Is Frank Zappa's Rykodisc catalog now out of print?

i think its Rick Astley and Lionel Richie

 

this post was all promising and exciting. then we get to the bold and realize that we are getting milked.

good news! but you're going to have to shell out for it... again.

 

1. Freak Out! (1966)
2. Absolutely Free (1967)
3. Lumpy Gravy (1968)
4. We’re Only In It For The Money (1968)
5. Cruising With Ruben & The Jets (1968)
6. Uncle Meat (1969)
7. Hot Rats (1969)
8. Burnt Weeny Sandwich (1970)
9. Weasels Ripped My Flesh (1970)
10. Chunga’s Revenge (1970)
11. Fillmore East, June 1971 (1971)
12. Just Another Band From L.A. (1972)

Having gone for MoFO and Lumpy Gravy, I'd be surprised if there was any pressing reason for me to buy 1, 3 & 4.

2, 6 & 7 might be tempting if the mastering is a big advance.

11 & 12 are both albums that I don't own in any form, so I'll probably start with those.

Other than that, I'm not sure how excited to be about this reissue programme right now ... I guess we'll have to see what new information comes out about it.

 

Cautiously optimistic here...

I have all the Rykos and have bought all the posthumous ZFT releases including the Dweezil / ZPZ stuff on Fantom.

As has been said, the Project/Object reissues so far have been outstanding (if expensive) so I'm not sure what can be improved there, but Hot Rats definitely needs sorting out.

Gail was VERY complimentary about Bernie Grundman on the Hot Rats Classic Records reissue so maybe he's got something to do with it...that would definitely have me reaching for the wallet...!

 

The prospect of having a CD copy of UNCLE MEAT without the penalty tracks fills me with joy.

 

Burn yer own, its cheaper

 

I wouldn't count on it. Individual artists still block their music from such services as part of their deal. It is likely that Gail will do just that. I will be pleasantly surprised if I'm wrong.

 

Hot Rats original mix, good remastering (Grundman's, e.g.), on CD, has been the Holy Grail on my list for a very long time.
.

 

I doubt they would release 12 CDs in the next 6 months all remastered and repackaged. Seems like a stupid money investment given the state of the industry.

My guess is only the 'big' sellers will be remastered. The rest may just be Ryko reissues.

 

The press release promises 60 CDs in the next 6 months. I'd be pretty surprised if that goes according to plan.

 

How I wish this was Genesis, Yes and Rush news

 

Zappa's catalog, and the sort of reissue volcano undertaken by Ryko in 1995, is spectacularly unsuited to the realities of 2011. I'm with you in being quizzical as to these plans.

 

Well said, Vivaldinization. However, it MAY be well suited to the realities of 2012. (Kidding aside, I agree with you ...)

 

The press release notes 60 titles by the end of the year. Ryko's 1995 campaign was 53 titles. I wonder if all 53 will be included. If so, what are the other seven?

 

Would it be asking too much to hope these are all released in jewel cases?

I'm about fed up with almost all current, anticipated remasters coming out in cardboard wallets and digipaks.

 

Hmm...this page lists 63 titles from Freak Out to CPIII, plus four titles prepped by FZ and released posthumously by Ryko. Let's then assume Mothermania, 200 Motels and the Old Masters boxes will not be included, and that they will count Joe's Garage, SUNPYG and LSO as one title each, unlike the list I linked. That brings the total down to 58...?

 

Still in denial six months in...

 

I'm afraid so. I do not expect ANY of these reissues to be in a jewel case. All cardboard. Maybe a plastic tray/spindle, but that's it.

 

Ryko's reissue plan was spectacularly unsuited to the realities of 1995.

In fact, Ryko knew that. They wanted to do a slow roll out, with a few albums at a time, grouped by theme or style.

But they couldn't. Why? They vastly overpaid for the catalog, and came close to going broke in the wake of the purchase. They needed cash, and REALLY quickly. That's why the entire catalog was dumped into retail bins, and why most of it was also licensed to the record clubs very quickly.

In fact, Ryko never really recovered, financially, from that purchase.

Now, the bigger, more interesting, question is: HOW did Gail regain ownership of the catalog. By all accounts, Ryko PURCHASED the release rights to the catalog outright. The price was too high to be anything else (and it was, in fact, too high, period). How did Gail get it back? I am guessing that Universal fronted her some bucks to negotiate it away from WEA. But I'm curious...

 

Oh, most certainly.

Which is a darn shame, both in terms of the financial aftermath of the sale and the grief they almost immediately incurred from the ZFT.

I wonder if this story will be told, some day, in a lawsuit...

 

I also wonder if the rollout this quick might have to do with an industry-wide focus on tearing the public away from Hard Product. They may have promised Gail a quick resurgence of physical discs in store, just so she could take a limo over to Amoeba and see them all sitting nicely in a rack...with no possible comprehension on her part, of the impossibility of finding a single FZ disc if you live in Muncie with nothing but a Wal-Mart to choose from.

But, the dollars would flow quickly, while she's still got her health, then maybe the realization of Phaze III of We're Only In It For The Catalogue would hit while Dweez, Moon and Diva are left with the consequences.


Now playing on Ariel Stream: Vangelis - Chung Kuo, The Long March Pt. 1

 

The news has surfaced on the zappa.com website including this semi-encouraging q&a response from Gail:

 

That is very encouraging.

My dream is to have Uncle Meat, remastered from the original 2-track on a single CD with no "penalty tracks." If there's room, put the single version of Dog Breath on there, PLEASE!

 

The head of UMG said this (just got it in an email from the ZFT):

"“The artist and composer, Frank Zappa, is one of the most important and influential artists in music history with his prolific body of work, including his breakthrough rock ‘n roll concept albums. We are honored that Gail Zappa and the Zappa Family Trust have entrusted us with his legacy. We intend to honor him and bring high quality releases, digital and physical, for his new and longtime fans,” said Bruce Resnikoff, President/CEO, Universal Music Enterprises (UMe)."

So I'm guessing the albums may well be available via the usual sources.

 

And without the twittery reverb is a plus too.

I'm going to replace half of my Zappa CD's but I'm doing it with caution.