Record Reviews

FRANK ZAPPA ~ 200 MOTELS: THE SUITES ZAPPA 20019 (Barcode: 824302001929) ~ USA ~ Avant-Garde Classical Recorded: 2013 Released: 2015 This is the 101st album by iconic American guitarist / composer / bandleader / visionary Frank ZappaFind albums by this artist, released posthumously in 2015. It presents the Classical Music components (in a form of thirteen suites) of the music originally composed for the soundtrack of the film “200 MotelsFind albums by this artist”, which was recorded originally in 1971 with his group The Mothers Of InventionFind albums by this artist and The Royal Philharmonic OrchestraFind albums by this artist, conducted by Elgar HowarthFind albums by this artist. Since the final soundtrack included only parts of this suites, this album presents them in their entirety for the first time, as recorded in 2013 by The Los Angeles PhilharmonicFind albums by this artist and The Los Angeles Master ChoraleFind albums by this artist, conducted by Finnish conductor / composer Esa-Pekka SalonenFind albums by this artist. Several actors / vocalists and additional musicians are also featured in the recording, including keyboardists Ian UnderwoodFind albums by this artist and Randy KerberFind albums by this artist, drummer Joe TraversFind albums by this artist, bassist Scott ThunesFind albums by this artist and guitarist Jamie KimeFind albums by this artist. This album shows the full scope of Zappa’s Classical Music ambitions and his ability to move directly to the very core its Avant-Garde facet, skipping over centuries of the legacy, which of course was unprecedented and largely misunderstood. The soundtrack of “200 Motels” is an incredibly complex amalgam of Classical Music, Pop, Rock, comedy and satire. Although not the very first album to feature Rock and Symphony Orchestra, it is by far the most advanced, revolutionary and complex of all such attempts to this very day. Zappa included in this music his modern 20th Century Classical Music influences from Edgar VareseFind albums by this artist, Igor StravinskyFind albums by this artist and others. Zappa showed that he is able to write music, which amalgamates anything between Avant-Garde Pop and Rock, Jazz, including Free Jazz and Jazz-Rock Fusion and contemporary orchestral Classical Music. He appears as the first “total musician” on the Pop / Rock scene, a status he was able to hold till the day he died. From day one his extravagant personality and brilliant intelligence marked him as an outsider, a fate shared by most geniuses. The “200 Motels” soundtrack is often regarded as “peripheral” in his overall output, which is of course completely nonsensical and absurd. The whole concept of Zappa’s music was the complete disregard of genres and a firm belief that “music is one”, regardless how someone might wish to categorize it. In retrospect, this album is definitely one of his absolute Artistic apogees, although he never recorded anything which could be considered less important than anything else. Overall, although over fifty years passed since this music was composed, this music remains an absolute Classic in every respect, which stands proudly as an icon of superb creativity, which still shines brighter than almost anything else recorded since. Zappa’s genius, not only as a musician, but also as a visionary and a brilliant observer of the human condition and American folly and deceit, remain completely relevant and are even more actual today than ever.

Updated: 13/08/2022Posted: 13/08/2022

CD 2 Mini-Sleeve Recommend To A Friend

FRANK ZAPPA ~ JOE`S CAMOUFLAGE VAULTERNATIVE 20132 (Barcode: 824302013229) ~ USA ~ Avant-Garde Jazz-Rock Fusion Recorded: 1975 Released: 2014 This is the 98th album by iconic American guitarist / composer / bandleader / visionary Frank ZappaFind albums by this artist, released posthumously in 2014. This album is the 5th release in the series of albums compiled by Zappa’s vaultmeister Joe TraversFind albums by this artist, which also includes “Joe`s CorsageFind albums with this title” (2004), “Joe`s DomageFind albums with this title” (2004), “Joe`s XMASageFind albums with this title” (2005), and “Joe`s MenageFind albums with this title” (2008) all released on the VaulternativeFind albums on this label label. The album presents fifteen tracks, all composed by Zappa, recorded in 1975 by a rehearsal lineup which never recorded any official album or played any concerts. It includes Zappa on guitar and vocals, guitarists Denny WalleyFind albums by this artist and Robert CamarenaFind albums by this artist, violist Novi NovogFind albums by this artist, saxophonist Napoleon Murphy BrockFind albums by this artist, bassist Roy EstradaFind albums by this artist and drummer Terry BozzioFind albums by this artist. The material includes some of the regular Zappa repertoire of the time as well as material that appears here exclusively, with great guitar soloing and a strong Fusiony vibe. The material included on this album was never intended to be heard by “regular” listeners, and is a reflection of Zappa’s documenting passion, which prompted him to record every second of his performances in the studio and on stage from day one. It does, however, offer an incredible glimpse into the inner makings of music under Zappa’s guidance and shows the meticulous process involved in creating the music, starting with very basic ideas and developed slowly during these rehearsals. As such it shows Zappa’s genius at work and explains the ability of his musicians to perform the unspeakably tricky parts on stage later on. This is another piece of the puzzle of the Frank Zappa Genius.

Updated: 13/03/2023Posted: 13/03/2023

CD 1 Remastered Recommend To A Friend

FRANK ZAPPA ~ JOE`S CORSAGE VAULTERNATIVE 20041 (Barcode: 824302004128) ~ USA ~ Classic Rock Recorded: 1964 - 1966 Released: 2004 This is the 72nd album by iconic American guitarist / composer / bandleader / visionary Frank ZappaFind albums by this artist, released posthumously in 2004. This album is the 1st release in the series of albums compiled by Zappa’s vaultmeister Joe TraversFind albums by this artist, which also includes “Joe`s DomageFind albums with this title” (2004), “Joe`s XMASageFind albums with this title” (2005), “Joe`s MenageFind albums with this title” (2008) and “Joe`s CamouflageFind albums with this title” (2014), all released on the VaulternativeFind albums on this label label. The album presents twelve tracks, some composed by Zappa and the rest covers, recorded in mid-1960s before the recording of the debut album by The Mothers Of InventionFind albums by this artist “Freak Out!Find albums with this title”. The lineup includes Zappa on guitar and vocals, guitarist Henry VestineFind albums by this artist, vocalist Ray CollinsFind albums by this artist, bassist Roy EstradaFind albums by this artist and drummer Jimmy Carl BlackFind albums by this artist. The opening and closing tracks are excerpts from Zappa’s interviews and the rest are early versions / demos / live recordings of some the songs which will later appear on the debut album and others that appear only here. The material included on this album was never intended to be heard by “regular” listeners, and is a reflection of Zappa’s documenting passion, which prompted him to record every second of his performances in the studio and on stage from day one. It does, however, offer an incredible glimpse into the inner makings of music under Zappa’s guidance and shows the meticulous process involved in creating the music, starting with very basic ideas and developed slowly during these rehearsals. As such it shows Zappa’s genius at work and explains the ability of his musicians to perform the unspeakably tricky parts on stage later on. This is another piece of the puzzle of the Frank Zappa Genius.

Updated: 17/03/2023Posted: 17/03/2023

CD 1 Remastered Recommend To A Friend

FRANK ZAPPA ~ JOE`S DOMAGE VAULTERNATIVE 20042 (Barcode: 824302004227) ~ USA ~ Jazz-Rock Fusion Recorded: 1972 Released: 2004 This is the 73rd album by iconic American guitarist / composer / bandleader / visionary Frank ZappaFind albums by this artist, released posthumously in 2004. This album is the 2nd release in the series of albums compiled by Zappa’s vaultmeister Joe TraversFind albums by this artist, which also includes “Joe`s CorsageFind albums with this title” (2004), “Joe`s XMASageFind albums with this title” (2005), “Joe`s MenageFind albums with this title” (2008) and "Joe`s Camouflage"Find albums with this title (2014), all released on the VaulternativeFind albums on this label label. The lineup that Zappa put together in the studio to record this music is an absolute dream team of superb instrumentalists, mostly Jazz oriented players, which includes keyboardist Don PrestonFind albums by this artist, bassist Alex DmochowskiFind albums by this artist, drummer Aynsley DunbarFind albums by this artist, saxophonist Tony OrtegaFind albums by this artist, trumpeters Sal MarquezFind albums by this artist and Malcolm McNabbFind albums by this artist, trombonist Ken ShroyerFind albums by this artist and others. The material included on this album was never intended to be heard by “regular” listeners, and is a reflection of Zappa’s documenting passion, which prompted him to record every second of his performances in the studio and on stage. It does, however, offer an incredible glimpse into the inner makings of music under Zappa’s guidance and shows the meticulous process involved in creating the music, starting with very basic ideas and developed slowly during these rehearsals. As such it shows Zappa’s genius at work and explains the ability of his musicians to perform the unspeakably tricky parts on stage later on. Overall, although presenting only sketchy outlines of his brilliant compositions, now half a Century old, this album is a treasure of ingenuity and historical documentation of the process of music making by the greatest musical mind of the 20th Century, and as such certainly worth being listened to and perhaps learning something about the process of creating music from the Master himself.

Updated: 13/03/2023Posted: 23/03/2022

CD 1 Remastered Recommend To A Friend

FRANK ZAPPA ~ JOE`S MENAGE VAULTERNATIVE 20081 (Barcode: 824302008126) ~ USA ~ Avant-Garde Jazz-Rock Fusion Recorded: 1975 Released: 2008 This is the 84th album by iconic American guitarist / composer / bandleader / visionary Frank ZappaFind albums by this artist, released posthumously in 2008. This album is the 4th release in the series of albums compiled by Zappa’s vaultmeister Joe TraversFind albums by this artist, which also includes “Joe`s CorsageFind albums with this title” (2004), “Joe`s DomageFind albums with this title” (2004), “Joe`s XMASageFind albums with this title” (2005) and “Joe`s CamouflageFind albums by this artist” (2014), all released on the VaulternativeFind albums on this label label. The album presents eight tracks, all composed by Zappa, recorded live by Zappa and his group in 1975 and features a rare appearance of vocalist / saxophonist Norma Jean BellFind albums by this artist, who was a member of this band for a very brief period of time. The other members in this lineup include Zappa on guitar and vocals, saxophonist Napoleon Murphy BrockFind albums by this artist, keyboardist Andre LewisFind albums by this artist, bassist Roy EstradaFind albums by this artist and drummer Terry BozzioFind albums by this artist. The music reflects Zappa’s Jazz-Rock Fusion period, which produced some of his most fascinating studio albums, full of great songwriting and exceptional instrumental performances, as well as his razor-sharp satire and critique of the American society, politics, corruption and ideological / religious folly. Several explosive guitar solos are the highlights of this album, as well as the super tight band, which was like an instrument in Zappa’s hands. The sound quality is somewhat less brilliant here, but the source material was painstakingly restored by Travers, and is definitely listenable. Overall, although almost fifty years passed since this music was recorded, this album remains an absolute Classic in every respect, which stands proudly as an icon of superb music, which still shines brighter than almost anything else recorded since. Zappa’s genius, not only as a musician, but also as a visionary and a brilliant observer of the human condition and American folly and deceit, remain completely relevant and are even more actual today than ever.

Updated: 14/02/2023Posted: 20/07/2022

CD 1 Remastered Recommend To A Friend

FRANK ZAPPA ~ JOE`S XMASAGE VAULTERNATIVE 20051 (Barcode: 824302005125) ~ USA ~ Pop & Rock Recorded: 1962 - 1965 Released: 2005 This is the 75th album by iconic American guitarist / composer / bandleader / visionary Frank ZappaFind albums by this artist, released posthumously in 2005. This album is the 3rd release in the series of albums compiled by Zappa’s vaultmeister Joe TraversFind albums by this artist, which also includes “Joe`s CorsageFind albums with this title” (2004), “Joe`s DomageFind albums with this title” (2004), “Joe’s MenageFind albums by this artist” (2008) and “Joe`s CamouflageFind albums by this artist” (2014), all released on the VaulternativeFind albums on this label label. The album presents eleven tracks, all composed by Zappa, recorded (most probably) between 1962 and 1965 with most of the participating musicians unidentified. It is a wonderful glimpse at the very early days of Zappa’s career and the music that influenced him at the early days and obviously became part of his musical persona later on. The material included on this album was never intended to be heard by “regular” listeners, and is a reflection of Zappa’s documenting passion, which prompted him to record every second of his performances in the studio and on stage from day one. It does, however, offer an incredible glimpse into the inner makings of music under Zappa’s guidance and shows the meticulous process involved in creating the music, starting with very basic ideas and developed slowly during these rehearsals. As such it shows Zappa’s genius at work and explains the ability of his musicians to perform the unspeakably tricky parts on stage later on. This is another piece of the puzzle of the Frank Zappa Genius.

Updated: 14/02/2023Posted: 14/02/2023

CD 1 Remastered Recommend To A Friend