Frank Zappa Plays the Music of Frank Zappa: A Memorial Tribute
A compilation of both previously released and unreleased tracks is available by mail-order from Barfko-Swill.
ESSENTIAL FOR COMPLETISTS: YES [completist's guide]
- CD (UMRK 02, 1996)
- Japanese import (by Music Scene International)
This weird release contains exactly:
1. Black Napkins [live in Ljubjana, Yugoslavia, November 22 1975 - previously unreleased version]
2. Black Napkins [Zoot Allures album version]
3. Zoot Allures [live in Tokyo, February 5 1976 - previously unreleased version]
4. Merely a Blues in A [previously unreleased - live in Paris, September 27 1974]
5. Zoot Allures [Zoot Allures album version]
6. Watermelon in Easter Hay [live in January or February 1978 - previously unreleased version]
7. Watermelon in Easter Hay [slight variation on the Joe's Garage album version]
Now this is really picky, but you'd probably expect this sort of thing from Zappa fans. The studio version of "Watermelon" is slightly different from the version on "Joe's Garage". Right at the end of the song, a few seconds of live audio is dubbed into the mix, with Frank saying "Goodnight everybody".
Michael Pierry has this to say about the Zoot Allures tracks:
Let's just say the only reason I even like that album [Zoot Allures] is because of the vinyl. Hearing "Black Napkins" was an absolutely jaw-dropping experience. It lives in a much larger, more alive space than the CD mix, which unfortunately is the same mix one experiences on the Zoot Allures tracks on Frank Zappa Plays the Music of Frank Zappa. Everytime I hear the CD I find myself checking to see if there's cottonballs in my ears.
Japanese Edition
From Yakinezumi:
Recent releases of the UMRK label and the one from the Vaulternative label were actually sold by MSI in Japan. But I can't tell if they had an official license to sell it. Because most of the catalogs are sold by Imagica Videoarts Music nowadays, and the price of the CD are very expensive, and besides, Frank Zappa Plays the Music of Frank Zappa was sold only by mail order.
Frank Zappa Plays the Music of Frank Zappa includes Japanese translation by Shimamoto Noriyuki. No obi
,
though. It cost 5 000 Yen (about $42). Out of stock.To my speculation, MSI has no licenses and sell them as "import disc with Japanese booklet". It seems they tack on their profit to direct-import discs.