This page is my tribute to Frank Zappa. It contains only my personal opinions. If you find factual information here, don't blame me, I probably didn't mean it.
I appologize for the fact that there's so much fairly new stuff right now. Or at least there isn't enough older stuff just yet. But, I'm working on it. I just have newer stuff in my head right now, so that's what I write about.
I don't have that much biographical information right now about Frank Zappa. All I really know is that I've been listening to his music for about four years now. So I'm just going to jump in and tell you what I think about Frank Zappa and his work.
It is my personal opinion that Frank Zappa is one of the few musical geniuses who lived during my time. Now, I know that a lot of people will disagree with me on that point. However, I think that his music is the type of music that you have listen to very carefully in order to grasp what's actually going on. In my experience most people don't take the time to do this.
There are a lot of things that Frank Zappa says through his music which are easily overlooked. My favorite album is Joe's Garage. I can't count the number of times that I've listened to that album, yet each time I pick up on something that I missed all of the other times.
Alright, well I'm starting to work on beefing up my collection of older stuff. My second favorite album ( at least most of the time ), is Overnight Sensation. It has a few "classic" Zappa songs, and it's a generally great album.
I actually have to admit that I myself took a long time to get into Zappa's music. I had a friend in high school who was really into Zappa and was always trying to sell people on his albums. I remember borrowing one of the albums. Actually, it was Joe's Garage that I borrowed. I thought some of the songs were kind of funny. Catholic Girls and Token Of My Extreme, to name a couple.
But, I didn't really see the point. And I thought it was mostly pretty crass. I also didn't appreciate much of the music. But then I picked up the album again a few months later and really listened to it. I started to see what he was saying about censorship and some of the ridiculous things that go on in this country. I began to also appreciate what he was doing musically.
[ Imagine The Cover To Zappa's Universe ] Zappa's Universe
I have to admit, actually, to not liking most of the albums that I've tried to just listen to straight through without paying much attention to what was really going on on the album. I strongly believe that that is what makes the difference is really concentrating on the music. Some people don't seem to have the patience or desire to do this, which I think is a shame, but who can blame them? Why would you want to concentrate really hard on an album you thought was crass and obnoxious? Well, the only reason I did was because I had a friend pushing me to listen to it. I figured that there must be something good about this Frank Zappa guy. Otherwise, why would my friend be so into him?
Well, I have a lot of reason to thank him, because otherwise I may never have discovered this man whose music is now very prevelant in my collection.
Here's a list of the albums that I own but haven't written about yet:
Strictly Commercial
Broadway The Hard Way
You Are What You Is
You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore 2 and 3
The Best Band You Never Heard In Your Life
Sleep Dirt
FZ Meets The Mothers Of Prevention
Them Or Us
Shut Up And Play Yer Guitar
Zoot Allures
With all the people who've contributed their time to make their own pages, there's a lot of variety out there. If I didn't have what you wanted to see, then maybe you should look at what these guys have done....
( Man I've got to come up with a more creative name for my pages, these guys are putting me to shame ;> )
St. Alphonzo's Pancake Homepage Zappa discography, lots more album covers than I have, Interviews, Music, etc..., Check it out for yourself.
Vinsku's Discography Zappa Discography.
Online Utility Muffin Research Kitchen Online Interactive Zappa parlour game, Articles, Discography, links to other Zappa related sites, etc..
Another Personal Tribute To Zappa ( Still under construction )
Or, perhaps you'd like to see some other tributes at METAVERSE.COM
Frank Zappa Audiophile