Studio Tan

Last updated
Studio Tan
Studio Tan.jpg
Studio album by
Frank Zappa
ReleasedSeptember 15, 1978
RecordedSummer 1969*, December 1974 – Summer 1976 at
The Record Plant, LA;
Royce Hall, UCLA;
(*) Whitney Studios, Glendale, CA; and
Caribou Studios, Nederland, Colorado
Genre
Length40:14
Label DiscReet
Producer Frank Zappa
Frank Zappa chronology
Zappa in New York
(1978)		Studio Tan
(1978)		 Sleep Dirt
(1979)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [1]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [2]

Studio Tan is an album by American musician Frank Zappa, released in September 1978 on his own DiscReet Records label, distribued by Warner Bros Records. It reached No. 147 on the Billboard 200 albums chart in the United States.

Contents

Though it was on his own label, Zappa did not authorize the original 1978 release of this album. [3] Warner did no promotion and it was largely overlooked by fans upon release. At the same time Zappa gave interviews which described his legal problems with Warner and former manager Herb Cohen. The 1991 CD re-release was the first time the album was issued with Zappa's authorization. [4]

Recording sessions

The basic tracks for Let Me Take You to the Beach date from a 1969 session for the album Hot Rats . The rest of the material was recorded between 1974 and 1976. Primary recording locations included the Record Plant in Los Angeles and Caribou Ranch in Colorado.

History

In April 1975 Zappa had a one sided demo acetate disc cut at Kendun Recorders in Burbank, California. This unreleased disc contains "Revised Music for Guitar and Low-Budget Orchestra", a nearly 8 minute version of "200 Years Old" and "Regyptian Strut".

In the notes to the June 1975 album One Size Fits All Zappa mentioned a planned studio album which never appeared. Many fans believe that this was to have included The Adventures of Greggery Peccary, filling one side, and that the April acetate was to have been the other side. Instead, Zappa opted to release a new (mostly) live album Bongo Fury in October the same year. This album contained a four minute edit of the same "200 Years Old" studio recording.

In May 1976, Zappa's relationship with manager and business partner Herb Cohen ended in litigation. Zappa and Cohen's company DiscReet Records was distributed by Warner Bros. Records. When Zappa asked for a reassignment of his contract from DiscReet to Warner in order to advance the possibility of doing special projects without Cohen's involvement, Warner agreed. This led to the October 1976 release of Zoot Allures on Warner. But Warner changed its position following legal action from Cohen.

At this point Zappa was contracted to deliver four more albums to Warner for release on DiscReet. In March 1977 Zappa delivered all four albums to Warner to fulfill his contract. Zappa did not receive payment by Warner upon delivery of the tapes, which was a contract violation.

During a long legal battle between Zappa and Warner the material was eventually released during 1978 and 1979 on 4 individual albums: Zappa In New York (a two LP set), Studio Tan, Sleep Dirt and Orchestral Favorites .

Much of the material from these four albums was also edited by Zappa into a four-LP box set called Läther . Zappa announced this album in a mid September 1977 interview where he described it as his "current album". [5] Zappa negotiated a distribution deal with Phonogram Inc. to release Läther as the first release on the Zappa Records label. The album was scheduled for a Halloween October 31, 1977 release date. But Warner claimed ownership of the material and threatened legal action, preventing the release of Läther and forcing Zappa to shelve the project.

All four tracks on Studio Tan were also included on the shelved Läther album. The songs on side two of Studio Tan are the same as side three of Läther; however, on Läther there are bits of musique concrète and dialog linking the songs. More of these same bits, or "grouts" as Zappa allegedly called them, [6] appear on other albums such as Sheik Yerbouti . [7] Läther was officially released posthumously in 1996.

As Zappa had delivered only the tapes to Warner, Studio Tan was initially released with no musician or songwriting credits. [8] Warner also commissioned sleeve art by cartoonist Gary Panter, which was not approved by Zappa.

When the album was released in September 1978 Zappa said: "I delivered four tapes to Warner last March (1977) as our contract specified and they released this one without telling me. I have received no advance or no royalties from Warner. I consider it a bootleg or pirate album and I'm suing the record company in California." [3]

An excerpt from an otherwise unreleased alternate version of "Revised Music for Guitar and Low-Budget Orchestra" appears on the 1987 compilation The Guitar World According to Frank Zappa , with drum overdubs by Chad Wackerman.

Release history

The 1978 vinyl LP had an early fade out at the end of the track "The Adventures of Greggery Peccary". This shortens the song by about 30 seconds.

Studio Tan was first released on CD in October 1991 on Zappa's Barking Pumpkin label along with the Panter artwork and added credits. On this version the track "The Adventures of Greggery Peccary" was completely remixed. Also, the early fade out on this track was eliminated. The 1991 CD has the songs from side two in a slightly different order than on the 1978 vinyl edition.

Panter would later provide additional art for the album when it was reissued on CD by Ryko in 1995. When the CD was reissued on CD in 2012, the complete original 1978 vinyl version was used, while also eliminating the early fade out on "The Adventures of Greggery Peccary".

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Frank Zappa.

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."Greggery Peccary" (Titled "The Adventures of Greggery Peccary" on CD)21:12
Total length:21:12
Side two
No.TitleLength
1."Let Me Take You to the Beach" (Titled "Lemme Take You to the Beach" on CD)2:44
2."Revised Music for Guitar & Low-Budget Orchestra"7:36
3."REDUNZL" (Titled "RDNZL" on CD)8:12
Total length:19:02

Personnel

Charts

Chart (1978)Peak
position
United States (Billboard 200) [9] 147
Australia (Kent Music Report) [10] 92

Related Research Articles

<i>One Size Fits All</i> (Frank Zappa album) 1975 studio album with live elements by Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention

One Size Fits All is the fourteenth album by the Mothers of Invention, and the twentieth overall album by Frank Zappa, released in June 1975. The album reached #26 on the Billboard Top LPs & Tape chart in the United States in August 1975.

<i>Bongo Fury</i> 1975 live album with studio elements by Frank Zappa and The Mothers with Captain Beefheart

Bongo Fury is a collaborative album by American artists Frank Zappa, Captain Beefheart, and Zappa's band the Mothers, released in October 1975. The live portions were recorded on May 20 and 21, 1975, at the Armadillo World Headquarters in Austin, Texas. Tracks 5, 6 and 9 are studio tracks recorded in January 1975 during the sessions which produced One Size Fits All (1975) and much of Studio Tan (1978).

<i>Zoot Allures</i> 1976 studio album by Frank Zappa

Zoot Allures is the 22nd album by the American rock musician Frank Zappa, released in October 1976 and his only release on the Warner Bros. Records label. Due to a lawsuit with his former manager Herb Cohen, Zappa's recording contract was temporarily reassigned from DiscReet Records to Warner Bros.

<i>Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller)</i> 1978 studio album by Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band

Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller) is the tenth studio album by American band Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band, released in October 1978 by Warner Bros. Records. The album emerged from production difficulties surrounding Bat Chain Puller, an album Captain Beefheart recorded for DiscReet and Virgin Records in 1976. DiscReet co-founders Herb Cohen and Frank Zappa feuded over the production of the album, because Cohen funded the production with Zappa's royalty checks. Captain Beefheart recorded a new album titled Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller) after Zappa withheld the master tapes of the original Bat Chain Puller album.

<i>Sleep Dirt</i> 1979 studio album by Frank Zappa

Sleep Dirt is an album by Frank Zappa, released in January 1979 on his own DiscReet Records label, distributed by Warner Bros. Records. It reached No. 175 on the Billboard 200 album chart in the United States.

<i>Läther</i> 1996 studio album by Frank Zappa

Läther is the sixty-fifth official album by Frank Zappa. It was released posthumously as a three-CD set on Rykodisc in 1996. The album's title is derived from bits of comic dialog that link the songs. Zappa also explained that the name is a joke, based on "common bastardized pronunciation of Germanic syllables by the Swiss."

<i>Zappa in New York</i> 1978 live album by Frank Zappa

Zappa in New York is a double live album by Frank Zappa released on his own DiscReet Records label, distributed by Warner Bros. Records. It was recorded in December 1976 at a series of concerts at the Palladium in New York City.

<i>Orchestral Favorites</i> 1979 live album by Frank Zappa

Orchestral Favorites is an album by Frank Zappa, released in May 1979 on his own DiscReet Records label. The album is entirely instrumental and features music performed by the 37-piece Abnuceals Emuukha Electric Symphony Orchestra. It reached No .168 on the Billboard 200 album chart in the United States.

<i>Broken Blossom</i> 1977 studio album by Bette Midler

Broken Blossom is the fourth studio album by American singer Bette Midler, her second album release in 1977 and her fifth on the Atlantic Records label. Just as Midler's three previous studio albums Broken Blossom includes songs from a wide variety of genres, ranging from Edith Piaf's signature tune "La vie en rose", Phil Spector-esque covers of Billy Joel's "Say Goodbye to Hollywood" and Harry Nilsson's "Paradise" and hard rock like Sammy Hagar's "Red", to a jazzy duet with Tom Waits, "I Never Talk to Strangers", and a rendition of "A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes", originally from Walt Disney's 1950 film version of Cinderella. The album reached No. 51 on Billboard's album chart.

<i>Bat Chain Puller</i> 2012 studio album by Captain Beefheart

Bat Chain Puller is the 13th studio album by Captain Beefheart, released on February 22, 2012. It was recorded in 1976 by DiscReet Records, who had intended to release it with Virgin Records as Captain Beefheart's tenth studio album. It was co-produced by Beefheart and Kerry McNab.

<i>Elvis Sings The Wonderful World of Christmas</i> 1971 studio album by Elvis Presley

Elvis Sings The Wonderful World of Christmas is the fifteenth studio album and second christmas album by American singer Elvis Presley, released by RCA Records in October, 1971. It was Presley's first collection of new Christmas recordings since Elvis' Christmas Album (1957). Two songs from the album, "Merry Christmas Baby" and "O Come All Ye Faithful", were issued as a single in November, 1971. The album topped the Christmas LP's chart that year and would have charted high on the Billboard Top LPs chart, but from 1963 to 1973, holiday albums were not allowed to chart. Though lacking the commercial appeal of Elvis' Christmas Album from 1957, it gradually became a perennial favorite. In 1976, the album was reissued in the mid-priced RCA Pure Gold series with a new catalog number (ANL1-1936). The LP was certified Gold on November 4, 1977, Platinum on December 1, 1977, 2× Platinum on May 20, 1988, and 3× Platinum on July 15, 1999, by the RIAA.

<i>Chic</i> (album) 1977 studio album by Chic

Chic is the debut album by Chic, released on Atlantic Records in 1977. The cover art featured two models, Valentine Monnier (left) and Alva Chinn (right), uncredited in a photograph taken by Frank Laffitte.

DiscReet Records, self-identified simply as DiscReet, was a record label founded by Frank Zappa and his then business partner and manager Herb Cohen. The name of the label was a pun derived from disc and the Compatible Discrete 4 process of encoding quadraphonic sound signals into phonograph records.

<i>Wazoo</i> (album) 2007 live album by Frank Zappa

Wazoo is a live album by Frank Zappa, posthumously released in October 2007 as a 2-CD set consisting of the complete concert given by "The Mothers of Invention/Hot Rats/Grand Wazoo" 20-piece big band on September 24, 1972 at the Music Hall, Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is the third installment on the Vaulternative Records label that is dedicated to the posthumous release of complete Zappa concerts, following the releases of FZ:OZ (2002) and Buffalo (2007).

<i>King Kong: Jean-Luc Ponty Plays the Music of Frank Zappa</i> 1970 studio album by Jean-Luc Ponty

King Kong: Jean-Luc Ponty Plays the Music of Frank Zappa is an album by French jazz fusion artist Jean-Luc Ponty first released in May 1970 on Liberty Records' World Pacific Records subsidiary label and later released on Blue Note.

<i>New Life</i> (The Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra album) 1976 studio album by Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra

New Life (Dedicated to Max Gordon) is a 1976 big band jazz album recorded by the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra and released on the A&M/Horizon Records label. The album was nominated for a 1976 Grammy award in the Best Jazz Performance by a Big Band category.

<i>Think It Over</i> (album) 1978 studio album by Cissy Houston

Think It Over is the third studio album by American gospel/soul singer Cissy Houston, released in 1978 on Private Stock Records. The album was produced by Michael Zager and features Houston's R&B hit "Think It Over", which peaked at #5 on the Billboards Dance chart and #32 on Billboards Hot Soul chart. The album was #7 on the Canadian Dance charts October 14, 1978.

<i>Italiana</i> (album) 1982 studio album by Mina

Italiana is a double studio album by Italian singer Mina, released in November 1982 by PDU and distributed by EMI Italiana.

<i>Harry James and His Orchestra 1948–49</i> 1969 live album by Harry James

Harry James and His Orchestra 1948–49 is a double album by American trumpeter Harry James with The Harry James Orchestra. The album consists of live radio transcripts recorded during 1948 and 1949 and was released in 1969 by Big Band Landmarks.

<i>New Season</i> (Chisato Moritaka album) 1987 studio album by Chisato Moritaka

New Season is the debut studio album by Japanese singer Chisato Moritaka, released on July 25, 1987 by Warner Pioneer. It was produced by Yūzō Shimada, who also produced albums by Akina Nakamori, Naomi Tamura, and Aco. At the time of the album's recording, Moritaka had not started to write songs; instead, the album's songs were written by several composers such as Hiromasa Ijichi, Hideo Saitō, and Shingo Kanno.

References

  1. ↑ Couture, F. (2011). "Studio Tan - Frank Zappa | AllMusic". AllMusic . Retrieved 21 July 2011.
  2. ↑ The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 799.
  3. 1 2 "1978-09 Zappa zaps religion and drugs". Afka.net.
  4. ↑ "Father, I have a confession to make..." Fzpomd.net. Retrieved September 15, 2024.
  5. ↑ John D'Agostino, "Zäppa (pronounced Zappa)", San Diego Reader, 15 September 1977, p26
  6. ↑ "unconfirmed source "Dave Lane" on alt.fan.frank-zappa". Donlope.net. May 28, 1998. Retrieved 2021-12-18.[ full citation needed ]
  7. ↑ "Leather dialog". Donlope.net. Retrieved 2021-12-17.
  8. ↑ FZ vs. Warner Brs. Story or Lather/Laether/Leather, Zappa in New York, Arf.ru
  9. ↑ "Charts and Awards for Studio Tan". Allmusic . Retrieved 2008-08-22.
  10. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 348. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.