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Frank Zappa For President

Frank Zappa Format: Audio CD
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 80 ratings
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Editorial Reviews

Frank Zappa For President? You betcha!  We know at various times he wanted to run for office.  In the spirit of the 2016 dramatic presidential election adventures, comes a release that gives us a glimpse into what could have been. This album is comprised of unreleased compositions realized on the Synclavier along with other relevant tracks mined from the Vault with a political thread tying it all together. Don t forget to Register and Vote!

Product details

  • Is Discontinued By Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ No
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Product Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.63 x 4.96 x 0.43 inches; 3.17 ounces
  • Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ Zappa Records
  • Original Release Date ‏ : ‎ 2016
  • Date First Available ‏ : ‎ June 8, 2016
  • Label ‏ : ‎ Zappa Records
  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B01GS017IY
  • Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 80 ratings

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4.4 out of 5 stars
80 global ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Joe Travers does a great job finding nice little Zappa nuggets to think on ...
    Reviewed in the United States on July 24, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    Latest Zappa Family Trust release..Joe Travers does a great job finding nice little Zappa nuggets to think on during this election year..If Only Frank were here to trump them all.. This would have been his year ...Either way we hear Frank during an interview (Frank's been gone 22 years ) speaking on elections and it's as if it's today's world..Always So far ahead of the best of us ..This is worth a listen just to hear Frank Zappa Speak..Plus alternate versions of some of his politically motivated songs.Fairly priced For all listeners who like great music , laughing ,thinking ,learning ........
    14 people found this helpful
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  • T. Ostroushko
    5.0 out of 5 stars ... unreleased synclavier pieces taking up half the album is wonderful..
    Reviewed in the United States on July 24, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    With two unreleased synclavier pieces taking up half the album is wonderful...keep them coming! The remix of "Brown Shoes..." is interesting and more dynamic. Two live cuts from the '88 touring band...also excellent! Frank speaking about how he would run for office over synclavier music..a gem! Finally...Napoleon Murphy Brock singing over "Amnerika"...Yowza! This a full length album (not an e.p.) for next to no $$ to spend...Excellent record all around! Thank you!
    13 people found this helpful
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  • J. D. Kelly
    5.0 out of 5 stars A nice re-mix of "Brown Shoes Don't Make it" along with ...
    Reviewed in the United States on December 3, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    A nice re-mix of "Brown Shoes Don't Make it" along with some really good Synclavier tunes. This is a surprisingly good, discount buy. If you are into the FZ Synclavier product, this will please you and is more accessible than some of "Civilization' so maybe some doubters will like it too.
    4 people found this helpful
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  • Ron Fent
    4.0 out of 5 stars America Needs Zappa Now
    Reviewed in the United States on November 9, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    Certainly not the best Zappa effort, but worth the price for the live version the Mothers do of America The Beautiful. The first track is 15 minutes of what sounds like an outtake from "Jazz From Hell", a record which I found to be awful. However, I can listen to this track and appreciate the classical composition talents of a man who was, indeed, America's greatest composer.
    Frank Zappa represented a purely unfettered artist of real genius who was fascinatingly hypocritical about drug use - While he hated street drugs, he died from lung cancer caused by his addiction to nicotine. He was also somewhat of a caveman misogynist in his lyrics, though he may have been using it as satire mostly. I wonder what he would say and write in response to our 2016 election results. America will never know, but you can listen to this and figure it out for yourselves.
    4 people found this helpful
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  • BarKat
    3.0 out of 5 stars Disappointed with this, and disappointed for this small abrasion on Frank's legacy!!
    Reviewed in the United States on July 21, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    OK, we're in a Presidential Election year, but I struggle to find the correlation here. Not what I had hoped for. Too much mashed potatoes, and not nearly enough flavorful meat! I don't think Frank would have released this, at least not as a stand-alone disc. I'm an FZ completest, but I don't figure to listen to this many more times in my earthly existence.
    9 people found this helpful
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  • Hutch
    5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting.
    Reviewed in the United States on July 19, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    very interesting collage of music by the most amazing musical genius of the 20th century.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Clegman
    5.0 out of 5 stars What's most important to know about Zappa?
    Reviewed in the United States on March 22, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    Genius...I mean it.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Michael Thomas
    2.0 out of 5 stars Mostly Garbage
    Reviewed in the United States on August 2, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    This was a really disappointing album. About half of it is self-indulgent, atonal noodling (virtually unlistenable to me), and the other half is just barely OK ... I guess. The most valuable thing on the album is a monologue from Zappa that indirectly predicts the Trump candidacy. Overall ... it's garbage. I want my money back.
    3 people found this helpful
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  • luco
    5.0 out of 5 stars Super album!
    Reviewed in Canada on September 2, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    Que dire de plus pour un collectionneur comme moi?
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  • Antonio Marques
    5.0 out of 5 stars Gosto
    Reviewed in Spain on December 11, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    Sou fan
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  • fabmen
    4.0 out of 5 stars Pubblicazione importante solo per tre composizioni dell'ultimo periodo inedite (due al synclavier)
    Reviewed in Italy on September 11, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    Questo CD , pubblicato dallo ZFT nel 2016, non rende merito allo Zappa compositore. La tematica "Zappa for President" può avere un senso, ma la confezione del CD no. Zappa è stato molto critico con la società americana (vedi la sua autobiografia) e sì, ha anche pensato nel 91 di candidarsi per la presidenza degli USA. Ma in questo CD la confezione è povera, le note di copertina non spiegano il perchè della scelta dei brani, che hanno una coerenza con la tematica, la loro origine e non li analizzano; inoltre per 2/3 le note di copertina sono occupate da collage di un dollaro e di un edificio istituzionale con tabellone "Zappa for President" che mi sembra semplicemente infantile e sminuisce il valore delle composizioni contenute. Per esempio "Frank Zappa meets the mothers of prevention" del 1985 è molto più dettagliato nei contenuti e focalizzato sulle posizioni politiche di Zappa. Le composizioni per cui è importante avere questo CD sono due inediti al synclavier ("Overture to Uncle Sam" e "Medieval Ensemble") oltre alla versione vocale di "Amnerika"; per un totale di circa 25 minuti di musica. Il resto è riempito da una versione (remix?) del 1969 di "Brown shoes ..." (suite capolavoro di Zappa), oltre a due brani dal tour 1988 ("When the lie is so big" e "America the beautifull"). C'è poi "If I was President..." del 1985, un parlato (ma la voce non mi sembra quella di Zappa) con base di synclavier del quale non si indica l'origine. "Overture to Uncle Sam" è un pezzo di 15 minuti del 1993. Nelle note di copertina di "Dance me this" (ultime composizioni del Maestro del giugno 1993, ma pubblicato solo nel 2015), questo lavoro viene menzionato come un pezzo su cui Zappa stava lavorando nel suo ultimo anno. "Overture to Uncle Sam" suona come una composizione finita. È un pezzo costruito con cura con un paio di temi / motivi, che vengono continuamente variati. I suoni appartengono alla collezione di campionamenti da veri strumenti acustici. "Medieval ensemble" è un lavoro precedente, 1985: È un esempio atonale e piuttosto bizzarro di Zappa che applica il contrappunto. Rilevante è anche la versione vocale di "Amnerika": Mentre la melodia della versione strumentale di "Civilization Phaze III" è esposta da vari strumenti in "Hoquetus", questa ha un'armonia più esplicita (accordi) ed anche un testo cantato mirabilmente da Napoleon Murphy Brock; quindi deve risalire al 1983, quando Napoleon era in studio con Zappa per registrare un paio di brani per "Thing-Fish". E' un CD da avere per completare le composizioni per synclavier pubblicate e da scordare per il resto.
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  • Ulrich Otten
    5.0 out of 5 stars FZ ist meistens gut
    Reviewed in Germany on November 11, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    Nun gut, einiges Altes neu abgemischt sowie Neueditionen aus der Synklavier-Kammer des Meisters. Der family trust nutzt auch die Gelegenheit der amerikanischen Präsidentenkampagne, um dies auf den Markt zu bringen. Über die Umstände und die weitere Entwicklung im Streit um das Erbe von FZ will ich mich nicht weiter äußern. Zu befürchten ist wohl eine maßlose Reedition alter Meisterwerke verbunden mit unbekannten Musikdokumenten aus dem VAULT, von denen es zahllose geben soll. Halten wir seine eigenen Editionen dagegen hoch !
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  • edmund mc camley
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 9, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    Brillgic
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