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The Resurrection of Frank Zappa's Soul

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Two of the iconic Southern California artist's classic compositions, Lumpy Gravy and We're Only In It for the Money, will get the grand reissue treatment.

Fifteen years ago last Thursday, American iconoclast Frank Zappa died at age 52; on December 21, he would have been 68. He left an impressive body of musical work, both on his commercial recordings and on various unreleased media, enough material to keep several people employed for years to come in preserving his legacy. His son Dweezil is currently in the middle of a three-night stand at the Roxy, which runs through Saturday, December 13. The younger Zappa and his band perform as Zappa Plays Zappa, and the stint commemorates the 35th anniversary of Dweezils fathers own recorded performances at the venue. And Franks widow, Gail, administers the Zappa Family Trust.

Despite the familys heroic efforts to preserve his memory, Frank Zappa remains an enigma. Thats partly due to his having assumed so many roles: of composer working in the neoclassical and post-Webern traditions and seeking acceptance in that anoxic world; of rock songwriter-guitarist rising within the catalytic stew of the mid- to late-60s; of record producer wielding a razorblade on two-track edits; of Swiftian chronicler of Southern California life.

There are simply so many Frank Zappas that his true identity remains elusive. But if there is a musical locus to the soul of Frank Zappa, an upcoming release (date to be determined) might be Ground Zero. Fans will soon rejoice in the special 40th-anniversary three-CD reissue of two of his most important works: Lumpy Gravy and Were Only In It for the Money. The reissues title? Lumpy Money.

The history of the first two of those albums is convoluted, and concerns much of 1967 and 1968 in Los Angeles and New York City. Gravy and Money are inextricably linked in their conception, which is one reason the merged reissue makes sense as a package.

Unlike the majority of Frank Zappa recordings that currently appear on the Rykodisc label, Lumpy Money will receive the Zappa Records imprimatur. Joe Travers, the vaultmeister, who oversees the massive Zappa tape collection, explains: Since Ryko distributes the approved masterworks of those two records, we are left with lots of yummy things. Ryko, he explains, can only release the official, Zappa-approved versions of his LPs. But that leaves a vast archive of previously unreleased material from which the estate can dig.

Gail stresses that her first obligation in releasing archival material is to Franks vision. If were going to reintroduce something, it has to be the iteration that Frank produced. Once those recordings are available, however, the estate looks for complimentary unreleased recordings. Explains Gail: What do we have thats in the vault that people would like to hear thats related to that project?

Lumpy Gravy was originally to have been released on Capitol Records as a solo Frank Zappa project, freeing him from the strictures of the Mothers of Invention (who recorded for the Verve Records division of MGM). Nik Venet produced. Venet, says Gail, was farsighted in those days as a producer to create an opportunity. The result was roughly 22 orchestral minutes.

Travers continues, The Capitol version of Gravy got as far as an acetate a finished, cut four-track sequenced master and then MGM/Verve stepped in. They said, What the fuck are you doing? Youre signed to us. You cant do this. What followed, explains Travers, was a protracted 11-month battle between Verve and Capitol, which Verve eventually won. As a result, Gravy came out after Money. By the time that happened, adds Travers, Frank completely changed the initial project [from] where it was in the Capitol days 11 months later, to the masterwork that it is now.

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