Here is the detailed/lengthy story of Frank Zappa’s Hendrix strat:
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I saw Dweezil on Halloween night in Asheville NC playing 33 Choice Cuts, outstanding concert.
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passed away 25 years ago today…
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Wow, 25 years, I can’t believe it . . . Died way too young. What would have been FZ’s 78th birthday is coming up on December 21st.
The latest Zappa-themed CD curated for Cordelia Records by the Idiot Bastard is a collection of cover versions of Zappa tunes with place names in their titles.
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It is too bad the 1991 “Beat the Boots” series is not available for streaming. There is some good stuff in that series, including this 2-CD set of Frank Zappa’s February 24, 1979 show at Paris’s Nouvel Hippodrome.
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This 2-CD souvenir of the 1988 Frank Zappa big band tour is called “The Best Band You Never Heard in Your Life” because the band imploded and the tour ceased only four months into its planned worldwide itinerary. I was lucky enough to see the 1988 tour in New York City in February (2x) and Burlington, Vermont in March before the June implosion in Italy.
And this is really great, too:
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"She had a snake for a pet
And an amulet
And she was breeding a dwarf
But she wasn’t done yet
She had grey-green skin
And a doll with a pin
I told her she was alright
But I couldn’t come in…"
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Just don’t try to do this with your Camarillo Brillo… 
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@bootzilla
I am not very familiar with Frank Zappa. I am more the age of his younger kids(early 40’s). What are a couple of albums I should start my listening journey.
Hi @twolf and thanks for the post. Such a difficult question, as Frank had a very long and prolific recording career, and a dizzying number of official albums are still in print. This is a good overview:
http://anthonyweis.com/the-complete-listeners-guide-frank-zappa-101/
I generally agree with the author’s “recommended listening list on getting started into Zappa’s vast catalogue” (except the part about skipping the first track on Studio Tan and his omission in #8 of We’re Only In It for the Money):
- Apostrophe (‘) – The best one disc entry point to his work, containing much of what he does best.
- Over-Nite Sensation – The single best representation of his warped rock songs chalked full of amazing compositional and arranging skills and great rock grooves.
- Hot Rats – His single best instrumental album and the finest Jazz/Rock Fusion album of all time.
- Burnt Weeny Sandwich OR The Grand Wazoo – Two worthy discs to get a deeper look into his great instrumental work.
- Roxy & Elsewhere – A great showcase of what a live performance would have been like.
- One Size Fits All – Voted as the fan favorite album, full of classic Zappa tracks and moments.
- Joe’s Garage Acts I-III OR Sheik Yerbouti – Better than average late-era rock songs.
- Freak Out! OR Absolutely Free – A look at his whip sharp whit cutting through the Hippie/Flower Power rhetoric.
- Studio Tan – Skip the first 20+ minute track and check out his late era instrumentals.
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Thank you for the response. Just started to listening to Apostrphe. looking forward to it!
Also it was the large numbers of albums that made me ask. It was a bit overwhelming.
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“Studio Tan - skip the first 20+ minute track?” - isn’t that Greggery Peccary? Ouch…mandatory listening IMO.
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Right you are, which is why I wrote that I agree with the list …
Still, I would not recommend that someone brand new to Zappa start with “The Adventures of Greggery Peccary.” A jolt like that could scar someone for life!
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Yes! This recommendation is simply a sacrilege!
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How about ‘Läther’ for a starter? Contains (more or less) everything that makes his oeuvre so unique, from ‘Titties & Beer’ to contemporary orchestral, and ‘Filthy Habits’, one of his great guitar solos. And ‘Greggary’ is also there…
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Good call on Läther, which includes a lot of material that appeared on the outstanding Zappa in New York.
… And speaking of Zappa in New York, a 5-CD deluxe edition is on the way:
https://www.jambase.com/article/frank-zappa-zappa-in-new-york-deluxe-edition