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Zappa. I need recommended songs fom him.

superdog

superdog

AK Member
Zappa to me is somewhat new and an acquired taste.From what I heard he is very,very good in in his own way.Being that that he put out a large number of lps I am looking for songs to guide me.I have been through Hot Rats which is great.I have Freak Out and Absolutely Free which at the moment "Any Which Way the Wind Blows" has me going.Any suggestions for songs however commercial they may be to get further my Zappa quest? I plan on downloading the recommended songs initially.
 
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My personal favorite has always been "I'm the Slime." I think its one of his more "accessible" tracks if you want to call it that. Perhaps you already have it though.

I also like Cosmik Debris, Don't Eat the Yellow Snow....that's all I can think of right now.
 
Sheil Yerboti is my fav Zappa lp with Zappa classics "I have been in you", "Jewish Princess", "Bobby Brown goes down" and many more.
 
If your just picking tracks from various albums I would suggest the compilation of Zappa Picks - By John Fishman Of PHISH. Not a bad cut on the CD and it may be a little cheaper than buying individual cuts. But you do loose the Conceptual Continuity of the albums.

Excentrifugal Forz
Apostrophe (')
Magdalena [Live]
Cheepnis [Live]
Son Of Orange County [Live]
More Trouble Every Day [Live]
It Can't Happen Here
Keep It Greasey
For Calvin (And His Next Two Hitch-Hikers)
What Ever Happened To All The Fun In The World
Rat Tomago
Wait A Minute
It Just Might Be A One-Shot Deal
I'm The Slime
Sofa No. 2
 
Zappa songs are tough cause they're so full of **** until Frank breaks from the BS and plays his damn guitar.Joes Garage as mentioned,but there's probably about all of 20 minutes of worthy guitar work in his whole collection.I think the Rock God laughed when he smacked Zappa with ass cancer.That may sound rude,but it's very Zappa-esque..Mr. Asshole Extraordinaire!Saw him in concert - what an asshole.Probably a cool guy elsewhere...
 
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i am going through a big zappa phase right now, one record no one ever seems to mention is Bongo Fury with the good captain, that is a really great record.
 
wingzam said:
I think the Rock God laughed when he smacked Zappa with ass cancer.
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Wingzam, I need to correct you.

Mr Zappa died from complications of Prostate Cancer.

Prostate cancer is cancer of the small walnut-shaped gland in males that produces seminal fluid, the fluid that nourishes and transports sperm. Prostate cancer is one of the most common types of cancer in men, affecting about one in six men in the United States.

Anal cancer, or to use your terms, Ass Cancer, is an uncommon type of cancer that occurs in the anal canal. The anal canal is a short tube at the end of your rectum through which stool leaves your body.

By the way, I am relatively sure that no Gods laugh about cancer.
 
There was a release of Apostrophe and Overnight Sensation on 1 CD. It has most of his "hits", also a later release called "Strictly Commercial" has many of the hits as well.
 
Overnight Sensation. It has George Duke on Keys/Vocals and Jean Luc Ponty on Violin and contains some of Franks most memorable vocals & guitar solos.
 
Dynamo Hum!

Dynamo watched from the edge of her bed with her lips just twitchin' and her face gone red........................... LOL
 
wingzam said:
Zappa songs are tough cause they're so full of **** until Frank breaks from the BS and plays his damn guitar.Joes Garage as mentioned,but there's probably about all of 20 minutes of worthy guitar work in his whole collection.
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Yep, that's pretty much my take too. "Shut Up and Play Your Guitar" seems to me to be the most appropriately titled of all his albums as it right on the money. Never gave it a listen though.

"Overnight Sensation" and "Apostrophe" are probably his two most common recordings, but I prefer "Hot Rats"
 
Andyman said:
Yep, that's pretty much my take too. "Shut Up and Play Your Guitar" seems to me to be the most appropriately titled of all his albums as it right on the money. Never gave it a listen though.

"Overnight Sensation" and "Apostrophe" are probably his two most common recordings, but I prefer "Hot Rats"
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Andy,

Bring that Cobo tape to the next SMAC and I will bring you a CD of Zappa stuff minus the humor, do you have the Grand Wazoo?
 
"Shut Up and Play Your Guitar" is a turn-off for me. It's just bits & pieces of guitars solos. The jams have no beginnings or endings or substance. They just fade them in or out. It was on a "strickly commercial" basis they put that set out.
 
King King (itself thru VI) -- not really one track, but a mind blowing side of an album.

Holiday in Berlin, Full Blown

The Grand Wazoo

It Just Might Be A One Shot Deal/Waka-Jawaka -- again, not really one track, but an awesome side of an LP
 
wingzam said:
Zappa songs are tough cause they're so full of **** until Frank breaks from the BS and plays his damn guitar.Joes Garage as mentioned,but there's probably about all of 20 minutes of worthy guitar work in his whole collection.
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I'll correct you, although meant in hyperbole, is not quite right. Especially with "joes garage", which I find to be his most guitar-fueled work, at least on the second disk..."packard goose", "he used to mow the grass", and most famously "watermelon in easter hay" all feature guitar prominitly.

As for recommendations of Zappa; "Joes garage", "Hot Rats", "Zoot allures", "Waka/jawaka", "Freak out", "apostrophe (')". Actually, the only one I can't really recommend is "lumpy gravy" I just got it yestersay, and its more of a expirement than music. Even his work without guitar ("jazz from hell", entirely on synth) is good...just check out what you can, and keep an open mind.
 
Thanks for the input.The reason I was asking for single cuts instead of lps was to try to digest some of his more listenable tracks.I know some of his material can be strange so I was looking for more easy to digest songs to break me in some more.
 
Just get Apostrophe and Overnite Sensation - every song is great and easy to listen to. From there, you'll be totally hooked and looking for more. Seriously.
 
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