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Frank Zappa Albums
This is a list of albums by Frank Zappa, including all those credited to the Mothers of Invention. During his lifetime, Zappa released 62 albums. Since 1994, the Zappa Family Trust has released 63 posthumous albums as of March 2023, making a total of 125 albums/album sets. In 2012 the distribution of Zappa's recorded output moved to Universal Music Enterprises. In June 2022 the Zappa Trust announced that it had sold Zappa's entire catalog to Universal Music, including master tapes, song copyrights and trademarks. A list of albums of Zappa's music by other artists is also included here. Official albums Posthumous official albums Miscellaneous Compilation albums Singles As sideman * The Penguins - "Memories of El Monte" (Original Sound, 1963) * Bob Guy - "Dear Jeepers", B-side "Letter from Jeepers" ( Del-Fi, 1963) * The Heartbreakers - "Every Time I See You", B-side "Cradle Rock" (Del-Fi, 1964) * Bobby Jameson - "Gotta Find My Roogalator", B-side "Reconsi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American musician, composer, and bandleader. His work is characterized by nonconformity, free-form improvisation, sound experiments, musical virtuosity and satire of American culture. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa composed rock, pop, jazz, jazz fusion, orchestral and '' musique concrète'' works, and produced almost all of the 60-plus albums that he released with his band the Mothers of Invention and as a solo artist. Zappa also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed album covers. He is considered one of the most innovative and stylistically diverse musicians of his generation. As a self-taught composer and performer, Zappa had diverse musical influences that led him to create music that was sometimes difficult to categorize. While in his teens, he acquired a taste for 20th-century classical modernism, African-American rhythm and blues, and doo-wop musi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Mothers Of Invention
The Mothers of Invention (also known as The Mothers) was an American rock band from California. Formed in 1964, their work is marked by the use of sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Originally an R&B band called the Soul Giants, the band's first lineup included Ray Collins, David Coronado, Ray Hunt, Roy Estrada, and Jimmy Carl Black. Frank Zappa was asked to take over as the guitarist following a fight between Collins and Coronado, the band's original saxophonist/leader. Zappa insisted that they perform his original material, and on Mother's Day in 1965, changed their name to the Mothers. Record executives demanded that the name be changed, and so "out of necessity," Zappa later said, "we became the Mothers of Invention." After early struggles, the Mothers earned substantial popular commercial success. The band first became popular playing in California's underground music scene in the late 1960s. With Zappa at the helm, it was signed t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
200 Motels (soundtrack)
The ''200 Motels'' soundtrack to Frank Zappa's film ''200 Motels'' was released by United Artists Records in 1971. Like the film, the album covers a loose storyline about The Mothers of Invention going crazy in the small town of Centerville and bassist Jeff quitting the group, as did his real life counterpart, Jeff Simmons, who left the group before the film began shooting and was replaced by actor Martin Lickert for the film. The album peaked at No. 59 on the ''Billboard'' 200, though reviewers deemed it a peripheral part of Zappa's catalog. Music and lyrics The rock and comedy songs "Mystery Roach", "Lonesome Cowboy Burt", "Daddy, Daddy, Daddy", "What Will This Evening Bring Me This Morning" and "Magic Fingers", and the finale "Strictly Genteel", which mixes orchestral and rock elements, were noted as highlights of the album by reviewer Richie Unterberger. François Couture, a reviewer for Allmusic, said that "Mystery Roach" contains multiple meanings, all of which have a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fillmore East – June 1971
''Fillmore East – June 1971'' is a live album by The Mothers, released in 1971. It is the twelfth album in Frank Zappa's discography, and was produced by Zappa and mixed by Toby Foster. History ''Fillmore East – June 1971'' is a live concept-like album. It portrays a peek-behind-the-curtain of the life of a rock band on the road as narrated by Frank Zappa, and contains many thematic elements that, because of time and budget constraints, couldn't be included in the similar movie '' 200 Motels''. The most famous part of the album is "The Mud Shark", a telling of a story told to Mother Don Preston by some members of Vanilla Fudge about a hotel, Seattle's Edgewater Inn, where guests could fish from their rooms. In the tale, a mud shark is caught by one of the members of Vanilla Fudge or its crew and, when combined with a groupie and a movie camera, depravity ensues. Although not stated in "The Mud Shark," this 1969 incident, now referred to as "the Shark episode," also involved ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chunga's Revenge
''Chunga's Revenge'' is the third solo album by Frank Zappa, released on October 23, 1970. Zappa's first effort of the 1970s marks the first appearance of former Turtles members Flo & Eddie on a Zappa record, and signals the dawn of a controversial epoch in Zappa's history. ''Chunga's Revenge'' represents a shift from both the satirical political commentary of his 1960s work with The Mothers of Invention, and the jazz fusion of '' Hot Rats''. Songs The material presented on ''Chunga's Revenge'' is eclectic: side one includes a guitar jam ("Transylvania Boogie"), a bluesy amble ("Road Ladies"), a jazz interlude ("Twenty Small Cigars") and an avant garde live improvisation ("The Nancy and Mary Music") drawn from "King Kong" from a July 1970 Mothers performance, released officially on Road Tapes, Venue 3. Several poppy numbers ("Tell Me You Love Me", "Would You Go All the Way?", "Rudy Wants to Buy Yez a Drink", "Sharleena") appear on the second side along with the improvisationa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Weasels Ripped My Flesh
''Weasels Ripped My Flesh'' is the seventh studio album by the American rock group the Mothers of Invention, and the tenth overall by Frank Zappa, released in 1970. It is the second album released after the Mothers disbanded in 1969, preceded by '' Burnt Weeny Sandwich''. In contrast to its predecessor, which almost entirely focused on studio recordings of arranged compositions, ''Weasels Ripped My Flesh'' consists of a combination of live and studio recordings and features more improvisation. Album information Whereas all but one of the pieces on ''Burnt Weeny Sandwich'' have a more planned feel captured by quality studio equipment, five tracks from ''Weasels Ripped My Flesh'' capture the Mothers on stage, where they employ frenetic and chaotic improvisation characteristic of avant-garde jazz and free jazz. This is particularly evident on "The Eric Dolphy Memorial Barbecue," a tribute to the multi-instrumentalist, who died in 1964 and is cited as a musical influence in the l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Burnt Weeny Sandwich
''Burnt Weeny Sandwich'' is the sixth studio album by the American rock band the Mothers of Invention, and the ninth overall by Frank Zappa, released in 1970. It consists of both studio recordings and live elements. In contrast to the next album ''Weasels Ripped My Flesh'', which is predominantly live and song-oriented, most of ''Burnt Weeny Sandwich'' focuses on studio recordings and tightly arranged compositions. The LP included a large triple-folded black and white poster ("The Mothers of Invention Sincerely Regret to Inform You") which has never been reproduced in any of the CD reissues (except the Japanese Ryko mini-lp sleeve editions). Title The album's unusual title, Zappa would later say in an interview, comes from an actual snack that he enjoyed eating, consisting of a burnt Hebrew National hot dog sandwiched between two pieces of bread with mustard. ''Burnt Weeny Sandwich'' and ''Weasels Ripped My Flesh'' were also reissued together on vinyl as ''2 Originals of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hot Rats
''Hot Rats'' is the second solo album by Frank Zappa, released in October 1969. It was Zappa's first recording project after the dissolution of the original version of the Mothers of Invention. Five of the six songs are instrumental; while "Willie the Pimp", features vocals by Captain Beefheart. In his original sleeve notes, Zappa described the album as "a movie for your ears". Zappa dedicated the album to his newborn son, Dweezil. In February 2009, Dweezil's tribute band to his father, Zappa Plays Zappa, won a Grammy for Best Rock Instrumental Performance for their rendition of "Peaches en Regalia". Background Because ''Hot Rats'' largely consists of instrumental jazz-influenced compositions with extensive soloing, the music sounds very different from earlier Zappa albums, which featured satirical vocal performances with extensive use of musique concrète and editing. Multi-instrumentalist Ian Underwood is the only member of the Mothers to appear on the album and was th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Uncle Meat
''Uncle Meat'' is the fifth studio album by the Mothers of Invention, released as a double album in 1969. ''Uncle Meat'' was originally developed as a part of ''No Commercial Potential'', a project which spawned three other albums sharing a conceptual connection: ''We're Only in It for the Money'', '' Lumpy Gravy'' and '' Cruising with Ruben & the Jets''. The album also served as a soundtrack album to a proposed science fiction film which would not be completed, though a direct-to-video film containing test footage from the project was released by Frank Zappa in 1987. The music is diverse in style, drawing from orchestral, jazz, blues and rock music. ''Uncle Meat'' was a commercial success upon release, and has been highly acclaimed for its innovative recording and editing techniques, including experiments in manipulation of tape speed and overdubbing, and its diverse sound. Background Frank Zappa, who had been interested in film since high school, decided to develop a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mothermania
''Mothermania'' (1969), subtitled ''The Best of the Mothers'', is a compilation album by the Mothers of Invention. While the songs were previously released on ''Freak Out!'', ''Absolutely Free'' and ''We're Only in It for the Money'', it contains unique mixes or edits made specifically for this compilation. Background After the Mothers of Invention's contract with MGM and Verve Records expired, Frank Zappa and Herb Cohen negotiated to form a semi-independent record label Bizarre Records, with Verve releasing three Bizarre releases with distribution by MGM: a new Mothers of Invention album, ''Cruising with Ruben & the Jets'', the compilation ''Mothermania'', and an album by Sandy Hurvitz, ''Sandy's Album is Here at Last''. ''Mothermania'' was prepared in order to recoup money which Verve felt it lost funding the Mothers of Invention albums ''Freak Out!'', ''Absolutely Free'' and ''We're Only in It for the Money''. Frank Zappa prepared the masters for the release, remixing and s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cruising With Ruben & The Jets
''Cruising with Ruben & the Jets'' is the fourth studio album by the Mothers of Invention, released under the alias Ruben and the Jets. Released on December 2, 1968 on Bizarre Records, Bizarre and Verve Records with distribution by MGM Records, it is a concept album, influenced by 1950s doo-wop and rock and roll. The album's concept deals with a fictitious Chicano doo-wop band called Ruben & the Jets, represented by the cover illustration by Cal Schenkel, which depicts the Mothers of Invention as anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic dogs. It was conceived as part of a project called ''No Commercial Potential'', which produced three other albums: ''Lumpy Gravy'', ''We're Only in It for the Money'' and ''Uncle Meat''. The album and its singles received some radio success, due to its doo-wop sound. Subsequently, the name Ruben and the Jets continued with a different lineup, led by musician Rubén Guevara Jr., who recorded the albums ''For Real! (Ruben and the Jets album), For Real!'' (19 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
We're Only In It For The Money
''We're Only in It for the Money'' is the third studio album by American rock band the Mothers of Invention, released on March 4, 1968, by Verve Records. As with the band's first two efforts, it is a concept album, and satirizes left- and right-wing politics, particularly the hippie subculture, as well as the Beatles' album '' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band''. It was conceived as part of a project called ''No Commercial Potential'', which produced three other albums: ''Lumpy Gravy'', '' Cruising with Ruben & the Jets'', and '' Uncle Meat''. ''We're Only in It for the Money'' encompasses rock, experimental music, and psychedelic rock, with orchestral segments deriving from the recording sessions for ''Lumpy Gravy'', which was previously issued as a solo instrumental album by Capitol Records and was subsequently reedited by frontman Frank Zappa and released by Verve; the reedited ''Lumpy Gravy'' was produced simultaneously with ''We're Only in It for the Money'' and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
