The Lost Episodes
Encyclopedia
The Lost Episodes is a 1996 posthumous album by Frank Zappa
which compiles previously unreleased material. Much of the material covered dates from early in his career, and as early as 1958, into the mid-1970s. Zappa had been working on these tracks in the years before his death in 1993.
The album is also notable for its five tracks which feature Captain Beefheart
(known in early recordings by his birth name, Don Vliet, and later Don Van Vliet): "Lost in a Whirlpool", a blues parody from around 1958–59 in which Beefheart sings of being flushed down the toilet; "Tiger Roach", a rhythm and blues
track from around three years later; "I'm a Band Leader" from 1969, a spoken word piece written by Zappa and read by Beefheart; "Alley Cat", a blues number in which Zappa plays guitar with two members of Beefheart's Magic Band, and "The Grand Wazoo", a spoken word piece recorded in 1969, to which Zappa added a Synclavier
track in 1992 http://www.beefheart.com/datharp/albums/official/lostepisodes.htm. Dan Glaister, writing in The Guardian
, judged the first to be "a passable Bessie Smith
cover", adding, "while "Alley Cat" could be a missing track from Clear Spot
."
Elsewhere on the disc are included a number of alternate, earlier versions of compositions which were later released on Zappa's studio albums. The Lost Episodes version of "Any Way the Wind Blows", for instance, was recorded in Cucamonga
in around 1963—three years before its appearance on Freak Out!
(1966). And the version of "Fountain of Love" here was recorded around the same time, but not released until Cruising with Ruben & the Jets
(1968).
Frank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed...
which compiles previously unreleased material. Much of the material covered dates from early in his career, and as early as 1958, into the mid-1970s. Zappa had been working on these tracks in the years before his death in 1993.
The album is also notable for its five tracks which feature Captain Beefheart
Captain Beefheart
Don Van Vliet January 15, 1941 December 17, 2010) was an American musician, singer-songwriter and artist best known by the stage name Captain Beefheart. His musical work was conducted with a rotating ensemble of musicians called The Magic Band, active between 1965 and 1982, with whom he recorded 12...
(known in early recordings by his birth name, Don Vliet, and later Don Van Vliet): "Lost in a Whirlpool", a blues parody from around 1958–59 in which Beefheart sings of being flushed down the toilet; "Tiger Roach", a rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
track from around three years later; "I'm a Band Leader" from 1969, a spoken word piece written by Zappa and read by Beefheart; "Alley Cat", a blues number in which Zappa plays guitar with two members of Beefheart's Magic Band, and "The Grand Wazoo", a spoken word piece recorded in 1969, to which Zappa added a Synclavier
Synclavier
The Synclavier System was an early digital synthesizer, polyphonic digital sampling system, and music workstation, manufactured by New England Digital Corporation, Norwich, VT. The original design and development of the Synclavier prototype occurred at Dartmouth College with the collaboration of...
track in 1992 http://www.beefheart.com/datharp/albums/official/lostepisodes.htm. Dan Glaister, writing in The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, judged the first to be "a passable Bessie Smith
Bessie Smith
Bessie Smith was an American blues singer.Sometimes referred to as The Empress of the Blues, Smith was the most popular female blues singer of the 1920s and 1930s...
cover", adding, "while "Alley Cat" could be a missing track from Clear Spot
Clear Spot
Clear Spot is the seventh album by Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band, originally released on LP in 1972 in a clear plastic sleeve.After Trout Mask Replica, which was critically acclaimed but sold poorly, each of the group's following three albums was slightly more conventional than the one before...
."
Elsewhere on the disc are included a number of alternate, earlier versions of compositions which were later released on Zappa's studio albums. The Lost Episodes version of "Any Way the Wind Blows", for instance, was recorded in Cucamonga
Rancho Cucamonga, California
Rancho Cucamonga is a suburban city in San Bernardino County, California. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 165,269, up from 127,743 at the 2000 census. L. Dennis Michael was elected as Mayor on November 2, 2010. Jack Lam is the City Manager...
in around 1963—three years before its appearance on Freak Out!
Freak Out!
Freak Out! is the debut album by American band The Mothers of Invention, released June 27, 1966 on Verve Records. Often cited as one of rock music's first concept albums, the album is a satirical expression of frontman Frank Zappa's perception of American pop culture...
(1966). And the version of "Fountain of Love" here was recorded around the same time, but not released until Cruising with Ruben & the Jets
Cruising with Ruben & the Jets
Cruising With Ruben & The Jets is an album by Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention, released in December 1968, and controversially reissued in an alternate mix with newly recorded bass and percussion in 1984.-Concept:...
(1968).
Track listing
- "The Blackouts" – 0:22
- "Lost in a Whirlpool" (Van Vliet, Zappa) – 2:46
- "Ronnie Sings?" – 1:05
- "Kenny's Booger Story" – 0:33
- "Ronnie's Booger Story" – 1:16
- "Mount St. Mary's Concert Excerpt" – 2:28
- "Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance" – 3:51
- "Tiger Roach" (Van Vliet, Zappa) – 2:20
- "Run Home Slow Theme" – 1:25
- "Fountain of Love" (Zappa, Ray Collins) – 2:08
- "Run Home Cues, #2" – 0:28
- "Any Way the Wind Blows" – 2:14
- "Run Home Cues, #3" – 0:11
- "Charva" – 1:59
- "The Dick Kunc Story" – 0:46
- "Wedding Dress Song" (Trad., arr. Zappa) – 1:14
- "Handsome Cabin Boy" (Trad., arr. Zappa) – 1:21
- "Cops & Buns" – 2:36
- "The Big Squeeze" – 0:43
- "I'm a Band Leader" – 1:14
- "Alley Cat" (Van Vliet, Zappa) – 2:47
- "The Grand Wazoo" – 2:12
- "Wonderful Wino" (Zappa, Jeff Simmons) – 2:47
- "Kung Fu" – 1:06
- "RDNZL" – 3:49
- "Basement Music #1" – 3:46
- "Inca Roads" – 3:42
- "Lil' Clanton Shuffle" – 4:47
- "I Don't Wanna Get Drafted" – 3:24
- "Sharleena" – 11:54
Personnel
- Arthur BarrowArthur BarrowArthur Barrow is a multi-instrumental musician, best known for his stint as a bass guitar player for Frank Zappa in the late 1970s and early 1980s.-Early life:...
– bass, bass guitar - Max BennettMax Bennett (musician)Max Bennett is an American jazz bassist and session musician.Bennett grew up in Kansas City and Oskaloosa, Iowa, and went to college in Iowa. His first professional gig was with Herbie Fields in 1949, and following this he played with Georgie Auld, Terry Gibbs, and Charlie Ventura...
– bass, bass guitar - Jimmy Carl BlackJimmy Carl BlackJimmy Carl Black , born James Inkanish, Jr., was a drummer and vocalist for The Mothers of Invention.-Career: 1960s-1990s:Born in El Paso, Texas, Black was of Cheyenne heritage...
– drums - Dale BozzioDale BozzioDale Bozzio, born Dale Frances Consalvi in Medford, Massachusetts March 2, 1955, is an American progressive rock and new wave vocalist. She is best known as co-founder and lead singer of the 1980s pop/new wave band Missing Persons. She is also known for her work with Frank Zappa...
– vocals - Terry BozzioTerry BozzioTerry John Bozzio is an American drummer best known for his work with Missing Persons and Frank Zappa.-Biography:Terry Bozzio was born December 27, 1950 in San Francisco, California. He started at age 6 playing makeshift drum sets. At the age of 13 he saw The Beatles premier performance on The Ed...
– vocals - Captain Beefheart (Don Van Vliet) – vocals
- Vinnie ColaiutaVinnie ColaiutaVincent Colaiuta is an American drummer based in Los Angeles. Originally from Republic, Pennsylvania, he began playing drums as a child and received his first full drum kit from his parents at the age of 14...
– drums - Ray CollinsRay Collins (rock musician)Ray Collins was born on November 19, 1936 and grew up in Pomona, California singing in his school choir, the son of a local police officer. He quit high school to get married. He started his musical career singing falsetto backup vocals for various 'doo-wop' groups in the Los Angeles area in the...
– vocals - George DukeGeorge DukeGeorge Duke is a multi-faceted American musician, known as a keyboard pioneer, composer, singer and producer in both jazz and popular mainstream musical genres. He has worked with numerous acclaimed artists as arranger, music director, writer and co-writer, record producer and professor of music...
– keyboards - Aynsley DunbarAynsley DunbarAynsley Thomas Dunbar is an English drummer. He has worked with some of the top names in rock, including Eric Burdon, John Mayall, Frank Zappa, Ian Hunter, Lou Reed, Jefferson Starship, Jeff Beck, David Bowie, Whitesnake, Sammy Hagar, UFO, and Journey...
– drums - Erroneous – bass, bass guitar
- Roy EstradaRoy EstradaRoy Estrada is an American musician and backing vocalist, best known for his bass guitar work with Frank Zappa and for co-founding Little Feat.-Biography:With drummer Jimmy Carl Black and Ray Collins, Estrada was an original member of Frank Zappa's...
– bass, bass guitar - Chuck Foster – trumpet
- Bruce FowlerBruce FowlerBruce Lambourne Fowler is a prominent American trombone player and composer. He notably played trombone on many Frank Zappa records, as well as with Captain Beefheart, and in the Fowler Brothers Band...
– bass, trombone - Tom Fowler – bass guitar
- John FrenchJohn French (musician)John "Drumbo" French is an American drummer and musician. He played on Captain Beefheart's Trout Mask Replica and on various other Beefheart recordings: Beefheart dubbed him "Drumbo"...
– drums - John GuerinJohn GuerinJohn Payne Guerin worked as a drummer, percussionist, and recording artist worldwide.Guerin was born in Hawaii and raised in San Diego. As a young drummer he began performing with Buddy DeFranco in 1960...
– drums - Don "Sugarcane" Harris – violin, vocals, electric violin
- Danny Helferin – piano
- Ralph Humphrey – drums
- Elliot IngberElliot IngberElliot Ingber is an American guitarist. In 1966, he was a founding member of Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention and was featured on their debut album Freak Out! After being fired from the band by Frank Zappa, Ingber helped form Fraternity of Man, which released two albums...
– slide guitar - Ricky Lancelotti – vocals
- Elwood Madeo, Jr. – guitar
- Sal Marquez – trumpet
- Tommy Mars – keyboards, vocals
- Jean-Luc PontyJean-Luc PontyJean-Luc Ponty is a French virtuoso violinist and jazz composer.- Early years:Ponty was born into a family of classical musicians on 29 September 1942 in Avranches, France. His father taught violin, his mother taught piano...
– violin - Don PrestonDon PrestonDonald Ward Preston also known as Dom DeWilde or Biff Debrie born September 21, 1932 in Flint, Michigan. Preston is an American jazz and rock and roll musician.-Biography:Preston was born into a family of musicians and began studying music at an early age...
– keyboards - Tony Rodriguez – alto sax
- Chester ThompsonChester ThompsonChester Cortez Thompson is an American drummer and session musician.-Biography:Thompson made his name as a session drummer, going on to play in Frank Zappa's touring band and with Weather Report...
– drums - Art TrippArt TrippArthur Dyer Tripp III is a chiropractor and former musician best known for his work as a percussionist with Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention and Captain Beefheart and The Magic Band.-Early career:Tripp grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and started playing drums in...
– marimba, background vocals, vibraphone - Ian UnderwoodIan UnderwoodIan Robertson Underwood is a woodwind and keyboards player. He began his career by playing San Francisco Bay Area coffeehouses and bars with his improvisational group the Jazz Mice in the mid 1960s before he became a member of Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention in 1967 for their third studio...
– percussion, keyboards, saxophone, woodwind, fender rhodes - Ruth UnderwoodRuth UnderwoodRuth Underwood is a retired professional musician, best known for playing xylophone, marimba, vibraphone and other percussion instruments in Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention from 1967 to 1977....
– percussion - Ray WhiteRay WhiteRay White is a soul vocalist and rock and blues guitarist, best known as a member of Frank Zappa's touring ensembles. He was drafted into Zappa's band in the fall of 1976, being featured on rhythm guitar and vocals, forming a memorable vocal harmony partnership with Ike Willis on later tours in...
– vocals - Kenny Williams – vocals
- Ronnie Williams – vocals
- Ronny Williams – vocals
- Ike WillisIke WillisIke Willis is a singer and guitarist who was a regular sideman for Frank Zappa, first joining Zappa's band for the fall 1978 tour and remaining in the band for several years. He did not tour with Zappa in 1981 and 1982 for personal reasons, but returned to touring with Zappa for his final two...
– vocals - Terry Wimberly – piano
- Bobby Zappa – guitar, rhythm guitar
- Frank ZappaFrank ZappaFrank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed...
– synthesizer, guitar, percussion, piano, celeste, drums, bass guitar, kazoo, vocals, background vocals, synclavier
Production
- Paul Buff – engineer
- Spencer Chrislu – remixing
- Gabor Csupo – artwork
- Steven Jurgensmeyer – design
- Gary KellgrenGary KellgrenGary Kellgren was an American audio engineer and co-founder of The Record Plant recording studios, along with businessman Chris Stone.-Engineering:...
– engineer - Kerry McNabb – engineer
- Rip Rense – liner notes
- Bob Stone – engineer, remixing
- Hal Wilson – photography
- Frank Zappa – arranger, producer, engineer