Best Frank Zappa´s Recordings

Looks like I'm late jumping into this one but I just noticed it. I'm another Zappa nut who owns the entire Verve catalog and roughly 45 releases overall. Most of his best has already been listed here, but I wanted to add a few thoughts.

Of more recent releases, both "Make a Jazz Noise Here" and "Best Band You Never Heard in Your Life" are astounding live performances (minus a little between song goofiness). "Roxy & Elsewhere" remains an all-time favorite. I'd love to see that one re-issued on heavyweight vinyl.

Jazz fans will likely enjoy the version of "Let's Move to Cleveland" found on Volume 4 of the "You Can't Do That On Stage" series - it features Archie Shepp on tenor!

Two other recent relases of Zappa material by other artists are welll worth it. The Persuasions relased "Frankly A Capella" on the EarthBeat! lable in 2000, very nicely done all-vocal renditions done with heartfelt feeling. And the "Ed Palermo Big Band Plays the Music of Frank Zappa" was released on Astor Place records in 1997 (well, I guess not that recent).

An incredible enigma of an artist!

Hot Rats is my favorite. 30yrs ago I bought this as a close out. First listen to this disc instilled gross anxiety. Put it away for several years. One day after many hi-fi evolutions and up dates I re-visited Hot Rats only to find real music that my old systems had never been able to unravel. Hot Rats progressivly becomes more involving as my hi-fi extends in resolution. Tom

In 1976 I bought a german import of Mothermania (an early hits record) at the Ernest Tubb Record Shop in Nashville. It still sounds great today.

For content, Hot Rats, One Size Fits All.

Interesting to see Hot Rats come up so often, as it is one of my favorites, yet not particularly accessible. It has been an inveterate demo disc for me, and I have taken it to hifi shops all around the country for years. I admit that the queer looks I get really are part of the fun. But Hot Rats tears my head off every time (heh, heh). It is no sonic gem, but pretty good, and as noted above, there is a lot there to be revealed as one's equipment gets better. Heh heh. I also think Yellow Shark is exraordinary music.

Yellow Shark IS extrodinary!

More so by the fact that members of the Ensemble Modern really spent a lot of time conquering the difficult scores, with most pleasing results. Zappa, ever the perfectionist, was I think happier with these performances than any other of his orchestral works that made it to record.

It would have been nice to have heard it live, as the music was presented in the theatre in 6 channels! I believe 3 channels each were merged to produce the stereo recordings. I think I'm going to go listen to this again tonite...