Electric Don Quixote: The Story of Frank Zappa

From his emergence in the 1960s, Frank Zappa's iconoclastic and revolutionary approach to rock music gave him the reputation of being a difficult genius. His refusal to come out in favor of either side of the Sixties' establishment-versus-counterculture conflict typified a lifetime of musical and philosophical independence.
"Electric Don Quixote", noted music writer Neil Slaven's comprehensive analysis of this complex composer's life, ideas, and works, reveals Zappa to be a perceptive observer of the social and political movements going on around him, from '60s Los Angeles to '90s Czechoslovakia. Slaven highlights Zappa's contemporary classical influences, like the French composer Edgar Varese and Igor Stravinsky, and the biting satire of many of his compositions (weŽre only in it for money was a direct dig at the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper). He also describes the creation of such seminal Zappa albums as "Freak out!, weasels ripped my flesh", and "Hot rats", and the constantly changing roster of musicians Zappa employed to interpret his often intricate music, from rock guitarist Lowell George to multiple horn jazz master Rahsaan Roland Kirk. "Electric Don Quixote" is a revealing and illuminating biography of a fascinating artist.

CONTENIDO

Foreword
Introduction
1. WhatŽs new in Baltimore?
2. CruisinŽ for burgers
3. Project/Object
4. Freak out!
5. Lumpy gravy
6. Dead girls in London
7. Our bizarre relationship
8. Shut up Žn play yer guitar
9. Weasels ripped my flesh
10. Smoke on the water
11. Overnite sensation
12. One size fits all
13. Zoot allures
14. Lather
15. Sheik yerbouti
16. Utility muffin research kitchen
17. Drowning witch
18. Systems of edges
19. Thing-fish
20. Once again, without the net
21. The torture never stops
22. Outro
Notes
Discography
Bibliography
Index