Frank Discussion

At the AV Club they discuss the best way to get into Frank Zappa's music. It's a hopeless task.  In his short life Zappa released more stuff than any other rock artist I can think of, and he did it in numerous genres--R&B, fusion jazz, guitar solos, modern music, even spoken word.  There is no single type of music that defines him.



Still, you can do worse than what they suggest.  For the early days, with old-style rock and modern experimentation, you could try Freak Out!, though Absolutely Free and especially We're Only In It For The Money have better music. For jazzy stuff, Hot Rats is probably his most popular title, though I prefer Uncle Meat and Burnt Weeny Sandwich.  For more strictly commercial doings, you probably can't beat Apostrophe, though Over-Nite Sensation opened it up first.



For his later years, it's catch as catch can, and you can dive in where you want, based on your reaction to the earlier stuff.  On the other hand, if you can't get into anything from his first decade, you might as well give up.