FRANKZAPPAIMAGINARYDISEASES

“The present day composer REFUSES to die”

–Edgard Varese

Vaultmeisterment in today’s society is pretty much the exclusive

purview of Joe Travers and is confined to the highly ambient UMRK

facility. Lucky us–and by us I do mean all of us who get to experience

the wonderment that otherwise lurks forever in the Vault–but for Joe–

the music that continually inspires his dedication. These titles are from

a collection of live performances (1972) selected and mixed by FZ

between 1972 and 1977. Yes, that’s right. Every item was produced by

FZ. All tracks were recorded live. No overdubs. All the edits are by FZ.

Just to put things into perspective, concurrent with these mixes (fade:

slowly, into the background) Zappa produced Over-Nite Sensation,

Apostrophe(‘), Roxy & Elsewhere, One Size Fits All, Bongo Fury,

Zoot Allures, Zappa in New York and wrote & conceived a lot of other

stuff while touring Europe, Japan, Australia, and the U.S. & Canada

a few times.

Joe (the Vaultmeister) went looking for performances by this band in

particular because there are people out there who went to these

shows and/or are otherwise invested with desire for these concerts

to live in the privacy of their own sound systems. Charles Ulrich is but

one of those to whom we owe our gratitude for persistence and valor

in the pursuit of Petitness in the Wazoo department. And Joe lives for

the Vault–and the unleashing of the tapes–and found them–spread

over several reels of 1/4 inch 2 track masters. He transferred all the

tracks from the original 2 track mixdowns at UMRK. Then he put this

compilation together–and this is only the beginning. What a great

place to start.

This is the 10 Piece Band as ordained by FZ who also called it the

Mothers of Invention, although at this point in time and space this

entitlement was more a marketing device and part of the conceptual

continuity. For everyone on the other side of the speaker cabinets

however, it will always be the Petit Wazoo.

And it is:

FRANK ZAPPA Conductor, Guitar, Vocals

MALCOLM MCNABB Trumpet

GARY BARONE Trumpet/ Flugelhorn

TOM MALONE Tuba/Saxes/Piccolo Trumpet/Trumpet

EARL DUMLER Woodwinds

GLENN FERRIS Trombone

BRUCE FOWLER Trombone

TONY DURAN Slide Guitar

DAVE PARLATO Bass

JIM GORDON Drums

1. Oddients 1:13

Montreal, Canada 10.27.72

2. Rollo 3:21

Philadelphia, PA 11.10.72 (Show 1)

3. Been To Kansas City In A Minor 10:15

Kansas City, MO 12.2.72

4. Farther O’Blivion 16:02

Unknown

5. D.C. Boogie 13:27

Washington, D.C., 11.11.72 (Show 1)

6. Imaginary Diseases 9:45

Waterbury, CT 11.1.72

7. Montreal 9:11

Montreal, Canada 10.27.72

Z R 2 0 0 0 1

IMAGINARY DISEASES

Many have tried to define who Frank was as a creative entity, but every-thing he wrote, played, sang or said further defined him as exquisitely indefinable. Imaginary Diseases is yet another Zappa jewel that places hisbody of work far beyond any limitation of label or category. And that'sthe way we like it.

Some of the pieces on Imaginary Diseases allow us to peer into the forever- tinkering nature of Frank's creative muse. Sometimes he wouldwork on a piece of music, release it at a certain point in its development,and then continue to work on it some more. I remember he once showedme 10 different chord re-harmonizations for "Twenty Small Cigars" — andeven more for "Village of the Sun."

Within the body of the fourth track on this album, "Farther O'Blivion," we can hear elements and sketches from what ended up being parts of‘The Steno Pool,’ and more of them that became parts of "GreggeryPeccary," "Be-Bop Tango," "Cucamonga," as well as parts to possibly anumber of other reconstructions that we may never discover. Althoughmany of the mirrored reshapings of his audio delectables may never beidentified, they none theless add to the "Conceptual Continuity" of Frank's musical universe.

Frank is now celebrated as an artist of historical significance, and thefuture will see him thusly celebrated even more so. The documenting ofmusical history shows us that the future is not biased by the musical trends of its past. Thank God.

As a guitar player who worked with Frank, I am fortunate to have playedin several of his bands. I've transcribed countless hours of his guitar-playing, and have stood three feet from him onstage for many months of touring and watched him play an average of 1 1/2 hours of guitar solos each night.

Listening to his guitar work on this record further confirms that there is no limit to his improvisational ability to create instantaneous compositionson the instrument. He seems to never repeat himself, it always works, andit feels damn good.

If you're a first-time listener of Frank's music and you happened ontoImaginary Diseases, you might find yourself scratching your head and pondering, "Huh, I've never heard anything as diverse, musical and justplain fun as this." You may even find yourself feeling a trifle disturbedabout having been sold a bill of goods by corporate radio programmingthat rarely includes Frank's music but instead shoves freeze-dried audio insipidity down your throat.

And if you are already a hardcore Frank fan, you're far from alone. After listening to this album, you may find yourself scratching your head and pondering in disbelief how it is possible on God's Grey Earth that there isthis guy who passed away at the untimely age of 52 (young for a composer), who could very well be considered the most prolific artist inhistory, and whose body of work stands as a testament to the potential ofhuman creative achievement, the style of which is utterly unclassifiable —only one of the many components that set Frank apart as a true genius.

And you, Zappa aficionado, after consuming his catalog for the past 30(maybe even more like 40) years and fetishing every little shining morsel of the gems he made available, perhaps you may even know more aboutthose morsels than most others of your ilk. Ponder this:

He built a vault in his front yard and buried innumerable treasures like thisone, and this plethora of unreleased recordings is so vast that even in theremainder of your own life (regardless of how old you are at the time youare reading this), you will never get to hear all of it.

And let's also not forget the some 400 Synclavier works that are in variousforms of completion, securely buried in digital bliss...

What the fuck, Frank?

Just maybe you are someone who has been so touched by Frank's workthat you wish you could grab him by the shoulders and say, "Do you realizewhat you have done for me and the quality of my life? How could anyonehave such timeless, fathomless vision? Do you know that I love you?"

But then comes that bittersweet smack-in-the-face reminder that Frankhad the audacity to leave us before we ever had the chance.

Jeez, the nerve.

Another listen, please — this time a little louder,STEVE VAI

Produced by FRANK ZAPPAAll tracks mixed, edited & tweaked by FZ.Vaultmeisterment & Compilation by Joe Travers, UMRK.Mastered by Doug Sax & Robert Hadley at The Mastering Lab.Original 1972 4-track masters & cassette master for tracks 1 & 7 recorded by Barry Keene. Mix engineers: Kerry McNabb, Michael Braunstein, Davey Moire.Executive Production, Art Direction & Text by GZ.Liner notes by Steve Vai.Photos by Bernard Gardner & others courtesy ZFT Archives.Design & Layout by Tracy Veal, Creative Portal.Very Special thanks to Joe, Melanie Starks & Steve Vai. Love & kisses to Mathilda Plum, Moon, Dweezil, Ahmet, Diva, Paul, Selma, Lauren. & Utie. “DEMOCRACY DOESN’T WORK UNLESS YOU PARTICIPATE.” -FZ REGISTER. VOTE.

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Vaultmeisterment & Compilation by Joe Travers at UMRK for the Zappa Family Trust. All selections composed, arranged, conducted, mixed, edited & performed by Frank Zappa. © mmv munchkin music (except* ©mmiv). ©& mmv Zappa Records. All rights reserved.Frank Zappa, FZ, Zappa & the moustache are ZFT registered marks. All rights of the artist,deserved & conserved, heirs, preserved, & copyrights holders reserved. This is Zappa FamilyArchival Matter In Living Ylem. This is Official Release # 76 www.zappa.com

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6 IMAGINARY DISEASES 9:45 7 MONTREAL 9:11

[OH THE 10 PIECE BAND!]

[EAU DE PETIT WAZOO!]

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[ IS THIS THE MOTHERS OF INVENTION?]

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