In 1963, FZ arrived at Del-Fi's doorstep with these self-produced doo-wop, East L.A. R&B and surf novelties (all were written and performed by Frank and his protégés at his Cucamonga-based studio, hence th... more »e title of this compilation). "How's Your Bird?" features vocals by eventual Mother Ray Collins. Features all new artwork & 14 remastered tracks. 1998 Del-Fi Records release.« less
In 1963, FZ arrived at Del-Fi's doorstep with these self-produced doo-wop, East L.A. R&B and surf novelties (all were written and performed by Frank and his protégés at his Cucamonga-based studio, hence the title of this compilation). "How's Your Bird?" features vocals by eventual Mother Ray Collins. Features all new artwork & 14 remastered tracks. 1998 Del-Fi Records release.
CD Reviews
Tame by Zappa standards, but good.
Mark Pollock | Davis, CA United States | 05/28/2003
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This disc contains some of Zappa's early productions, mostly issued as local singles by a variety of companies. Del-Fi has gotten rights to quite a few songs, and, more amazingly, has gotten tapes as well.The tracks are interesting, ranging from the bizarre late-night-horror-movie-host "Jeepers" songs to the Penguins doo-wop "Memories of El Monte". There are some wild touches here, such as the crazy sliding bass in "Jessie Lee" to the bizarre lyrics of "Hows Your Bird", which is perhaps the birth of the conceptual continuity that Zappa urged his listeners to believe in. The quality of this disc is pretty good - the tapes have obviously deteriorated over the years, and some have not been stored properly, bu they still sound quite good. Listeners with very high quality systems and practiced ears will hear some treble deterioration, and some tiny drop-outs, but overall, the sound is quite good. It does appear that none of these tracks come from vinyl. This album, when listened to alongside "The Lost Episodes" and "Mystery Disc", helps give a fairly complete picture of Zappa's pre-1966 activities."
AWESOME CD-- if you like late 50s/early 60s music
Andrew Abramson | Gainesville, FL | 01/05/2003
(4 out of 5 stars)
"If you're looking for the greatest Frank Zappa album this obviously isn't it, but it has some real wicked late 50s/early 60s sounding R&B, doo-wop and surf songs. So from that standpoint, it is definetlely a fun album. A lot of the same old songs are often played on oldies stations from that era in music, so it's fun listening to Frank play songs you won't likely know."
NICE COLLECTION OF EARLY FZ DOO-WOP & SURF. BLAST IT!
Jay Siekierski | STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. USA | 02/09/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Frank Zappa - Cucamonga(Del-Fi)For every FZ fan out there curious about uncle Frank's earliest recordings prior to the forming of The Mothers Of Invention in
the mid '60s, this new FZ CD Cucamonga /Del-Fi pretty much sets the story straight. This album features 14 very 'cheesy,
spiffy & loony songs that our man FZ was involved in as writer, producer or performer or all the previous mentioned. These
tunes all saw the light of day on labels during the years '63-'64 and now Del-Fi have compiled this lil' prize we now have for our
FZ collection. A number of tunes standout as 'highlights' but I'm not mentioning any (buy it). If you are planning on having a real
wild kooky pizza party...I suggest you put this CD on and FREAK OUT the guests/neighborhood!"
ZAPPA ZAPPA ZAPPA ZAPPA
Dean A. Lisi | Ellicott City, MD United States | 04/24/2003
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Not for the weak hearted ZAPPA fans .. hard cores only ... very good ..old stuff..LOVED IT ! there has never been a bad ZAPPA album .."
Track Listings (14) - Disc #1