The Guitar World According To Frank Zappa - 1987

Liner Notes from THE GUITAR WORLD ACCORDING TO FRANK ZAPPA

cover scan by Knut Skogstad[Posted to alt.fan.frank-zappa by Dave Lane on March 19 1996 [nostalgic internet message header :)], slightly edited and HTML-enhanced for readabilty and clairty by Bossk (R), and annotated by us and our chosen cast.]
The Guitar World According to Frank Zappa
A Special Guitar World Audio Presentation

CrO2 Cassette
Barking Pumpkin Records GW002, 1987

Side 1

* Sleep Dirt
* Friendly Little Finger
* Excerpt from "Revised Music for Guitar & Low-Budget Symphony Orchestra"
* Things That Look Like Meat [shorter than on Guitar]

Side 2

* Down in de Dew
* A Solo from Heidelberg [otherwise unreleased]
* A Solo from Cologne [longer version of "But Who Was Fulcanelli?" on Guitar]
* A Solo from Atlanta [longer version of "For Duane" on Guitar]

Side 1
Sleep Dirt (03:17)

December 1974, recorded at Caribou Studios, Colorado
originally released without permission by Warner Brothers on the album Sleep Dirt
engineer: Kerry McNabb
original recording medium: 24-track analog tape
musicians: Frank Zappa, acoustic lead / Bird-Legs Youmans, acoustic rhythm
guitar: Martin steel-string acoustic with classic-width neck

Sleep Dirt was one of several disputed releases involved in the infamous Warner Brothers/Cohen Brothers law suit. The retail copies that eventually reached the marketplace were distinguished by unattractive covers, miserable disc mastering and non-existent promotion. Consequently, few fans have heard this cut. I seldom play acoustic guitar, and this performance (the only complete take from the session) is a rare example of a performance in this setting. The tune itself was composed in a hotel room in Stockholm, Sweden, sometime in November, 1971, as a result of borrowing the Martin guitar (owned then by Mark Volman) and experimenting on a day off during the tour. I eventually traded Mark a Telecaster for the Martin. It now sits unused in a dark corner of the studio.
Friendly Little Finger (04:17)

1975, recorded in a dressing room at Hofstra University and over-dubbed at the Record Plant, Los Angeles, California
originally released on the Warner Brothers album Zoot Allures
engineer: Davey Moire
original recording medium: 24-track analog tape
musicians: Frank Zappa, various guitars and bass / Ruth Underwood, percussion & ARP 2600 /Roy Estrada, drone bass / Terry Bozzio, drums
guitars: Gibson acoustic-electric, Custom fretless, Hofner bass

This is one of the earliest examples of a technique I developed called Xenochrony (strange synchronizations). Other examples include "Rubber Shirt" on Sheik Yerbouti and every guitar solo on Joe's Garage except "Watermelon in Easter Hay". In this technique various tracks from unrelated sources are randomly synchronized with each other to make a final composition with rhythmic relationships unachievable by other means. In ordinary polyrhythmic terms we speak of 5 in the space of 4, or 7 in the space of 6. In Xenochrony we deal with larger units of time; a complete solo at one metronomic rate in the space of a track at another … sort of like Monday and Tuesday crammed into the space of Wednesday. The solo and drone bass was recorded on a 2-track Nagra, 15 ips, with a pair of Neumann U-87 microphones in a rather wet-sounding dressing room, warming up before a concert at Hofstra University on Long Island. This pair of tracks was later Xenochronized to a drum track out-take from "The Ocean Is the Ultimate Solution". The introductory orchestration was added next, and then the Hofner bass (recorded at half-speed), rhythmically splitting the difference between the two different track tempos. [1]
Excerpt from "Revised Music for Guitar & Low-Budget Symphony Orchestra" (02:21)

1975, originally released without permission on another one of those law-suit albums [2]
engineer: Kerry McNabb
original recording medium: 24-track analog tape
musicians: Frank Zappa, guitar & percussion / Bruce Fowler, all brass / George Duke, piano / Tom Fowler, bass / Chad Wackerman, drums
guitar: Ovation nylon-string acoustic-electric, DI into the recording console

This is an excerpt from a short chamber orchestra piece originally composed as a vehicle for violinist Jean-Luc Ponty, re-orchestrated here as a solo vehicle for guitar. The original recording featured Chester Thompson's drums. Chad's part has been over-dubbed as part of the ongoing UMRK digital refurbishment project. [3] The segment began as an improvised solo, played in the studio to the existing track. Bruce Fowler transcribed it and quadrupled it with trombone parts recorded at various speeds. Other examples of transcribed doubling can be found on the Waka/Jawaka and Man from Utopia albums.
Things That Look Like Meat (06:06)

December 1981, recorded live in some place that's not there anymore in Salt Lake City, Utah [4]
previously unreleased - will be included in the next guitar box set [5]
engineer: Mark Pinske
original master: 24-track analog tape
musicians: Frank Zappa, lead guitar / Steve Vai, rhythm guitar / Ray White, rhythm guitar / Ed Mann, percussion / Tommy Mars, Hammond organ / Bobby Martin, Jupiter 8 clavinet / Scott Thunes, bass / Chad Wackerman, drums [6]
guitar: Gibson Les Paul Custom

This is a fairly representative example of my style and approach in a live setting circa 1981. Recorded within three days of the end of the '81 tour, it captures the band in an unusually consistent groove, wending its way home to Los Angeles. Video tape of this solo exists and may be released in conjunction with the next guitar solo box collection. [7]
Side Two
Down in de Dew (02:54)

1975, recorded at Paramount Studios, Hollywood, California
previously unreleased - will be included in the next guitar box set [8]
engineer: Kerry McNabb
original recording medium: 24-track analog tape
musicians: Frank Zappa, all guitars and bass / Jim Gordon, drums
guitars: Gibson acoustic-electric, Custom fretless, Hofner bass

This piece began as a recorded jam session at Electric Lady Studios in New York City. The only thing that remains from the original recording is the drums. Everything else was layered on in over-dubs at subsequent sessions in Los Angeles. This selection was an out-take from the Apostrophe (') album. [9] Another example of fretless guitar soloing can be heard on the song "San Ber'dino" on the One Size Fits All album. Unfortunately, the fretless guitar was stolen several years ago.
A Solo from Heidelberg (05:26)

1977, recorded live in concert, Heidelberg, West Germany [10]
previously unreleased - will be included in the next guitar box set [11]
engineer: Davey Moire
original recording medium: 4-track analog tape
musicians: Frank Zappa, lead / Tommy Mars, piano / Ed Mann, percussion / Patrick O'Hearn, bass / Terry Bozzio, drums
guitar: Custom Gibson SG

This type of solo was a nightly feature of live shows during that period. It's not the best of its kind, but I like the atmosphere and little noises from the audience. I didn't own a recording truck then, and all live concert tapes were being done on a Scully 4-track at 30 ips with Telefunken C-40 noise reduction. We were printing two stereo pairs taken ambiently with AKG stereo mics. Audible background hiss is the result of a whole stage full of amplifiers idling, combined with residual noise inherent in the recording. [12]
A Solo from Cologne (05:11)

Summer [13] 1982, recorded live in concert, Cologne, West Germany
previously unreleased - will be included in the next guitar box set [14]
engineer: Mark Pinske
original recording medium: 24-track analog tape
musicians: Frank Zappa, lead / Steve Vai, rhythm guitar / Ray White, rhythm guitar / Ed Mann, percussion / Tommy Mars, keyboards /
Bobby Martin, keyboards / Scott Thunes, bass / Chad Wackerman, drums
guitar: Custom Stratocaster

This is fairly typical of the Strat solos during the '82 European tour. Video also exists for this cut. I am considering the production of a 1-hour video version of the next guitar box. Let me know if you are interested … call 818-PUMPKIN and tell Dottie or Mariel or Gerald if you think there's a market for such an item.
A Solo from Atlanta (04:05)

Autumn [15] 1984, recorded in concert, Atlanta, Georgia
engineer: Mark Pinske
original recording medium: 24-track digital tape
previously unreleased - will be included in the next guitar box set [16]
musicians: Frank Zappa, lead / Ike Willis, rhythm guitar / Ray White, rhythm guitar / Bobby Martin, keyboards / Allan Zavod, keyboards / Scott Thunes, bass / Chad Wackerman, drums
guitar: custom Stratocaster

There weren't very many people at this concert. Too bad they missed it. This was toward the end of the 1984 tour. The last concert of the tour was the Universal Amphitheater in Los Angeles, December 23. I haven't played the guitar at all since then.
[general notes & ads]

all songs composed, performed and produced by FRANK ZAPPA
all songs published (C) 1987 MUNCHKIN MUSIC (ASCAP)
engineered and digitally re-mastered by BOB STONE
cover photo by ANN SUMMA
package designed by MICHAEL DIEHL
executive producer for Guitar World Special Audio Presentations: NOE GOLDWASSER
liner notes by FRANK ZAPPA
(C) (P) 1987 BARKING PUMPKIN RECORDS

Distributed by GUITAR WORLD, GUITAR GALAXY and BARKING PUMPKIN
(C) 1987 GUITAR WORLD