Best Frank Zappa Album From Frank Zappa's Official Discography?

Hot Rats

That's a good one. But, if you like that, I must ask: have you heard "Imaginary Diseases?" You may like it better!

Filmore East 1971! Mudshark!

Yeah, Fillmore East pretty much in a walk.

too hard but i picked roxy & elsewhere anyway.

Cruising with Ruben and the Jets on LP

I'm also curious if there's anything you would have LIKED to have seen on this poll that wasn't here. I have a bunch of great bootlegs like "Wanna Buy Some Acid?" and "Nonfoods" but, eh, amazing live quality (professional), but not actually worth competing. Still, if you have any suggestions, they will help (me find something to buy illegally...)

God help me, Lumpy Gravy.

My favorite changes from day to day. Today I'm going with Absolutely Free, but Freak Out!, Uncle Meat, Grand Wazoo, One Size Fits All, and Roxy could easily be the one on any other day.

I have one really good reason to call Frank Zappa a genius!

You've heard all sorts of justification for his existence and you're bored to death of it. And you remain unconvinced (let's say).

But, let me just point out that he's about the only guy who would "hide" his most complex and inspiring work in an album of the SAME NAME, no less, with 5 measly other songs of almost pure filler CRAP... AND have it be his biggest top 40 hit... but NOT for the most complex and inspiring song he ever wrote-- NO! For a stupid song he barely wrote! A dumb song where his daughter does a Valley Girl impression. I'm talking about "Ship Arriving Too Late To Save A Drowning Witch."

Smoke a big fat one and listen to the title track, if you haven't already. The following song "Envelopes" is a killer, too. Ah hell, if you're enjoying that, Teenage Prostitute doesn't make a bad closer. Okay, the last half is pretty good. But, as a 30-minute full-price album, there is really only one justification for the album in most fans' eyes and that is the title track.

Burnt Weeny Sandwich, it's what hooked me. Belting out "WPLJ" is fun, for me. First Zappa song I played on the college radio station too, iirc.

I don't know all of these (I think I own about 30 and have heard a bunch more), but I'll go with 'Lather' for the usual reasons of how its a good representation of Zappa in all his many styles and guises (if that's not too obvious a choice).

xpost to myself: think about that! His biggest hit for all the wrong reasons, while the right ones are included in the package? Was this some bizarrely brilliant critique of American culture... AGAIN?!

okay, I'm thinking... yeah, you may have a point, self.

I voted for Ship Arriving Too Late.... Can't really say why but I play it more often than the other 6 or 7 albums of his I've got.

Teenage Lovedolls ripped of Valley Girl, didn't they?

...AND HIS GUITAR PLAYING SUCKED, TOO, THAT'S ANOTHER THING I DON'T GET, etc.
LOL'd at that, Dean. 'Guitar' might have got the vote another day, 'Only In it for the Money' another, 'Make a Jazz Noise' another, even 'Joe's Garage'. Just too hard to choose one.

xpost
Teenage Lovedolls? Is that something to do with the Redd Kross film or is my brain not working?

Yes, Red Kross's Teenage Lovedolls put out an album that sounds remarkably like Valley Girl from start to finish.

xpost ;) He's arrogant, weird and talented. That's why we like him. If you don't appreciate the first 2 characteristics, that's no reason to pretend the 3rd doesn't exist. Say you hate his mustache and I'll give you more credit.

by "you" I am referring to a fictional enemy, of course. Nobody on this thread. Sorry about that. I'm drunk.

The Lost Episodes was a fun little find for me too. Haven't had a chance to listen to the 200 Motels, but downloaded the movie and stuff. It's funked up, from what I've seen so far.

I went with We're Only In It For The Money as always, the only great Zappa Inc. album I've ever heard.

Gawd, looking at that obnoxious discography reminds me of Xgau's 1980s Zappa putdown/summary: "Oh shut up." Which made that "FUCK THIS GUY" option quite tantalizing.

I wish someone like Ian Penman (ha!) would compile a one-disc poptastic accompaniment to We're Only In It For The Money so we'd never have to think of the guy again. It'd be easy in the sense that you wouldn't have to fret over which chunk of the long "compositions" like, oh, Hot Rats to include because Hot Rats suuuuuucks in its entirety (sorry, I tried). But it'd be difficult in the sense that you'd have to troll through that freakin' discography.

I've actually heard the song "Ship Arriving Too Late To Save A Drowning Witch" many times for obvious reasons. (Sidenote: the cover image turned up as a puzzle problem in 7th grade math!). But since to me, "smoke a big fat one" means welcome, repeated encounters with the male genitalia, I doubt I'll ever hear it the way you do, Dean (and that goes ditto for the odious Thing Fish...grrrrr).

I do love how this thread gives us a glimpse into the mind of a Zappa fan, muttering to oneself about American culture and whatnot. Informative. For serious.

And honest question: why is Ruben and the Jets better on LP?

xxpost
I'm pretty sure I must have that Teenage Lovedolls album because I pretty much collected everything to do with Redd Kross at one point (even including the Anarchy 6 album). But for some reason I can't recall it, other than the soundtrack albums, which are both compilations if I remember correctly. Have to dig that stuff out and give it a spin soon. Weird.

I have toyed with the idea of creating a 4-disc set to give to Zappa haters which spans Zappa's entire career. If you ever try such a thing, you will understand why Zappa "needed better editing." Attempting such a feat puts you in the driver's seat and, if you like his work at all, it's pretty fucking hard to imagine what other people will or won't appreciate.

And honest question: why is Ruben and the Jets better on LP?

Another example of Frank ruining the original recordings. :-(

Have to give it to Absolutely Free. Though I was tempted, actually, to vote for The Best Band You Never Heard In Your Life, which is probably the album I would recommend to someone who had never heard anything by him at all.

Joe, do you have a garage? Also, I am tempted to vote for Best Band, also, but at the moment am leaning toward something almost stupid: Zoot Alures. I can't explain it or justify it. I just enjoy it. "Wind Up Working In A Gas Station" = Ween. Guitar solos = cock rock 70s, but better. Whole thing = weird black hole. I guess I just attempted an explanation. Chunga's Revenge is it's sister. Both good. Neither compares with the Mothers albums. And Jazz From Hell is another thing entirely. What's a boy to do?

Jesus, what a bloated discography - I can't see any album getting more than 5 votes! Despite being the least-praised of that initial crucial Verve trilogy, Absolutely Free has always been my favourite - aural "MAD Magazine", the way it feels like the product of an actual group. A group that pretends to be weird on Side One, then makes mainstream America look equally weird on Side Two.

And the usual also-rans: Uncle Meat, Hot Rats, Overnite Sensation, One Size Fits All, Sleep Dirt, maybe Lãther.

Sheik Yerbouti will walk it. While the Zappa-heads debate the particulars of the more obscure albums, the lurkers will be voting for the only one that gets regular airtime on rock radio.

It gets airtime? Regular airtime? Really?

Hell yeah. Maybe not so much this century though. Bobby Brown Goes Down, Dancin' Fool and Jewish Princess all have been playlisted on the "Classic Rock" format stations. I've even heard Baby Snakes/Trying To Grow A Chin a couple of times (over, like 20 years).

Funny, those are all the songs I really don't like. Trying To Grow A Chin is okay. How are they on the radio at all, since they are filled with naughty words?

I'm voting for Cruisin' with Ruben and the Jets on LP as well.

Imaginary Diseases and the new Buffalo live set are near the top of my list. Amazing to think these just sat around 'til long past his death.

Had to go with Roxy & Elsewhere in the end. I just love the sound of that band.

"We're only in it for the money" resonates with me on many levels, it's a true example of Zappa's human side, which is not always as openly shown in his later work.

Voted for: Uncle Meat

Top 10
1. Uncle Meat
2. YCDTOSA Vol 2 (Helsinki concert)
3. We're Only In It for the Money
4. Burnt Weeny Sandwich
5. Roxy & Elsewhere
6. Hot Rats
7. Ahead of their Time
8. Cruising w/Ruben & the Jets (LP version, orig. bass & drum tracks)
9. Lumpy Gravy
10. Zoot Allures

Any FZ fans who haven't heard the Omnibus Wind Ensemble and Ensemble Ambrosius albums of his music, you owe it to yourself to track them down.

I screwed up my vote. After thinking for several days, I finally was convinced enough to choose Roxy & Elsewhere, but I honestly don't listen to that much anymore.

I should've chosen Uncle Meat. I'll probably only grow to like more and more, actually.

You make it sound as if you're new to it.

Well, I'm not new to it, but I did discover it a few years after wearing out Roxy and so far it has become more and more fun to listen to as time goes on.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

hot meat! hot rats! hot cats! hot ritz! hot roots! hot soots! hot zits!

Urgh. I don't know whether to go with 'Uncle Meat or 'We're only...'. i guess the former has more filler BUT it has the best FZ song ever, 'Dog Breath variations'. Tough..

How I feel about zappa isn't option 81.

It's more: "Oh it's a giant mountain! All is different! I could spend the rest of my life exploring it! Or, I could go round it"

ta.

Against better judgement, I went with Make a Jazz Noise Here. Criminally underrated Zappa album #1 for me.

That's a great one! In truth, I think the #1 spot for me is a toss-up between like 10 albums.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

I don't know whether 65 total votes is a lot or a little.

Almost as many votes as albums!

It's nice to see only 8 of those 65 votes opted for the "Fuck this guy" choice. I was kind of expecting something more like 20 responses with 13 "Fuck this guy" votes.

but then, it did get second place!

Listening to WOIIFTM is definitely better than listening to people say "fuck this guy" etc.

xpost: yeah, but that's just 8 people out of 65. The rest at least liked something enough not to choose that. I'm happily surprised. Should I do a Phish poll next? El oh el.

Grateful Dead!

If you do a Phish poll, *please* do live shows or songs (2/28/03 Tweezer, 12/31/95 YEM, 12/40/93 David Bowie, etc.). LOL?

I can certainly live w/ WOIIFTM. I would've been happy if someone could have given Broadway the Hard Way a sympathy vote. If Rueben could get two ...

Uh, 12/30/93. I'm typing in the dark here, people!

Interesting . . . Absolutely Free won the best Mothers of Invention album poll some months back.

I voted for Burnt Weeny Sandwich as it's my favorite. It's perhaps not the front-to-back best, but it features the most powerful magical moments in the Zappa catalog for me. Those are courtesy of the epic "Little House I Used to Live In": beautiful Ian Underwood piano solo intro and completely bad-ass,unhinged Sugarcane Harris violin solo (probably my favorite solo period) -- the bluesy vamp that The Mothers play behind the second part of said solo is soooo tasty. There are lots of moments that could be described as lovely on this record, in general, too, and I'm a big fan of "pretty" Zappa. Those moments sometimes segue into those children's-show-music-gone-horribly-wrong moments, but I like those, as well.

And "WPLJ" is probably the first Zappa tune (tho it's a cover) that I liked -- used to listen to Pap's records when I was a tyke even though I wasn't supposed to; the GTOs lady on the Hot Rats cover was so scary to me that I was afraid to play that one for a long time.

I also particularly like that overhead photo of The Mothers in the gatefold: it looks as if the band is preparing to record, rehearse or play a gig, and Jimmy Carl Black is standing behind some tympani, inexplicably holding a large baby doll (maybe it was a gig and that was part of the show).

xpost: yeah, but that's just 8 people out of 65. The rest at least liked something enough not to choose that. I'm happily surprised.

100% OTM.

truth be told, i could've selected one zappa CD from each separate decade when he was still alive & releasing records. there's so much variety in his official discography, that there's really something there for everyone to at least LIKE (who isn't turned off by his admittedly smutty/snarky attitude, that is).

and i also contend that you are what you is is woefully underrated -- it may be the best studio record he made during the 80s & post-roxy.

I could get behind a Burnt Weeny Sandwich vote-- I've always found it delightfully all-over-the-place, and I *love* the opening.

This thread is making me search my whole apt for my Zappa discs!

I kind of think 200 Motels and Freak Out! should've gotten more votes.

and i also contend that you are what you is is woefully underrated -- it may be the best studio record he made during the 80s & post-roxy.

i think i agree ... this was my 2nd or third zappa disc iirc and a pretty big favorite for a while until I wore it out. I pulled it out the other day and enjoyed it again, though. I wish I had the vinyl to compare. Apparently, the remasters are all fucked up as usual.

Eh ... Freak Out! doesn't hold up well to me, and 200 Motels sounds rushed, esp after hearing Zappa talk about the making of the album/sdtk/movie. If I'm bringing one Zappa album w/ me to Pluto, it's not gonna be Freak Out!.

Maybe it's the poor Freak Out! remaster job? If you grab the MoFo Project/Object release, you'll hear how it originally sounded on vinyl and it is a killer album. I was shocked how much better it is because I sold Freak Out a while ago and grabbed MoFo out of curiosity. What was once muddy and depressing enough for me to sell is now worth the twice as much $ I spent to buy it proper.

Uh, I listen to Freak Out! on vinyl already (thanks former freak dad!). It just doesn't highlight everything I love about Zappa. It's fine, but it's middle-of-the-pack for me (despite however important it might be). There are a few other big Zappa albums (Joe's Garage chief among them) that I don't really love breaking out. I'd rather hear the "Joe's Garage" from YCDTOSA #3 than from the proper album.

damn, I wish I had the vinyl to compare

Joe's Garage 1 is ruined by 2 and 3. I pull it out often, but always remember to put it back after disc 1 has finished playing. The cd, that is.

I always wished that Zappa made more songs like "Outside Now." It's always seemed like a very out-of-character song for Zappa; works very well w/ Ike singing.

I too liked "You Are What You Is" more than most, back in the day. I liked how each of the first 3 sides had its own specific function and programmatic flow (or some other half-educated bullshit term) without said functions being blatantly labeled as such.

and i also contend that you are what you is is woefully underrated -- it may be the best studio record he made during the 80s & post-roxy.

i think i agree ... this was my 2nd or third zappa disc iirc and a pretty big favorite for a while until I wore it out. I pulled it out the other day and enjoyed it again, though. I wish I had the vinyl to compare. Apparently, the remasters are all fucked up as usual.

i remember reading some early 90s zappa band alumni or other (tempted to say mike keneally) explain that you are what you is was originally remastered by zappa himself when he was undergoing cancer treatment (and so obviously he wasn't as anal about things as he normally was [understandably so]) which was why the original CDs were so bad.

i had heard that the remasters were better, and that the vinyl version is the best of all. but i haven't had the time to search out either ;__;

I was one of the votes for You Are What You Is - that's the record that really got me into him. In the early 80s the Mothers stuff was very hard to find, unless you could shell out for the box set direct from Barking Pumpkin. Dumb & Ugly shattered my fragile eggshell mind. And unlike the other classic rock era guys, showed him to still be just as sharp and biting. When I finally could get the first three, they didn't strike me as any sharper. Foxhole!

On a side note ... does Negativland have a flavor of Zappa for anyone else? Even with the obvious differences in instrumentation, Negativland reminds me more of Zappa than any other group.

Dumb & Ugly shattered my fragile eggshell mind.

Do you mean "Dumb All Over?"

Yeah, YAWYI is definitely a perfectionist sort of double album. The production is what cheesifies it a bit on my version. But, compared to Man From Utopia, Them Or Us and Ship Arriving Too Late, it's about the only 80s studio album that was up to the same standards of previous decades. Maybe more? There are some complex changes on that album and every song blends into the next. Would love to hear it performed live.

YAWYI also contains a classic example of the sort of Zappa humor that tends to go over people's heads, I think. Unless I am completely misreading it, Suicide Chump seques into Jumbo Go Away and, as you may have noticed, the album blends ideas of one song into the next. So, in Suicide Chump, you have a guy whining about nobody loving him and it ends with:

You're on the bridge;
Scared to leap,
But a girl walks over
To take a peep. . .
She says: "DON'T DO IT"
But wouldn't you know...
The girl got a head
Like a buffalo
With a little red hair
All over the top
An' her breath would make the
Traffic stop
She says "I LOVE YOU...
BUT FIRST, LET'S EAT"
And all you can say as you run down the street is...

Jumbo Go Away...

So, it's not like Frank is just making fun of fat people. He's singing from the point of view of this suicide chump asshole whiner. The same attention-seeking little baby he's repeatedly encouraged to kill himself in the chorus. :-) Funny!

Too bad about "Jumbo Go Away" itself tho. Truly ugly and not in a good way.

well, think of it coming from ashallow suicide chump who wants to be loved but is himself a hater

yeah i don't really like the song, either

Do you mean "Dumb All Over?"

I do. Haven't actually listened in years. Wonder if the cheesified production would still bother me, or if it has taken on a patina.

seques

Bizarre typo. It's like acciden+ally using a + instead of a t because they sort of look the same.

Now and forever: Joe's Garage Act I.

So, it's not like Frank is just making fun of fat people. He's singing from the point of view of this suicide chump asshole whiner. The same attention-seeking little baby he's repeatedly encouraged to kill himself in the chorus. :-) Funny!

yeah -- it kind of went over MY head the first few times, too. the song is lyrically almost proto-eminem in a way (an explanation that could work for a few of mr. zappa's other songs with questionable/offensive lyrics).

one-size fits all is the best

one of the best prog albums of the 70s, inca roads and andy are masterpieces