Let's hear it for another great Italian composer... Frank Zappa. FZ might well be the greatest avant garde composer of the latter 20th century, in terms of commercial appeal anyway. His earliest recordings (under The Mothers moniker) were a reaction to the music of the '50s and the culture of the '60s, though Zappa's experimental side always allowed for some strangeness. Paranoid whispers, snatches of conversations, seemingly normal songs (with tongue in cheek), scathing assessments of American culture and bizarre noise collages could often be found on the same Zappa record. At the close of the '60s, Zappa was branching out into increasingly complex jazz/rock that put his brilliant guitar work and compositional genius to better use. Among these recordings, Hot Rats, Burnt Weeny Sandwich and Weasels Ripped My Flesh stand out as career highlights. Beginning with Chunga's Revenge, however, Zappa and The Mothers (which now featured Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman) became something of a touring comedy troupe, shifting the emphasis to humorous performances heavy on the sexual innuendo. Like W.A. Mozart (another notey fella), sexuality seemingly drove Zappa's creativity (drugs and alchohol, however, did not). Through the remainder of the century (sorry, I'm running out of room here) Zappa's catalog was a mixture of live performances (featuring mostly new material), studio albums (often with live recordings mixed in) and bits of the larger project Lather released in drips and drabs. Unfortunately, it was Zappa's sense of humor that earned him radio play, which marginalized him to some as a novelty act. Yet if Frank Zappa challenged us to take his music seriously, its genius demands that we do.
| Date | ALBUMS / Singles |
|---|---|
| 1966 | Help I'm A Rock |
| 1996 July | FREAK OUT! |
| 1966 November | It Can't Happen Here |
| 1966 | Trouble Every Day |
| 1967 April | Big Leg Emma |
| 1967 May 26 | ABSOLUTELY FREE |
| 1967 December | Mother People |
| 1968 March | LUMPY GRAVY |
| 1968 September | WE'RE ONLY IN IT FOR THE MONEY |
| 1968 October | CRUISING WITH RUBEN & THE JETS |
| 1968 December | Deseri |
| 1969 April | MOTHERMANIA: THE BEST OF THE MOTHERS |
| 1969 June | UNCLE MEAT |
| 1969 September | My Guitar |
| 1969 October 10 | HOT RATS |
| 1970 January | Peaches En Regalia |
| 1970 February | BURNT WEENY SANDWICH |
| 1970 March | WPLJ |
| 1970 August | WEASELS RIPPED MY FLESH |
| 1970 October 23 | CHUNGA'S REVENGE |
| 1970 November | Tell Me You Love Me |
| 1971 August | FILLMORE EAST, JUNE 1971 |
| 1971 August | Tears Began To Fall |
| 1971 October | 200 MOTELS |
| 1971 October | Magic Fingers |
| 1971 November | What Will This Evening Bring Me This Morning? |
| 1971 | WORST OF THE MOTHERS |
| 1972 April | JUST ANOTHER BAND FROM L.A. |
| 1972 July 5 | WAKA/JAWAKA |
| 1972 December | THE GRAND WAZOO |
| 1972 December | Cletus Awreetus-Awrightus |
| 1973 January | OVERNITE SENSATION |
| 1973 February | I'm The Slime |
| 1974 March | APOSTROPHE (') |
| 1974 August | Don't Eat The Yellow Snow |
| 1974 August | Cosmik Debris |
| 1974 September 10 | ROXY & ELSEWHERE |
| 1975 June 25 | ONE SIZE FITS ALL |
| 1975 September | Stink-Foot |
| 1975 | ZAPPA & THE MOTHERS: ROCK FLASHBACK |
| 1975 October 2 | BONGO FURY |
| 1976 October | Find Her Finer |
| 1976 October 29 | ZOOT ALLURES |
| 1976 December | Disco Boy |
| 1978 June | ZAPPA IN NEW YORK |
| 1978 September 15 | STUDIO TAN |
| 1979 January 19 | SLEEP DIRT |
| 1979 March 3 | SHEIK YERBOUTI |
| 1979 April | Dancin' Fool |
| 1979 May 4 | ORCHESTRAL FAVORITES |
| 1979 September | JOE'S GARAGE ACT I |
| 1980 January | Joe's Garage |
| 1980 January | JOE'S GARAGE ACT II & III |
| 1980 June | I Don't Want To Get Drafted |
| 1981 May 11 | RETURN OF THE SON OF SHUT UP 'N PLAY YER GUITAR |
| 1981 May 17 | TINSEL TOWN REBELLION |
| 1981 September | YOU ARE WHAT YOU IS |
| 1981 November | Goblin Girl |
| 1982 February | You Are What You Is |
| 1982 May | SHIP ARRIVING TOO LATE TO SAVE A DROWNING WITCH |
| 1982 July | Valley Girl |
| 1982 August | SHUT UP 'N PLAY YER GUITAR |
| 1982 September | Shut Up 'N Play Yer Guitar |
| 1983 | The Man From Utopia Meets Mary Lou (Medley) |
| 1983 June | THE MAN FROM UTOPIA |
| 1983 June 9 | LONDON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, VOL. 1 |
| 1983 March | BABY SNAKES |
| 1984 September | Baby Take Your Teeth Out |
| 1984 October | THEM OR US |
| 1984 | TRUE GLOVE (EP) |
| 1984 November | THING-FISH |
| 1984 November | FRANCESCO ZAPPA |
| 1984 | BOULEZ CONDUCTS ZAPPA: THE PERFECT STRANGER |
| 1985 | FRANK ZAPPA MEETS THE MOTHERS OF PREVENTION |
| 1986 February | DOES HUMOR BELONG IN MUSIC? |
| 1986 December | JAZZ FROM HELL |
| 1987 July | OLD MASTERS - BOX ONE |
| 1987 July | OLD MASTERS - BOX TWO |
| 1987 November | OLD MASTERS - BOX THREE |
| 1988 January | THE LONDON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, VOLUME II |
| 1988 April | Sexual Harrassment in the Workplace |
| 1988 April | GUITAR |
| 1988 April | YOU CAN'T DO THAT ON STAGE ANYMORE, VOL. 1 |
| 1988 May | Zomby Woof |
| 1988 May | Montana |
| 1988 October | YOU CAN'T DO THAT ON STAGE ANYMORE, VOL. 2 |
| 1988 December | BROADWAY THE HARD WAY |
| 1991 April | THE BEST BAND YOU NEVER HEARD IN YOUR LIFE |
| 1991 June | MAKE A JAZZ NOISE HERE |
| 1991 June | YOU CAN'T DO THAT ON STAGE ANYMORE, VOL. 3 |
| 1991 June 4 | AS AN AM ZAPPA |
| 1991 June 4 | FREAKS & MOTHERFUCKERS |
| 1991 June 4 | TIS THE SEASON TO BE JELLY |
| 1991 June 21 | YOU CAN'T DO THAT ON STAGE ANYMORE, VOL. 4 |
| 1991 July 16 | ANYWAY THE WIND BLOWS |
| 1991 July 16 | THE ARK |
| 1991 July 16 | UNMITIGATED AUDACITY |
| 1991 July 16 | SAARBRUCKEN 1978 |
| 1991 July 16 | PICANTIQUE - STOCKHOLM 1973 |
| 1991 September | L.S.D. VOLUME 1 |
| 1991 December 3 | INTERVIEW |
| 1991 | TRICK OR TREAT |
| 1992 October | PLAYGROUND PSYCHOTICS |
| 1992 October | YOU CAN'T DO THAT ON STAGE ANYMORE, VOL. 5 |
| 1992 October 23 | YOU CAN'T DO THAT ON STAGE ANYMORE, VOL. 6 |
| 1993 February | Stairway To Heaven |
| 1993 March 23 | AHEAD OF THEIR TIME |
| 1993 November 2 | THE YELLOW SHARK |
| 1994 | RARE MEAT |
| 1995 February | CIVILIZATION PHAZE III |
| 1995 May | MAGAZINE + CD |
| 1995 August 22 | STRICTLY COMMERCIAL |
| 1995 | CLEAN AMERICAN VERSION |
| 1996 February 26 | THE LOST EPISODES |
| 1997 November | PROPHETIC ATTITUDE |
| 1997 April 8 | HAVE I OFFENDED SOMEONE? |
| 1997 May 20 | STRICTLY GENTEEL |
| 1998 April 28 | CHEAP THRILLS |
| 1999 April 27 | SON OF CHEEP THRILLS |
| 2002 October 15 | ZAPPA PICKS BY JON FISHMAN OF PHISH |
| 2002 October 15 | ZAPPA PICKS BY LARRY LALONDE OF PRIMUS |
| 2003 January 14 | FOR COLLECTORS ONLY |
| 2003 February 4 | HALLOWEEN |
| 2004 September 14 | QUAUDIOPHILIAC |
| 2005 May 31 | THE CLASSIC INTERVIEWS |
SEE ALSO...
The Band From Utopia: A Tribute...
ARTHUR BARROW discography
ADRIAN BELEW discography
ROY ESTRADA discography
BRUCE FOWLER discography
TOM FOWLER discography
BUNK GARDNER discography
THE GRANDMOTHERS discography
MIKE KENEALLY discography
BILLY MUNDI discography
DON PRESTON discography
ART TRIPP discography
For more discographies visit...
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