| The Old Masters | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Box set series by Frank Zappa | ||||
| Released | Box One - April 1985 Box Two - November 1986 Box Three - December 1987 |
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| Recorded | Various locations 1966—1984 (overdubs) | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Label | Barking Pumpkin | |||
| Producer | Frank Zappa | |||
| Frank Zappa chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic Box 1 | [1] |
| Allmusic Box 2 | [2] |
| Allmusic Box 3 | [3] |
The Old Masters is an album box set series by Frank Zappa. Originally four box sets were planned, but only three were issued.[4] Contrary to the box set series' name, the sets featured remixes that were vastly different from the original albums (prepared for the CD reissues). In the case of We're Only In It For The Money and Cruising With Ruben & The Jets, the original rhythm tracks were replaced by bass player Arthur Barrow and drummer Chad Wackerman (Cruising With Ruben & The Jets also featured Jay Anderson playing string bass).[5][6]
Contents |
The first box set consisted of the first five albums by Zappa (Freak Out!, Absolutely Free, We're Only In It For The Money, Lumpy Gravy and Cruising With Ruben & The Jets) and a bonus "Mystery Disc" consisting of previously unissued material that, at the time, was unavailable elsewhere. Only the first and second Old Masters box sets featured a Mystery Disc. In 1998, both Mystery Discs were combined together and released as a single CD by Rykodisc (with the omission of two tracks, "Big Leg Emma" and "Why Don'tcha Do Me Right", which had already been included as bonus tracks on the Absolutely Free CD). A sampler containing material from the box set was also issued.[7]
Originally, all of the albums in the first Old Masters box set were to feature new overdubs, but this never came to be.[4] A remix of Lumpy Gravy was prepared, but never released in complete form until 2009 on Lumpy Money (although an excerpt appeared on the sampler for the first Old Masters box set).[7][8]
The second box set consisted of the albums Uncle Meat, Hot Rats, Burnt Weeny Sandwich, Weasels Ripped My Flesh, Chunga's Revenge, Fillmore East, June 1971 and Just Another Band From L.A.. Like its predecessor, it featured a bonus "Mystery Disc" of previously unreleased material. The material on both bonus discs were not available elsewhere until they were issued on a single CD in 1998 by Rykodisc.
The third box set consisted of the albums Waka/Jawaka, The Grand Wazoo, Over-Nite Sensation, Apostrophe ('), Roxy & Elsewhere, One Size Fits All, Bongo Fury and Zoot Allures. Unlike its predecessors, it did not feature a "Mystery Disc", and a sampler was not issued.