The Words and Music of Frank Zappa
by Kelly Fisher Lowe
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Book Summary Information
Author: Kelly Fisher LoweIntroduction: Kelly Fisher Lowe
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2007-10-01
ISBN: 0803260059
Number of pages: 280
Publisher: Bison Books
Book Reviews of The Words and Music of Frank Zappa
Book Review: Get this man a thesaurus and an editor!
Summary: 3 Stars
As the title implies this is not a biography of Frank Zappa, this is a look at his work. If you want a biography, go with Barry Miles' simply titled Zappa: A Biography. There is enough biographical information to provide context, but the primary point is to discuss Zappa's astonishing creative output.
This is a frustrating book. Lowe is capable of great insight and has provided interpretations of some particularly troublesome lyrics (notably "Bobby Brown") that I found extremely valuable. He gives among the strongest defenses of many of Zappa's more scatological numbers that I have read, without resorting to outright delusion like Ben Watson does so frequently in Negative Dialectics of Poodle Play. Unfortunately, he seems incapable of expressing himself and never uses a descriptive adjective when the word "interesting" will do. What's truly terrifying is that he refers at one point to teaching writing to other people!
Lowe is well aware that he is not a musicologist and wisely limits himself more to the words than the music of Frank Zappa. He attempts to review every Zappa album, but leaves out most of the instrumental ones, which I think is a smart move on his part given where his strengths as a commentator lie. This book would have benefitted from sharpening his focus even further so that he only critiqued work about which he had something to say. He clearly loves the Sheik Yerbouti album, but there are several times when he glosses over certain songs by saying "Baby Snakes is catchy" or "Wild Love is much more constructed" and gives a paragraph or two of perfunctory analysis so that he can get to the tracks he really wants to talk about.
One truly interesting aspect of this book is that it works as an excellent guide to other Frank Zappa books. The samplings of opinions he cites from other authors gives a sense of what those other books are like and which the reader might be most interested in checking out. He even includes reviews of those books in the bibliography.
Summary of The Words and Music of Frank Zappa
The Words and Music of Frank Zappa moves beyond the details of Frank Zappa?s life (1940?93) toward a focused treatment of the rock and pop songs of this great American composer. Today Zappa?s music can be appreciated as a whole, emerging as a coherent, thoughtful, and innovative?if somewhat daunting?body of work. Author Kelly Fisher Lowe has left no aspect of that work unexamined, from Zappa?s role as a satirist of the highest order to his place in the genre of ?progressive rock? and his importance as an influential critic of American culture and society.
The volume begins with discussions of Zappa's role as a satirist and his musical style, then proceeds to an in-depth examination of his albums. Through this extended engagement with Zappa?s music, a surprisingly clear perspective on his personal views emerges, shedding light on his treatment of such topics as the falsified notion of love in popular culture, the compromising influence of money on popular music, and the concept of freedom in a systematized society. The book includes an official discography and an up-to-date bibliographic essay.
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