Zappa Play Yer Guitar

While most of the discussions of Frank Zappa have to do with his satirical and off-color lyrics, the fact remains that he was one of the finest and most underappreciated guitarists around. This collection places the spotlight squarely on Zappa's mastery of the guitar. Recorded for the most part in 1979 and 1980 (with a few tracks dating as far back as 1977), Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar is simply a collection of guitar solos. Even though most of the tracks were just edited out of their original song context, they fare well as stand-alone pieces, as Zappa was an ever-inventive player. Take, for example, the three versions of "Shut Up." These tracks were simply the guitar solos from "Inca Roads," but thanks to Zappa's ability for "instant composition," each version has its own complete story to tell, without ever being redundant…

While most of the discussions of Frank Zappa have to do with his satirical and off-color lyrics, the fact remains that he was one of the finest and most underappreciated guitarists around. This collection places the spotlight squarely on Zappa's mastery of the guitar. Recorded for the most part in 1979 and 1980 (with a few tracks dating as far back as 1977), Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar is simply a collection of guitar solos. Even though most of the tracks were just edited out of their original song context, they fare well as stand-alone pieces, as Zappa was an ever-inventive player. Take, for example, the three versions of "Shut Up." These tracks were simply the guitar solos from "Inca Roads," but thanks to Zappa's ability for "instant composition," each version has its own complete story to tell, without ever being redundant…

Frank Zappa - Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar (1981) [3CD Set] {1995 Ryko Remaster Complete Series}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 715 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 255 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 320 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1995 Rykodisc / The Zappa Family Trust | RCD 10533/34/35
Rock / Experimental Rock / Guitar Virtuoso / Instrumental Rock

While most of the discussions of Frank Zappa have to do with his satirical and off-color lyrics, the fact remains that he was one of the finest and most underappreciated guitarists around. This collection places the spotlight squarely on Zappa's mastery of the guitar. Recorded for the most part in 1979 and 1980 (with a few tracks dating as far back as 1977), Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar is simply a collection of guitar solos. Even though most of the tracks were just edited out of their original song context, they fare well as stand-alone pieces, as Zappa was an ever-inventive player.

Frank Zappa - Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar (1981) [2CD] {2012 UMe Remaster}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 727 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 260 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 12 Mb
© 2012 UMe / ZFT | ZR 3863
Rock / Experimental Rock

Mastered by Bob Ludwig, Gateway Mastering, 2012. Vaultmeisterment & Analog Transfers by Joe Travers, March 2012, UMRK. 1981 Analog Master, remastered by Bob Ludwig from the original tapes. Reverts to two CDs (mimicking the approach taken on the pre-1995 CDs), and eliminates the 1995-era segue between "Why Johnny Can't Read" and "Stucco Homes." Reports on sound quality are very positive. Who would ever want to hear half an hour of wall-to-wall guitar instrumentals? When the soloist in question is Frank Zappa, the answer is anyone who should ever require proof that Zappa was one of the most gifted electric (and occasionally acoustic) guitarists of the rock & roll era.

Frank Zappa - Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar (1981) [3CD Set] {1995 Ryko Remaster}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC+CUE+LOG -> 712 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 248 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 52 Mb
© 1995 Rykodisc / The Zappa Family Trust | RCD 10533/34/35
Rock / Instrumental Rock / Experimental Rock

SHUT UP 'N PLAY YER GUITAR puts the musical spotlight on Frank Zappa's solo guitar improvisations.

Although many think of Frank Zappa first and foremost as a supreme composer and satirist, many seem to overlook the fact that he was one of the greatest rock guitarists that ever lived. After all, such latter-day guitar heroes as Joe Satriani and Steve Vai (the latter was a member of Zappa's backing band in the early '80s) revered him, often listing select Zappa albums as "the best guitar albums of all time." But since he refused to play commercially acceptable music, many young guitarists are unaware of Zappa's guitar prowess.

To correct this, Zappa issued the double-disc set SHUT UP N' PLAY YER GUITAR in 1986. Instead of just compiling already-released tracks that prominently featured his guitar chops, Zappa searched through tapes of concerts from his 1979 and 1980 tours, and edited together his very best solos. Although this may be a monotonous listen for a non-guitar player or a newcomer to Zappa's work, guitar enthusiasts and hardcore fans will consider it a godsend. It's hard to pick just a few highlights, since each disc is meant to be listened to in it's entirety, but you can't go wrong with "Hog Heaven," "Five-Five-Five," and "The Deathless Horsie," to name but a few.

Released in 1988, Guitar may be the most important and ironically one of the least-known entries in Frank Zappa's voluminous discography – which spans over seven-dozen LPs as of this writing. His proficiencies as a composer and instrumentalist have long been lauded. However, anthologies of this nature provide an outlet for the remarkable breadth and depth of Zappa's manual dexterity and improvisational scope, which can now be enjoyed on a myriad of levels…

Frank Zappa - Trance-Fusion (2006) {Zappa Records}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC+CUE+LOG -> 437 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 139 Mb
Full Artwork @ 400 dpi (jpg) -> 25 Mb
© 2006 Zappa Records / The Zappa Family Trust | ZR 20002
Rock / Experimental Rock

When Frank Zappa died in 1993, he had spent much of his remaining time and energy completing a number of projects before the end finally came. Why the majority of them are still unreleased as of late 2006 is anybody's guess, but perhaps the long awaited release of Trance-Fusion is a good sign. Trance-Fusion is another collection of guitar solos, forming something of a trilogy with the Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar set and Guitar. As FZ fans know, Frank had his favorite vehicles for soloing and careful listening to the albums as a group gives you a good idea which songs these are.