Frank Talk
The Inside Stories Of Zappa's Other People
Andrew Greenaway

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.

Paperback 365 pages Illustrated

Now in stock

UK £15.00. . Europe £19.10 . . Rest £23.25

The Waldo Scrapbooks
A Collection Of Articles About Frank Zappa From The Collection Of Walt Quadrato
Scott Parker (Editor)

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.

Paperback 199 pages Illustrated

Now in stock

UK £21.00. . Europe £24.80 . . Rest £29.00

Cosmik Debris
New edition: The Return Of The Son Of Revised
Greg Russo

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.

Paperback 436 pages Illustrated

Now in stock

UK £30.00. . Europe £35.60 . . Rest £42.25

My Brother Was A Mother Take 3
Patrice "Candy" Zappa

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).

Paperback 112 pages illustrated

UK £13.50. . Europe £16.95 . . Rest £19.70

Frank Zappa FAQ
John Corcelli

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."
Includes a full discography and selected bibliography. Foreword by Ed Palermo.

Paperback 287 pages

UK £18.00 . . Europe £21.80 . . Rest £26.00

Your Five Closest Relatives
Scott Parker

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

Paperback 365 pages

UK £29.00 . . Europe £33.35 . . Rest £39.35

Frankie & Bobby
Growing Up Zappa
Bob Zappa

"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."
Jim Cohen.

Paperback 346 pages

UK £22.00. . Europe £25.45 . . Rest £28.20

Zappa and Jazz
Did It Really Smell Funny, Frank?
Geoff Wills

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

UK £10.50. . Europe £13.95 . . Rest £16.70

ZaFTIG
The Zappa Family Trust (Compact Disc) Issues Guide
Edward Komara with Scott Parker

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

Paperback 360 pages

UK £20.00. . Europe £25.25 . . Rest £30.65

A Freak Out In The Making
Scott Parker

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

Paperback 145 pages

UK £10.50. . Europe £13.95 . . Rest £16.70

Shell Shocked
My Life With The Turtles, Flo & Eddie, and Frank Zappa etc.

Howard Kaylan with Jeff Tamarkin

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

UK £17.50. . Europe £21.30 . . Rest £25.50

Confessions Of A Zappa Fanatic
H T Brown

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!

Paperback 146 pages

UK £11.00. . Europe £14.45 . . Rest £17.20

The Return Of Rondo Hatton
Scott Parker

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

Paperback 396 pages

UK £35.50. . Europe £39.85 . . Rest £45.85

Chances And How To Take Them
Francis V. Zappa

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

UK £11.00. . Europe £13.50 . . Rest £14.75

Zappa The Hard Way
Andrew Greenaway

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.
Foreword by Candy Zappa and Afterword by Pauline Butcher.

Paperback 200 pages illustrated

UK £15.50. . Europe £17.90 . . Rest £20.80

We also have the publisher's last few hardback copies.

UK £17.50. . Europe £22.70 . . Rest £28.15

Freak Out!
My Life With Frank Zappa
Pauline Butcher

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.
Paperback 320 pages illustrated

UK £16.00. . Europe £19.80. . Rest £24.00

The Hook
Scott Parker

Volume Four of Scott Parker's series, named after an onstage conducted signal frequently employed by FZ at this time, covers the "Roxy era" from September 1973 through to the spring of 1974. It follows the same format as the previous volumes but this one is professionally printed so the production values are way up this time. As in Blessed Relief there's a short section of corrections to previous volumes.

Limited signed edition

Paperback 248 pages

UK £33.50. . Europe £37.35 . . Rest £41.50

Blessed Relief
Scott Parker

Volume Three of Scott Parker's series covers the period 1972 to September 1973, or from Just Another Band From LA to Overnite Sensation. It follows the same format as the previous volumes but it's now even bigger (and better according to Scott). It also includes a short section of corrections to Volumes 1 and 2.

Limited signed edition

Paperback 398 pages

UK £29.00 . . Europe £33.35 . . Rest £39.35

The Zappa Supplement One
Scott Parker

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.
Part two details the story of the all-FZ Mud Shark bootleg LP label, including the recollections of Mud Shark founder Studebacher Hoch.”


Paperback 120+ pages

UK £20.00. . Europe £22.45 . . Rest £25.30

Strictly Genteel
Scott Parker

Volume 2 of Scott Parker’s musical history. This new book takes a look at the recordings of Frank Zappa, Hot Rats and The Mothers from 1970 to 1971. It’s 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.


Paperback 300+ pages

UK £29.00 . . Europe £33.35 . . Rest £39.35

Hungry Freaks, Daddy
Scott Parker

This is volume 1 of a four-book set documenting the musical history of Frank Zappa and covers the years 1959-1969. Part 1 is a comprehensive discography with separate sections for albums, singles, compilations, bootlegs and everything else. Part 2 reviews all the circulating non-commercial recordings including transcriptions for stage announcements. Part 1 is copiously illustrated with scans of the artwork. Scott originally produced a limited edition of 100 signed copies. These have now sold out but we can still offer the same edition, illustrated in colour, but unsigned.

Paperback 300+ pages

UK £29.00 . . Europe £33.35 . . Rest £39.35

Academy Zappa
edited by Ben Watson and Esther Leslie

Proceedings of the First International Conference of Esemplastic Zappology.
Thirteen papers presented at this conference are now in book form together with an introduction by Ben Watson
Paperback 250 pages Illustrated

UK £16.00. . Europe £18.40 . . Rest £21.30

Frank Zappa by Barry Miles
The new biography

Now in paperback. Illustrated, 440 pages

UK £12.50. . Europe £16.30 . . Rest £20.50

Electric Don Quixote by Neil Slaven

A straightforward and clear biography which is well-researched and accurate.

Paperback 400 pages Illustrated

UK £13.25. . Europe £17.05 . . Rest £21.25

Frank Zappa Tab Books

One Size Fits All Tab Book

Transcriptions for all the songs on the album and a foreword by Steve Vai. Paperback 182 pages
Songs: Inca Roads . Can't Afford No Shoes . Sofa No. 1 . Po-jama People . Florentine Pogen . Evelyn, A Modified Dog . San Ber'dino . Andy . Sofa No. 2

UK £18.50. . Europe £22.30 . . Rest £26.50

Over-nite Sensation Tab Book

Transcriptions for all the songs on the album and a foreword by Warren Cuccurullo. Paperback 102 pages.
Songs: Camarillo Brillo . I'm The Slime . Dirty Love . Fifty-Fifty . Zomby Woof . Dinah-Moe Humm . Montana

UK £18.50. . Europe £20.90 . . Rest £23.80

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.

UK £18.00. . Europe £20.40 . . Rest £23.30

APOSTROPHE (') Guitar Tab Book

Transcriptions for all the songs on Frank's classic 1974 album Apostrophe (').
Paperback 96 pages.
Apostrophe tracks are: Don't Eat The Yellow Snow . Nanook Rubs It . St. Alphonso's Pancake Breakfast . Father Oblivion . Cosmik Debris . Excentrifugal Force . Apostrophe' . Uncle Remus . Stink-Foot

UK £18.00. . Europe £20.40 . . Rest £23.30