Frank Zappa’s Vaults Open for ‘Road Tapes’ Reissues and More
The next round of vault offerings from the Frank Zappa estate will include a reissue of his triple-disc Lumpy Money Project/Object as well as a trilogy of Road Tapes volumes — one of which is seeing release for the first time.
Originally released in 2008 for the 40th anniversaries of Zappa's Lumpy Gravy and We’re Only in It for the Money, the Lumpy Money Project/Object set collects an assortment of alternate versions of the albums' classic tracks, including mono mixes for both LPs, as well as outtakes, single mixes and Zappa interviews. The physical edition includes a book containing liner notes penned by critic David Fricke and Zappa's widow Gail, while the digital edition marks Lumpy Money Project/Object's download debut.
Also included in this round of reissues are CD and digital editions of Road Tapes, Venue #1 and Road Tapes, Venue #2. These installments of Zappa's "guerrilla recordings" series, dedicated to offering audio that's "historical yet sonically less than stellar," present Zappa performances from 1968 in Vancouver (Venue #1) and 1973 in Helsinki (Venue #2). Making its debut is Road Tapes, Venue #3, which captures Zappa and band in Minneapolis in 1970 — offering fans a rare full-show glimpse of the Mothers of Invention lineup that included Flo & Eddie, George Duke, Ian Underwood, Aynsley Dunbar and Jeff Simmons.
All four titles are scheduled to arrive May 27 via the Zappa estate's current pact with Universal, which was announced last year, and are available for pre-order now.
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