Search - Vaya Con Dios :: Strictly Commercial: The Best Of Frank Zappa

If You're Curious About Zappa.....

Stanley Runk | Camp North Pines | 09/15/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This collection can be hit or miss. I gave it five stars, but it isn't a five star cd. The five stars are there because this cd changed my life. It opened a whole new door to me, and for that I'll always be thankful for this cd. This collection may not have the same effect on you, but you never know. To those unfamiliar, yet curious about Zappa, I'm sure it must be frustrating standing in the record store staring down hundreds of Zappa albums and thinking, "My God, which one do I get?" Well, this collection(one of the first Zappa collections to come out) is a good place to start, but be forewarned: It is misleading. Trying to cram 60 albums' worth of music on one cd is an impossible task, especially from an artist who experimented with so many sounds. This compilation exists in a fantasy world where all the songs on the disc would be Frank Zappa's hit singles. As we all know, he didn't have hit singles, but if he did, these would be it. That's where it's misleading coz Zappa's music goes way beyond what you'll hear on this cd. Most of the tunes here are kept to 4 minute, humorous, catchy rock tunes that make Zappa sound like Weird Al with much better guitar playing ability. Gone are the modern classical pieces, the free jazz, the ten minute guitar solos and the crude humor. Yes folks, you won't hear it on Strictly Commercial, but Zappa said things that would make The Insane Clown Posse blush. So, I would suggest this compilation just to get a fair idea of what Zappa's about, though many compilations have been released since(ones that include the offensive stuff). So, if you like what you hear on this cd, this can open the door to the Zappa Universe(and it's a huge one) for you, and you'll be quite surprised at all the wonderful things you'll find there. Then, once you get some albums, you probably won't ever listen to this disc again, but you'll be forever thankful that you took the gamble and bought it."

An introduction - that's exactly what it is.

Samhot | Star Land | 01/31/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"It's obvious that this collection draws large amounts of heat. I think the people who issued this release knew this would happen going into it. Of course, it pretty much is impossible to sum up approximately 70 albums (containing everything like serious classical, jazz, rock, doo-wop, fusion, satire, computer music and nearly everything in between) into one album. So, can _Strictly Commercial_ be a good starting point for the people totally unfamiliar with Zappa's music? I say "Yes." Given Zappa's irreverent and often misunderstood style of making music, many beginners wouldn't be able to handle jumping into many of Frank's studio discs (and he has MANY.) So, on this collection, you get traces of instrumental jazz, satire, hard rock, pop (well...Zappa's brand of pop, so to speak) and other goodies. However, this collection doesn't contain much of Zappa's "serious" music (i.e. lengthy instrumental classical and jazz tracks) which is probably what many people are complaining about. But, hence the name "STRICTLY COMMERCIAL." This collection wasn't meant to show off Zappa's lengthy/serious instrumental works and/or his most off-the-wall and bizarre. This was meant to show off much of what can be considered his most "accessible" work (Note: if any beginner is interested in sampling some of Zappa's classical compositions, check out _Strictly Genteel_.)You get the bizarre, but equally appealing classical/jazz instrumental "Peaches En Regalia." This melodic number can appeal to those who like instrumental music. For hilarious humor, check out "Dancin' Fool" and "Disco Boy." Want hard rock and good guitar playing? "San Ber'dino" and "Tell Me You Love Me" should take care of that. There's plenty more here that I didn't cover. As I've said, this collection is only meant as an "accessible" introduction for the beginner who has an interest to ease his/her way into something we'd call a large, diverse and mostly inaccessible catalog (Note: Zappa certainly has some studio albums that are fairly accessible as well.) Sure, it may not profile EVERYTHING, but, I think it's still a good effort."

OK for starters , but somewhat one-dimmensional

Andreas C G | Huntington Beach, CA United States | 12/19/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"After re-reading my comments I'm afraid that the reader might come away with a negative impression of the music itself. Let me clarify by saying that the songs on this CD are, for the most part, really great! Let me also point out that NONE of this music could ever possibly be confused for the standard fare of commercial radio, either now or in Zappa's day. Even his most "normal" stuff found here is totally unique!



If all you ever listened to by Zappa was this album, however, you would not get the full picture about what made him great. It does beg the question, if you want "commercial" music, would you turn to Zappa for that???



The fact is that there is no one album that is representative of his whole range. I would be hard-pressed to narrow it down to 7 albums, but here goes, in chronological order:



- We're Only In It For the Money - surrealist satire mocking "St. Pepper" equally ridiculing hippies and squares

- Uncle Meat - wonderful dense mix of classical, jazz, rock, and avant-guarde elements - a high point

- Hot Rats - classic jazz rock with one Captain Beefheart vocal

- 200 Motels - orchestral mixed with Flo & Eddie

- Grand Wazoo - big band with great jazz players

- Roxy & Elsewhere - great "big band" Zappa sound & great guitar

- Sheikh Yerbouti - great songs & a lot of fun

- Civilization Phase III - last completed work - orchestral and electronic mixed with surreal dialog result in a truly intense work. You must listen to this!



I have put together a "starter" list - see my profile, if you're interested.



So, in short, this CD is like dipping your toe into the pool. That's OK, but I say jump right in."