Zappa: Visual Documentary

Rating:
Summary: Excellent visual companion to Zappa
Review: This is an excellent companion to your Zappa collection. It might be of little interest to those totally not in the know about Zappa; unlike Bet Watson's excellent "Negative Dialectics of Poodle Play" however, it is not incomprehensible to the novice. The chronological flow and the wealth of biographical material is a fine bonus, as are the hitherto rare photos of Zappa with various family members. Of particular interest are the bits about Zappa in the Czech Republic - his welcome there, his interaction with Vaclav Havel - did you know he set up a company to represent Czech business interests in the US? (The book does not go into detail on how the Bush administration arm-twisted Havel into withdrawing this accreditation from Zappa, but that is another story) For the hardcore Zappa-phile, there are shots of Zappa with the earliest Mothers, a rare photo of the legendary Studio Z, Zappa with Beefheart, and so on and so forth. Unlike most of the quickie picture books designed to cash in on the latest boy/girl/whatever - band craze, this book will stay by your bedside for years.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent visual companion to Zappa
Review: This is an excellent companion to your Zappa collection. It might be of little interest to those totally not in the know about Zappa; unlike Bet Watson's excellent "Negative Dialectics of Poodle Play" however, it is not incomprehensible to the novice. The chronological flow and the wealth of biographical material is a fine bonus, as are the hitherto rare photos of Zappa with various family members. Of particular interest are the bits about Zappa in the Czech Republic - his welcome there, his interaction with Vaclav Havel - did you know he set up a company to represent Czech business interests in the US? (The book does not go into detail on how the Bush administration arm-twisted Havel into withdrawing this accreditation from Zappa, but that is another story) For the hardcore Zappa-phile, there are shots of Zappa with the earliest Mothers, a rare photo of the legendary Studio Z, Zappa with Beefheart, and so on and so forth. Unlike most of the quickie picture books designed to cash in on the latest boy/girl/whatever - band craze, this book will stay by your bedside for years.