Frank Zappa’s 100th and final album is shortly to be released – it sounds a bit like hard going, but are there any recommendations for his later work?
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Musings on the byways of popular culture
The Yellow Shark, the last official Zappa release in his lifetime, is tremendous. Although of course he’s not really on it.
Seconded. It has the Ensemble Modern playing orchestral arrangements of music from different parts of his career. It’s his best classical album and the closing track, G-Spot Tornado is one of the best things he ever did.
Apart from Yellow Shark, Zappa’s later work can be divided into the tour records from the 87-88 tour and records made with the synclavier. “Make a Jazz Noise Here” is the best of the former group and is pretty good, while the latter albums all sound like a chicken walking across a synthesizer to me (and unfortunately I reckon “Dance Me This” will fall into this category).
Can anyone recommend the best versions of the early CDs, ‘Freak Out’ and ‘Absolutely Free’ etc.
I’ve always been put off by all the (apparent) modifying/tampering Zappa was meant to have done to them in the 1980s.
I don’t think he mucked around too much with those two, it was “We’re Only in it for the Money” and “Cruising with Ruben and the Jets” that he really messed with.
Anyway, I have the Rykodisc release of Absolutely Free and it sounds fine, like the mono vinyl copy I have. I then have the later Barking Pumpkin version of Freak Out! and it’s ok too.
The recent Universal reissues are the real thing, mastered from the original analog LP tapes, and sounding warm and punchy. The Ryko versions – even the ones where he didn’t re-record parts – are compressed and Zappa mixed them to sound “modern” (what he considered “modern” in the early CD age) – if you compare them to the original vinyl versions they all sound distant and somewhat ‘polite’.
I’ve been listening to some of these over the weekend and they really are very good and much more than just the usual “crank the volume up a bit” remasters we sometimes get flogged.
As Fatima says most go back to the original tapes so you’re effectively getting digital versions of the original vinyl, probably for the first time and without any 1980’s “improvements”. Hot Rats is remarkably different from the previous CD versions – although it’s an album I go back to regularly it must be 30 years since I listened to the vinyl so the difference is quite jarring at first.
There are several sites that outline the main differences per album, but the ones I’ve heard are well worth investing in.
Loud Tunes Don’t Make It!
I f I knew how to add an UP, you’d have one