about people playing frank zappa's muzik

the idiot bastard was absolutely right. I have to support him saying that there have never been this many artists recording frank zappa's music. it's not easy to keep track of all of them, but we try...
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here we go,
* the real time jazz band: the rub böard tutör
(????, 12", usa, ???)
i have it in my hands, but i can't find a date of issue or a record company. anyway, it's on vinyl, so it's probably a few (?) years old. the real time jazz band = r.g.barnes, jim bogen, mike fay & pope firman. they play frank zappa's 'the air' on washboard, clarinet, banjo & bass (+ vocals). if anyone has more info on this, please let me know.

* the ed palermo big band: the ed palermo big band plays the music of frank zappa
(1997, cd, uk, astor place recordings tcd 4005-adv)
no, not the one we all know, but the advance copy. story has it that palermo, due to copyright payments, was forced to cut down on the total number of zappa compositions that he had recorded. hence, the final product is a bit different from this advance product:
1. 'peaches en regalia' (frank zappa)
2. 'toads of the short forest' (frank zappa)
3. 'who are the brain police? / holiday in berlin' (excerpt) (frank zappa)
4. 'twenty small cigars' (frank zappa)
5. 'king kong' (frank zappa)
6. 'aybe sea / inca roads' (excerpt) (frank zappa)
7. 'waka/jawaka / son of orange county' (excerpt) (frank zappa)
8. 'sofa #1' (frank zappa)
9. 'the little house i used to live in / mother people' (excerpt) (frank zappa)
10. 'heavy duty judy / grand wazoo' (excerpt) (frank zappa)
11. 'finale from the carnival of the animals'
12. 'we are not alone' (frank zappa)
13. 'wai,fn?'
i haven't seen the actual advance cd, so i don't know if the artwork is any different. i did get to listen to it, however, and palermo rocks. even in advance.

and there's lots more; :

* thom teresi: street smart
(1998, cd, usa, rhombus)
- incl. 'son of mr. green genes' (frank zaappa); feat. arthur barrow thom teresi on keyboard. up-tempo jazzy version.

* jack o'fire: forever
(1996, cd, ??, sympathy for the record industry 405)
- incl. 'trouble every day' (frank zappa)<
lots of covers on this garage album.

* metropolis orchestra: tribute to f.z.
(1999, cdr, i, private release)
and how about this demo by the metropolis orchestra? never heard of these guys, but they sure do an excellent job playing zappa's music. very fine arrangements & a superb female vocalist as well !!

* the ace-tones: teen trash vol. 6
(1993, lp, ger, music maniac records)
- incl. 'suzy creamcheese' (frank zappa) the ace-tones originate from delft, holland. they recorded volume 6 in music maniac records' "teen trash" series, an album that included frank zappa's 'suzy creamcheese'. issued on lp & on cd.

* kontra: suurimmat iskut
(1996, cd, sf, siboney, lxcd 610)
- incl. 'mökö ja luru' (='let's make the wwater turn black') (frank zappa)
this 1996 album is in fact a re-release & it contains the complete (and very rare)
* kontra: kontran toinen puoli
(1978, lp, sf, love records lrlp 291) from which the above mentioned zappa cover originates.

* lex l. bronkowiz orchestra: lex l. bronkowiz orchestra plays the music of frank zappa - get dressed or arrested
(2000, cdr, ger, private release)
- incl.'dog breath','inca roads','sofa','uuncle meat','mr. green genes','transylvania boogie','king kong','let's move to cleveland','harry, you're a beast','honey, don't you want a man like me','mom and dad','the idiot bastard son','watermelon in easter hay','oh no (bass variation)','mr. green genes meets uncle meat' (frank zappa)
all zappa compositions; superb covers.

* maarit: viis' pientä
(1975, lp, sf, love records lrlp 128) - incl 'hikiset henget' (= dog breath') (frank zappa)
finnish band maarit covered a frank zappa track on their "viis' pientä" album in 1975. the album got a re-issue in 1997 on cd.

* skip heller: couch, los angeles
(1999, cd, usa, mouthpiece moup6027)
- incl. 'take your clothes off when you daance' (frank zappa)
influenced by zappa & raymond scott, this is a must-have album. skip heller on the guitar, but also arranging, conducting & producing this fabulous album.

* adolf noise: wunden, s. beine offen
(1996, pict.disc, ger, plattenmeister efa 61053-1)
- samples zappa in '40 kaninchen'

* septpiece: septpiece
(1998, cd, uk, red dot records rd 00124)
- incl. 'twenty small cigars' (frank zappaa)

* various artists: delphonic sounds today: del-fi does del-fi
(1998, cd, usa, del-fi 2114)
- incl.: the dekes of hazzard: 'the world''s greatest sinner' (frank zappa)

* gangster fun: pure amphetamines
(1998, cd, usa, jump up records jump013)
- incl. 'dirty love' (frank zappa)
ska going zappa.

* stukas: 9
(1994, cd, ??, birdnest records, bird055cd)
- incl. 'wind up workin' in a gas station'' (frank zappa)
birdnest artist stukas recorded 'wind up' on this mini cd.

* camper van beethoven: camper van beethoven is dead, long live camper van beethoven
(2000, cd, ??, pitch-a-tent pat200002)
- incl. 'who are the brain police?' (frankk zappa)
camper van beethoven was previously mentioned in this column, collaborating with eugene chadbourne as "camper van chadbourne" and having recorded a zappa medley.

* the spotnicks: vol 6
(2000, cd, fr, magic 5274762)
- incl. 'lumpy gravy' (frank zappa)
the spotnicks have recorded frank zappa's 'lumpy gravy' as a b-side for their 'diamonds' single way back in the sixties. the track can also be found on various spotnicks compilations.

* nurse with wound: second private session
(2000, lp, uk, ??)
- incl. 'subterranean zappa blues' (= 'troouble every day') (frank zappa)
this is the vinyl edition of "second private session". the cd editions has a different mix.

* nurse with wound: second private session - rock 'n roll station special edition
(2000, cd, uk, world serpant distribution ud043 cd)
- incl. 'subterranean zappa blues' (= 'troouble every day') (frank zappa) = different mix

* das karin stock blechquartett: demo
(???, cdr, ger, private release)
= demo - incl. 'excertpt from music for electric violin and low-budget symphony orchestra','intro to uncle meat','zappa-medley', bobby-loop' (frank zappa)
a fabulous demo cdr !! re-read one of the zappanale album liner notes for another karin stock mention.

* momus: first
(??, cd, ger, ccat-107)
- 'let's make the water turn black' (frankk zappa)
a project by one of the behind the mirror musicians.

* die rockys: du sollst dich schäm' (denn du tanzt nicht)
(1999, cd, ger, rockvogel)
- incl. 'bodo braun' (= 'bobby brown') (frrank zappa)

* nigey lennon: reinventing the wheel
(2000, cd, usa, dinghy records)
- incl. 'anyway the wind blows' (frank zapppa)
a superb cover, and a very fine album as well.

* the screws: the screws present 12 new hate-filled classics
(1999, cd, ??, in the red 60)
- incl. 'jesse lee' (frank zappa)

* tom lang: mediator
(????, cdkoch international 343432)
- incl. 'the black page' (frank zappa)

* camper van chadbourne: used record pile
(2000, cd, usa, knitting factory)
- incl. 'zappa medley' (frank zappa)
a compilation album

* david tanenbaum: david tanenbaum
(1997, cd, usa, new albion records na095)
- incl. 'waltz for guitar' (frank zappa)
* the grandmothers: eating the astoria
(2000, cd, ger, obvious music om gm 0100) - incl. 'peaches en regalia','call any vegetable','invocation and ritual dance of the young pumpkin','sleeping in a jar','love of my life','hungry freaks daddy','big leg emma','brown shoes don't make it','mr. green genes','uncle meat','oh no','the orange county lumber truck' (frank zappa)

(©peter van laarhoven - belgium)

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