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Revisiting Old Albums

My old friend willed me his 60s, 70s, 80s albums. They are in very good condition. Some have the "Last" coating.

I nor he were big Zappa fans. Just listened to his radio play songs in a rare moment.

So FZ's Apostrophie ( see what I did there, lol) is in the collection. For old time sake I gave it a spin. Now I have a very respectable Mid Fi system. Brings out the best or worst of recordings. This was 1st time I heard this lp on a good system and I was like wow, this is a good recording. I got a whole new appreciation for Zappa. Great rock guitar riffs fused with crazy jazz along with twisted and or funny lyrics. 

This was a gem in the collection though. Alot of the recordings from that era are just ok at best. Seems to be hit or miss. No particular band or label that stand out. A few other goodies are ZZ Tops El Loco, Billy Joel The Stranger, Phil Collins Face Value.

Sadly the whole Zepplin collection not so good, Asia Asia, Eric Clapton Layla, Utopia Utopia are terrible recordings. Maybe there are some MoFi versions out there that give these great songs new life.

 

bikefi10
nogaps
171 posts
 

I think you'll find Zappa is a woefully underappreciated artist. He did a lot of..unusual stuff earlier in his career, which is why many people wrote him off, but his albums in the late 60s & 70s were extremely good composition-wise and his recording quality was excellent.  Apostrophe was a very commercial album..it actually made it on the charts, but far from the really good stuff.

Try out 

One Size Fits All

Bongo Fury

Hot Rats

Joe's Garage Acts I, II, III

Zoot Allures

Chunga's Revenge

I saw him five times. He died at age 52, prostrate cancer. He was very angry about his life getting cut short as he had so much work planned that he couldn't get to.

A friend saw his son in a concert years ago.."Zappa Plays Zappa" I think it was..said it was like hearing Frank on stage again. 

 

slaw's avatar
slaw
26,608 posts
 

I sour'd on the Hoffman forums years ago.

larsman's avatar
larsman
3,169 posts
 

@nogaps - Yeah, I've seen Dweezil Zappa a few times; I like his guitar playing even more than his dad's; he doesn't rely on wah-wah as much, and he learned from people like Steve Vai as well as from FZ. 

My favorite FZ period was very early on Verve Records - 'Freak Out', 'Absolutely Free', and 'We're Only In It For The Money' in particular. 

If I like the music, I don't worry so much about the sound quality; I used to hear most of it on a lot worse gear than I've got now and enjoyed it no less. 

curiousjim's avatar
curiousjim
6,033 posts
 

@slaw 

I did to. A lot of words to say nothing.

I sour'd on the Hoffman forums years ago.

 

stuartk
4,031 posts
 

I suggested the S. Hoffman forums merely as a place to find out about various pressings and masterings one might consider looking into. I don’t expect anyone’s personal recommendation regarding anything esthetic will necessarily please me, whether S.Hoffman, A’gon or any other forum or individual. 

 

 

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