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

I still had a few gaps in my Zappa CD collection that I figured I would eventually pick up "soon " and had them bookmarked on Amazon.com

Imagine my surprise to find that most of his Rykodisc catalog is now listed as OOP on Amazon. I did a search for one particular title, One Size Fits All to find that it is listed as OOP on Amazon and "backordered" on Borders.com, Barnes and Noble.com and a couple other smaller online CD providers which is never a good sign.

I went to the Rykodisc site and Frank is no listed on their artist roster.

So, I'm wondering. Has the Rykodisc contract expired and are the rights to the Rykodisc albums reverting back to the Zappa Trust. Is there a new remaster project in the works for this stuff. Not a word regarding this on the Rykodisc site or the official Zappa site.

Anyone know what's up ?

 

CD Universe is showing his back catalog as REMASTERED and available on November 17, 2009 on RYKO.

http://www.imwan.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=56637&start=0&st=0&sk=t&sd=a

 

I got an email from...one of the vendors I get email from, maybe The Artists Shop? listing a boatload of upcoming Zappa Ryko titles, priced at $8 or $9. Didn't pay much attention to it as I have the ones I want already. So, it looks like they will be both available and affordable. Hopefully, if remastered, they'll be done right...

 

Much of it, yes.

 

It appears that the rumors (now confirmed) of Zappa's catalog being out of print started around September... as to what these "remasters" are going to be, no one seems to know (and the ZFT ain't talking).

 

I love Frank, I really do, but, "I Don't Think I Can Go Thru This Again"

 

OK, I found the Artist Shop listing
http://www.artist-shop.com/rykodisc/index.htm

Coming Soon from Ryko and associated labels
Frank Zappa/Absolutely Free ....CD $7.99
Frank Zappa/Apostrophe (') ....CD $11.99
Frank Zappa/Bongo Fury ....CD $11.99
Frank Zappa/Burnt Weeny Sandwich ....CD $7.99
Frank Zappa/Cheap Thrills ....CD $6.99
Frank Zappa/Chunga's Revenge ....CD $7.99
Frank Zappa/Cruising With Ruben & The Jets ....CD $7.99
Frank Zappa/Freak Out! ....CD $11.99
Frank Zappa/The Grand Wazoo ....CD $7.99
Frank Zappa/Hot Rats ....CD $11.99
Frank Zappa/Joe's Garage Acts I, II, & III ....2CD $17.99
Frank Zappa/Just Another Band From L.A. ....CD $7.99
Frank Zappa/Lumpy Gravy ....CD $7.99
Frank Zappa/Make A Jazz Noise Here ....2CD $11.99
Frank Zappa/One Size Fits All ....CD $7.99
Frank Zappa/Over-nite Sensation ....CD $11.99
Frank Zappa/Roxy & Elsewhere ....CD $7.99
Frank Zappa/Sheik Yerbouti ....CD $11.99
Frank Zappa/Shut Up 'N Play Yer Guitar ....3CD $17.99
Frank Zappa/Son of Cheap Thrills ....CD $6.99
Frank Zappa/Strictly Commercial - The Best of Frank Zappa ....CD $11.99
Frank Zappa/Them Or Us ....CD $7.99
Frank Zappa/Uncle Meat ....2CD $11.99
Frank Zappa/Waka/Jawaka ....CD $11.99
Frank Zappa/Weasels Ripped My Flesh ....CD $7.99
Frank Zappa/We're Only In It For The Money ....CD $7.99
Frank Zappa/The Yellow Shark ....CD $7.99
Frank Zappa/You Are What You Is ....CD $7.99
Frank Zappa/Zappa In New York ....2CD $11.99
Frank Zappa/Zoot Allures ....CD $7.99

Ryko now presents these jewels of the Frank Zappa catalog at incredibly low prices. If you've been waiting for the perfect opportunity to venture into Zappa waters, well here it is! Or if you're already in the deep end and are just missing a few, here ya go!

 

Seems to be just the standard remasters at mid-price.

 

It's odd that Fillmore East, June 1971 isn't included.

Also, none of the Gary Panter covered albums (Studio Tan, Sleep Dirt, Orchestral Favorites) are there, either.

No Tinsel Town Rebellion and the only stuff included from after 1981 is Them Or Us, Make A Jazz Noise Here, and The Yellow Shark.

I'm not sure there is a pattern here.

 

Where is the You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore Series??

 

Any chance we'll get original mixes? (I'm looking at you, Ruben & The Jets.)

 

It looks like a bunch of the compilations are nixed, too. Like the Zappa Picks ones...

 

The original mix of Ruben & The Jets is already slated for release, although it is overdue.

 

One of the ZFT folks mentioned a Ruben anniversary set earlier this year which would likely include the original mix (and even played an outtake which would also be included, IIRC), but no sign of it yet.

Like PetSounds I bet these Ryko reissues will not use different mixes or mastering.

 

That is great news. My vinyl is beat to hell.

 

There were strong rumours from the ZFT that we were going to get that earlier this year with bonus tracks too (Gail Z & Joe Travers were on the radio promoting "Lumpy Money" & they played an unreleased version of Valerie), but then it all went quiet.

 

If you want the best sounding One Size Fits All, get the AU20 (gold disc) c.d.

 

From what I've heard on Zappateers Ryko is discontinuing Frank's catalog along with many others and will be selling them as downloads only in the future. Not sure how much truth there is to it though as I haven't seen any official confirmation.

 

there was a post on zappa.com with a blurb about the ZPZ tour and recordings, but in the bio section for the engineer it made mention that the engineer was doing new digital remasters of the catalog...

Catalog has been out of print for a couple months, with existing stock all that remains..

This is merely a sign that Gail should NOT be in charge of this catalog. I know some of you want original mixes, and that's cool and correct, but as for the catalog in general, the FZ masters are the definitive masters, and for Gail to futz with them is to continue her bastardization of her husband's legacy. The discs sound great as they are and don't need any work. She could spend the rest of her life putting out unreleased material without fooling with what Frank deemed good enough for release himself.

/end rant

 

I agree with the above post that Frank did these remasters himself and they sound fine. There is no need to repackage them or remaster them again for the sake of making Zappa fans rebuy them.

If they (ZFT) want to make money on Frank, put out something we don't already have. If not, please leave things alone.

 

Scary thought, but certainly possible. It sounds like Rhino is going the download route in the future and no one is saying whether they will continue to offer older Rhino titles in a physical medium once this change happens in 2010. I think this is the sign of things to come. Hopefully, if it must be download (which I dread), I hope they are loss-less and include all of the artwork and liner-notes.

 

Does Ryko have the rights to the Zappa catalog in perpetuity?

 

Reechie, I'm 90% sure this is true, though "perpetuity" ain't what it used to be, contractually speaking (California law, especially).

 

How has Frank's legacy been bastardized? With the possible exception of "Drooling Midrange Accountants", I don't think that the ZFT has put anything out of Crash Landing proportions.

I, also, take issue with the idea that all of the Ryko CDs that Frank approved sound fine. There are definite sound quality issues with about half of them. Chunga's Revenge, Zoot Allures, and Sheik Yerbouti in particular sound pretty crappy compared to their vinyl counterparts. In addition, many fans cannot bring themselves to listen to the remixes of Cruising With Ruben and The Jets, Hot Rats, or Sleep Dirt. They aren't the same albums. Sure, it was Frank's idea to revise his own history and he was entitled to do so, but I don't see any harm in making the original mixes available. I haven't even addressed the reverb that was added to many of the recordings.

I have my own criticisms of Gail and the ZFT (Roxy DVD, people!), but there are worse things that can happen to Frank's catalog.

I will take this all back, however, if the Ryko CDs (or equivalent), go out-of-print for good.

 

For starters, it is never clear what the actual ZFT plans or procedures are. Gail ensures this with her infrequent gibberish communications. All we can do is speculate.

WRT sound quality, half the Ryko catalog does NOT remotely sound great. Among the very worst offenders are Sheik Yerbouti, Uncle Meat, Zoot Allures. It may be inconvenient, but compare them to any vinyl – not even close. Much of this is Frank's doing. This catalog needs work.

It is entirely fair, however, to say that many of the Ryko titles do sound fine. If ever there was a complicated case-by-case situation, this is it.

I don't begrudge Frank his remixes as long as originals are available. Even he realized this during the furor over the We're Only In It re-dub/re-mix – it was so way-off. If Frank wanted his 80s "masters" to be considered definitive, well, fine. But I'm convinced that the term "Original Masters" was nothing more than branding to facilitate the Ryko deal.

The good news is that ZFT appears (more speculation on my part) to be in possession of good-quality, (genuine) original-mix masters and/or multis. The evidence is in the MOFO and Lumpy Money releases – they are stellar. Most posthumous releases sound fine.

The bad news is that I'll surely be dead and gone long before this catalog is restored properly.