Old Masters (box set)

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For other uses, see Old Masters (disambiguation).
The Old Masters
Box set series by
Frank Zappa
ReleasedBox One - April 1985
Box Two - November 1986
Box Three - December 1987
GenreRock
LabelBarking Pumpkin
ProducerFrank Zappa
Frank Zappa chronology
Thing-Fish
(1984) 		The Old Masters
(1985) 		Frank Zappa Meets the Mothers of Prevention
(1985)
Does Humor Belong in Music?
(1986)
The Old Masters Box II
(1986)
Jazz from Hell
(1986)
London Symphony Orchestra, Vol. II

(1987)
The Old Masters Box III
(1987)
Guitar
(1988)
The Old Masters Box II
The Old Masters Box III

The Old Masters is a

200 Motels was not included in the series as it was the only Zappa/Mothers album for which Zappa was unable to secure the rights.[1]

The box sets contained new masters mixed and edited by Zappa in his Utility Muffin Research Kitchen home studio, prepared for the compact disc format. The albums were remixed and reedited, and are substantially different from their original releases.

The series was well received by critics, although some criticism was aimed at Zappa's alterations, most notably the decision to rerecord the rhythm sections of the albums We're Only in It for the Money and Cruising with Ruben & the Jets, which provoked a lawsuit over unpaid royalties. These are official releases #43, #46, and #49.

Background

In the 1980s,

overdubbing newly recorded performances by bassist Arthur Barrow and drummer Chad Wackerman.[2][3] Barrow stated of the remixing, "I had mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, as a musician, I'm always happy to be employed and doing sessions is always fun. But on the other hand, I did try to talk Frank out of it the best I could."[2] Zappa told Barrow that he did not like the original performances, by bassist Roy Estrada and drummer Jimmy Carl Black.[2]

During this period, Zappa also prepared a remix of the second version of his 1967 album

Lumpy Money in 2008.[5]

Zappa stated in regards to the remixing of the albums, "The master tapes for Ruben and the Jets were in better shape, but since I liked the results on We're Only in it For the Money, I decided to do it on Ruben too. But those are the only two albums on which the original performances were replaced. I thought the important thing was the material itself."

Motorhead Sherwood, increasing the claim to $16.4 million, stating that they had received no royalties from Zappa since 1969.[3]

Zappa told interviewers that the oxide was falling off the tapes, and that he had to replace the drum and bass performances. Barrow disputed this, stating "how could the oxide be falling off the tape on one track and not on other tracks? But it's Frank's album. It's his music. He can certainly do what he likes with it. But I think it would be nice for those of us that like the original version to put that out also [...] As for Ruben & The Jets, I kinda think that's bad too. Because one of the coolest things about that album originally was the tape loops for the drums. It sounded like a machine, it was a great sound."[2]

In addition to the new masters, Zappa prepared a "Mystery Disc" for two of the box sets,[6] but not for the third Old Masters box.

The third box did not include the albums

Warner Bros. Records in March 1977. Frank's wife Gail Zappa claimed that Warner had rejected his 4-LP box set Läther and broken up the set into these individual albums.[8] However, Läther was not scheduled for release until October 1977 by another distributor. Frank himself directly contradicted Gail's posthumous claims about Läther in multiple interviews.[9][10][11]

Zappa in New York, Sleep Dirt, Studio Tan and Orchestral Favorites were subsequently released on compact disc by Barking Pumpkin,[7] and Läther was released by Rykodisc in 1996.

All of the albums included in this set were subsequently issued on compact disc, in editions that used the masters which appeared on these boxes;[7][12][13] the "Mystery Discs" were subsequently combined into a single release, Mystery Disc, released by Rykodisc in 1998. On this release, the tracks "Big Leg Emma" and "Why Don't You Do Me Right?" were excluded, as they had previously appeared on the compact disc edition of Absolutely Free.

Track listing

The Old Masters Box I
The Old Masters Box II
The Old Masters Box III

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Box III
[7]

The individual box sets were well received.

Allmusic reviewer William Ruhlmann gave each box 4.5 out of 5 stars.[7][12][13] However, the remixing of the albums received some criticism from fans.[3]

References

  1. ^ "Flo & Eddie Talk To Frank Zappa 1989".
  2. ^
    ISBN 9780857120434
    . Retrieved 10 September 2015.
  3. ^
    ISBN 9780802142153
    . Retrieved 10 September 2015.
  4. Lumpy Money
    (Media notes). Frank Zappa. Zappa Records.
  5. Lumpy Money
    (Media notes). Frank Zappa. Zappa Records.
  6. ISBN 9781617744921
    . Retrieved 10 September 2015.
  7. ^ a b c d e Ruhlmann, W. (2011). "The Old Masters Box 3 [PQRSTUVW] - Frank Zappa & the Mothers | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved 21 July 2011.
  8. ^ Interview with Gail Zappa in the 2020 film "Zappa" produced by Alex Winter
  9. ^ "CFNY Interview". donlope.net. 1978. Retrieved 2021-12-17.
  10. ^ Rambali, Paul. "Stern Words In Knightsbridge..." New Musical Express, January 28, 1978. Retrieved 2021-12-17.
  11. ^ Dallas, Karl. "Carry On Composing". Melody Maker, 28 January 1978. Retrieved 2021-12-18.
  12. ^ a b c Ruhlmann, W. (2011). "Old Masters Box 1 [ABCDE + New] - Frank Zappa & the Mothers | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved 21 July 2011.
  13. ^ a b c Ruhlmann, W. (2011). "Old Masters Box 2 [FGHJKLMO + New] - Frank Zappa & the Mothers | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved 21 July 2011.
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