Frank Zappa

Frank Zappa – Absolutely Free (2012/2021)
FLAC (tracks) 24-bit/192 kHz | Time – 43:32 minutes | 1,78 GB | Genre: Rock
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Digital Booklet, Front Cover | © Frank Zappa Catalog

Absolutely Free is the second studio album by American rock band the Mothers of Invention, released on May 26, 1967 by Verve Records. Much like their 1966 debut Freak Out!, the album is a display of complex musical composition with political and social satire. The band had been augmented since Freak Out! by the addition of woodwinds player Bunk Gardner, keyboardist Don Preston, rhythm guitarist Jim Fielder, and drummer Billy Mundi; Fielder quit the group before the album was released, and his name was removed from the album credits.

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Frank Zappa – Sheik Yerbouti (1979/2021)
FLAC (tracks) 24-bit/192 kHz | Time – 01:11:45 minutes | 3,48 GB | Genre: Rock
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Digital Booklet, Front Cover | © Zappa Records

Sheik Yerbouti is a double album by Frank Zappa, first released in March 1979 as the first release on Zappa Records (distributed by Phonogram Inc.). It was later released on one CD. It is mostly made up of live material recorded in 1977 and 1978, with later overdubs in the studio.

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Frank Zappa – Just Another Band From L.A (1972/2021)
FLAC (tracks) 24-bit/192 kHz | Time – 45:17 minutes | 2,24 GB | Genre: Rock
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Digital Booklet, Front Cover | © Frank Zappa Catalog

Just Another Band From L.A. was recorded live at the Pauley Pavillion, UCLA (Los Angeles), on August 7, 1971. Released in early 1972, it is the last album to document the Mothers of Invention lineup that included singers Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan (aka Flo & Eddie). (The other bandmembers on this particular recording are: Ian Underwood, Aynsley Dunbar, Don Preston, and Jim Pons.) A previous LP, Fillmore East, June 1971, focused on material related to life on the road that had to be dropped from the movie and album 200 Motels. This second live record presents different material, plus two old favorites completely rearranged for this version of the band: “Call Any Vegetable” and “Dog Breath.” Side one of the LP was entirely comprised of “Billy the Mountain,” a continuous 25-minute story-song. The piece, filled with silly (some would say childish) stage antics and simple rock riffs, foretells “The Adventures of Greggary Peccary” and follows a logic similar to the “Sofa” suite. But the inclusion in its plot of dozens of very space-and-time-specific references (to towns, TV personalities, government officials, and businesses) made it age very quickly. Fans of the Flo & Eddie period will love the improvised storyline developments. Others should approach with caution, even though this one has much better sound quality than Fillmore East, June 1971.

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Frank Zappa – Joe’s Garage Acts I, II & III (1979/2021)
FLAC (tracks) 24-bit/192 kHz | Time – 01:55:15 minutes | 4,96 GB | Genre: Rock
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Digital Booklet, Front Cover | © Zappa Records

Joe’s Garage is a three-part rock opera recorded by American musician Frank Zappa in September and November 1979. Originally released as two separate studio albums on Zappa Records, the project was later remastered and reissued as a triple album box set, Joe’s Garage, Acts I, II & III, in 1987. The story is told by a character identified as the “Central Scrutinizer” narrating the story of Joe, an average adolescent male, from Canoga Park, Los Angeles, who forms a garage rock band, has unsatisfying relationships with women, gives all of his money to a government-assisted and insincere religion, explores sexual activities with appliances, and is imprisoned. After being released from prison into a dystopian society in which music itself has been criminalized, he lapses into insanity.

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Frank Zappa – Hot Rats (1969/2021)
FLAC (tracks) 24-bit/192 kHz | Time – 43:17 minutes | 1,78 GB | Genre: Rock
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Digital Booklet, Front Cover | © Frank Zappa Catalog

Aside from the experimental side project Lumpy Gravy, Hot Rats was the first album Frank Zappa recorded as a solo artist sans the Mothers, though he continued to employ previous musical collaborators, most notably multi-instrumentalist Ian Underwood. Other than another side project – the doo wop tribute Cruising With Ruben and the Jets – Hot Rats was also the first time Zappa focused his efforts in one general area, namely jazz-rock. The result is a classic of the genre. Hot Rats’ genius lies in the way it fuses the compositional sophistication of jazz with rock’s down-and-dirty attitude – there’s a real looseness and grit to the three lengthy jams, and a surprising, wry elegance to the three shorter, tightly arranged numbers (particularly the sumptuous “Peaches en Regalia”). Perhaps the biggest revelation isn’t the straightforward presentation, or the intricately shifting instrumental voices in Zappa’s arrangements – it’s his own virtuosity on the electric guitar, recorded during extended improvisational workouts for the first time here. His wonderfully scuzzy, distorted tone is an especially good fit on “Willie the Pimp,” with its greasy blues riffs and guest vocalist Captain Beefheart’s Howlin’ Wolf theatrics. Elsewhere, his skill as a melodist was in full flower, whether dominating an entire piece or providing a memorable theme as a jumping-off point. In addition to Underwood, the backing band featured contributions from Jean-Luc Ponty, Lowell George, and Don “Sugarcane” Harris, among others; still, Zappa is unquestionably the star of the show. Hot Rats still sizzles; few albums originating on the rock side of jazz-rock fusion flowed so freely between both sides of the equation, or achieved such unwavering excitement and energy

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Frank Zappa – Halloween 81 (2020/2021)
FLAC (tracks) 24-bit/96 kHz | Time – 06:56:53 minutes | 9,29 GB | Genre: Rock
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Digital Booklet, Front Cover | © Frank Zappa Catalog

Los Angeles – August 14, 2020 – By 1981, Frank Zappa’s Halloween shows in New York were already legendary – a rock and roll bacchanalia of jaw-dropping musicianship, costume-clad revelry, spontaneous theatrical hijinks and of course a heavy dose of Zappa’s signature virtuosic guitar workouts. Eagerly anticipated every year, fans never knew exactly what was in store but knew it would be of epic proportions and one-of-a-kind experience that only Zappa and his skilled group of musicians could provide. When Zappa returned to The Palladium in NYC in 1981 for a five-show four-night run from October 29 to November 1, the nearly-annual tradition was even more anticipated than usual as the 1980 concerts were cut short due to Zappa falling ill. Curiously there was no fall tour the previous year and thus no Halloween shows.

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Frank Zappa – Halloween 77 (Live at Palladium, New York City, NY) (2017)
FLAC (tracks) 24-bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 15:45:06 minutes | 10,9 GB | Genre: Rock
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Digital Booklet, Front Cover | © Frank Zappa Catalog

Each year, fans of Frank Zappa didn’t celebrate Halloween like any other Americans. No. Before passing away at only 52 on December 4, 1993, their idol had developed the habit of offering relentless marathon concerts. First scheduled in Passaic, New Jersey then in Chicago, they took place in New York starting from 1974. From 28th to 31st October, 1977, in the Palladium hall, Zappa and his wacky band gave six concerts that have made history. Everything has of course be recorded and four of these shows have even been filmed (Baby Snakes). To celebrate the fortieth birthday of this great event unlike any other, the entirety of this party has finally been published. 158 remastered tracks, and more than 15 hours of music! Alongside Zappa, the faithful Terry Bozzio (drums), Tommy Mars and Peter Wolf (keyboards), Adrian Belew (guitar), Ed Mann (percussion) and Patrick O’Hearn (bass) are there to cover an almost eleven-year career and dig in albums as emblematic as Hot Rats, Over-Nite Sensation, Bongo Fury, One Size Fits All or even Zoot Allures.

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