| The Hot Rats Sessions | ||||
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| Box set by | ||||
| Released | December 20, 2019 | |||
| Recorded |
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| Genre | ||||
| Length | 438:55 | |||
| Label | Zappa Records | |||
| Frank Zappa chronology | ||||
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The Hot Rats Sessions is a 6-CD box set celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Frank Zappa album Hot Rats . It was released on December 20, 2019.
The first four discs contain recordings from during the making of the album. Disc five contains the 1987 digital remix of the album. This was the version available on CDs before the 2012 re-release. The album also contains extended versions of many tracks from this period, such as "The Gumbo Variations" (here titled "Big Legs"), a section of "Little House I Used To Live In" (here titled "Another Waltz"), and "Toads of the Short Forest" (here titled "Arabesque"). The rest of disc five and disc six consist of extras such as outtakes, radio ads, and track mixes. It also features an excerpt of an interview explaining the origin of the album title and further excerpts from an interview of Zappa explaining the character of Willie the Pimp: a part of this interview was featured on the posthumous album Mystery Disc . [1] [2] [3] [4]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Mojo |   [5] |
| Rolling Stone | [6] |
Writing for Rolling Stone , Kory Grow enjoyed the album but thought that it was flawed, stating that while it was a very interesting listen for those curious about the making of the album, it could feel like overkill at certain times. [6]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Piano Music (Section 1)" | 2:13 |
| 2. | "Piano Music (Section 3)" | 5:42 |
| 3. | "Peaches en Regalia (Prototype)" | 5:57 |
| 4. | "Peaches en Regalia (Section 1, In session)" | 10:49 |
| 5. | "Peaches en Regalia (Section 1, Master Take)" | 2:05 |
| 6. | "Peaches Jam - Part 1" | 6:28 |
| 7. | "Peaches Jam - Part 2" | 10:30 |
| 8. | "Peaches en Regalia (Section 3, In Session)" | 6:57 |
| 9. | "Peaches en Regalia (Section 3, Master Take)" | 2:07 |
| 10. | "Arabesque (In Session)" | 7:01 |
| 11. | "Arabesque (Master Take)" | 6:57 |
| 12. | "Dame Margret's Son to Be a Bride (In Session)" | 4:30 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "It Must Be a Camel (Part 1, In Session)" | 8:22 |
| 2. | "It Must Be a Camel (Part 1, Master Take)" | 2:17 |
| 3. | "It Must Be a Camel (Intercut, In Session)" | 3:53 |
| 4. | "It Must Be a Camel (Intercut, Master Take)" | 4:02 |
| 5. | "Natasha (In Session)" | 4:04 |
| 6. | "Natasha (Master Take)" | 3:12 |
| 7. | "Bognor Regis (Unedited Master)" | 10:59 |
| 8. | "Willie the Pimp (In Session)" | 2:20 |
| 9. | "Willie the Pimp (Unedited Master Take)" | 15:14 |
| 10. | "Willie the Pimp (Guitar OD 1)" | 14:46 |
| 11. | "Willie the Pimp (Guitar OD 2)" | 6:18 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Transition (Section 1, In Session)" | 6:17 |
| 2. | "Transition (Section 1, Master Take)" | 2:25 |
| 3. | "Transition (Section 2, Intercut, In Session)" | 1:50 |
| 4. | "Transition (Section 2, Intercut, Master Take)" | 2:43 |
| 5. | "Transition (Section 3, Intercut, In Session)" | 2:29 |
| 6. | "Transition (Section 3, Intercut, Master Take)" | 2:13 |
| 7. | "Lil' Clanton Shuffle (Unedited Master)" | 12:46 |
| 8. | "Directly from My Heart to You (Unedited Master)" | 10:18 |
| 9. | "Another Waltz (Unedited Master)" | 27:56 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Dame Margaret's Son to Be a Bride (Remake)" | 3:54 |
| 2. | "Son of Mr. Green Genes (Take 1)" | 8:16 |
| 3. | "Son of Mr. Green Genes (Master Take)" | 10:47 |
| 4. | "Big Legs (Unedited Master Take)" | 32:42 |
| 5. | "It Must Be a Camel (Percussion Tracks)" | 1:48 |
| 6. | "Arabesque (Guitar OD Mix)" | 6:57 |
| 7. | "Transition (Full Version)" | 6:22 |
| 8. | "Piano Music (Section 3, OD Version)" | 5:41 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Peaches en Regalia (1987 Digital Re-Mix)" | 3:39 |
| 2. | "Willie The Pimp (1987 Digital Re-Mix) (23751)" | 9:17 |
| 3. | "Son of Mr. Green Genes (1987 Digital Re-Mix)" | 9:00 |
| 4. | "Little Umbrellas (1987 Digital Re-Mix)" | 3:04 |
| 5. | "The Gumbo Variations (1987 Digital Re-Mix)" | 16:57 |
| 6. | "It Must Be a Camel (1987 Digital Re-Mix)" | 5:15 |
| 7. | "The Origin of Hot Rats" | 0:35 |
| 8. | "Hot Rats Vintage Promotion Ad #1" | 1:02 |
| 9. | "Peaches En Regalia (1969 Mono Single Master)" | 3:52 |
| 10. | "Hot Rats Vintage Promotion Ad #2" | 1:01 |
| 11. | "Little Umbrellas (1969 Mono Single Master)" | 3:05 |
| 12. | "Lil' Clanton Shuffle (1972 Whitney Studios Mix)" | 12:42 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Little Umbrellas (Cucamonga Version)" | 2:00 |
| 2. | "Little Umbrellas (1969 Mix Outtake)" | 3:10 |
| 3. | "It Must Be a Camel (1969 Mix Outtake)" | 5:23 |
| 4. | "Son of Mr. Green Genes (1969 Mix Outtake)" | 10:39 |
| 5. | "More of the Story of Willie the Pimp" | 1:24 |
| 6. | "Willie the Pimp (Vocal Tracks)" | 2:07 |
| 7. | "Willie the Pimp (1969 Quick Mix)" | 14:29 |
| 8. | "Dame Margaret's Son to Be a Bride (1969 Quick Mix)" | 3:46 |
| 9. | "Hot Rats Vintage Promotion Ad #3" | 0:52 |
| 10. | "Bognor Regis (1970 Record Plant Mix)" | 8:11 |
| 11. | "Peaches en Regalia (1969 Rhythm Track Mix)" | 4:24 |
| 12. | "Son of Mr. Green Genes (1969 Rhythm Track Mix)" | 10:40 |
| 13. | "Little Umbrellas (1969 Rhythm Track Mix)" | 3:11 |
| 14. | "Arabesque (Guitar Tracks)" | 6:57 |
| 15. | "Hot Rats Vintage Promotion Ad #4" | 0:59 |
Frank Vincent Zappa was an American musician, composer, and bandleader. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa composed rock, pop, jazz, jazz fusion, orchestral and musique concrète works; he also produced almost all of the 60-plus albums that he released with his band the Mothers of Invention and as a solo artist. His work is characterized by nonconformity, improvisation sound experimentation, musical virtuosity and satire of American culture. Zappa also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed album covers. He is considered one of the most innovative and stylistically diverse musicians of his generation.
We're Only in It for the Money is the third album by American rock band the Mothers of Invention, released on March 4, 1968, by Verve Records. As with the band's first two efforts, it is a concept album, and satirizes left- and right-wing politics, particularly the hippie subculture, as well as the Beatles' album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. It was conceived as part of a project called No Commercial Potential, which produced three other albums: Lumpy Gravy, Cruising with Ruben & the Jets, and Uncle Meat.
Freak Out! is the debut studio album by American rock band the Mothers of Invention, released on June 27, 1966, by Verve Records. Often cited as one of rock music's first concept albums, it is a satirical expression of frontman Frank Zappa's perception of American pop culture and the nascent freak scene of Los Angeles. It was also one of the earliest double albums in rock music, as well as the first two-record debut album. In the UK, the album was originally released as an edited single disc.
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".
Waka/Jawaka is the fourth solo album, fifteenth album counting the work of his band the Mothers of Invention, by Frank Zappa, released in July 1972. The album is the jazz-influenced precursor to The Grand Wazoo, and as the front cover indicates, a sequel of sorts to 1969's Hot Rats. According to Zappa, the title "is something that showed up on a ouija board at one time."
Chunga's Revenge is the third solo album, and eleventh album counting the work of his band The Mothers of Invention, by Frank Zappa, released on October 23, 1970. Zappa's first effort of the 1970s marks the first appearance of former Turtles members Flo & Eddie on a Zappa record, and signals the dawn of a controversial epoch in Zappa's history. Chunga's Revenge represents a shift from both the satirical political commentary of his 1960s work with The Mothers of Invention, and the jazz fusion of Hot Rats.
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.
Lumpy Gravy is a 1968 solo album by Frank Zappa, written by Zappa and performed by a group of session players he dubbed the Abnuceals Emuukha Electric Symphony Orchestra & Chorus. Zappa conducted the orchestra but did not perform on the album. It is his fourth album overall: his previous releases had been under the name of his group, the Mothers of Invention.
Weasels Ripped My Flesh is the eighth album by the American rock group the Mothers of Invention, and the tenth overall by Frank Zappa, released in 1970. Following the Mothers' late 1969 split, Zappa assembled two albums - Burnt Weeny Sandwich and Weasels Ripped My Flesh - from unreleased studio and live recordings by the band, as well as some outtakes/leftovers from his 1969 solo album Hot Rats. While Burnt Weeny Sandwich focuses mostly on studio recordings and tightly arranged compositions, Weasels Ripped My Flesh focuses mostly on live recordings and loose/improvisational pieces.
Jazz from Hell is an instrumental album whose selections were all composed and recorded by American musician Frank Zappa. It was released on November 15, 1986, by Barking Pumpkin Records on vinyl and cassette, and in 1987 by Rykodisc on CD.
Bongo Fury is a collaborative album by American artists Frank Zappa and the Mothers, with Captain Beefheart, 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).
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.
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.
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."
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.
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.
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.
"Willie the Pimp" is a song from Frank Zappa's 1969 album Hot Rats. It features an idiosyncratic Captain Beefheart vocal and one of Zappa's classic guitar solos. It is the only track that is not instrumental on the album, though the track features a long guitar solo.
The Old Masters is a box set series by Frank Zappa, released in three volumes on Barking Pumpkin Records from April 1985 to December 1987, consisting of studio and live albums by Zappa and The Mothers of Invention originally released from 1966 to 1976 on other labels, as well as "Mystery Discs" which contained previously unreleased material. The graphics on all three sets was airbrush illustrated by Larry Grossman. 200 Motels was not included in the series as it was the only Zappa/Mothers album for which Zappa was unable to secure the rights.
The Early Years 1965–1972 is a box set that compiles the early work of the English rock band Pink Floyd, released on 11 November 2016. It was released by Pink Floyd Records with distribution held by Warner Music for the UK and Europe and Sony Music for the rest of the world.