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(1996) Zappa Frank - The Lost Episodes
Review:
A 30-track compilation of rarities, spanning much of his career, but in the main confined to the 1960s and early '70s (some date from as early as the late '50s!). Much of it's previously unreleased, or extremely hard to locate. It's not just a collection of fan-oriented odds and ends, though. The material, for one thing, is extremely diverse, ranging from collaborations with Captain Beefheart and primitive teenage garage recordings to comic dialog to progressive instrumentals and orchestral pieces. The pre-Freak Out stuff in particular is revelatory, in the sense that it finds Zappa's sophisticated compositional and arrangement skills in full bloom years before he made his proper debut. There's also good old rock and roll, in an early version of "Any Way the Wind Blows," and an early '60s take of "Fountain of Love" with explosive fuzz bass. The cuts range in duration from 11 seconds to 11 minutes, often connected by amusing bits of spoken patter or nifty instrumental links. The effect is somewhat like Uncle Meat or Lumpy Gravy, meaning that those who appreciate that period of Zappa's evolution will find an immediate affinity with this anthology.
Track Listing:
01. The Blackouts
02. Lost In A Whirlpool (Van Vliet/FZ)
03. Ronnie Sings?
04. Kenny's Booger Story
05. Ronnie's Booger Story
06. Mount St. Mary's Concert Excerpt
07. Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance
08. Tiger Roach (Van Vliet/FZ)
09. Run Home Slow Theme
10. Fountain Of Love (FZ/Collins)
11. Run Home Cues, #2
12. Any Way The Wind Blows
13. Run Home Cues, #3
14. Charva
15. The Dick Kunc Story
16. Wedding Dress Song (Trad., arr. by FZ)
17. Handsome Cabin Boy (Trad., arr. by FZ)
18. Cops & Buns
19. The Big Squeeze
20. I'm A Band Leader
21. Alley Cat (Van Vliet/FZ)
22. The Grand Wazoo
23. Wonderful Wino (FZ/Simmons)
24. Kung Fu
25. RDNZL
26. Basement Music #1
27. Inca Roads
28. Lil' Clanton Shuffle
29. I Don't Wanna Get Drafted
30. Sharleena
Media Report:
Genre: Progressive & Art-Rock
Format: FLAC
Format/Info: Free Lossless Audio Codec, 16-bit PCM
Bit rate mode: Variable
Channel(s): 2 channels
Sampling rate: 44.1 KHz
Bit depth: 16 bits |
