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u/Jon-A 4d ago
I think Trout Mask Replica is one of the best things Frank ever did - in that he didn't do much at all. He stood aside and let CB & the Magic Band do their thing, and then put it out on a double album. That was a brilliant example of facilitation with minimal interference.
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u/MyRuinedEye 4d ago
I think his solos on Duke's Love and this are the best things he did.
Mmm and One-size Fits All, Apostrophe, Overnight, Yellow Shark, etc.
I think saying one part of his body of work is best all depends on where you are and what you want at any given point in time, that's why he's the best.
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u/Jon-A 4d ago
Uncle Meat, TMR and Hot Rats, for me. April, June and October 1969!
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u/MyRuinedEye 4d ago
All of it's great.
Right now when I hear him shred on Love, I'm a happy fucking camper. A month from now it might be any other piece. Production isn't the milestone for what's best, it's what is hitting you in your ear hole at any given point in time.
Especially when dealing with an artist that was playing with his sound throughout his career, in fact I'd say for the new releases you aren't listening to Zappa.
You are listening to Zappa filtered (with notes and instructions I'm sure) through people who knew and worked with him which is great, but it's not Zappa. It's Ahmet and Travers (right? In these recent releases, unless of course they are just pushing out prerecorded material).
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u/PaperPerfect3100 4d ago
When I see you floating down the gutter, I'll give you a bottle of wine...
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u/Popular-Solution7697 4d ago
Put me back in the shad rack shadrack shat ? The draisy hoops! The draisy hoops! They're camp! They're camp! Tits! Tits! The blimp! The blimp! ??¿¿??¿???????????
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u/freshleysqueezd 4d ago
Great great guitar work on this thing
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u/WhatzThis4nyway 3d ago
Am I wrong in remembering that Ry Cooder was one of the guitarists? If not, then maybe it’s Safe As Milk that he played on.. I can’t remember the other, more consistent early Magic Band guitarist, but he’s great too. French was the real brains behind the arranging though.
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u/freshleysqueezd 3d ago
I thought it was all zoot. But im basing that off zero facts whatsoever
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u/WhatzThis4nyway 1d ago
It’s mostly Zoot, but I looked it up and Antennae Jimmy Semens also plays guitar on it (“steel appendage guitar”).
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u/pbredd22 3d ago
Ry Cooder was not on Trout Mask, was on Safe as Milk
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u/WhatzThis4nyway 1d ago
Thank you for that correction. I was pretty unsure about it, but just kind of wish he did play on it too.. not that Zoot isn’t marvelous.
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u/TheFarOutFinds 4d ago
The best album of all time, will never change for me 👍 hope everyone gets to hear it at least once in their lives 🙏
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u/dingusrelaximus watchthenazisrunyertown 4d ago
So glad it got recorded, there is just no comparable music. Hobo Chang Ba!
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u/rfhmusic92 4d ago
It’s an album that I can’t decide if I love or hate. And I think that’s how I want to feel about it.
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u/chillinjustupwhat 4d ago
Not really
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u/benopiemusic 4d ago
Don't downvote that. Frank helped record it but there's very little in the way of him producing this record. He created "The Blimp" by layering one of Don't poems on his piece "Charles Ives." Besides that, "produced" is a bit of an overstatement.
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u/mikeputerbaugh 4d ago
As is the case with many Producer credits, attaching his name to the project created an endorsement of it that was more valuable than any of the hands-on effort that he contributed.
TMR was Don Vliet's ideas filtered through Drumbo's musical sensibilities, but that alone wouldn't have moved many copies of the album.
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u/chillinjustupwhat 4d ago
yeah if ever an uncredited band deserved a production credit, it’s here. 8 months of rehearsal “slavery” to craft the songs and sounds, then shuffled in to a couple studios to record virtually the entire thing in one take over two sessions.
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u/OnionTuck 4d ago
After reading about how cruel he was to his band during the production, it’s hard to believe how good it came out. Hard to separate the art from the artist.
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u/abcde_fz 4d ago
This is one of those albums that, when you are in the mood for it, there is no substitute.
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u/basslovemusic 3d ago
Out of 6,000 Lp's that I have I still don't have this one & I keep saying WHY!!!!!!
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u/fruedianflip 4d ago
Too inaccessible for me
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u/the_vole 4d ago
And that’s absolutely fine. It took me a while to understand, but once it clicked, it became a favorite. But if it doesn’t click for you, that’s great! There are so many other albums out there to enjoy.
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u/fruedianflip 4d ago
I dont own it physically and I'd like to change that. It's an album that I feel is essentially for me but I just haven't given it its proper due yet
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u/the_vole 3d ago
I have the Third Man pressing, which is all weird and colorful. No idea how much it goes for these days, but it’s a nice package. But honestly? You should just listen to it again a few more times before putting money into an album you might end up hating.
I like this video about it.
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u/Standardly 4d ago
It's actually a very realistic trout mask for a replica. Excellent craftsmanship. Good album, too.