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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
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. 

 

 

aggie88
37 posts
 

Waka / Jawaka is a good sounding Zappa  record.  

Tim from University of Vinyl on YouTube does a good job of delving into finding the best pressings of classic titles on vinyl.

bikefi10 OP
113 posts
 

I ll have to try streamed versions of Zappa. Unfortunately alot of streamed old music doesnt sound great either. I dont want to buy 50 year old albums that are most likely in fair condition at best, but Ill keep an eye out next time I go to a used record shop for a nice clean copy of one of the recommended lps.

As I mentioned, my old friends records were very well kept , but alot of so so quality recordings.

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