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Frank Zappa
www.zappa.com
CD Reviews
Absolutely Free
Review by Julie Knispel

Released nearly 1 year to the day after Freak Out!, Absolutely Free was the second release by the Mothers of Invention. Led by Frank Zappa, the Mothers of Invention began moving beyond the nascent avant garde elements of their previous work to fully embrace a wider range of classical and jazz elements in their psychedelic lambastings of the society around them.


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Apostrophe'
Review by Gary Hill
Frank Zappa always amazed me. He’d put together some of the greatest musicians in the world and create these incredibly complex musical romps – and yet they’d be equally funny.
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Burnt Weeny Sandwich (vinyl)
Review by Gary Hill
This album, the final credited to The Mothers of Invention, features two vocal tracks, with the remainder of them instrumental.

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Chunga's Revenge (vinyl)
Review by Gary Hill
Released in 1970, this was the third solo album from Frank Zappa. The disc saw the debut of Turtles members Flo and Eddie as part of Zappa's band. 

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Freak Out!
Review by Julie Knispel
Prog certainly existed after Freak Out!, but was there anything coming out at the time that did for the boundaries of rock and roll what Freak Out! did? It’s unlikely.

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Hot Rats
Review by Gary Hill
This was Frank Zappa’s second solo album.

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Jazz from Hell
Review by Gary Hill
This is an instrumental jazz album.

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Over-Nite Sensation
Review by Gary Hill
I know some people who think there is no way Frank Zappa is progressive rock. Well, for my money his genre twisting type of music with incredibly complex arrangements – often on seemingly simplistic tunes – certainly fits the bill.
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Roxy and Elsewhere
Review by Steve Alspach
Toward the end of the run of the Mothers of Invention, this 2-LP set was released. Only Zappa would have the -dare I say it? - Unmitigated audacity to release a live album with virtually all new material.
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Sheik Yerbouti
Review by Gary Hill
Outside of Zappa fandom the big claim to fame of this CD (other than the controversy which we’ll get to shortly) was the song “Dancing Fool.”
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Ship Arriving Too Late to Save a Drowning Witch
Review by Gary Hill
This 1982 Zappa album has some cool stuff. It's probably best known for the song "Valley Girl," which features his daughter Moon Unit on spoken vocals.

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Strictly Commercial
Review by Gary Hill
A compilation of some of the “best” of Frank Zappa’s music, this is a good disc, if you ignore the question of what is really “best.”

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Studio Tan (vinyl)
Review by Gary Hill
This Frank Zappa disc has some trademark sounds. I think the side long "Greggary Peccary" has quite a bit in common with the "...Yellow Snow..." suite from Apostrophe.  

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The Grand Wazoo
Review by Gary Hill
An almost completely instrumental album, if anyone has an argument about Frank Zappa landing under prog rock, they really need to listen to this.

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Them or Us
Review by Gary Hill
This is not your standard Zappa disc. Of course, what is that really? .
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Waka/Jawaka (vinyl)
Review by Gary Hill
This disc was the fourth solo album from Frank Zappa. It was released in 1972.

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We're Only in It for the Money
Review by Steve Alspach
America went through a bit of culture shock in 1967, and things were turned upside down. Haight-Ashbury was the place to be if you wanted to reject your parents' lifestyle (for a while, anyway). "Tune In, Turn On, Drop Out" was the mantra of the time - hell, even the New York Yankees were in last place for a few weeks.
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Zappa In New York
Review by Julie Knispel
The separation between live album and studio album has always been a fuzzy one when it comes to Frank Zappa. As so many of his “studio” albums were created through the use of individual instrumental tracks (or wholesale lifting of full band tracks) from live performance, it’s often difficult to tell on LP what was recorded in thew studio and what was recorded live.
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Zoot Allures
Review by Gary Hill

This 1976 release was Frank Zappa's only set on Warner Brothers Records. It has the usual type of Zappa weirdness you would expect.


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DVD Reviews
Frank Zappa - A Token of His Extreme DVD
Review by Gary Hill
I would recommend this DVD as highly as I could recommend anything. It is amazing!

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Frank Zappa - Apostrophe / Over-Nite Sensation DVD
Review by Gary Hill
This is an amazing documentary.

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Frank Zappa - Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention – The Lost Broadcast: The Full Performance DVD
Review by Gary Hill
In 1968 Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention filmed a band rehearsal at the Beat Club in Germany.

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Frank Zappa - Roxy The Movie (DVD/CD Edition)
Review by Gary Hill
The Roxy and Elsewhere album from Frank Zappa is considered by fans to be one of the best.

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Frank Zappa - Summer '82: When Zappa Came To Sicily BluRay
Review by Gary Hill
Don’t come here looking for a concert film. If you do, you will be disappointed, but this is really far more.

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Frank Zappa - The Dub Room Special DVD
Review by Gary Hill
Envisioned by Zappa in 1992, this is finally seeing the light of day as a DVD in 2005. The video is a very cool one.
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Frank Zappa - The Freak-Out List DVD
Review by Gary Hill
Let’s get one thing out right away. Those looking to find a lot of footage of Frank Zappa playing live will be disappointed with this DVD.

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Related Articles
Various Artists - Bear Family Presents: The Shadow Knows More - 35 Scary Tales From The Vaults Of Horror
Review by Gary Hill
This collection of old music with spooky concepts is a class act. Then again, everything from Bear Family Records is class.

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Fido Plays Zappa - Dirty Brown (vinyl single)
Review by G. W. Hill

This single is so cool.


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Various Artists - From Straight to Bizarre-Zappa, Beefheart, Alice Cooper, and LA's Lunatic Fringe DVD
Review by G. W. Hill

Frank Zappa might not have been the first or last artist to form his own record label and sign new acts.


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Fido Plays Zappa - Live On The Dental Floss DVD
Review by Gary Hill
So, you don’t think humor belongs in music? Then shut this thing off.
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Various Artists - Mountains Come Out of the Sky. The Illustrated History of Prog Rock – written by Will Romano
Review by Scott Montgomery
Overall, this is a very good and highly recommended overview of the genre and its history. 
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Banned From Utopia - So Yuh Don't Like Modern Art
Review by Gary Hill
A strong debate rages among progressive rock fans as to whether or not Frank Zappa qualifies as prog. I know that I am in disagreement with my friend and prog authority Bill Martin over this matter, as I feel that FZ's music does fit under the banner.
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