''Congress Shall Make No Law...'' is an album by

Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American musician, composer, and bandleader. His work is characterized by wikt:nonconformity, nonconformity, Free improvisation, free-form improvisation, sound experimen ...

, released posthumously in 2010 by the Zappa Family Trust on Zappa Records. It contains a full recording of Zappa's September 19, 1985, testimony before the

United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation The United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation is a standing committee of the United States Senate. Besides having broad jurisdiction over all matters concerning interstate commerce, science and technology policy, a ...

, during which he spoke in support of the recording industry and against

censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...

. In his testimony, Zappa criticized the Parents Music Resource Center, formed in 1985 with the stated goal of increasing parental control over the access of children to recordings deemed to have violent, drug-related or sexual themes by labeling them with Parental Advisory stickers. The album's release commemorates the 25th anniversary of the hearings. The album's title refers to the

First Amendment to the United States Constitution The First Amendment (Amendment I) to the United States Constitution prevents the government from making laws that regulate an establishment of religion, or that prohibit the free exercise of religion, or abridge the freedom of speech, the ...

, which states,

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances."

In a press release,

Gail Zappa Adelaide Gail Zappa ( Sloatman; January 1, 1945 – October 7, 2015) was the wife of musician and composer Frank Zappa and the trustee of the Zappa Family Trust. They met in Los Angeles in 1966 and married while she was pregnant with their first ...

said of the album,

"'Congress Shall Make No Law...' is released as an educational project, representing Zappa's tireless commitment to the First Amendment which he felt his duty to protect by providing (in his words) "stimulating digital audio entertainment" in the form of "material which a truly free society would neither fear nor suppress."

''Congress Shall Make No Law...'' also includes Zappa testimony before the

Maryland State Legislature The Maryland General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland that convenes within the State House in Annapolis. It is a bicameral body: the upper chamber, the Maryland Senate, has 47 representatives and the lower chamber ...

the following year, as well as various quotes and interview excerpts on the subject of

and an alternate version of the song "Reagan at Bitburg", one of the last pieces Zappa finished before his death in 1993. The first official version of the track was included on the 1994 album, '' Civilization Phaze III''. Many of the tracks are named after the

Ten Commandments The Ten Commandments (Biblical Hebrew עשרת הדברים \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדְּבָרִים, ''aséret ha-dvarím'', lit. The Decalogue, The Ten Words, cf. Mishnaic Hebrew עשרת הדיברות \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדִּבְ� ...

, each corresponding to the particular topic of Zappa's opinion.

Track listing

References

External links

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''Congress Shall Make No Law...'' album
at Discogs.com {{Authority control 2010 compilation albums Frank Zappa compilation albums Compilation albums published posthumously Zappa Records albums Articles containing video clips Spoken word albums by American artists Live spoken word albums 2010s spoken word albums