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Author Topic: Zappa - again!  (Read 17747 times)
the captain
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« Reply #25 on: December 27, 2005, 02:39:03 PM »

I was under the mistaken impression that Steve Vai, whom I worshipped at the time as a guitar student in college, was ont he disc).

Guess you enjoyed "Stevie's Spanking" when you discovered it, then. Or was that the end of the worship?  Wink

'fraid that did it for me! To be honest, I still do respect his playing tremendously, and amazed every time I hear or see him (such as in the Dub Room Special Zappa DVD). It's just that I'm not inspired to look or listen as often as I used to be!
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« Reply #26 on: December 27, 2005, 02:44:36 PM »

Joe's Garage was one of my first Zappa purchases (amusingly because I was under the mistaken impression that Steve Vai, whom I worshipped at the time as a guitar student in college, was ont he disc). I enjoyed it somewhat at first, finding it funny. But I no longer get into what I find to be a synthetic, trebly, thin sound that Zappa had from the late 70s through the mid-to-late '80s.

Oh wait, 98% of the world had that awful sound.

If not for Tom Waits and a couple of things by Lou Reed, I'd try to wipe the '80s out of everyone's collective memory. I really would.

Hot damn, I agreed with nearly every word of that post.
There WAS, as much as I hate to admit it, a lot of great music in the 80's, though.
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the captain
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« Reply #27 on: December 27, 2005, 02:49:15 PM »

Every once in a while, I come through. Probably the pinot noir talking.
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« Reply #28 on: December 27, 2005, 02:51:39 PM »

But I no longer get into what I find to be a synthetic, trebly, thin sound that Zappa had from the late 70s through the mid-to-late '80s.

Oh wait, 98% of the world had that awful sound.

Amen, bro. I HATE that sound. Look to the remixes of "Cruisin' With Ruben and the Jets" and "We're Only In It For The Money" for the worst examples.
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« Reply #29 on: December 27, 2005, 03:00:35 PM »

But I no longer get into what I find to be a synthetic, trebly, thin sound that Zappa had from the late 70s through the mid-to-late '80s.

Oh wait, 98% of the world had that awful sound.

Amen, bro. I HATE that sound. Look to the remixes of "Cruisin' With Ruben and the Jets" and "We're Only In It For The Money" for the worst examples.

And amen to THAT!
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« Reply #30 on: December 27, 2005, 03:15:02 PM »

Amen, bro. I HATE that sound. Look to the remixes of "Cruisin' With Ruben and the Jets" and "We're Only In It For The Money" for the worst examples.

I have the "We're Only In It For The Money" with the bass and drums overdubbed by Scott Thunes and Chad Wackerman. Absolutely unlistenable.
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« Reply #31 on: December 27, 2005, 03:21:49 PM »

Amen, bro. I HATE that sound. Look to the remixes of "Cruisin' With Ruben and the Jets" and "We're Only In It For The Money" for the worst examples.

I have the "We're Only In It For The Money" with the bass and drums overdubbed by Scott Thunes and Chad Wackerman. Absolutely unlistenable.

The worst part is, the backlash of that retooling was so bad, Zappa turned up his nose at the fans when he finally re-issued the album in it's original form, doing nothing more than the least work possible. At least, that's what I read. That's allegedly why the 1995 Ryko re-issue sounds so terrible in places, Zappa didn't care enough about the original mix to actually do any kind of a restoration job. All of the corrected censorship from the 1984 remix was foregone for the original censored versions.
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I. Spaceman
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« Reply #32 on: December 27, 2005, 03:29:18 PM »

That's the reason why vinyl is the way to go!
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« Reply #33 on: December 29, 2005, 11:28:49 AM »

Any love for Sheik Yerbouti?  That is such a great album, and songs like Yo Mama went on to become live staples for him throughout the late 70s and 80s.  Sheik Yerbouti is excellent start to finish.  Is there possibly a better way to make fun of Peter Frampton than when Frank wrote "I Have Been In You"?  The song "Tryin' to Grow a Chin" is without a doubt one of the catchiest rock songs I've ever heard.  And Flakes goes right up there with some of Zappa's finest lyrical achievements:

"I'm a moron and this is my wife. She's frosting a cake with a paper knife.  All what we got here's American made. It's a little bit cheesy but it's nicely displayed.  Well we don't get excited when it crumbles and breaks.  We just get on the phone and call up some flakes.  They rush on over and break it some more, and we are do dumb they're lining up at our door."  Pure genius.

I think Zappa put out plenty of great material in his later years, then again, perhaps I'm biased considering my first Zappa album was "Ship Arriving Too Late to Save a Drowning Witch".  :D
« Last Edit: December 29, 2005, 01:07:41 PM by analogdemon » Logged

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the captain
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« Reply #34 on: December 29, 2005, 04:37:08 PM »

Any love for Sheik Yerbouti? 

Not really.
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« Reply #35 on: December 29, 2005, 04:39:58 PM »

It should be called Suck Yerbouti because that album really, really sucks.
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« Reply #36 on: December 29, 2005, 04:44:22 PM »

Yep.
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« Reply #37 on: December 29, 2005, 04:50:12 PM »

Where's all the LOVE for Absolutely Free? That's only Zappa's second finest album, after Freak Out.
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the captain
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« Reply #38 on: December 29, 2005, 04:53:48 PM »

I love Absolutely Free. I don't think it's his second best, but it's really good. The original Brown Shoes Don't Make it alone makes it worth it
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« Reply #39 on: December 29, 2005, 04:59:02 PM »

At least no one here has mentioned Jazz From Hell. That makes me shudder.
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I. Spaceman
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« Reply #40 on: December 29, 2005, 04:59:53 PM »

I hate Jazz From Hell the worst of any of his stuff, which is saying something. I love Absolutely Free. Not in my Top 5, though.
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« Reply #41 on: December 29, 2005, 05:00:21 PM »

I hate Jazz From Hell the worst of any of his stuff

Death to the Synclavier!
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the captain
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« Reply #42 on: December 29, 2005, 05:03:58 PM »

At least no one here has mentioned Jazz From Hell. That makes me shudder.

Someone did earlier. I forget who.
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« Reply #43 on: December 29, 2005, 08:19:06 PM »

I actually enjoy Jazz From Hell quite a bit.  It's unusual, yes.  But it's pretty good for what it is in my opinion.  Certainly not everyone's cup of tea to be sure, but it won a grammy for a reason.  Plus, Jazz From Hell is the only instrumental album to ever get a parental advisory label put on it.  It was over one song title (G-Spot Tornado).  Unbelievable.  I spin it as often as any other Zappa record.

Oh, and Absolutely Free is the $h1t.  I love that album.  Cruising With Ruben and the Jets is another one of my favorites.  What mix I listen to (original vinyl or the 1984 CD remix) doesn't really matter to me however.  There are things about the CD remix that I like but the more I listen to the original vinyl mix, the more I like it.  It's far more raw.

To tell you the truth, I think that Freak Out! through Weasels Ripped My Flesh was his longest consecutive streak of putting out albums that rate 8 and higher on a scale of 1-10.  Hell, I place Uncle Meat in my top 5 favorite rock albums of all time.  He certainly had his moments after that period though.  I'll defend Sheik Yerbouti, Ship Arriving Too Late, Jazz From Hell and Yellow Shark until the day I die.
« Last Edit: December 29, 2005, 08:21:58 PM by analogdemon » Logged

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Old Rake
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« Reply #44 on: December 30, 2005, 05:42:48 AM »

Quote
At least no one here has mentioned Jazz From Hell. That makes me shudder.

That was me. I fracking love Jazz From Hell. In fact, I fracking love ALL his synclavier stuff, including "Civilization Part III." I think its some of the most interesting instrumental stuff he ever did. I remember getting Jazz from Hell the Christmas it came out, being totally mystified by it, and then playing it constantly for like three months. I came away from it adoring the hell out of it. Its complex, insanely speed-demon-y, and has some really intriguing melodies and arrangements.

Sure, its "cold," but for Frank at the time, that was kinda the point.

Analogdemon, I'm not with ya on Shiek or Ship Arriving, but Jazz from Hell and Yellow Shark? Resounding YES. Yellow Shark particularly -- FANTASTIC album.

I *kinda* liked "Them Or Us" too.
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« Reply #45 on: December 30, 2005, 06:03:15 AM »

Oh yeah, and I really liked the "LSO" record in High School but apparently, according to his bio, the "horns got drunk" story in the liners is totally apocryphal and symptomatic of his irritating perfectionism.
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the captain
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« Reply #46 on: December 30, 2005, 06:11:23 AM »

In fact, I fracking love ALL his synclavier stuff, including "Civilization Part III." I think its some of the most interesting instrumental stuff he ever did.
I like this album, too. Very much, in fact.
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« Reply #47 on: December 30, 2005, 08:06:36 AM »

Right on -- that's multiple people with taste that like the synclavier stuff. Vindication!
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the captain
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« Reply #48 on: December 30, 2005, 08:14:14 AM »

I think it is just a completely different experience. There is definitley a mentality I think we are all guilty of that includes expecting something you know and like from someone, so when the next Zappa album you buy doesn't sound like We're Only..., but instead like Hot Rats, you're pissed. Or instead of Hot Rats, like Sheik Yerbouti, or Jazz From Hell, or Thing-Fish.

To me, there is definitely a lot of Zappa's material I dislike, but there is a lot I like, too. I've tried hard with him -- harder than with anyone else, purely out of necessity -- to try and put Zappa out of my mind and listen to each piece of music as if it were to me a new artist's work. That way it becomes more difficult to remember that I personally wish he had done a dozen more albums in the late 60s/early 70s vein.
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« Reply #49 on: December 30, 2005, 08:15:46 AM »

I love Shut Up 'N Play Yer Guitar. It's one of my favorite Zappa albums. One of my favorite guitar albums.
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