Zappa - Apostrophe (50th anniversary set out in Sept!)

[shedsoundsmedia]

My thoughts !

 

[AudiophileStyle]

It's a strange one for the quad mix in a 5.1 24/48 container with silent center but not totally silent subwoofer. It's a 4.1 mix technically.

 

[J. PUPSTER]

It's a strange one for the quad mix in a 5.1 24/48 container with silent center but not totally silent subwoofer. It's a 4.1 mix technically.

I noticed that also.

and as someone else mentioned, it was advertised as 96Kx24b

 

[Matt Wilson]

GREAT GOOGLY MOOGLY ! This is a fantastic boxed set, an embarrassment of riches ! Here's my detailed thoughts.

Damn, are we promoting our youtube channels now? OK, here's one I did on Zappa about a month ago.

 

[Bob Romano]

It's a strange one for the quad mix in a 5.1 24/48 container with silent center but not totally silent subwoofer. It's a 4.1 mix technically.

View attachment 109364


View attachment 109365

What program shows the streams like that??

 

[Michael Marshall]

As with all these Zappa boxsets they are vastly overpriced but as it's Frank, they have me by the balls to keep spending my cash on them. The Blu Ray with the surround mixes is my real enticement to lay the extra 60 bucks they charging for it simply because in any CD package that comes in a Clamshell box such as this you can get anywhere from 4 to 6 CD's in one from 20 to 30 bucks. The Clamshell box was also originally designed to sell all or part of most bands and artists' discography on the cheap and for a package that costs 99 bucks, this is not cheap. I would even go as far as to say that the presentation totally SUCKS! and Franks's music is worthy of being treated better than this.

The surround mixes are to die for and as with any of these boxsets the extra live content on the CD's is killer though I should add that no way are the 5 CD's that come in this package worth any more than 20 to 30 bucks which is the genuine price point so the Zappa trust is obviously making a killing on these things. I should also add that there is no way I would lay out silly money like this if the boxset only contained CD's such as the Hot Rats boxset for example which did not interest me one bit, especially at the extortionate price they put it out for.

The one thing that is puzzling me right now is why with the multichannel content did they start with the Waka/Jawaka and Grand Wazoo from 1972, surely they must have the multichannel tapes for all the other albums that came before them.

The only Zappa/Mother's releases that were originally released in QUAD were "Overnight Sensation" and "Apostrophe". It is also my understanding that "Roxy" had a QUAD mix made but was never released for reasons unknown. And as far as pricing is concerned, this "value for the money" and "profitability" conversation has been going on for decades. Frank left Warner Brothers in 1977 when WB refused to release a "Lathur" as a 4 LP set as they told him "it wasn't profitable". IMO, this is a beautifully curated box set with sonically superior product that includes high rez and immersive content new to this release. All of this does cost significant money as it is NOT just a simple re-release. I am also anticipating the same discourse when people start to make their purchasing decisions on the new Talking Heads "77" deluxe box set with a suggested retail price of $99. The Zappa estate has managed to produce and release important and much loved (by us!) releases in the Zappa/Mother's music cannon in a timely and relevant pattern. I only wish others could/would do the same.

 

[stoopid]

PSA: This thread was started July 12 2024 and all the subsequent sale pricing posted over the past months should have been enough ammunition for anyone interested to get this for less than the list price. In some cases significantly less. Anyone complaining about the cost needs to put in the ounce of effort to catch presale pricing through the many available outlets. It's also worth noting that this set is loaded with content, so there's actual value here for the FZ fan. Also, while this isn't 'cheap' [realizing some people just want the bluray/surround mixes] it's also nowhere near as egregious as some other box/deluxe sets released in the history of such sets being manufactured. At least match outrage with actual reason to rage.

 

[shedsoundsmedia]

Current price is $95 on Amazon US, divided by 6 discs comes out to $16/ a disc, not including the booklet (which is excellent.)

The new Bowie Atmos Blu retails around $20, I think it’s actually decent value for money.

And for those of you who just want Atmos, the Atmos version does stream on Apple Music.

 

[J. PUPSTER]

What program shows the streams like that??

Looks like @HomerJAU’s Music Media Helper

 

[Intruder461]

The only Zappa/Mother's releases that were originally released in QUAD were "Overnight Sensation" and "Apostrophe". It is also my understanding that "Roxy" had a QUAD mix made but was never released for reasons unknown. And as far as pricing is concerned, this "value for the money" and "profitability" conversation has been going on for decades. Frank left Warner Brothers in 1977 when WB refused to release a "Lathur" as a 4 LP set as they told him "it wasn't profitable". IMO, this is a beautifully curated box set with sonically superior product that includes high rez and immersive content new to this release. All of this does cost significant money as it is NOT just a simple re-release. I am also anticipating the same discourse when people start to make their purchasing decisions on the new Talking Heads "77" deluxe box set with a suggested retail price of $99. The Zappa estate has managed to produce and release important and much loved (by us!) releases in the Zappa/Mother's music cannon in a timely and relevant pattern. I only wish others could/would do the same.

I know that it is only those albums that had Quad mixes but that does not stop them from doing 5.1 and Atmos mixes with the albums that come before them, the only thing that would stop them from doing them is if they never had the multitrack tapes and as Frank kept everything I cannot see that being the case. So it seems rather odd why they decided to start these new reissues from 1972. I also know that what they have done regarding the Atmos, Quad and Hi-Res mixes is excellent but it still does not measure up to the price point they are selling them at and the genuine price point of these boxsets with how they are presented should cost in the region of 40 to 50 bucks. If you are gonna sell them at this price then at least put them in a bigger box and include a hardback book like others do.

 

[jimfisheye]

The Zappa estate has managed to produce and release important and much loved (by us!) releases in the Zappa/Mother's music cannon in a timely and relevant pattern.

30 years after he passed away before we saw any 24 bit reissues and any quad reissues is timely?!

Don't get me wrong, I'm overjoyed to see the back catalog finally coming out in the original quality and beyond! The 12 channel remixes of Waka and Wazoo were as stunning as they were unexpected! Just... what year is it now? I've got pieces of my hunger for anything and everything he ever did scattered around here somewhere!

 

[jimfisheye]

as Frank kept everything

Frank did no such thing! He would reuse tape all the time. He only saved the recordings he cared about at the time. If he had fun at a certain show or had a project idea in mind with the recording. The archive is still beyond extensive but he trashed things all the time.