Joined: Mon Oct 28, 2002 2:00 pm
Posts: 265
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funny, i just started reading all my FZ books over again...<br><br>"The Real Frank Zappa Book" - of course you must own it.<br><br>Billy James' "Necessity Is..." is fun and interesting, however, subtitled "The Early Years of Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention", it is wildly biased toward the later-day Grandmothers. this is not necessarily a bad thing, especially given that the author has direct and complete access to JCB, Don & Bunk. unfortunately BJ relies too heavily on these few contacts, and channels their person biases to the degree that the book becomes a virtual résumé and pulpit for the Grandmothers. i like the book, even if it comes off as wide-eyed and fawning much of the time. it provides a lot of depth and color to some incredibly talented people often overlooked, often overshadowed by FZ.<br><br>David Walley's "No Commercial Potential" is OK. it's real saving grace are the indigenous interviews with FZ, FZ Sr., Captain Beefheart, Artie Tripp, etc. what really kills this book for me are the countless, unnecessary mistakes regarding dates, titles, names, etc. (eg. "Bruce Bickford" becomes "Bruce Benson"). despite THREE amended editions spanning over 20 years, these gross errors remain. "That's inexcusable, good God!" plus he repeats himself, repeats quotes, repeats this, repeats that... until you can't wait to finish the damn thing. borrow it from a friend.<br><br>Julian Colbeck's "Zappa" (1987), I am halfway through re-reading. it's cute, but not essential. the narrative is pleasantly conversational and an easy read. unfortunately, it glosses over some major points and is vague on others. it is also merely OK.<br><br>Ben Watson's "The Negative Dialectics of Poodle Play". the truth is that this book is fun to read in chunks, but i have found it impossible to read it from page one. BW's forward is like quicksand and i hate him before he even gets started. he attempts to build a lofty intellectual environment for the reader by drawing together every obscure detail of human history, through which to filter and dissect all things Zappa, in an attempt to expose FZ's subconscious motives. horseshit. Frank would've HATED this book for it's pomposity. personal bias aside, i'd say it's worth having and does propose some entertaining concepts.<br><br>Greg Russo's "Cosmik Debris" is great for the detailed lists and data contained in it's second half. not all of it is accurate of course, but it is the most comprehensive attempt to date and provides an excellent cross-reference. the narrative which occupies the first half of the book is good, but offers few revelations, and is broken up by dozens of annoying "Conceptual Continuity" references which range in length anywhere from a paragraph to a full page. it is ironic that this conceptual continuity undercurrent undermines the continuity of the actual narrative, which itself tends toward it's own form of xenocrony, flopping about in time and only vaguely returning the reader to their point of origin. For data buffs though, it's a must-have. definitely.<br><br>Nigey Lennon's "Being Frank" is the tale of a non-groupie (much like the PMRC's "non-members") whose creative star shines so brightly that it captures the attention, and ultimately the affections of FZ. that's her version of the story. one comes away with the impression that the author, having penned this intimate account of a tender, philanderous-yet-above-reproach FZ, 20 years on, is little more than a hanger-on who has romanticized her relationship with FZ into high fiction. i have no doubt that FZ found enough in NL's mind and/or body to keep her in his personal circle for an extended period of time. this in no way makes her unique to hundreds of others who could provide similar accounts, i'm sure. she dangles naughty carrots throughout about how plugged in she was to FZ on SOOOO many levels, but of course there are no witnesses to much of this mutual appreciation which was played out in their exclusive company. hardly admissible in court, it frequently comes off as fantasy.<br><br>Michael Gray's "Mother!" - i haven't read this one in years but i recall it being rather pedestrian. sorry if i'm wrong, but it didn't make a strong impression on me.<br><br><br>it's been so long since i've read the others that i won't even try to critique them, with one huge exception...<br><br>Neil Slaven's "Electric Don Quixote" I enjoyed from cover to cover. i don't remember why, but i found it to be excellent, and i can't wait to read it again.<br><br>HEY! here are a few reviews which better articulate why you should own this book:<br><br>http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0711965536/ref=ase_inktomi-bkasin-20/002-9524299-4129642<br><br><br>O'DOYLE RULES!!!
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