The Crux of the Biscuit

Last updated
The Crux of the Biscuit
TheCruxOfTheBiscuit.jpg
Compilation album by
ReleasedJuly 15, 2016 (2016-07-15)
RecordedMay 24, 1972–
June 24, 1973 [1]
Genre Rock
Length68:59
Label Zappa Records
Catalog Number: ZR20020
Producer Gail Zappa, Joe Travers
Frank Zappa chronology
Road Tapes, Venue #3
(2016)
The Crux of the Biscuit
(2016)
Frank Zappa For President
(2016)

The Crux of the Biscuit is a compilation album by American musician Frank Zappa, released in July 2016, originally intended to celebrate the 40th anniversary of his album Apostrophe (') . [2] It is the fourth project in a series of 40th Anniversary FZ Audio Documentaries, following MOFO (2006), Lumpy Money (2009) and Greasy Love Songs (2010). The name is based on the same lyric from "Stink-Foot" that Apostrophe (') is based on—"the crux of the biscuit is the apostrophe."

Track listing

All tracks are written by Frank Zappa except where noted

No.TitleLength
1."Cosmik Debris"4:21
2."Uncle Remus (Mix Outtake)" (Zappa, George Duke )3:59
3."Down in de Dew (Alternate Mix)"3:16
4."Apostrophe' (Mix Outtake)" (Zappa, Jim Gordon, Jack Bruce )9:07
5."The Story of Don't Eat the Yellow Snow/St. Alphonzo's Pancake Breakfast"2:25
6."Don't Eat the Yellow Snow/St. Alphonzo's Pancake Breakfast (Live)"19:26
7."Excentrifugal Forz (Mix Outtake)"1:34
8."Energy Frontier (Take 4)"3:04
9."Energy Frontier (Take 6 with Overdubs)"4:15
10."Energy Frontier (Bridge)"8:23
11."Cosmik Debris (Basic Tracks - Take 3)"5:11
12."Don't Eat the Yellow Snow (Basic Tracks - Alternate Take)"2:12
13."Nanook Rubs It (Basic Tracks - Outtake)"0:42
14."Nanook Rubs It (Session Outtake)"0:48
15."Frank's Last Words..."0:16
Total length:1:08:59

Related Research Articles

<i>Them or Us</i> 1984 studio album with live elements by Frank Zappa

Them or Us is an album by American musician Frank Zappa, released in October 1984 by Barking Pumpkin Records.

<i>Apostrophe ()</i> Album by Frank Zappa

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.

<i>Over-Nite Sensation</i> 1973 studio album by The Mothers

Over-Nite Sensation is the twelfth album by The Mothers of Invention, and the seventeenth album overall by Frank Zappa, released in September 1973. It was Zappa's first album released on his DiscReet label. His solo album Apostrophe (') (1974) was recorded during the same sessions for Over-Nite Sensation.

<i>Just Another Band from L.A.</i> 1972 live album by The Mothers of Invention

Just Another Band from L.A. is a live album by The Mothers, released in 1972. It was recorded live on August 7, 1971, in Pauley Pavilion on the campus of UCLA in Los Angeles. A notable inclusion on this album is "Billy the Mountain", Frank Zappa's long, narrative parody of rock operas, which were gaining popularity at that time.

<i>Animalism</i> (album) 1966 studio album by the Animals

Animalism is the fifth American album by the Animals, released in November 1966. The album includes the band's usual repertoire of blues and R&B covers, while Frank Zappa contributed a song and played bass on two tracks. It was the last album recorded by the original incarnation of the Animals prior to their disbandment, after which singer Eric Burdon would assemble a mostly new lineup under the name "Eric Burdon and the Animals". This new version of the group was already touring when Animalism released.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Zappa discography</span>

This is a list of albums by Frank Zappa, including all those credited to the Mothers of Invention. During his lifetime, Zappa released 62 albums. Since 1994, the Zappa Family Trust has released 64 posthumous albums as of June 2023, making a total of 126 albums/album sets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ruth Underwood</span> American musician

Ruth Underwood is an American musician best known for playing xylophone, marimba, vibraphone, and other percussion instruments in Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention. She collaborated with the Mothers of Invention from 1968 to 1977.

Bruce Lambourne Fowler is an American trombonist and composer. He played trombone on many Frank Zappa records, as well as with Captain Beefheart and in the Fowler Brothers Band. He composes and arranges music for movies, and has been the composer, orchestrator, or conductor for many popular films.

Thomas W. Fowler is an American bass guitarist and musician. Born in Salt Lake City, Utah, he has played with It's a Beautiful Day, Frank Zappa, The Mothers of Invention, Jean-Luc Ponty, Ray Charles, Steve Hackett, and many others. His brother Bruce Fowler played trombone in The Mothers and his other brother Walt was also a horn player for Zappa.

As an icon of counterculture and underground rock the American rock musician and composer Frank Zappa has been featured and referenced in various different media.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cosmik Debris</span> 1974 single by Frank Zappa

"Cosmik Debris" is a song by American composer Frank Zappa, from his 1974 album Apostrophe (').

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Don't Eat the Yellow Snow</span> 1974 single by Frank Zappa

"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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sofa (Frank Zappa song)</span> 1975 single by Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention

"Sofa" is a composition by American musician Frank Zappa, released in 1975 on One Size Fits All. In 1993, the year of Zappa's death, Steve Vai covered "Sofa" for Zappa's tribute album Zappa's Universe. The cover won a Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance in 1994. This was Vai's first of three Grammies.

"The Torture Never Stops" is a song by Frank Zappa from the 1976 album Zoot Allures. Other versions appear on Zappa in New York, Thing-Fish, You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 1, You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 4, The Best Band You Never Heard in Your Life, FZ:OZ, Cheap Thrills, Buffalo, Philly '76, and Hammersmith Odeon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I'm the Slime</span> 1973 single by Frank Zappa and The Mothers

"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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Help, I'm a Rock</span> 1966 single by The Mothers of Invention

"Help, I'm a Rock" is a song written by American musician Frank Zappa. It was recorded by Zappa along with the rock band the Mothers of Invention on the group's debut album Freak Out!, which was released on Verve Records on June 27, 1966.

<i>Road Tapes, Venue 3</i> 2016 live album by Frank Zappa

Road Tapes, Venue #3 is a posthumous album of Frank Zappa, released in May 2016, consisting of the recording of the two shows on July 5, 1970, at Tyrone Guthrie Theater, Minneapolis, MN. The album was recorded as one of the first shows with the (then) newly formed Mothers of Invention featuring Flo & Eddie, Aynsley Dunbar, George Duke, Jeff Simmons and returning member Ian Underwood. This release is notable for being one of the few tapes in the Zappa Vault from this time period, and line up. It is the ninth 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), Hammersmith Odeon (2010), Carnegie Hall (2011), Road Tapes, Venue #1 (2012) and Road Tapes, Venue #2 (2013).

<i>Meat Light</i> 2016 compilation album by Frank Zappa

Meat Light is a 3CD compilation of Frank Zappa's Uncle Meat recordings. It is project/object #5 in a series of 40th Anniversary FZ Audio Documentaries, following MOFO (2006), Lumpy Money (2009), Greasy Love Songs (2010) and The Crux of the Biscuit (2016).

<i>ZAPPAtite</i> 2016 greatest hits album by Frank Zappa

Zappatite is a compilation album by American musician and composer Frank Zappa, released in September 2016. It is the second greatest hits album of Zappa's best known material, the first one being Strictly Commercial released in August 1995. It replaces the Strictly Commercial set in Zappa's catalog.

"Uncle Remus" is a song written by American musicians Frank Zappa and George Duke, and first released on Zappa's 1974 album Apostrophe ('). The name of the song is derived from Uncle Remus, a fictional character found in works by writer Joel Chandler Harris. The song has been said to reflect Zappa's feelings about racism and the civil rights movement, themes which had previously been explored in his earlier song "Trouble Every Day".

References

  1. "globalia". globalia. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
  2. "Frank Zappa Vault Opens for Two New Releases in July". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 26 August 2016.