist, cultural ambassador to Czechoslovakia and legendary musician, Frank Zappa, as well as the surprise digital release of the corresponding ZAPPA Original Motion Picture Soundtrack. A perfect complement to the film, the 68-track soundtrack is available to stream and download now via Zappa Records/UMe. ZAPPA is now available in the U.S. on demand from Magnolia Pictures.
This album is notable for several reasons. It was the last album before a big hiatus. The first and only studio album with Mark O'Connor on violin. The second and last using the abbreviated band name The Dregs. Steve Howe, guesting on a track. And last but least, the first Dregs album to have vocal pieces. One from Santana band at the time, Alex Ligertwood. Patrick Simmons, of Doobie Brothers fame, provides vocals for the second vocal piece. All in all, Industry Standard is one of the band's strongest albums, although it plays more like a Steve Morse solo record than any other Dregs release.
This is the Rachmaninov Third to end all Rachmaninov Thirds, a performance of such super-human pianistic aplomb, pace and virtuosity that it makes all comparisons, save with Horowitz himself, a study in irrelevance.
Guitarist, composer, arranger, and songwriter Doug Sahm was a knowledgeable music historian and veteran performer equally comfortable in a range of styles, including Texas blues, country, rock & roll, Western swing, and Cajun. Born November 6, 1941, in San Antonio, TX, he began his performing career at age nine when he was featured on a San Antonio area radio station, playing steel guitar…
The Return of Wayne Douglas – the title comes from one of the aliases Doug Sahm used during country music gigs around Austin, TX – turned out to be Sahm's final studio album. It was recorded just before his heart gave out in a Taos, NM, motel room on November 18, 1999, but released posthumously in late 2000 by Tornado Records, a division of Birdman Recordings…