Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Frank Zappa Buying Guide
    Frank Zappa Buying Guide
    Frank Zappa Buying Guide
    Ebook118 pages1 hour

    Frank Zappa Buying Guide

    By Rev. Keith A. Gordon

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    During his lifetime and a musical career that spanned five decades, Frank Zappa released almost 60 albums of rock, jazz-rock, and classical music. The Frank Zappa Buying Guide is an album by album guide to navigating the often daunting Zappa catalog, with cover photos for each album, as well as descriptions, band history, and much more.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRev. Keith A. Gordon
    Release dateMay 7, 2013
    ISBN9781301435692
    Frank Zappa Buying Guide
    Author

    Rev. Keith A. Gordon

    The "Reverend of Rock 'n' Roll," Rev. Keith A. Gordon has almost 50 years in the pop culture trenches. Gordon's work has appeared in over 100 publications worldwide, as well as in several All Music Guide books and on the AMG website, as well as Blurt magazine and the Rock and Roll Globe. Rev. Gordon is the author of nearly two-dozen music-related books including The Other Side of Nashville, a history of the city's rock 'n' roll underground; Blues Deluxe: A Joe Bonamassa Buying Guide; and The Rock 'n' Roll Archives series.

    Read more from Rev. Keith A. Gordon

    Related to Frank Zappa Buying Guide

    Related ebooks

    Music For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Play The Squire Way

      Jun 21, 2022

      Play The Squire Way
      6 min read

    • Article

      Spirit Of ’88

      Apr 28, 2021

      It’s amazing to think that the guitar isn’t Mike Keneally’s first instrument. He originally approached Zappa to audition for keyboards, but finding that role already filled he decided to go for the guitar position instead. Having proved to Frank that

      4 min read

    • Article

      Zappa Lives Again

      May 3, 2019

      Zappa Lives Again
      6 min read

    • Article

      The Motherlode

      Apr 28, 2021

      We'll leave the final words to the great man himself. This extract was taken from an exclusive interview Zappa did with Guitarist in March 1993 and offers some insight into his playing as well as some of the gear that passed through his hands during

      4 min read

    • Article

      And The Cradle Will Rock...

      Jul 13, 2021

      And The Cradle Will Rock...
      11 min read

    • Article

      Wild Things In Search Of Jimi’s Strats

      Oct 15, 2021

      Jimi Hendrix arrived in London from New York City in September 1966 with his new manager, Chas Chandler, the ex-bass player from The Animals. They soon put together Jimi’s new band, the Experience, with Mitch Mitchell on drums and Noel Redding on bas

      13 min read

    • Article

      We Got You Covered

      Aug 27, 2021

      Making the singer sound good is job #1. No one wants to hear the singer straining, or mumbling without reaching the powerful part of their range. It’s an art, though, because every key has its own flavour. Find a place where the song sounds right and

      2 min read

    • Article

      Kiss Off

      Nov 14, 2023

      When it comes down to it, all it takes for Paul Stanley to get his game on is a guitar plugged straight into an amp. “We have tried different things in the rig, as far as modular effects or overdrives,” explains T.J. Silljer, Stanley’s guitar tech on

      1 min read

    • Article

      My Pedalboard Steve Stevens

      Jun 14, 2022

      My Pedalboard Steve Stevens
      1 min read

    • Article

      ‘Beck Is Back’

      Mar 7, 2023

      ‘Beck Is Back’
      2 min read

    • Article

      Rush To Read

      Dec 7, 2021

      Rush To Read
      2 min read

    • Article

      Blues Power

      Oct 1, 2021

      Blues Power
      5 min read

    • Article

      Across The Great Divide

      Oct 22, 2021

      Across The Great Divide
      6 min read

    • Article

      Shine On

      Aug 24, 2021

      Shine On
      4 min read

    • Article

      The Whole TRUTH

      Mar 7, 2023

      IN JULY 29, 1968, Jeff Beck, along with a kick-around vocalist, a future Rolling Stone and a drummer with a lot of bash released Truth. The album was a miracle of fury and berserk beauty, a testament to the jaw-dropping chops of a 24-year-old guitari

      5 min read

    • Article

      Shut Up ’n Play Yer Guitar

      Jan 25, 2022

      Shut Up ’n Play Yer Guitar
      14 min read

    • Article

      Don Broco Amazing Things

      Oct 1, 2021

      Don Broco Amazing Things
      3 min read

    • Article

      Free All Right Now

      Nov 19, 2021

      Free All Right Now
      2 min read

    • Article

      Jethro Tull’s New Gene

      Mar 8, 2022

      Jethro Tull’s New Gene
      13 min read

    • Article

      Wigs, Rigs And Gigs

      Dec 27, 2022

      Wigs, Rigs And Gigs
      3 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Frank Zappa Buying Guide

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Frank Zappa Buying Guide - Rev. Keith A. Gordon

      FRANK ZAPPA BUYING GUIDE

      By the Rev. Keith A. Gordon

      Copyright 2013 Keith A. Gordon & Excitable Press

      (Smashwords Edition)

      Inside the Book

      An Introduction to Frank Zappa

      Brown Shoes Don’t Make It: Memories of Frank Zappa, 1940-1993

      Frank Zappa Discography:

      The Satirical ‘60s / The Successful ‘70s

      The Eclectic ‘80s

      Live From The Archive: The ‘90s

      Building the Legacy (Posthumous Years)

      Appendixes:

      The First: Zappa In Print

      The Second: Going Underground (Boots)

      The Third: Zappa Report Card (The A’s)

      Acknowledgments & Stuff

      Smashwords Edition, License Notes

      This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard workof this author.

      * * * * *

      An Introduction to Frank Zappa

      Few rock 'n' roll musicians have produced a body of work as prolific, as diverse, or as controversial as Mr. Frank Vincent Zappa. The late musician, bandleader, and composer released close to 60 albums during his lengthy career, which spanned from the late 1950s until his death in 1993 from cancer. Both with his first band, the Mothers of Invention, and as a solo artist, Zappa expanded the borders and possibilities of rock 'n' roll by incorporating elements of soul, blues, jazz, and classical music into his sound. He was a Top 40 hitmaker (on occasion) as well as an avant-garde composer, a skilled but underrated guitarist, and a talented musician who frequently confused the hell out of critics with his stylistic swerves and obsessions.

      Let's be honest, though, shall we? Frank Zappa was also frequently a real prick, an overbearing bandleader that often undervalued the contributions of his bandmates and, later, the musicians he hired to bring his musical visions to life (and records). He was contentious and litigious, suing every label he had ever made a deal with (although most often not without cause), and he was embroiled with lawsuits throughout his career with promoters and former band members as well, winning as often as he lost. He was a workaholic, a perfectionist, and an incredible visionary from which music seemed to pour out of constantly. Zappa was also the closest that rock music ever came to producing a bona-fide genius…

      We're not trying to tell the complete story of Zappa's storied career with The Frank Zappa Buying Guide – there are plenty of books available that do a much better job of that than we ever could (see our first appendix). With the 2012 restoration and reissuing of almost the entire Zappa catalog, we're merely trying to give the new and casual fan some guidance on what is a wealthy catalog of often great music. Along with the album-by-album descriptions and grading, we have also included Brown Shoes Don't Make It, a career outline and obituary penned by the Reverend at the time of Zappa's death. We hope that you enjoy this stroll down memory lane as much as we enjoyed creating it. Your comments are welcome by email to reverendk@mondogordo.com.

      tmp_0307a71fdd14c60f53a73a664a2902eb_sHlmGN_html_m4cf3c515.jpg

      Brown Shoes Don't Make It: Memories of Frank Zappa, 1940-1993

      It's just much easier to turn prophets into jesters. If they empowered him, they'd have a real threat on their hands. – Actress Beverly D'Angelo on Frank Zappa

      The death of Frank Zappa in 1993 was more than just the loss of a great rock musician. During the last decade of his life, Zappa had become a larger-than-life cultural icon, an internationally-respected composer, and an indefatigable and articulate spokesman for all of us who dared to be, well...different. He was a social critic without peer, an effective and dangerous satirist, a champion for artistic integrity in an era of vacuity, and a defender of free speech and the freedom of expression. His was a lone voice of reason that spoke loudly above the din, and he remains sorely missed today.

      I was first introduced to the genius that was Frank Zappa when an older friend played Freak Out, the ground-breaking debut album from Zappa's Mothers of Invention, for me shortly after its 1966 release. Although I was too young to understand, or appreciate, the subtle and not-so-subtle flourishes to be found within the grooves of that masterpiece, it clung to me like a mind-altering virus until I was fully capable of intellectually delving into it.

      By this time, circa 1971 or so, Zappa and the Mothers had a significant back catalog of material for me to feast on. Another older friend offered to sell me his Zappa collection, at a bargain basement price of $3 per disc, and I gladly skipped lunch each day for nearly two months in order to take them off his hands (not that missing what they dubiously called food in the Franklin High School cafeteria

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1