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I just got back from a Best Buy near me in the St Louis area.

They had: FO, AF, LG, WOIIFTM, CWR&TJ, UM, CR, FEJ71, JABFLA, OS, A, R&E, OSFA, ZINY, SY, OE, JG, SUAPYG, YAWYI, DW, and TF

The only CD I'd seen previously at Best Buy that they didn't have was Hot Rats. Every other one was in stock. And I was surprised to see they had Uncle Meat.

One other area Best Buy has a similar selection.

But the third store near me had none of them.

I'm not sure why that is, but I'm loving the fact that the closest one to me is stocked to the gills (today I snatched up Apostrophe and I rocked the title track all the way home with the windows down ...

Just looked at the pic on the Ship CD and at the bottom it says FZ's ashtray by Diva Zappa in black font at the bottom.

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Make your checks payable to QUENTIN ROBERT DeNAMELAND, Greatest Living Philostopher Known to Mankind.

That image is really, really cool.

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THREAD IDEA!!!!

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Make your checks payable to QUENTIN ROBERT DeNAMELAND, Greatest Living Philostopher Known to Mankind.

OK... here's my final and more accurate take on Orchestral Favorites...

If you never heard the vinyl then the CD is fine. but the vinyl is just a tad better mix. there are some subtle things that are going on in comparison but not bad enough to completely hate the CD version.

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Make your checks payable to QUENTIN ROBERT DeNAMELAND, Greatest Living Philostopher Known to Mankind.

Agreed. Do you have the German vinyl pressing of OF? Are pressings from other countries equally good?

Did they re-swap the channels on the new edition? That would be the least they could have done.

Th.

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Active forum member since 2005 - R E T I R E D from public forum activity in 2013

No Best Buys near Buffalo have any of the 2nd or 3rd batches . On Tues. 9/25 I was heading to Cleveland to see Melvins Lite. Checked the store locator and it showed the one in Mentor OH(off 90,exit 193) had Joe's & SUNPYG. So I go in the store, and no deal. Just a bunch from the first round. I explain to some kid employee that the site shows they have them, he looks it up on the computer which confirmed what I told him. He just tells me, oh they're probably in the back and not sorted through yet. I was in a hurry, so I said thanks for nothing. Frustrating.

Luckily I went back to the same store yesterday on my way to Saint Vitus in Cleveland, and this time they had a bunch from the 3rd batch in the racks . Oddly enough pretty much all of the 3rd batch was there, yet none from the 2nd. So I grabbed Joe's & SUNPYG for $18.99 each. Listened to some of Joe's this morning. Sounds incredible. You hear alot of stuff that's sort of buried in the mix on the Ryko disc, and the bass/drums pack a punch without being overdone.

You guys complain about the amount of copies each one has, yet over in the north of England, we have 1 copy of the popular ones (Freak Out, SY, WOIIFTM) and they cost £15 each. And that's around $20. i only own 1 album by Zappa (Tinseltown) and would love to get more, just their really expensive, even on the likes of Amazon. Would like to know why it's so expensive...

I was listening Hot Rats laid on my bed very concentrated & both versions of Willie the Pimp are not perfect.
an ex: at 00:55 on ryko the rythm guitar can be hear but not really on the universal one. I think they did a fast job on universal what i mean by that is i think they set the EQ for the whole album & did not make special parts adjustments.

edit:EQ for each song*
edit #2: sorry forget what i just said like usual i talked without thinking deep, i forget it is a remaster not a remix

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Keep the great work!

But i think the universal sound better but could have had more high frequencies, just a bit more

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Keep the great work!

That's the only part of the Ryko remix that I wish was in the original LP Mix/2012 CD. Love it!

I already have the Ryko You Are What You Is & Joe's Garage and wanted to know if the new cd are different and worth buying again.

Yes.

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I'm getting larger as I walk away.

YAWYI is a *massive* improvement over the Ryko.

Joe's Garage is the original vinyl mix this time. All previous CD's had remixed parts.

Yes indeed YAWYI is fucking totally amazing.

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Make your checks payable to QUENTIN ROBERT DeNAMELAND, Greatest Living Philostopher Known to Mankind.

The channels are still reversed on the new CD.

I've got the U.S. LP. I, also, agree with jaypfunk. You can hear a bit more detail on vinyl, but the CD is fine.

EDIT: Actually, I don't hear much of a difference on "Bogus Pomp" between the LP and CD, but "Strictly Genteel" sounds much crisper on vinyl. The other three are on Läther, where they sound better.

Thank you for answering this.

Jaypfunk doesn't talk to just anybody, it seems.

Th.

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Active forum member since 2005 - R E T I R E D from public forum activity in 2013

Reversing the stereo image seems a really odd thing to do; what's to gain? I wonder whether the vinyl was actually incorrect so they reversed the image on the CD to correct it.

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Going through Zoot Allures. Wow! What a monster! I can't believe I missed this one my first go through with Zappa. *hangs head in shame*

Quality is amazing. I'm on a second go through and have cranked the shit out of it. I prefer the version of "Wonderful Wino" on "The Lost Episodes". Zappa doing a low burn on the vocals doesn't fit as well as the screamy one by Ricky Lancelotti. Not a complaint, just a preference.

"Patrick O'Hearn's tone sounds so much more natural dominating the right speaker instead of the left. NOW I HAVE TO BUY IT..."

Yes, but is it the 1998 Spencer Chrislu mix? Or a new better than 1998 remix? The original YAWYI CD release had a lot of problems, but in 1998 SC remixed it and it is a lot better. I have the new 2012 YAWYI coming to me this Wed, but am expecting it to be identical to the 1998 SC remix.

Anyone compare the 2012 to the 1998 SC mix?

So I go to a local Best Buy setting my expectations kind of low on what they have in stock, and lo-and-behold, they actually had a lot more of the September batch than the previous two batches, but no Joe's Garage...wtf?

They did have YAWYI, OF, SATLTSADW, SUAPYG and Thingfish. To my suprise, they even had a copy of CR from the first batch. My intention was to just get JG if they had it, but instead, I ended picking up CR and YAWYI this trip. I came awfully close to getting SUAPYG as well. On the ride home I put YAWYI on and my first impression is FUCKIN' A!!! It even has the Grand Rights logo! I hope that means Crush All Boxes will get the official nod.

Of the new UMe titles, so far I've aquired AF, HR, BWS, WRMF, CR, FE, OS, ZA, SD and YAWYI. So far I've done side by side comparisons between the Ryko versions of AF and BWS. I notice with AF that despite the removal of the shitty reverb, the brighter end of the frequency spectrum sounds a little duller/flatter. Not as bitey. Does anybody else notice that?

I've never owned the Chrislu version, but have the original Ryko and the EMI copies of YAWYI and can say that it thoroughly blows away the former, and is a lot fatter sounding than the latter. I'm wondering how the UMe copies of A(') and OSFA stack up to the AU20 versions?

It's the original mix used on the LP.

I haven't compared it, but it is sourced from the original 1981 Analog master, so it likely will be different to the other CDs.

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Stay with me flagrantly and we'll have ecstasy for all eternity.

I walked into Best Buy, expecting a disappointment, but would you believe it? They had all 12 of the initial reissues, so I snatched up Just Another Band from LA (which I've never heard) and You are What You Is. They also had Joe's Garage (which I bought from Amazon), Drowning Witch, Thing Fish, and Shut up and Play yer Guitar. How long has it been since I walked into a store which sells music and been pleasantly surprised? Ages...

Anyway, You Are What You Is is certainly an improvement. Just a punchier, heavier mix. I've never heard the Ryko (just the 1998 version), but it sounds thin compared to this one. I'm not even a big YAWYI fan, but I'm enjoying this greatly. FZ is currently ripping on the "Doreen" solo and it sounds fantastic. Highly recommended. GET IT.

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