Frank Zappa’s ‘Hot Rats’ Returns in Expanded Six-Disc Box
Frank Zappa's first solo album is set for an expanded 50th-anniversary reissue.
The new six-disc edition of Hot Rats includes unreleased basic tracks, rare and unedited mixes, work mixes and other special moments from Zappa's vault, including never-before-seen photos.
The Hot Rats Sessions is due on Dec. 20. All boxes pre-ordered at Zappa.com include an instant download of a special 1969 outtake mix of "It Must Be a Camel"; you can listen to this never-before-heard track below.
Self-described as a "movie for your ears," Hot Rats fused rock and jazz to form a heady new sound for Zappa in the wake of his split with the Mothers of Invention. Frequent Zappa collaborator Captain Beefheart joined Zappa for the lone non-instrumental, "Willie the Pimp."
This new box includes every composition recorded during the album's original July 1969 sessions. The basic tracks were mixed from original multi-track master tapes by Craig Parker Adams and mastered by Bob Ludwig.
The 28-page booklet includes essays by Zappa collaborator Ian Underwood, "Vaultmeister" Joe Travers and Zappa fan Matt Groening, creator of The Simpsons.
The Hot Rats Sessions, which was overseen by the Zappa Trust and produced by Travers and Ahmet Zappa, also features a new Zappa Land board game.
Listen to Frank Zappa's 'It Must Be A Camel (1969 Mix Outtake)'
Two complete Halloween 1973 shows recorded in Chicago will be released on Oct. 25, continuing a series that the Zappa Trust began in 2017. Hot Rats will also be pressed on limited-edition translucent hot-pink 180-gram vinyl to celebrate its 50th anniversary.
A limited-edition 10" picture-disc "Peaches En Regalia" EP is set to follow on Nov. 29, Record Store Day’s Black Friday. Mono mixes of the title song and "Little Umbrellas" will be paired with unreleased rhythm-track mixes from The Hot Rats Sessions.