Search - Frank Zappa :: Son of Cheep Thrills

Let them eat Zappa

Geoff Pointer | Adelaide Australia | 02/22/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Firstly, being told to buy Frank's albums does not help at all. If you were there all the time you have only ever been able to wait for his next release but if you are new to Frank Zappa on the wrong end of his career with well over fifty albums to choose from and not cash heavy which one do you buy first?



Secondly, what does die-hard Zappa fan mean? On the album Tinsel Town Rebellion at the start of Dance Contest a fan who has come onto the stage sounding extremely stoned blurts out how much he adores Frank and asks him to play Dinah Mo Hum, one of Zappa's occasionally more pornographic numbers. That fan is not presented in the best light in the liner notes. Do you want that person's advice? There is no such person as The Die-Hard Zappa Fan - people followed his career for countless reasons. Does anyone ever refer to the archetypal die-hard Stravinsky fan? It's not just a question of having all or nearly all of Frank Zappa's albums.



Thirdly, taken in isolation, Son of Cheep Thrills is a great album, the tracks are segued together nicely a la Zappa. I imagine you could put countless collections together like this if you wanted, but for a sampler, as a "die-hard" Zappa fan, I would have chosen different tracks. This album doesn't really capture Zappa's breadth and there are also better representatives of the aspects that it does address. None the less, it's all great Zappa music and even as a long time fan I don't regret buying it as cheap as it was, if nothing else it shows how pliable his music can be.



Fourthly, there are no rules, except that die-hard Frank Zappa fans do not own Frank Zappa.



So, should you buy this or go straight to Zappa's own output? I figure the odds be fifty fifty. A vote from all Zappa Fans would no doubt produce a most popular album, but that may not be the best place to start, for example You Are What You Is is nearly all songs which is not a typical Zappa album. Samplers such as Son of Cheep Thrills, if they're cheap and well thought out may give someone new to Zappa a good place to start. If you're not going to get a sampler then in my opinion, Roxy And Elsewhere would be hard to beat as a first Zappa Album. This was a double album, now on one CD. It has pieces pretty much spanning the entire Zappa spectrum played live by an amazing big band and MCed very amusingly and nostalgically by the man himself. It's a very apt and at the same time personal introduction to Frank Zappa. That album is still taking my breath away after 30 years.



If you are going to like Frank Zappa you'll most probably like Son Of Cheep Thrills which at the very least points to the various albums where the material originated. Toss a coin - heads you buy Son Of Cheep Thrills, tails you buy Roxy And Elsewhere."

Recycled and Reusable

pepper25 | Texas | 09/06/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"There are two types of people whom this disk caters to. The obsessive collector and the green fans. Having only been a fan for a few years you might still see a little green around the edges. I think Ryko's target was green fans. Why else would they have colored the case and insert green? Hmmmn. Anyway I enjoyed this little collection. Its the perfect take it with you kind of album along the lines of Kmfdm's Retro. It beats compilation tapes in sound quality. I especially liked the the live stuff. It gives me an excuse to use the Live effect on my car's cd player."

You get what you pay for.

Sir Deuteronomy McClurkin, esq. | America | 08/28/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Having heard much of Zappas works here and there, and seeing 200 MOTELS until I couldn't do it anymore, I decided I would buy some FZ album. But the choices were so mindboggling. So many phases, so many albums... so much of everything. So I decided to buy this c.d. and it's prequel, CHEAP THRILLS. While I was not very thrilled at the mediocre live versions of great songs and noodling bits, I found it very... well... ok. I waited a few days to listen to this one. And I found it very much suited my tastes. Great jazz stuff, great instrumental stuff, the great cover of the doo-wop song "WPLJ", and... MY FAVORITE OF THE SELECTIONS... the country and blues- tainted "It Just Might Be a One Shot Deal". THis c.d. has been in my player quite a bit, and while it may be a cheap advertisement for the whole catalog... I'd prefer this one to CHEAP THRILLS. Yes, now that I've gotten other c.d.s, they could have put better songs on these 2 discs, making it a better compilation/intro. I recommend this one. Just dig that cover art also! But you be the judge."