h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I am a huge Zappa fan, with at the last count something like 30 plus albums. There appears to be a great deal of rubbish printed about his discography; I have three that have come with various albums, all of which claim to be definitive, but all three of which list different albums, with most, but not all in common between the discrogrphys. On the net in various places, and from these album lists I have, it is suggested, varyingly that he has done; over 50, over 60 and over 90 albums; does anyone actually know how many he has released? Is it possible that some have been deleted from what is availible now, and hence the problem?
On another note; personally I think Zoot allures is one of the best albums, but there are so many to choose from, even in my meiger 30+ album collection, Freak out, Chungars revenge, apostrophy, toxy and elsewhere etc, etc, all spring to mind as other great pieces of work. It is noteworthy, that no body has ever, I think, in terms of modern music (as compaired to classical), matched Zappa's origionallity and musical ability, pitty, as there is only so much Zappa commercially availible. Right, thats me, so I will shut up and play my guitar, because it wants to kill your mama!!

I suppose it depends whether you count compilation albums, especially the numerous posthumous Rykodisc collections, but with some help from Record Collector magazine and the booklets from various FZ CDs, I shall now attempt, without the aid of a safety net, to compile a complete list of albums:

Freak Out!
Absolutely Free
We're Only In It For The Money
Lumpy Gravy
Cruising With Ruben And The Jets
Mothermania
Uncle Meat
Hot Rats
Burnt Weeny Sandwich
Weasels Ripped My Flesh
Chunga's Revenge
Filmore East - June 1971
Just Another Band From LA
Waka/Jawaka
The Grand Wazoo
Overnite Sensation
Apostrophe (')
Roxy And Elsewhere
200 Motels
One Size Fits All
Bongo Fury
Zoot Allures
Zappa In New York
Studio Tan
Sleep Dirt
Orchestral Favorites
Sheik Yerbouti
Joe's Garage
Tinseltown Rebellion
Shut Up 'n' Play Yer Guitar
You Are What You Is
Ship Arriving Too Late To Save A Drowning Witch
The Man From Utopia
Baby Snakes
Boulez Conducts Zappa, The Perfect Stranger
Them Or Us
Thing-Fish
Francesco Zappa
Frank Zappa Meets The Mothers Of Prevention
Does Humor Belong In Music?
Jazz From Hell
Guitar
You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore (Volumes 1 - 6)
Broadway The Hard Way
The Best Band You Never Heard In Your Life
Maje A Jazz Noise Here
Playground Psychotics
Ahead Of Their Time
The Yellow Shark
Strictly Commercial - The Best Of Frank Zappa
The Lost Episodes
Lather
Have I Offended Someone?
Strictly Genteel - A "Classical" Introduction To Frank Zappa
Cheap Thrills
Son Of Cheep Thrills

The total number also depends on whether you count "Joe's Garage" as one album or two, as act I was originally released seperately from acts II and III. Then there's "Shut Up 'n' Play Yer Guitar" which was originally three albums, but then combined into a box set, and do you count the two London Symphony Orchestra albums of Zappa compositions, and what about the "Beat The Boots" series of official releases of bootlegs, which accounts for another fifteen albums... Anyway, I'm sure I must have missed some, so if anyone can add any more to the list, feel free...

Without checking through all my Zappa albums, which is in itself rather awkward as all my old LP's are currently at my fathers house, Erm about 300 miles away, but one that springs to mind is wowie zowie, which I think was 1968 (the ark.) Which was a live album, I seem to remember! But I don't think you mentioned, unless it comes and goes by another name! Unfortunatly, my database of albums is wholely inaccurate and hasn't been modified for years, something I will get round too, eventually..

Thought of some more, which I checked out at a well known internet shopping site. They appear to be currently availible titles, but I'me not sure if they are just more compulations etc.; I'me pretty sure some sound like some kind of compulation things; Appologies if you did mention any of these above, but I failed to notice;
Prophetic Attitude; 1997.
Cucamonga; 1998
Lost Episodes; 1996.
Rare Meat: Early Works; 1994.
How Is Your Bird.
Ark
Freaks & Motherfu-----
Saarbrucken
Unmitigated Audacity

I'm pretty sure some of these are bootlegs, although they may have been released officially as part of FZ's "Beat The Boots" series. "Lost Episodes" is an official Ryko compilation, and I think "Cucamonga" is a semi-official compilation of early recordings that Zappa didn't have much to do with.

Please don't forget the culmination of all that went before - Civilsation Phase III.

Anyone wishing to sample Zappa could do worse than listen to Lather and Phases I , II and III (i.e. Lumpy Gravy, We're Only In It for the Money and Civilisation) either that or pick any 'You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore' volume.

There were 2 series of Beat the Boots, as follows:
Beat the Boots 1:
1. 'Tis The Season To Be Jelly (live 30/9/67)
2. The Ark (live 18/7/68)
3. Freaks & Motherfu*#@%! (live 11/5/70)
4. Piquantique (live 21/8/73)
5. Unmitigated Audacity (live 12/5/74)
6. Saarbrucken 1978 (2 LP, 1 CD) (live 3/9/78)
7. Anyway The Wind Blows (2 LP, 2 CD) (live 24/2/79)
8. As An Am (live 31/10/81 & 21/5/82)

Beat the Boots 2:
1. Electric Aunt Jermima (live ??/??/68)
2. Our Man In Nirvana (live 8/11/68)
3. Tengo Na Mincha Tanta (live ??/??/70)
4. Disconnected Synapses (live ??/??/70)
5. Swiss Cheese/Fire (2 LP, 2 CD) (live 4/12/71)
6. Conceptual Continuity (live 19/11/76)
7. At The Circus (live ??/9/78)

Hope this helps!

Cucamonga, Rare Meat: Early Works and also Frank Zappa: The Cucamonga Years are all semi-official compilations of early singles Zappa did with Ray Collins, Paul Buff and various other people in the early 60s before his work with the Mothers of Invention. He wrote and produced most of the material, and also often played most (or all) of the instruments, although he didn't sing on any of it. Much of the songs are doo-wop, with a bit of surf and novelty record by a local DJ thrown in.

As for the "official" discography: FZ always counted the London Symphony Orchesta Albums (London Symphony Orchestra and London Symphony Orchestra Vol. 2), but again as with Joe's Garage and Shut Up 'N Play Yer Guitar, the question is whether to count them as one album or two. Although recorded at the same time, the two albums were released separately in 1983 and 1987. For the latest Rykodisc repackaging, the tracks were remixed and released as a double CD set (with the tracks intermixed between the two discs).

It should also be noted that much of the material on Lather is also on Zappa in New York, Sleep Dirt and Studio Tan (although in different mixes - the album was ripped apart into three albums because Warner Bros. didn't want to release a 4 record set, but Rykodisc released the original on a 3CD set in 1996.)

Also, Mothermania is a compilation of tracks from the first three Mothers albums and has been out of print since the early 1970s or so. (And will probably continue to be, although it includes some alternate mixes. In response to my question about it in a letter several years ago, some anonymous person at Barfko-Swill replied: Not available. Never.)

This was the discussion I was looking for,unfortunately I´m too tired right now so I´ll be back when I have something intelligent to add.

T´mershi Duween

this really is complete:

1.Freak Out!
2.Absolutely Free
3.We're Only In It For The Money
4.Lumpy Gravy
5.Cruising With Ruben And The Jets
6.Uncle Meat
7.Hot Rats
8.Burnt Weeny Sandwich
9.Weasels Ripped My Flesh
10.Chunga's Revenge
11.Filmore East - June 1971
12.Just Another Band From LA
13.Waka/Jawaka
14.The Grand Wazoo
15.Overnite Sensation
16.Apostrophe (')
17.Roxy And Elsewhere
18.200 Motels
19.One Size Fits All
20.Bongo Fury
21.Zoot Allures
22.Zappa In New York
23.Studio Tan
24.Sleep Dirt
25.Orchestral Favorites
26.Sheik Yerbouti
27.Joe's Garage
28.Tinseltown Rebellion
29.Shut Up 'n' Play Yer Guitar
30.You Are What You Is
31.Ship Arriving Too Late To Save A Drowning Witch
32.The Man From Utopia
33.Baby Snakes
34.Boulez Conducts Zappa, The Perfect Stranger
35.Them Or Us
36.Thing-Fish
37.Francesco Zappa
38.Frank Zappa Meets The Mothers Of Prevention
39.London Symphony Orchestra Vol 1 & 2
40.Does Humor Belong In Music?
41.Jazz From Hell
42.Guitar
43.You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore (Volumes 1 - 6)
44.Broadway The Hard Way
45.The Best Band You Never Heard In Your Life
46.Make A Jazz Noise Here
47.Playground Psychotics
48.Ahead Of Their Time
49.The Yellow Shark
50.The Lost Episodes
51.Lather
52.Have I Offended Someone?
53.Civilsation Phase III.
54.FZ plays the music of FZ (available from the zappa family trust)
55.Everything is healing nicely (also available from the zappa trust)


compilations and officially released bootlegs
Beat the Boots 1:
1. 'Tis The Season To Be Jelly (live 30/9/67)
2. The Ark (live 18/7/6
3. Freaks & Motherfu*#@%! (live 11/5/70)
4. Piquantique (live 21/8/73)
5. Unmitigated Audacity (live 12/5/74)
6. Saarbrucken 1978 (2 LP, 1 CD) (live 3/9/7
7. Anyway The Wind Blows (2 LP, 2 CD) (live 24/2/79)
8. As An Am (live 31/10/81 & 21/5/82)

Beat the Boots 2:
1. Electric Aunt Jermima (live ??/??/6
2. Our Man In Nirvana (live 8/11/6
3. Tengo Na Mincha Tanta (live ??/??/70)
4. Disconnected Synapses (live ??/??/70)
5. Swiss Cheese/Fire (2 LP, 2 CD) (live 4/12/71)
6. Conceptual Continuity (live 19/11/76)
7. At The Circus (live ??/9/7

Mothermania (compilation, vinyl only)
Strictly Genteel - (Compilation)
Strictly Commercial - (compilation)
Cheap Thrills (compilation)
Son Of Cheep Thrills (compilation)

*sigh::
I've still got a few more to get... quite a few... I'll continue collecting, and listening, and contemplating, and staying on my computer too long

Actually, if you're a real completist, you may want multiple versions of some of those albums. Or you may be interested in finding out which are considered the "best" versions, seeing as most of the albums have at least 2 different versions of the CD, plus different vinyl versions. Seek out the "return of the son of the alt.fan.frank-zappa Vinyl vs CDs FAQ" for more info.

Actually, if you're a real completist, you may want multiple versions of some of those albums. Or you may be interested in finding out which are considered the "best" versions, seeing as most of the albums have at least 2 different versions of the CD, plus different vinyl versions. Seek out the "return of the son of the alt.fan.frank-zappa Vinyl vs CDs FAQ" for more info.

If you're a REAL completist, you're in trouble: There are 7" singles from the 60's that are worth your firstborn son and some change, and the Mercury test pressings of Läther are all in Japan, as far as I know...
There's one more compilation from late 60's that I can't remember the name of, but I used to own it... There was a very interesting piece with an early guitar solo. Breathtaking stuff by a young composer.
There are also vast amounts of tape only recordings of radio shows, commercials ("Suzy Speed Freak"), rare and unexpected duets and concerts available out there for those who go off the deep end. I did it and survived. Now all I listen to is classical, and the Yellow shark is still on my playlist.

Those last four are part of the beat the boots series the original poster was speaking about.

That's the album (Mothermania) that I was trying to think of. I used to have an old scratched up copy. I believe it had Wowie Zowie on it.

I wonder how many people have mint copies of Freak Out on vinyl?

I've got Freak Out on vinyl, not sure if it is origional pressing though... its in very good condition though... Seeing as how I've also got it on CD I think I've about twenty or so Zappa albums on vinyl, and all of them pretty-much plus about ten or fifteen more on CD

There's something on the inside of the gatefold of the Freak Out jacket that tells you if it's original or not that I found on some website that I can't remember right now. As long as it's the blue Verve label you at least have the original mix. Frank went in when CD's were starting to get popular and found that the original tapes were too washed out sounding to release for his satisfaction. So, he went back into the studio with the original drummer and bassist and re-recorded the tracks for release on CD. You can see why this is such a collectors item now as it is the only available copy of this recording. Ruben and the Jets and We're Only in it for the Money are two other albums he used this tactic on. I've heard the CD of Freak Out though and it sounds great.

I've also Freak Out on CD; can't say I've noticed a huge diference between it and the vinyl; though it was about hte time my turntable packed up that I got the CD I really should get round to getting a new turntable soon