Zappa: A Biography

Rating:
Summary: A Non-Reader's Review
Review: I just read about this book in Rolling Stone, and being a Zappa fan from the the age of 13 (I bought Freak Out when it first was available - It was $5.98 retail...) thought I might buy it. Still might. But I'll wait until it's at a close-out price so the author won't profit.

It lacks any info on the later music. Ask yourself why. Perhaps no access to the artist or family or friends?

This guy is a writer making money off of someone else's hard work. Frank's and the writer's written sources. He has a gauranteed "cult" audience. He has "commercial potential" (inside joke for Zappa fans). Example? Writers to the editor of the entertainment section of the Los Angeles Times carried on for weeks about Zappa's "Zubin and the Jets" (L.A. Philharmonic's "200 Motels" unvailing) concert. Edgar Varese's tape player jammed so Zappa & the Mothers came out early. Ed got pissed at Zappa's music (My Boyfriend's Back (choreographed) and "The End" (the doors - you know, that snotty kid's song, jimmy morrison) and left in a huff. He sent a letter to the Ed. too!

Frank did not like music critics. Now he's dead. Can't fight back. Well, actually, he can. Listen to his music.

How many assistant book editors have the job of writng letters to Amazon.com and such?

This Miles clown has no "conceptual continuity" if he does not look at ALL of Zappa's work. (Inside joke for Zappa fans).

One could write a book on Zappa by merely researching the liner notes on the "You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore" series. One could write a GOOD book by reading ALL the liner notes on ALL of Zappa's albums.

The old Mothers - Where are they? Retired? Dead? "Billy Mundi" was last seen years ago in Sacramento, California managing an apartment complex. His knee was shot from dropping a casket on it while doing a job stint with a local mortuary. Jimmy Carl Black's lips moved while counting to seven when thay played the "hard parts". Most of the old band members have whined for years. Of course there is always Flo and Eddies' stellar success (baseball park oldies shows...).

New "mothers"... Steve Vai? Terry Bozzio? Chad Wackerman? George Duke? Ensemble Modern?

Definitive... That's a term usually used for the most reputable piece of classical music - the way music historians would guess the composer would like to see his music played. Not a good term to use for a commercial biography.

This ain't the definitive. No way, no time...

Zappa fans... Buy it when it goes to the close-out tables at you local Borders. Newbies, read the auto-bio and listen. Start with Freak-Out, pull the safety bar down, and hold on...

I'm gonna go finish the Rolling Stone. I'll be in the can if anyone wants me...

Rating:
Summary: He's only in it for the money.
Review: I've been going through the thesaurus to find just the right word for this book, and I think I've found it: "reprehensible." Shameful, inexcusable, awful, repugnant...I think that about sums it up.

The first third of this book is a painfully tedious list of facts about Zappa's childhood. Miles' purpose seems to be that he knows more about it than anyone, including Zappa himself. It doesn't matter that there isn't a scrap of primary research anywhere in this book. He goes from there into a cycle that will list a couple of interesting facts about Zappa, then give three or four pages of Miles' opinions about Zappa, and finally end up with a scandalous sex story to wake the reader up before starting the cycle all over again. In the lengthy opinion sections of this cycle he makes fun of Zappa, mocks him, dismisses his accomplishments, accuses him of being a bad family member, condescends to him, implies that he's not very smart or talented, expresses wafer-thin moral outrage, and disagrees with every action or decision Zappa made. The book is a tangle of poor organization, mistakes, and contradictions; and Miles' tone is beyond offensive.

Anyone who is a fan or friend of Frank Zappa should be deeply offended by this book. I can't figure out why he wrote it. I was a fool to buy it. To paraphrase the title of the album, "Miles is only in it for the money." I just saw it sitting there on the shelf of the book store with a big picture of Zappa on it. I'm definitely going to search out The Real Frank Zappa Book now.


Rating:
Summary: Why Such Diversity of Opinion by Amazon Reviewers?
Review: In my opinion, Barry Miles has written one of the very best Zappa bios, certainly top-five. Initially, I was a bit perplexed by the numerous typos and other errors, but as I progressed through the book, I perceived them more along the lines of a missed note in a live performance. I even wonder if the errors were left intentionally to mock Frank, or maybe just those hard-core Zappa freaks that have written scathing reviews here. As numerous Amazon reviewers have pointed out, there is much to criticize in Zappa: a Biography. But in the long run, I can only conclude that these reviewers couldn't see the forest for the trees.

So what makes this bio so special in my mind's eye? Simple - Barry Miles has given perspective to the social evolution Frank lived within - and he's stated clearly what part Frank played in that evolution. Other Zappa bios have listed the many cities Franks lived in as a child, but none has placed the reader so solidly into Franks's shoes. Miles has put the odors into the air and the sweat onto the t-shirts clinging to our armpits. Now we know what Frank really meant when he sang "Stink Foot".

There is something about the pace of Barry's writing that seems to match the kind of rhythm of life that spells "Zappa". But I do not at all find "Zappa: A Biography" to be without fault even, for the moment ignoring the typos and factual errors. One of the great strengths of this bio is that Miles has not pulled any punches. There is a great deal of honesty within these pages and some of it might seem to show a lack respect for Frank the man. But the simple truth is that Frank was an extremely strong willed man that was on a mission - a very long epic journey. Frank was willing to preach "do as I say, not as I do" and in many ways, he pulled it off because his mission was a noble one, a mission of discovery and courage. Barry Miles has fleshed out the textures and colors of Frank's mission more clearly than any other author I've read (and I've read them all, repeatedly). The novice Zappa reader could pick up this book, Electric don Quixote and Frank's autobiography and amazingly, nearly all sides of the story would be presented.

Assigning a rating was difficult for me - knowing that 4 stars is the correct grade, but deciding to give it 5 in a feeble attempt to offset other reviewers that seem to have over-reacted to the minutia while missing the big pictcha.

Rating:
Summary: Zappa fans are no different than Deadheads.
Review: Of all the nasty reader reviews I've read here the one that really stands out is the one that begins with a list of the THREE reasons anyone would write a biography. "1- They just love the guy, 2) Revenge, or 3) Money." I'm thinking now of the shelves full of biographies of figures like Hitler and Stalin, and I'm wondering if maybe a 4th reason might be that you understand the historical importance of the person, you find the person and his work interesting (without "sincerely appreciating it"), and you believe there's a need for a better biography.

Most of Miles' conclusions regarding Zappa's motives throughout the book are grounded in the first hand comments of numerous people who were there at the time. Further, Miles opening chapters of Zappa's childhood and adolesence do more than any other biography in offering a context for Zappa's work.

Miles also does a good job in describing the major shift in Zappa's work from an early period in which his audience was in on the joke, part of a larger community of people critiquing "straight" society, to the later period in which, if you wanted to earn Zappa's contempt all you'd have to do was buy his most recent record.

The most dedicated Frank fans remind me of fans of The Grateful Dead if you suggest that Bobby can't write or Jerry sounded pretty smacked out that night or maybe Mickey ought to accept that drums can't actually heal the sick.

Miles has written the definitive Zappa bio.

Rating:
Summary: wow...
Review: People here sure are protective of ol' "Uncle Frank"!

I've been a big zappa fan forever and found no reason to be outraged over this book. I enjoyed the fact the the book did not sugarcoat Zappa. The guy was a musical genius, but that dosn't mean he couldn't have been a self-centered dick! I think Barry Miles did a fantastic job at showing us both sides of the story, even if his editors did miss a lot of mistakes.

Rating:
Summary: Poorly written.
Review: The first half of this book is as shambolic in its writing as most of the biographies I have read, it tending to jump from one aspect to another and then repeat itself, as it proceeds. Apart from this annoying factor, I did find the rest of the book reasonable enough, since I’m not really much of an FZ fan.

The more fervent fen however, will find the book disappointing because its not particularly detailed, and is more of a schematic overview/tittle-tattle of FZ’s career and influences. That being the case, something at half the length would have been sufficient for the likes of myself.


Rating:
Summary: The Mother Of Dissension
Review: There are perhaps three reasons someone would devote a substantial chunk of time to writing a biography: 1) a deep and sincere appreciation for the subject's work; 2) revenge; and 3) money. For Barry Miles, author of Zappa A Biography, it seems to be all about revenge and money. Miles, whose credits and so-called pop culture expertise are based all in the 1960's, as evidenced by his other works on the Beat Generation and hippie culture, seems to be a Zappa fan who believes the artist's best work was in that period and has never forgiven him for letting go of the original line-up and evolving musically, socially, and politically from the early days of the Mothers Of Invention.

The book is overwhelmingly unbalanced; the attacks on Zappa become more intense as Zappa continues his career past the `60's. At this point, the book takes on a childish, peevish tone. Miles delights in contradicting even the most trivial of facts quoted by Zappa. His psychological assessment of Zappa is embarrassingly shallow. His knowledge of music stems from musicians' quotations rather than his own understanding. He chooses an assortment of quotes from former band members that are virtually all negative. In reality, countless magazine articles, radio, and TV interviews evidence band members truly appreciative of Zappa, how the ability to get into the band was a supreme accomplishment, how Zappa brought out the best in their playing and raised the creative and technical game of each player, and how each member was profoundly influenced by Zappa even after leaving the band. Yet these positive quotations never appear in the book.

Zappa's obsession for having his music sound to the ear as it did in his head was not a shortcoming as Miles suggests, but a virtue. Zappa was like Howard Rourk in Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead, with the sole objective of not letting anything, including suboptimal playing of band members, social pressures, or government intervention get in the way of realizing the purity of his creative expression. His frustrations were no different from that of Edgar Varese and Conlon Noncarrow (the latter an important Zappa influence, yet never mentioned in the book).

It is therefore ironic that I would only recommend this book to the most ardent Zappa fans, who can take Miles' overwhelming criticism in stride, and find in the biography a few new facts to fill in gaps of their knowledge of Zappa's life and work. There are several interesting anecdotes, including Tina Turner's background singing on Overnite Sensations and Apostrophe, and details of the final months and days of Zappa's life which are fascinating and not well known. For everyone else, skip this book -- just buy Zappa's music and make your own assessment.


Rating:
Summary: Have Yourself a Squat, Mr. Miles
Review: This book adds nothing to what's already been published about Zappa. Its factual points are a rehash of previous books about Zappa. What makes this book particularly egregious, is the author's unfounded opinions. These opinions appear frequently, on just about every page, and are almost exclusively negative. Moreover, the opinions offered are really out there, in left field.

To illustrate my point, I offer one example from the book. Consider the following passage from p.132:

"An air stewardess has described how the Mothers were once on one of her flights. She noticed that Zappa sat alone, away from the band. Jimmy Carl Black and Roy Estrada gave her a copy of Freak Out! and had everyone sign it, except Frank. As the passengers deplaned she stood at the door with the album under her arm. On the way out Zappa noticed it: `I see you have our album, have you heard our music?' he asked. She admitted that she hadn't, whereupon Zappa extended his middle finger and jerked it in front of her face. `Here's a preview!' he snapped, then continued down the ramp leaving her shaken and upset. Clearly ordinary working people were not included in the Zappa Master Plan."

Huh? How can Miles reach the conclusion "ordinary people" had no place in the "Zappa Master Plan"? It's this last sentence "Clearly ordinary working people were not included in the Zappa Master Plan" that show how off-base Miles is in his analysis. Nowhere else in the book does Miles talk about Zappa having antipathy for working people. So, its this single interaction with the stewardess from which Miles draws his conclusion. With this kind of logic, one can see why we have an idiot as the president. Just same something, anything, and it doesn't matter that there is no supporting evidence, no logic, - in fact, present people with bizarre, non-logic, and they'll ingest it whole.

Don't waste your money on this book. Instead, buy the Real Frank Zappa book, or Electric Don Quixote. The "Real" book is an autobiography that makes for fun, provocative reading. The Quixote book is lengthy, providing cradle to grave extensive facts and both positive and negative opinions.

As for Barry Miles:

If your mind is prehensile
You'll put down your pencil
And have yourself a squat
On the cosmic utensil

Rating:
Summary: Enlightening...Both Fortunatley and Unfortunatley
Review: This definitive bio of Zappa is something that's long overdue and very welcome. Other authors have made very adept attempts at writing about the varied nature of Zappa's music, but this focuses purely on the man himself. A few things are very striking here, not the least of which being the way Zappa's diverse influences and attitudes came together under what was the roof of a very conventional family. It's also inspiring in revealing the dogged determination that drove Zappa to perform, compose, conduct and direct while often under (early on) dire financial limitations and other obstacles. But the very deep flaws of the man are also revealed, perhaps the most jarring of which being the dismantaling of Frank's image as devoted family man. If you thought his descriptions of his cold attitudes towards conventional family life in his autobiography were upsetting, you'll be further disturbed to discover that he was only scratching the surface there. Barnes makes the case that Zappa virtually ignored his kids, inflicted his uncoventional attitudes about school upon them (without gauging whether they were justified or not) and his casual (almost abusive) attitude toward sex justified leaving sexually explicit materials in easy view, while Gail Zappa virtually cajoled the kids into early (perhaps premature) sexual encounters with their young friends. Also the fact that Zappa viewed his marriage as being completely &quot;open&quot; caused a lot of family friction over the years. &#60;br /&#62;<br /> &#60;br /&#62;<br /> Apart from that most unsettling aspect of the book, it's also disapointing to discover just how relentlessly arrogant, egotistical and downright self-centered Zappa was toward the musicians he employed. He seemed to believe that if he was paying the bills he was supreme commander and chief and therefore not beholden to criticism or even giving credit for the work of others.&#60;br /&#62;<br /> &#60;br /&#62;<br /> For a longtime fan like myself, the mosty interesting parts of the book come early, as we see Zappa forming his identity. The latter parts were fairly depressing, and to a degree, the man's slide into ever more risque lyrics and potty humor song titles, compromised the overall integrity of his work. Worst of all Zappa wanted it both ways. He wanted to be the anti-censorship libertarian, but also gain acceptance in the classical music world, where song titles like &quot;Why Does It Hurt When I Pee?&quot; would clearly not fly. An odd struggle of biting the hands that pat you on the back for a job well done.&#60;br /&#62;<br /> &#60;br /&#62;<br /> I definatley recommend this book to anyone interested in Zappa. Just know that, like any truly great biography, you get the WHOLE picture. Big 'ol warts and all.

Rating:
Summary: Well done biography
Review: This is actually a good book. Its thoroughly researched and well written. It suffers from the main flaw of all the Zappa books that were not written by Frank Zappa himself though, it spends way too much time on his early (and IMO overrated) material with the Mothers. This book is basically put together from all the other books, including Zappas autobiography and also many other sources. In the end it gives possibly the most complete picture of Frank of any of the many books written about him. The thing that seperates this book though is that it covers the last 5 or so years of his life in far more detail than any other book written about Zappa. I had never, ever read about his last days and Miles does so and they are rather moving. It was very interesting to read about this side of Zappa and that alone makes the book a must read for Zappa fans. Surely this isnt a butt kissing book but it is also very fair to Frank and lauds him far more than it puts him down. He isnt infalable and this book does point that out but it doesnt dwell on negativity.