Frank Zappa
The Lost Episodes

THE REVIEW

In a few years, the posthumous discography of Frank Zappa will be even more extensive than the already mammoth original discography, considering the pace of two to three unpublished releases per year, overseen by the Zappa family who throws anything from the extensive archives of the mustached one to the zealous Zappa fans, be it debatable rarities, live albums (for the most part), or even genuine "unpublished" releases. Many things, according to Frank, would probably have remained collecting dust, but such is the case: the scientific exploitation of a myth is a lucrative common practice.

This "The Lost Episodes" is the second posthumous release by Zappa, dated 1996, but was curated by him himself in '92, just a year before his passing. This compilation is a true nostalgic operation, covering the entire span of his career, starting from a Mesolithic 1958 (!) to the end of '92, with a preference for the first part of his career. Nostalgia can be inferred from the detailed autobiographical description of the various songs, "explained" in the extensive booklet of the CD, which prove to be at least necessary to understand the numerous outtakes and spoken parts present on the disc, which assume more of a "historical" value rather than strictly musical. Examples of this are the very first collaborations with Captain Beefheart such as the odd blues parody "Lost In Whirlpool" (with the usual irreverent lyrics... but in 1958!), Beefheart's vocal delirium in "Ronnie sings", "Tiger Roach", "The Big Squeeze" (definitely for hardcore fans), or even the spoken parts of "Kenny's Booger Story" and "I'm a Band Leader". Among the various outtakes, the most "surprising" is without a doubt "Cops&Buns", a recording of a real conversation between the Mothers band (in New York in '67) and a police officer pleading not to have to respond to some complaints from people annoyed by the band's music rehearsals. I can already imagine Zappa more keen on recording the matter unbeknownst to everyone rather than listening to the cop's pleas. Talk about seizing the moment.

There is also room for real music, which among negligible episodes like "Charva" or the live orchestral excerpt "Mount St. Mary's Concert Excerpt", and demo versions of "Any Way The Wind Blows" and "Fountain Of Love", offers authentic hidden gems such as "Sharleena" (here in a fantastic 11-minute definitive version) and the jazzy "Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance". Also noteworthy is a primordial version of "Inca Roads" and the violin jam "Lil Clanton Shuffle", from the "Hot Rats" sessions and worthy of that masterpiece were it not for the presence of a certain "The Gumbo Variations" on that album.

"The Lost Episodes" cannot be defined as a fundamental or indispensable work, but it is certainly a good product that doesn't explain Zappa's genius but gives a taste or an insight, depending on the person who is about to listen to it, whether they are a neophyte or a convinced Zappa fan.

P.S: For the record, the theory Frank Zappa > Nirvana remains obviously unchanged.