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Where to start with Frank Zappa ?
- Thread starter CiSTM
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adamsappel
Member
Over-Nite Sensation is his most accessible. Apostrophe (') is another one that's not too weird for the uninitiated.
DieNgamers
Member
Aaah, a thread about Frank Zappa on Gaf!
I think those 3 or 4 albums are the most "accessible" yet (as always) brilliant ones!
My favourite songs from the following albums:
Black Napkins (from Zoot Allures)
Zoot Allures (also form Zoot Allures)
Why Does It hurt When I Pee?
Sofa No. 2
One Size Fits All - All classics on this one. Enjoy the sofa!
Zoot Allures - The title song is one of my favourite Zappa songs ever.
Joe's Garage - A very funny concept album with extreme lyrics and music!
It always helps to get a best of! It's all subjective etc but it's a great guide to his different styles!
I think those 3 or 4 albums are the most "accessible" yet (as always) brilliant ones!
My favourite songs from the following albums:
Black Napkins (from Zoot Allures)
Zoot Allures (also form Zoot Allures)
Why Does It hurt When I Pee?
Sofa No. 2
One Size Fits All - All classics on this one. Enjoy the sofa!
Zoot Allures - The title song is one of my favourite Zappa songs ever.
Joe's Garage - A very funny concept album with extreme lyrics and music!
It always helps to get a best of! It's all subjective etc but it's a great guide to his different styles!
By the way, some lyrics are NSFW.
Just a heads up.
OH HAIZ GUYZ IM HERE LISTENING TO THE BEST GUITAR SOLO EVER PLAYED
Just a heads up.
OH HAIZ GUYZ IM HERE LISTENING TO THE BEST GUITAR SOLO EVER PLAYED
Mr. B Natural
Member
Start with his most influential.
Start with his best.
The perfect musical parody
Start with his best.
The perfect musical parody
Psychedelic rock & humor:
Freak Out
Absolutely Free
We're Only In It For the Money
Jazz Rock:
Hot Rats
Grand Wazoo
Waka/Jawaka
One Size Fits All
Roxy & Elsewhere
Sleep Dirt
Studio Tan
Both of the above styles:
Weasels Ripped My Flesh
Burnt Weenie Sandwich
Uncle Meat
Comedy hard rock:
Just Another Band From LA
Chunga's Revenge
Fillmore East
Overnight Sensation
Apostrophe
Zoot Allures
Bongo Fury
Joe's Garage
and... I'm really late for something. Will finish later.
Freak Out
Absolutely Free
We're Only In It For the Money
Jazz Rock:
Hot Rats
Grand Wazoo
Waka/Jawaka
One Size Fits All
Roxy & Elsewhere
Sleep Dirt
Studio Tan
Both of the above styles:
Weasels Ripped My Flesh
Burnt Weenie Sandwich
Uncle Meat
Comedy hard rock:
Just Another Band From LA
Chunga's Revenge
Fillmore East
Overnight Sensation
Apostrophe
Zoot Allures
Bongo Fury
Joe's Garage
and... I'm really late for something. Will finish later.
King Of Fuh
Member
VALIS said:
This is really the best list submitted so far because you truly have to segment his works in order to make the question relevant. And this list doesn't even include his avant garde/classical experiments....
You'd be best to start with Strictly Commercial, as it covers his most accessible music, which, upon first listen, will still mostly sound slightly odd to most people.
Now, from era, these are my faves:
Mothers Era: Absolutely Free
Jazz Rock Era: Hot Rats (One of my favourites, period)
"Mainstream"/"Moderately Succesful: Overnite Sensation/Apostrophe
Late Era Comedy Rock/Experimental: Joe's Garage
Avant Garde: Yellow Shark
Also, all of Zappa's solos are amazing. Watermelon in Easter Hay is great, fantastic even, but for further mindblowing solos see Shut Up N Play Your Guitar or basically any rock related album he released post 1969. When I think of his award winning solos, that one actually didn't cross my mind first.
Zappa was the man! I'm glad Ike is still around.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LPpE-Wn-uQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LPpE-Wn-uQ
DieNgamers
Member
Yes, I've seen him a couple of times on the last Zappanale! He really put on a nice show. Just a very dedicated performer. Same with Napoleon Murphy Brock who still rocks the sax and vocals.Norml said:
King Of Fuh
Member
wenis said:
Yes...
It will be a while before it sinks in for me that Zappa is dead, because I'm still working through his collection and have many albums to buy.
Hell, I bought Imaginary Diseases on his site, released in 2007, and was Mastered by Zappa himself. There's too much to work through.
King Of Fuh
Member
Fersis said:
It's not that I don't feel the solo is amazing, just that there is so much to his catalogue that it is almost impossible for me to pick any one out of his sea of brilliant solos.
weekend_warrior
Banned
DieNgamers said:
when I was 11 or 12 my friends dad had this album. we used to listen to every song like 50 times a day. awesome stuff. "dancin' fool" was favorite song for about 5 years.
My gateway to Frank Zappa was Joe's Garage and You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore vol.1. I'd recommend both for people wanting to check out Zappa for the first time. Current favourites would be Them or Us and Hot Rats. All time favourite is You Are What You Is. I tried to listen to Weasels Ripped My Flesh recently as well and just couldn't get into it at all.
GhastlyGaseous
Member
VALIS said:
This is a good list to reference if your really just starting out, personally my two favorite albums are from the jazzy rock section, Hot Rats and Grand Wazoo. I now await the first avatar quote.
leroy hacker
Member
Roxy and Elsewhere. A double live lp now on a single CD. It has the best balance of funny stuff with serious musical chops of any of his albums that I've heard(admittedly a small fraction of the whole).
Mineshaft_Gap
4077th
Hot Rats is his best album.
SatelliteOfLove
Member
There is so much VICTOLY in this thread, it brings a tear to my eye.
Three of the things I've always respected about his music is the lack of fluff, the razor-sharp timing, and the use of USEFUL percussion (ie, not a glorified metronome).
CiSTM: If you don't "get it" right away, set it aside to listen later. You're going deep into one of the 20th century's greatest musicians. No shitting. It takes awhile to; I myself only "got it" a few years back.
GRATUITOUS YOUTUBE LINKAGE:
TALKIN' BOUT DEM TINEH COOKEHS!!!!!1
"Some people like cupcakes better; I for one care less for them..."
She could go on the freeway and grow up to be 15 feet tall and scary-lookin'!
"We heard how people in this land liked Traditional Jazz."
Three of the things I've always respected about his music is the lack of fluff, the razor-sharp timing, and the use of USEFUL percussion (ie, not a glorified metronome).
CiSTM: If you don't "get it" right away, set it aside to listen later. You're going deep into one of the 20th century's greatest musicians. No shitting. It takes awhile to; I myself only "got it" a few years back.
GRATUITOUS YOUTUBE LINKAGE:
TALKIN' BOUT DEM TINEH COOKEHS!!!!!1
"Some people like cupcakes better; I for one care less for them..."
She could go on the freeway and grow up to be 15 feet tall and scary-lookin'!
"We heard how people in this land liked Traditional Jazz."
buckfutter
Member
I always thought We're Only In It For The Money (with The Mothers of Invention) was a good starting point, but that's probably because it just happened to be MY starting point.
Anyway, it's a kooky album, which might be a little hard to digest at first, but I think it's a great blend of satire and actual musical quality. It grabbed me, at any rate.
Anyway, it's a kooky album, which might be a little hard to digest at first, but I think it's a great blend of satire and actual musical quality. It grabbed me, at any rate.
Just wanted to thank all of you for the recommends. I ended up getting following albums
- Freak Out!
- We're only in it for the money
- Hot rats
- Over-nite sensation
- Apostrophe (')
- Joes garage
Lot to listen but every single album has been solid in one way or other. No favorites yet but Hot Rats is currently the most played album. Thank you GAF.
- Freak Out!
- We're only in it for the money
- Hot rats
- Over-nite sensation
- Apostrophe (')
- Joes garage
Lot to listen but every single album has been solid in one way or other. No favorites yet but Hot Rats is currently the most played album. Thank you GAF.
Mr. B Natural
Member
CiSTM said:
Good solid list dude.
To appreciate We're only in it for the money, it's best to have a good knowledge of what it was like to live in america during the 1960's. The album is a lot like South park, it parodied and satirized the present as it was going on. The lyrics hit home hard for hippes, wannabes, conservatives, the hate vs the apathy, family structure falling apart, the american-indian idolizing...nobody was spared. And it's not just for laughs, there's a real hate or affection in that album. Unlike Zappas goofier albums, this one to me feels personal. He really wanted the planet to wake the fuck up. He had a stake in it. It's so harsh it's funny.
Besides the mastered lyricism, you have the mastered musicality of the psychedelic sound. Someone not paying attention would think this is some solid authentic stuff. The album reminds me of Spinal tap in that sense.
Hot Rats is solid too
Peaches en Regalia is a great song. It shows that if frank wanted to, he could play and compose with the rest of them. He just didn't feel like it and did his own thing. Even Captain Beefheart is bearable in that album.
DieNgamers
Member
While I enjoy the older albums I'm more a fan of his mid till late 70s work. One track that popped into my mind yesterday was this one:
Filthy Habits from the Sleep Dirt album! It's creepy!
Filthy Habits from the Sleep Dirt album! It's creepy!
King Of Fuh
Member
samratty said:
Lumpy Gravy, really?
That is the most inaccessible album of his I think. I didn't know anybody listened to it more than twice.
You may want to avoid that one.
I cosign that Hot Rats and Grand Wazoo are two of my favourites though.
SatelliteOfLove
Member
samratty said:
Love that album. Has another of my favorites in it: Eat That Question. The album version is VERY different, and Dunbar and Duke were killing in it.
adamsappel
Member
Not only was Frank a great guitarist and songwriter, his band always featured some incredible musicians. Jean-Luc Ponty, Terry Bozzio, Steve Vai, Aynsley Dunbar and many others. Enjoy their contribution as well.
SaggyMonkey
Member
I've listened to Lumpy Gravy a ton! (way more than twice)
you'll want that too.
you'll want that too.
DieNgamers
Member
Of course it's good! Did you listen to this song? I think of the album as a slightly dreamy and dark Hot Rats, it's purely instrumental (though there are some remasters with annoying voices added over it in the 90s). Zappa wanted to call it Hot Rats III at first, as far as I know. It's very jazzy and experimental. I love his fuzzy guitar tones and every song has a catchy melody. If you like Hot Rats or Grand Wazoo go for it and find the original version without added voices.Lard said:
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