Sound Reasoning: Zappa the genius or Zappa the village idiot?

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By Keith Harrison
"Strictly Commercial: The Best of Frank Zappa"
Frank Zappa
3 out of 5 stars


Essentially, there are three schools of thought on the late Frank Zappa:
1)Frank was a master satirist and a musical genius, capable of skewering society's excesses while creating complex, genre-defying compositions.
2)Frank had a moronic sense of humor which he displayed in grating, frequently tuneless songs.
3)Frank who?


Actually, there is a fourth school of thought on Zappa, one that tries to find the middle ground between Frank the god and Frank the village idiot. And that is the view that is supported by "Strictly Commercial," the greatest hits compilation from Rykodisc designed to promote the label's massive Zappa reissue project.


To be frank about Frank, many of his lyrics were moronic. He had a weakness for obvious targets - included here are not one but two spoofs of disco - and bathroom humor ("Don't Eat The Yellow Snow", "Let's Make The Water Turn Black"). Surprisingly, Zappa the lyricist had his best moments when he quit trying to be so damn hilarious. "Joe's Garage" is a surprisingly tender - yet still amusing - look back at teen-age years spent in a garage band. And the rueful social commentary of "Trouble Every Day" sounds far less dated than many similar Woodstock Nation diatribes.


But Zappa's legacy will likely be his music, not his lyrics. And musically, "Strictly Commercial" provides plenty of highlights.


Much of Zappa's work, like the opening "Peaches En Regalia", had an unusual but pleasing orchestral sweep. Elsewhere, he would employ daring tempo shifts or dabble in extremes, sprinkling in Falsetto singing, xylophone solos and other unorthodox sonic bursts. Yet Zappa could also play no-frills, straight-ahead rock with the best of them: "San Ber'dino", "Dirty Love" and "My Guitar Wants To Kill Your Mama" each boast some killer guitar Zappa riffs.


Zappa released nearly 60 discs in his career, and only his most ardent fans will be seeking out more than a handful of them. For the rest of us, "Strictly Commercial" offers a fine portrait of an accomplished and confounding musician.