Looking for some Zappa. What's the "go-to" record in your opinion?

[UCLA02]

Any help would be appreciated.

[EnfantTerrible]

1. I always liked

The Mothers of Prevention. Gore is sampled on it even. The album is an answer to the PMRC and censorship.

[Gothic Sponge]

2. Joe's Garage and Fillmore East, June 1971.

[ET Awful]

14. I'll second the Fillmore 71 :)

It's worth it just for Mud Shark and Bwana Dick :)

[parasim]

3. Apostrophe is my favorite

or, if you want to hear Zappa's guitar brilliance, Shut Up and Play Yer Guitar is superb.

[mairceridwen]

4. suzy creamcheese

we're only in it for the money and freak out are good

[Wilber_Stool]

18. The real title for "suzy cream cheese" is

"Return of the Son of the Monster Magnet". I've been waiting for years to say that. And it is from "Freak Out".

[gmoney]

5. Strictly Commercial

It's a "greatest hits" disc that rounds up the most accessible stuff. Designed for beginners.

If you want to dive right in, try "Freak Out" or "Joe's Garage" or "Sheik Yerbouti" or if you're feeling brave, drag yourself into the conspiratorial strangeness of "Thing Fish"

[UCLA02]

8. Thanks, just looking to dip my toe in first. n/t

[gmoney]

12. Strictly Commercial has a lot of "novelty" stuff

I should temper my earlier recommendation by noting that this does have a lot of tracks like "Valley Girl" that can be seen as "novelty" songs, but then again, a huge amount of his stuff (at least the vocal tracks) are ironic/humorous/satiric so they're representative in a sense of that side of his music. Somie might argue that he's more about his guitar work and his classical stuff, but to my mind, that's largely for the hardcore.

[UCLA02]

6. Thanks to all replies.

I never really got into Zappa, but is there generally a consensus as to the gotta-have Zappa album? Like "Pet Sounds," "Exile on Main Street," "The Joshua Tree" or "Sgt. Pepper's" are for those respective bands?

[CanuckAmok]

10. Overnite Sensation

That's my fave.

I like Zappa, although I get tired of the constant toilet humour.

No need to flame me...we've had this conversation before!

[Barad Simith]

20. I second that recommendation

[Sporadicus]

7. 'We're Only in It for the Money'

http://globalia.net/donlope/fz/lyrics/We're_Only_In_It_For_The_Money.html

[SheWhoMustBeObeyed]

21. Yeah

First Mothers I ever heard. So many good cuts.

I also love the Fillmore album and Absolutely Free.

Gee my hair's getting good in the back

[CrownPrinceBandar]

9. Sheik Yerbouti...................n/t

[reprehensor]

17. Yup.

Fa la la.

[RandomKoolzip]

11. Go in at the deep end and get "Lather."

Either that or "Hot Rats."

[chenGOD]

13. "Hot Rats" or "Sheik Yerbouti"

Are pretty accessible Zappa records.

Try "Apostrophe" for some great fun....

[Zomby Woof]

15. Hot Rats

[miss_kitty]

16. i agree with 'Hot Rats'

i have been looking at this thread since last night and my immediate thought was "anything that has 'Peaches en Regalia'" and 'Hot Rats' does....

[HamstersFromHell]

19. My personal favorites....

Apostrophe: "Yellow Snow", "Cozmik Debris"

Shiek Yerbouti: "Bobby Brown", "Yo Momma", "Broken Hearts Are For Assholes", "Flakes" (Great rips of the "Boston" guitar sound as well as Bob Dylan)

Freak Out: "Help, I'm a Rock", "Return of the Son of the Monster Magnet"

Baby Snakes: "Baby Snakes", "Disco Boy", "Titties and Beer" (absolutely the best version of T&B with Bozzio and Zappa recorded live)

Hammies!

[bbernardini]

22. Anything with the 1988 band!

Broadway The Hard Way
The Best Band You Never Heard In Your Life
Make A Jazz Noise Here

These are the albums that introduced me to the wonder of both Frank Zappa and Mike Keneally.

[UCLA02]

23. Thanks for all the replies...

A friend is bringing me a few discs to sample tomorrow. Not sure which ones, but he insists I'll like them.

Thanks again!

[jmowreader]

24. Easy. "We're Only In It For The Money"

This is a takeoff on the Beatles' Sergeant Pepper album right down to the cover.

"Every town must have a place where phony hippies meet.
Psychedelic dungeons popping up on every street.
Move to San Francisco!"

I also love "Let's Make The Water Turn Black."

Once you get into Zappa, pick up two albums: Jazz From Hell (acoustic-sounding jazz recorded with a keyboard instrument called a Synclavier) and Shut Up 'n' Play Your Guitar.

Also get Frank Zappa Meets the Mothers of Prevention, a musique-concrete exploration of the PMRC hearings that Frank testified before.

[Zomby Woof]

25. One Size Fits All

Is also very cool.

Or "Overnite Sensation", the album which contains my namesake. :)