Strictly Commercial | ||||
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Greatest hits album by | ||||
Released | August 2, 1995 | |||
Recorded | 1966–1988 | |||
Genre | Hard rock, progressive rock, art rock, comedy rock, experimental rock, jazz fusion | |||
Length | 76:45 (US CD), 77:01 (Europe CD) | |||
Label | Rykodisc | |||
Producer | Tom Wilson | |||
Frank Zappa chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
Entertainment Weekly | A [2] |
Strictly Commercial is a compilation album by Frank Zappa. It was released in 1995, two years after his death. The album was named as part of a 2011 lawsuit by Gail Zappa towards Rykodisc, claiming the label released several vault masters without the permission of the Zappa Family Trust on this and other releases, specifically the single edits of some songs, such as the 12" disco Remix of "Dancin' Fool". [3] The disc is currently out of print and has been replaced in Zappa's catalog by the 2016 compilation album ZAPPAtite .
All songs written and performed by Frank Zappa, except where noted.
The title of the album is taken from a lyric in "Don't Eat The Yellow Snow Suite" and maintains Zappa's conceptual continuity.
On the European CD, "Tell Me You Love Me" was replaced by "Bobby Brown Goes Down," which was Zappa's biggest hit in Europe, but extremely controversial in the United States, and never aired on the radio. A version released in Australia and New Zealand was identical to the U.S. CD, but included the track "Elvis Has Just Left the Building" on a separate disc.
Chart (1995) | Peak position |
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Australian Albums (ARIA) [4] | 63 |
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [5] | 33 |
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [6] | 51 |
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) [7] | 7 |
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [8] | 2 |
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [9] | 12 |
UK Albums (OCC) [10] | 45 |
Dweezil Zappa is an American rock guitarist and occasional actor. He is the son of musical composer and performer Frank Zappa. Exposed to the music industry from an early age, Zappa developed a strong affinity for playing the guitar and producing music. Able to learn directly from guitarists such as Steve Vai and Eddie Van Halen, Zappa released his first single at the age of 12.
Joe's Garage is a three-part rock opera released by American musician Frank Zappa in September and November 1979. Originally released as two separate albums on Zappa Records, the project was later remastered and reissued as a triple album box set, Joe's Garage, Acts I, II & III, in 1987. The story is told by a character identified as the "Central Scrutinizer" narrating the story of Joe, an average adolescent male, from Canoga Park, Los Angeles, who forms a garage rock band, has unsatisfying relationships with women, gives all of his money to a government-assisted and insincere religion, explores sexual activities with appliances, and is imprisoned. After being released from prison into a dystopian society in which music itself has been criminalized, he lapses into insanity.
Sheik Yerbouti is a double album by American musician Frank Zappa, released in March 1979 as the first release on Zappa Records It is mostly made up of live material recorded in 1977 and 1978, with extensive overdubs added in the studio. In an October 1978 interview, Zappa gave the working album title as Martian Love Secrets. It was later released on a single CD.
Hot Rats is the second solo album by Frank Zappa, released in October 1969. It was Zappa's first recording project after the dissolution of the original version of the Mothers of Invention. Five of the six songs are instrumental; while "Willie the Pimp", features vocals by Captain Beefheart. In his original sleeve notes, Zappa described the album as "a movie for your ears".
Apostrophe (') is the sixth solo album and eighteenth in total by Frank Zappa, released in March 1974 in both stereo and quadraphonic formats. An edited version of its lead-off track, "Don't Eat the Yellow Snow", was the first of Zappa's three Billboard Top 100 hits, ultimately peaking at number 86. The album itself became the biggest commercial success of Zappa's career, reaching number 10 on the US Billboard 200.
The Muffin Men are a British band, based in Liverpool, England, which primarily plays the music of Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention. The group formed in 1990, originally to play a one-off concert to celebrate Zappa's fiftieth birthday. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic the band toured for thirty unbroken years around The UK, Europe and Scandinavia, performing Zappa's music as a tribute band, along with some of their own compositions. Until his death in 2008, the band often featured guest vocals and percussion by former Mothers of Invention drummer and vocalist Jimmy Carl Black, with whom they also performed songs by Captain Beefheart.
Beat the Boots! is a box set by Frank Zappa. Released in 1991 through Rhino Entertainment, the set contains legal reissues of eight bootleg recordings made between 1967 and 1982 and originally distributed illegally prior to this official release. A second box set of bootleg recordings, Beat the Boots! II, was released through Rhino in June 1992.
Does Humor Belong in Music? is a one-hour Frank Zappa concert video composed of live performances at The Pier in New York City along with a few interview segments. It was released on VHS by MPI Home Video in 1985 and reissued on DVD in 2003 by EMI. The video has no recorded material in common with the album of the same name, but some of the tracks were released on Volumes One, Three and Six of the You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore series.
"Montana" is a song composed by Frank Zappa for his 1973 LP Over-Nite Sensation. The last track on the album is one of Zappa's most famous and renowned compositions. It features backing vocals by Tina Turner and the Ikettes throughout the entire track, notably on the middle and ending sections.
"Cosmik Debris" is a song by American composer Frank Zappa, from his 1974 album Apostrophe (').
Tinsel Town Rebellion is a double live album released by Frank Zappa in May 1981. The album was conceived by Zappa after he scrapped the planned albums Warts and All and Crush All Boxes, and contains tracks that were intended for those albums.
The Frank Zappa AAAFNRAAA Birthday Bundle 2008 was released as a digital download on iTunes on December 21, 2008. It consists of five previously unreleased tracks performed by Frank Zappa, and new tracks featuring Zappa's children, producer Joe Travers and others. It is the second iTunes album by Frank Zappa, the first being The Frank Zappa AAAFNRAA Birthday Bundle (2006). The additional A in this release's title stands for "Again".
"Peaches en Regalia" is an instrumental jazz fusion composition by Frank Zappa. It was initially released on Zappa's album Hot Rats in 1969 and has been recorded many times since. Years later, in 1987, the piece was released as a CD single to promote Rykodisc's Zappa CD reissue campaign. Zappa used the piece on many of his tours, often as either the opening or the encore of a show.
"Dancin' Fool" is a song by Frank Zappa from his 1979 album Sheik Yerbouti. It was the first of two singles released from the album, followed by the second single "Bobby Brown ." The song premiered on stage on the 30th of October 1977.
Carnegie Hall is a quadruple live album by Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention, released posthumously on October 31, 2011, by the Zappa Family Trust on Vaulternative Records. It is a mono recording of the two shows given on October 11, 1971 at Carnegie Hall in New York and the sixth installment on the Vaulternative Records label that is dedicated to the posthumous release of complete Zappa concerts, following the releases of FZ:OZ (2002), Buffalo (2007), Wazoo (2007), Philly '76 (2009) and Hammersmith Odeon (2010).
The Frank Zappa AAAFNRAAAAAM Birthday Bundle 2011 is a compilation album released as a digital download through the Zappa Family Trust on Frank Zappa's 71st Birthday, December 21, 2011. It features both recordings by Zappa himself, as well as various covers of his material.
"Don't Eat the Yellow Snow" is a suite by the American musician Frank Zappa, made up of the first four tracks of his 1974 album Apostrophe ('): "Don't Eat the Yellow Snow", "Nanook Rubs It", "St. Alfonzo's Pancake Breakfast", and "Father O'Blivion". Each song in the suite is loosely connected, although the songs are not all connected by one overall story/theme. The suite was only played in full from 1973 to 1974 and 1978 to 1980. "Saint Alfonzo's Pancake Breakfast" contains Zappa's percussionist Ruth Underwood on marimba, who added a very distinct sound to many of his songs in the early 1970s.
"Disco Boy" is a single composed by musician Frank Zappa from his 1976 album Zoot Allures. It was featured on Frank Zappa's best of album Strictly Commercial.
"I'm the Slime" is a 1973 single by Frank Zappa and The Mothers from the studio album Over-Nite Sensation. The single version is a different mix and edit from the version on the album.
Halloween 73 is a live album by Frank Zappa, released in October 2019, consisting of recordings from the six Halloween shows in Chicago. It was released in a 4-CD boxed set and a different version of the album containing the highlights on a single CD.