Home | Back to INDEX |
FRANK ZAPPA BOOKS |
![]() |
The
Zappa Tour Atlas A book of two halves. The first part chronicles all Zappa's gigs from 1966 to 1993 complete with maps. The second half is a whistle stop tour through the Official Frank Zappa Discography conducted by Andrew Greenaway. Robert Martin wrote the foreward. It's a very lavishly produced volume. |
![]() |
Frank
Zappa Meets The Be-Bop Samurai Volume Seven of Scott Parker's series covers the live-in-concert exploits of the first lineup of FZ's post-Mothers group Zappa, which toured from October 1976 through to March 1977, including a triumphant run of shows at the Palladium (immortalised on the Zappa In New York album). It follows the same format as the previous volumes. |
![]() |
FZ88 A companion piece
to Andrew Greenaway's Zappa The Hard Way, this features the photographs
of Sergio Albonico who was hired by Frank to make the 1988 tour book.
There's also some 'fan' photos plus two interviews; FZ talking to Pauline
Butcher in 1988 and Sergio Albonico talking to Andrew Greenaway. Now in stock |
![]() |
Discorporate! Is this phase two
of "A Freak Out In The Making"? Now in stock |
![]() |
Frank
Talk Andrew Greenaway's
second Zappa book is a collection of the interviews he's conducted with
Zappa family members, band alumni and others (32 of them!) and published
on the Idiot Bastard Son website. They've been expanded and extensively
footnoted for this print edition. Now in stock |
![]() |
The
Waldo Scrapbooks Just what the subtitle
says it is! Walt Quadrato, described by Scott as a "Zappa uber-fan"
collected a large number of (mostly photo-copied) Zappa related articles
spanning the period 1967-83. Scott has collated a selection of these for
this book. Now in stock |
![]() |
Cosmik
Debris This is the book to
have if you have to know every last little detail. This latest edition
has been updated to January 2017 and expanded to 248 pages of biography
plus another 180 pages of discography, track listings, concert schedules,unreleased
song list etc. and lots of photographs. Now in stock |
![]() |
My Brother Was A Mother Take 3 Patrice "Candy"
Zappa, the youngest member of the Zappa family, tells what it was like
growing up a Zappa — especially since her brother was the legendary
Frank Zappa! Rare family photos and Candy's incisive commentary make this
a must-read book. Originally published in 2003, the second edition included
Larry Rogak's exclusive interview with Frank Zappa and fan recollections
of meeting FZ. This third edition has been updated to cover the period
since the second edition (November 2011). |
![]() |
Frank Zappa FAQ From the author's
introduction: "This is an un-complex book aimed at telling the complex
story of Frank Zappa. It's set up in three sections: "biography"
(the origins of Zappa; where he was born, where he went to school, etc.),
"music" (a survey of his recordings, his playing style, and
his use of humor in his songs), and "odds and ends" (which gathers
miscellaneous information about Zappa's former bandmates, his gear, and
other subjects). Within these sections I offer up interesting facts about
the man's history and the evolution of his work. Consider it a guide or
gateway into Zappa's unique approach to satire, composing, and politics.
To paraphrase the man himself: just what the world needs ... another book
about Frank Zappa." |
![]() |
Your Five Closest Relatives Volume Six of Scott Parker's series covers the period October 1975 to March 1976, or the timespan of the final Mothers lineup. It follows the same format as the previous volumes. Limited signed edition |
![]() |
Frankie & Bobby "Understanding
what makes us who we are is difficult. And looking back at our past means
looking at what we've become. More than a memoir, "Growing Up Zappa"
poses a question and pursues the answer masterfully: How was a shared
childhood formative to the lives of Bob, businessman and educator, and
Frank, composer and satirist extraordinaire. Previously unpublished photos
from the 1940s and 1950s replace the Zappa fans' mental images of what
a Zappa childhood was like with the real picture. Bob Zappa chronicles
two boys playing in the yard, learning to smoke, becoming adults. The
account ends appropriately in 1967 with each brother embarking on his
own adult life. Bob Zappa's take is unique, purposeful and essential to
anyone who wants to truly understand Frank Zappa's personality." Paperback 346 pages
|
![]() |
Zappa and Jazz In 1973 Frank said ‘Jazz is not dead… it just smells funny’. In this new book Geoff Wills takes a look at Zappa’s widely assumed antipathy for the jazz genre. Zappa and Jazz focuses on the influence of jazz on Zappa in an attempt to clarify the often-confusing nature of his relationship with it. Zappa’s early years are examined, from his first foray into a recording studio to the formation and progress of his band The Mothers of Invention. There are exhaustive critiques here of the key jazz-related albums Hot Rats, King Kong, The Grand Wazoo and Waka/Jawaka. Along the way, Wills analyses Zappa’s music and the wider influences that were crucial in forming his attitudes, not only to jazz but to society in general. The book concludes with a discussion of Zappa’s similarity to more orthodox jazz leaders, his legacy and the influence on jazz-related music. Paperback 160 pages
|
![]() |
ZaFTIG Written by acclaimed musical historian and author Edward Komara with Scott Parker, this new book takes a look at Frank Zappa's catalog, with a focus on the releases of the various albums in the compact disc format. It details FZ's reasons for making the changes he made to his original albums for CD release, and the process that the Zappa Family Trust went through to restore them to their original glory for the universally-acclaimed 2012 Universal CD reissue series. It also functions as a guide for Zappa newbies, listing the various releases and giving the uninitiated some clues as to just what exactly is all this wonderment they have stumbled upon! Signed edition |
![]() |
A Freak Out In The Making Subtitled "the true story of rock's first concept album" this is Scott's account of the making of Freak Out. There are sections on early recordings and rehearsals, the studio sessions and the editing and mixing among others, notably details of everyone listed in the sleevenotes. Reading this book will be considerably enhanced by having copies of both MOFO sets, Joe's Corsage and the Mystery Disc to hand together with as many different releases of Freak Out as you can find! Signed edition |
![]() |
Shell Shocked Howard Kaylan's biography, neatly summed up in the sub-title. Full of tales of sex, drugs and creative excess. Illustrated with photographs from Howard's own collection. Paperback 262 pages
|
![]() |
Confessions Of A Zappa Fanatic One of Tom Brown's claims to fame is that he was the man responsible for the Beat The Boots project at Rhino Records, but he's also worked with Denny Walley, Arthur Barrow and Flo & Eddie. This book is his thoroughly entertaining and amusing account of life as a long time Zappa fan. Essential reading!
|
![]() |
The Return Of Rondo Hatton Volume Five of Scott Parker's series covers the period from June 1974 through to May 1975. As in previous volumes there are sections on official releases, bootlegs and circulating live tapes. There's also a short section of corrections and updates to previous volumes. And, like The Hook, it's been professionally printed so it looks real good. Limited signed edition |
![]() |
Chances And How To Take Them Most Frank Zappa fans know that his father Francis wrote a book on gambling, but very few people have actually seen it! Chances: And How To Take Them was released by a small publisher in June 1966 and quickly disappeared after its first printing. This first-ever reissue of Chances: And How To Take Them draws upon Francis Zappa's lifelong career in teaching and working with mathematics as well as his interest in presenting how maths is involved in games of chance. Francis Zappa walks the reader through the mathematical formulas of combinations and probability to illustrate the mechanics of these games of chance and why they are so hard to win. The reader can then apply these principles for their own amusement! Paperback 120 pages
illustrated |
![]() |
Zappa
The Hard Way Andrew Greenaway's
account of the 1988 tour. He's interviewed most of the surviving band
members and others associated with the tour to unravel the goings on behind
the scenes that drove Zappa to call a halt to proceedings, despite the
huge personal financial losses. Paperback 200 pages
illustrated We also have the publisher's last few hardback copies. UK £17.50. . Europe £22.90 . . Rest £28.50 |
![]() |
Freak Out! Pauline Butcher was
Frank's secretary from 1967 to 1971, starting when she was summoned to
Frank’s London hotel room to transcribe the lyrics of Absolutely
Free. Frank subsequently invited Pauline to work for him in Los Angeles,
where she lived at the log cabin in the Hollywood Hills. Pauline wrote
this book using the diaries she kept at the time and the long letters
she wrote home nearly every week which her mother kept, so there's lots
of inside information about life at the Zappas. Mixing with eccentric
hangers-on, Oscar winners, music-industry heavyweights - and some English
rock stars - she ran the Mothers' fan club United Mutations and managed
the GTOs, gaining an unparalleled insight into Zappa’s life and
work in the process. |
![]() |
The
Zappa Supplement One In this supplementary
volume to the RECORDINGS OF FRANK ZAPPA series, Scott Parker delves into
the story of what has become a Holy Grail for Zappa fans, the unreleased
1969 12-LP box set The History And Collected Improvisations Of The Mothers
Of Invention. |
![]() |
Strictly
Genteel Volume 2 of Scott
Parkers musical history. This new book takes a look at the recordings
of Frank Zappa, Hot Rats and The Mothers from 1970 to 1971. Its
in the same format as Vol 1 so it includes a full discography of authorized
and unauthorized releases as well as detailed listings of all known circulating
"underground" live and studio recordings. |
![]() |
Academy
Zappa
|
![]() |
Now in paperback.
Illustrated, 440 pages |
![]() |
Electric
Don Quixote by Neil Slaven A straightforward and clear biography which is well-researched and accurate.
|
|
Frank Zappa Tab Books HOT RATS Guitar Tab Book Frank Zappa's classic 1969 album features note-for-note transcriptions with tab for all 6 songs, lots of photos and an introduction from Simpsons creator and Frank Zappa fan Matt Groening. Paperback 72 pages. Songs are: Peaches
En Regalia . Willie The Pimp . Son Of Mr. Green Genes . Little Umbrellas
. The Gumbo Variations . It Must Be A Camel. APOSTROPHE
(') Guitar Tab Book UK £18.00. . Europe £21.10 . . Rest £24.25 |
ALL PRICES throughout our site INCLUDE POSTAGE & PACKING. For further details see here |
Home | Back to INDEX |