Zappa.com

They're cultural commentary, so they fit as far as the songs being about "The state of America" at the time they were written.

Aside from FZ having put this together I don't understand my need for this.
I suppose if the tracks were live or something, but a GH comp isn't really something I need.

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Wanna Buy A Grunt With A Third Party Check

I'm in on this one, but that cover art looks like it was made with WinPaint circa 1990.

<snicker>

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Current favorite new spin: Damian Marley's Welcome to Jamrock

Latest Fischer's Flicker press release
I Am Entertainment Magazine - 3.5/4 stars - REVIEW

Had a notification it has been delayed for a week from Amazon UK.

'rimshot!
70% of ZFT album covers look like they were made with WinPaint circa 1990, and with a 2-to-14 age bracket in mind.

It's up on iTunes and as suspected, it's just a compilation. Ho hum.

Not only that. All of the tracks from WOIIFTM are from the 1986 remix and the one unique track, a 26-minute "Porn Wars (Deluxe)", is only available if you buy the whole album.

Also, "I Don't Even Care" is apparently the short version from the European Zappa records CD.

A classic record company rip-off - old tracks with just a teeny-weeny bit of new material to interest the diehards

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We make a special art in an environment hostile to dreamers. Frank Zappa, 1971

Yeah, the re-issues are even worse than this......no new material!

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You gotta give the people something good to read, on a Sunday

If you listen to the sample of PWD on itunes it contains "Bow Tie Daddy" in full - interestingly, its the original WOIFTM version, whereas the stand alone tracks from WOIFTM on Understanding America contain the Chad/Arthur overdubs.

Further analysis of the timings indicate that many of the tracks are shorter than the album versions. I will provide my own speculation of where they might come from.

It Can't Happen Here - Mothermania or 45 edit.
Trouble Every Day - Unknown. Shorter than the LP, but longer than the 45.
Find Her Finer - 45 edit?
Disco Boy - Unknown.
I'm the Slime - Unknown. Shorter than both the LP or 45 versions.
I Don't Even Care - 1990 European CD edit.
Heavenly Bank Account - Edited down from the original Ryko CD.
Cocaine Decisions - LP mix/edit
Dumb All Over - Original Ryko CD edit.
The Central Scrutinizer - Unknown
Tinsel Town Rebellion - Unknown

Given the versions of "Cocaine Decisions" and "I Don't Even Care" that were used, I would surmise that this album was compiled sometime between 1989 and 1991.

On I-Tunes tracks 10 minutes or longer are always album-only. I don't know if Gail could allow a separate purchase of PWD if she wanted to, unless she re-indexed it into a series of short tracks.

True. It just happened to be a cruel irony.

Has anybody received UA yet?

A blurb from http://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Ame ... ng+america

The album is a compilation including edits from/pieces of existing songs in the Zappa primary album releases, but also includes some brand new content including "Porn Wars Deluxe" which is a newly constructed song that Frank Zappa put together but has never been released. The rest of the album has unique versions of the existing songs.

J

Now been cancelled by Amazon UK as not going to be available, although market traders are stocking it.

...and from here http://www.gratefulweb.com/articles/zappa-records-releases-frank-zappas-understanding-america-itunes (but nothing directly from UMG/MSO/ZFT!):

"The project comprises by less than a quarter titles available in current release, other prior versions and many items...unique to this Release."

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"Well of course, everything looks bad if you remember it. Now where are my chili boots?" - HOMER SIMPSON

http://www.idiotbastard.com

I'm The Slime could be a 1984 live version.

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

No, I listened to the sample and it is the Overnite Sensation version. (BTW, it has the channels swapped compared to the original U.S. LP, in case anyone is still following that discussion.)

Expanding on the previous post a bit - I listened to all of the samples and the songs are all the standard album versions, no new live versions or otherwise unreleased remixes. The only apparent interesting bits are "Porn Wars Deluxe" and the shortened versions dlokazip mentioned.

I couldn't tell from the samples whether the cuts from Chunga's, YAWYI or the other controversial Ryko releases have the "bad batch" flaws or not.

I concur. All of the samples sound like the album mixes, including "I'm The Slime", except for PWD. The Freak Out and Money tracks are from the original CD remixes.

Best Buy shipped my CD last night, so I should have it in a few days. I imagine that there is some heavy segueing going on. I will be listening to disc two first.

To anyone that has bought/received this:

Who did the mastering? A quick A/B of the UA iTunes Store 'I'm the Slime' and 'Can't Afford No Shoes' w/the UMe 2012 album versions reveals significant differences in overall fidelity (read: loudness).

The ZFT email states that UA was produced and titled by FZ. Was it edited and/or compiled by FZ? If it was (either), I'll definitely buy it.

I haven't been paying much attention to this release so far. It's up on Zappa.com now. It looks like a total rehash. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

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Everytime we picked a booger we'd flip it on this one winduh. Every night we'd contribute, 2, 3, 4 boogers. We had to use a putty knife, man, to get them damn things off the winduh. There was some goober ones that weren't even hard...

Tell us what Porn Wars Deluxe is like - the original is one of my faves

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The more I learn, the less I know.

I have lost power for two days due to Sandy, I got a text from Amazon that UA shipped.

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If we're dumb . . .
Then God is dumb . . .
(An' maybe even a little bit ugly on the side)