For Zappa Fans: What's Your Favorite Zappa Album?

[Bryan Bierman]

I'd like to know this. It's like "Who's your favorite Beatle", you can tell so much about somebody. I think. I'll write mine when I figure out which one it is.

[Vince Capece]

I only own two, so I don't think I can be much of a reference.

I received "Ship Arriving Too Late to Save a Drowning Witch" back when "Valley Girl" was popular. I can't say that I was ever really intrigued by the album, aside from the novelty aspect of it. But over the years, Frank Zappa himself has become more appealing to me as a person and as a musician. The fact that he has been so influential and has sold so (relatively) few records says somethign special about him.

The other record was introduced to me by a friend. He had this tape in his car one day and insisted that I listen to it. It quickly became a favorite of mine, until I realized it was a multi-tape set and he was missing the rest. After much searching, I finally got the whole set of "Joe's Garage." It's a classic that should be enjoyed by everyone.

[jim carnes]

i don't know that i have a fav. album, but my fav. song is "black napkins" j

[Chris Sommovigo]

We're Only In It For The Money ... FZ and the Mothers of Invention

Nonstop hilarity

[Bryan Bierman]

Yeah, I'd have to agree with you. That and Beefheart's Trout Mask Replica changed my idea of music.

[Hunter Bush]

The first Zappa album I ever heard was Absolutely Free, so that holds a special place in my heart. I listened to it a few times a week, sometimes twice a day, for a year.
Then someone loaned me Joe's Garage which was awesome.
But now, as you know Bierman, I've been listening to Hot Rats a lot and thoroughly enjoying that.
Luckily there are a lot more Zappa albums out there for me to find.

[Alexander]

We're only in It for the Money was my intro to Zappa, but Burnt Weenie Sandwich is probably my favorite. It took me a few listens to get into the do-wop bookends that start and close the LP, but the meat, i guess the burnt weenie in this case, is really really interesting stuff. One of the local dead heads told me it Zappa's "most Stravinsky-esque."

Hunter Bush said:

The first Zappa album I ever heard was Absolutely Free, so that holds a special place in my heart. I listened to it a few times a week, sometimes twice a day, for a year.
Then someone loaned me Joe's Garage which was awesome. But now, as you know Bierman, I've been listening to Hot Rats a lot and thoroughly enjoying that. Luckily there are a lot more Zappa albums out there for me to find.

[Chris Sommovigo]

I completely forgot and must absolutely amend my fav Zappa album. We're Only In It For The Money is still among my all time favorites, but digging through my CD stacks I came across my absolute all time favorite Zappa:

The Yellow Shark

It's a live performance of some of his works for Chamber Orchestra and spoken word, Ensemble Moderne being conducted by none other than the Maestro himself, and it really illustrates the magnitude of his stunning genius. Simultaneously entertaining and disturbing, and remains one of the best-recorded commercial issue CDs I own (I don't know if it was ever issued on LP, as I can't seem to find any references to an LP release).

[Larry Epke]

I own over 30 Zappa recordings - lps, cassettes, CD's, a couple of singles, even an obscure 8-Track (even though I no longer own any hardware on which to play it).

Faves are: Hot Rats, Freak Out, Mothers of Prevention and Weasels Ripped My Flesh. I tend to like the studio material better than the live stuff, which is often little more than lame comedy.

[Paul Luscusk]

I can't narrow it down to just one . The Grand Wazoo, Just Another Band From LA, ' , and Ruben & the Jets are favorites.Just another Band is so LA,if you grew up southern Caif in the 70's this was local stuff to you & it was recorded at UCLA,

[Paul Luscusk]

Hey Zappa Fans, www.stereophile.com has a new blog about Frank. Check it out

[Steve Nathan]

Tough choice, the entire Zappa catalog would be my favorite pick. I have several still here, such as "One Size Fits All" and "Shut Up And Play Yer Guitar". But all things considered I like "Roxy And Elsewhere" best. In fact, I just recently discovered a version of "Pygmy Twilite" by Gov't Mule on the "Live With A Little Help From Our Friends" special edition .... Classic.

It may have a good bit to do with the fact that I saw this band, with Captain Beefheart, live in 1975 .... of course they did "Hot Rats" as an encore. George Duke, Napolean Murphy Brock, Chester Thompson, Tom Fowler, Ian and Ruth Underwood .... they were just incredible.

"The Grand Wazoo" must surely be my favorite out of FZ's big band jazz albums, I have never grown tired of this one. I can't explain why I prefer this one to "Hot Rats", as much as I am supposed to know better. I was in high school band when this was released, and probably quite stoned the first time I heard it, no doubt at 3 in the morning at some party. I could just see the high school band trying to march to "Eat That Question" :-)

Great forum topic! That Zappa vinyl holds a special place in my history and my collection.

[The Record Lounge]

My fave Zappa lp with the Mothers is Freak Out, as time went on and I reached High School Joes Garage came out
and I played that so much I had to actually buy another copy.
After Sheik Yerbooty (which I like too) he kind of lost his luster for me, I think he put out Valley Girl then
some other things with the symphony and Shut Up and Play Yer Guitar and that was a great lp.
But there you have it my faves and least fave.