Frank Zappa’s Estate Planning Major Series of Reissues, New Releases

Evening Standard, Hulton Archive, Getty Images

Hold onto your wallets, Frank Zappa fans.

Rolling Stone reports that the late guitar legend’s estate has entered into an extensive licensing and distribution pact with Universal Music, opening the floodgates for all manner of “new product releases, film and theatrical productions and trademark licensing,” starting with a 180-gram vinyl reissue of Zappa’s 1974 LP One Size Fits All that’s due to arrive in stores Aug. 14.

The new deal comes as Zappa’s son Ahmet assumes control of the Zappa Family Trust, taking over for his widow, Gail Zappa. “This is literally an opportunity of a lifetime for me,” Gail’s quoted as saying in a press release. “I am universally thrilled with this partnership because the fans will have unparalleled access to Frank Zappa’s WORKS. The doors to the vault are now officially wide open.”

Given that Zappa’s incredibly prolific output has already filled 100 official releases, it’s a little mind-boggling to imagine what wide-open vaults might mean for fans, but according to Ahmet, he already has a series of releases in the pipeline, including Joe’s Garage, The Musical, the long-awaited Roxy Movie and a recording of an orchestra performance of 200 MOTELS featuring the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

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Frank Zappa

Frank Zappa is considered to be one of the most influential rock musicians of the late twentieth century. Between the start of his career in the late fifties and his death in 1993 he recorded and rele..

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Frank Zappa et al

On September 19, 1985, Frank Zappa testified before the United States Senate Commerce, Technology, and Transportation committee, attacking the Parents Music Resource Center or PMRC, a music organizati..

Read More

Geoff Downes talks up Yes’ often-forgotten Drama: ‘It’s a quite astonishing piece of work’

Geoff Downes’ initial, turn-of-the-1980s involvement with Yes began at a crossroads moment for the band, as he replaced long-time keyboardist Rick Wakeman even as original frontman Jon Anderson departed. He still understood the opportunity.

“In some ways, it was a stepping stone,” says Downes, now in his second stint with Yes. “But I think it was a real privilege to play with a band that was so revered. As a keyboard player, coming into someone like Rick Wakeman’s shoes — it was a challenge.”

The resulting album Drama, released on August 18, 1980, would focus more on guitarist Steve Howe — dividing the loyalties of Yes’ fanbase. But not Geoff Downes’.

“I’m actually very proud of it,” Downes says. “I think, in hindsight, it’s a quite astonishing piece of work — particularly when you think that we’d only just come together as an outfit. I’m really proud of some of the material. The performing on there, and the parts — the whole way it’s put together, the contrasts, the different songs like ‘White Car’ or ‘Run to the Light,’ then you’ve got the epic ‘Machine Messiah’ and this frantic track ‘Tempus Fugit.’ I think we definitely had something right with that album; certainly, the chemistry of those involved was definitely working.”

Jon Anderson eventually returned for 1983’s 90125, and by then Asia had become home for both Steve Howe and Geoff Downes. Trevor Horn, who had briefly filled in for Anderson, moved to the producer’s chair for Yes — but the music of Drama would become unplayed on subsequent tours, and largely forgotten.

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CURRENTLY AVAILABLE FROM YES AT GONZO

Union (Standard DVD) DVD - £9.99

Union DVD - £12.99

Union (2CD) 2CD - £7.99

Rock Of The 70's DVD - £12.99

The Lost Broadcasts DVD - £7.99

Rock of the 70s DVD - £9.99

THOM THE WORLD POET: The Daily Poem

Rob Ayling writes: 

"Thom the World poet is an old mate of mine from way back in my history. Even pre-dating Voiceprint, when I was running "Otter Songs" and Tom's poetry tapes and guest appearances with Daevid Allen, Gilli Smyth and Mother Gong are well known and highly regarded. It just felt right to include a daily poem from Thom on our Gonzo blog and when I approached him to do so, he replied with in seconds!!! Thom is a great talent and just wants to spread poetry, light and positive energy across the globe. If we at Gonzo can help him do that - why not? why not indeed!!" (The wondrous poetpic is by Jack McCabe, who I hope forgives me for scribbling all over it with Photoshop)

SOMEWHERE IS 

ALWAYS SOMEWHERE ELSE

Swinging London 60s/Beat Generation 50s

"The Greatest Generation"War years.Depression Grandfathers.

These were the only Parties in town.Coke for water.Beer for brains.

Believe in the Flag.Trust in Stocks and Bonds.Now comes China

taking away the tablecloth.Our war is all wars-never-ending.

No defined purpose /intention-just keep feeding those flames

Stoke race hate/aliens/"others"/refugees/migrants

Make then OTHER to us.Keep us afraid.

We can then buy a gun(and use it).Self-defense?We have no self!

Gun only has one purpose,son!USE IT(or lose it! Follow Your Fore-Fathers

They were OBEDIENT UNTO DEATH.And THAT is our job,son

The Industry of Arms -and The Man.

THE GONZO TRACK OF THE DAY: Johnny Winter - Highway 61 Revisited Live Canada 1977

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Live At The Texas Opry House CD - £7.99

TONIGHT! JOEY MOLLAND BRINGS BADFINGER TO HIPPIE FEST AT THE BROWARD CENTER

Badfinger, back in the day. Courtesy Apple Records

Mention the name Badfinger and theACCOUNT of their infamous, tragic story comes to mind. Famously hailed by the Beatles as the next big thing, and signed to their Apple label, the band emerged from the shadow of the Fab Four to be one of the most respected rock outfits of the early ‘70s.  It all fell apart by mid decade: as Apple crumbled, the band signed a predatory contract that left them virtually penniless, contributing to the eventual suicides of two of their principle members — Pete Hamm and Tom Evans

However, to dwell on this tragic trajectory shouldn’t overshadow the great music Badfinger made. They were brimming with talent, featuring three burgeoning songwriters who crafted albums of honeyed harmonies and killer power pop riffs. Even in the slew of classic rock also-rans you hear on the radio, the Badfinger hits “Come and Get It,” “No Matter What,” and “Without You” (famously covered by Harry Nilsson) stand out as stellar tunes full of empathy, packing an emotional punch that few of their peers could muster. It’s a back catalogue that should be celebrated

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Say No More CD - £9.99

YES SPINOFF - Flashback: Steve Howe and Steve Hackett Supergroup Scores Unlikely Hit

Imagine you're Steve Hackett and it's 1986. You left Genesis seven years earlier since they weren't using nearly enough of your songs, but they've since become one of the biggest bands on the planet and they're making piles and piles ofMONEY, landing hit after hit. If that wasn't enough, Phil Collins and Peter Gabriel have become MTV-friendly pop giants and even Mike Rutherford turned his side project Mike and the Mechanics into a shockingly successful act. Meanwhile, you have a devoted cult audience for your solo work, but it simply can't compare to what's happened to everyone else in your old band not named TonyBANKS.

Now imagine you're Steve Howe and it's 1986. You left Yes in 1979, and against all odds turned a prog-rock supergroup FEATURING MEMBERS of Emerson Lake and Palmer and King Crimson into a platinum act with Asia, thanks to "Heat of the Moment." But the follow-up album tanked and you bolted, right as Yes manage to reboot themselves without you and land on the charts with "Owner of a Lonely Heart." Now Yes are once again playing arenas, and you're a man without a band.

The stage was set for GTR, a short-lived and highly unstable supergroup featuring a union of prog rock's two Steve H's. It was just about the only time in history such a formula for a band could have plausibly led to mainstreamSUCCESS. One can imagine the discussions at VH1, which started the previous year:  "We sure could use more videos by pasty-faced, wildly untelegenic members of 1970s prog-rock bands pushing the age of 40. We're airing Yes, Genesis, Phil Collins, Mike and the Mechanics and Peter Gabriel around the clock, but if only there was another one. . ."

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Spectral Mornings DVD - £5.99

MICK ABRAHAMS: British blues doyens doing what they do best – in force and in style.

http://dmme.net/mick-abrahams-revived/

MICK ABRAHAMS – Revived!

Gonzo 2015

MICK ABRAHAMS –
Revived!

British blues doyens doing what they do best – in force and in style.

This is so fundamentally wrong – you’re not supposed to be having fun with such a miserable music genre, are you? – that “Revived!” is a robust contender for the “Blues Album of the Year” gong. Mick Abrahams retired from playing live, following a stroke, but he hasn’t lost the stroke of unsung guitar genius which made him an imposing presence on the scene. Although the veteran is more remembered for his short stint with JETHRO TULL than for solid solo career or the jazz-tinged experiments with BLODWYN PIG, Mick chose the latter’s “Summer Day” to open and close, in an unhurriedly heavy way, the record that finds him in the company of peers and kindred spirits, who for the most part play standards – with much gusto.

The good-time feeling oozes out even of the non-merry songs, such as the slide-caressed “Goodnight Irene,” where Paul Jones blows a harp, or “On The Road Again,” where Mark Feltham’s harmonica wails, while Abraham’s busy trading licks with Elliott Randall. He is the main man’s sparring partner on many a cut, including the loose-but-tight “Elz. & Abys Jam” – laid down on Mick’s 65th birthday – but axe duties are generously shared here. Long past the rivalry, if there ever was one, Martin Barre, Abraham’s successor in TULL, joins in for the punchy “I Can Tell” which sees Feltham in a singer’s position, whereas Jones takes to the mic with Mick on “Bright Lights Big City” that gains weight thanks to Bernie Marsden‘s twang and Jim Rodford’s rumble.

This side of the blues, Geoff Whitehorn lays it on the host-drawn line in instrumental “Red River Rock,” and there’s an irresistible pull to Leiber and Stoller evergreens “What About Us” and “Poison Ivy” which Bill Wyman’s bass anchors at the bottom and Beverley Skeete’s voice delivers at the top. The result lives up to the album’s title, with a revitalizing sensation, and, given that 50% of royalties made from this record sales go to “Kids ‘n’ Cancer” charity, it’s a glorious proof of the British blues vitality.

CURRENTLY AVAILABLE AT GONZO

Mick Abrahams

Michael Timothy 'Mick' Abrahams (born 7 April 1943, Luton, Bedfordshire, England) was the original guitarist for Jethro Tull. He recorded the album This Was with the band in 1968 but conflicts between..

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Mick Abrahams & Sharon Watson

It is a story as old as time itself.  I'm sure that it predates rock'n'roll, but it is a paradigm that has appeared so many times within the canon of the sort of bands that I have spent the                  last ..

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Mick Abrahams and Guests

Over the years Mick Abrahams has recorded a number of solo albums, steeped in the delta blues DNA that had mystically been passed down to him by Robert Johnson. Mick is 71 now,                  and not in the best of .

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Mick Abrahams And The This Was Band

Michael Timothy 'Mick' Abrahams (born 7 April 1943, Luton, Bedfordshire, England) was the original guitarist for Jethro Tull. He recorded the album This Was with the band in 1968, but                  conflicts betwee..

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Mick Abrahams Band

It is a story as old as time itself.  I'm sure that it predates rock'n'roll, but it is a paradigm which has appeared so many times within the canon of the sort of bands that I have spent                    the last..

THOM THE WORLD POET: The Daily Poem

Rob Ayling writes: 

"Thom the World poet is an old mate of mine from way back in my history. Even pre-dating Voiceprint, when I was running "Otter Songs" and Tom's poetry tapes and guest appearances with Daevid Allen, Gilli Smyth and Mother Gong are well known and highly regarded. It just felt right to include a daily poem from Thom on our Gonzo blog and when I approached him to do so, he replied with in seconds!!! Thom is a great talent and just wants to spread poetry, light and positive energy across the globe. If we at Gonzo can help him do that - why not? why not indeed!!" (The wondrous poetpic is by Jack McCabe, who I hope forgives me for scribbling all over it with Photoshop)

SERENITY IS !-HEAR?

WITHIN

inside your auricles

inside your cerebellum

inside your blood /which streams constantly

thanks to your peaceful (s)he/art

both beyond and within

both around,above ,below

Peace may not be as entertaining-

slow deep river to a deeper ocean

White moon changing as we circle dance

All that is singing in a primal lovefeast

Banquets of Wilderness!Forests of song leaves!

Golden as sunlight,stolen as kisses

This Temple time ,of counted pulsebeats

Tolls bells when you hear them in the heart of flowers

Chimes of echoes,ripples,resonance

Turning all weeds into herbal teas

All wounded into healing warriors..

Artist Turns Weapons of War Into Tools For Spreading Serenity

In Mexico's deadliest city, an artist melted down 1,500 weapons to create shovels for planting trees. (VIDEO)

goodnewsnetwork.org|By Terry Turner

THE GONZO TRACK OF THE DAY: Trains ~ Al Stewart

CURRENTLY AVAILABLE FROM GONZO

Al Stewart - Live at Musikladen 1979 (Deluxe Edition) (DVD/CD) £12.99 Due in: 13th November 2015

The Frank Zappa Family Trust to Reissue ‘One Size Fits All’ in August

Evening Standard, Hulton Archive, Getty Images

Last week, we learned that the Frank Zappa Family Trust had given the go-ahead for a documentary about the famed rocker. Now, Zappa’s family has revealed a partnership with Universal Music Enterprises, which will pave the way for a series of new music releases, too.

First up, UME will reissue a remastered version of Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention’s 1975 full-length, One Size Fits All. It’s due out Aug. 14 on 180-gram vinyl. Likewise, the Zappa Family and UME plan to release the 1979 rockOPERA, Joe’s Garage, The Musical, Roxy Movie and Zappa and the Los Angeles’ Philharmonic’s performance of his 200 Motels soundtrack.

“This is literally an opportunity of a lifetime for me,” Zappa’s widow, Gail, said in a statement (via Rolling Stone). “I am universally thrilled with this partnership because the fans will have unparalleled access to Frank Zappa’sWORKS. The doors to the vault are officially wide open.”

“The fans of Frank Zappa will have more music and more access — when they want it and how they want it,” added Ahmet, Zappa’s son and the head of the Frank Zappa Family Trust. “With Universal as our partner, I look forward to bringing to life Joe’s Garage, The Musical, the release of the Disney Hall performance of 200 Motels under the baton of [conductor] Esa-Pekka Salonen and so many more projects of this caliber. I couldn’t be more excited about theFUTURE.”

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CURRENTLY AVAILABLE AT GONZO:

Frank Zappa

Frank Zappa is considered to be one of the most influential rock musicians of the late twentieth century. Between the start of his career in the late fifties and his death in 1993 he recorded and rele..

Read More

---

Frank Zappa et al

On September 19, 1985, Frank Zappa testified before the United States Senate Commerce, Technology, and Transportation committee, attacking the Parents Music Resource Center or PMRC, a music organizati..

Read More

Review: Leonard Cohen - Can't Forget: A Souvenir Of The Grand Tour

Can't Forget: A Souvenir Of The Grand Tour is a grab bag of performances from Leonard Cohen's most recent tour that includes rarities, covers, and a pair of new songs rehearsed during soundcheck. Don't let what could be perceived as a cynical attempt to empty the vault of any usable scrap come between you and this collection. The cut-and-paste mentality prevents this from being a cohesive album but doesn't stop it from being an incredibly satisfying listen.

The less frequently played songs are likely to be the attraction to diehard Cohen fans and they won't be disappointed when they hear the master and his band offer up "Field Commander Cohen," "Joan Of Arc," and "I Can't Forget." These three sound so good it's impossible not to wish they were more frequently played. "Stages" is another treat built on a clever monologue from Cohen about the stages of men's attractiveness to women that is mashed up against a soundcheck version of "Tower Of Song." It's a shame we only get an excerpt of that as the arrangement is substantially different from the one heard on Live in Dublin from this same tour.

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Bird On A Wire DVD - £9.99

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GEOFF DOWNES OF YES – CARRYING ON WITHOUT CHRIS SQUIRE (INTERVIEW)

On Friday, August 7th, legendary Prog Rock band Yes will begin a new tour. Co-headlining with Toto, the tour will hit twenty-six cities, beginning in Connecticut and wrapping up in British Columbia. And although combined these bands have sold close to a hundred million records, what makes this tour stand out from all the others in the past forty-plus years of the band is that bass player Chris Squire will not be onstage with them, a fact that adds a hint of melancholy to what is usually an exciting event. Squire, a founding member who has appeared on every one of the band’s twenty-one studio albums, passed away this year on June 27th from a rare form of leukemia. The band members knew that Squire’s treatment would prevent him from participating in the North American tour so former Yes member Billy Sherwood was handpicked to take his spot. “The other guys and myself have agreed that Billy Sherwood will do an excellent job of covering my parts and the show as a whole will deliver the same Yes experience that our fans have come to expect over the years,” Squire said in a statement in May.

So with the tour looming on the August horizon and their third annual cruise from November 15-19, the band has reconvened to share the magic and wonderment of a band called Yes. Glide had the honor of speaking with longtime keyboard player Geoff Downes a few days ago about the future of Yes and what it was like when he first came into the band in 1980 following his tenure in the Buggles, whose 1979 catchy yet quirky “Video Killed The Radio Star” was used to launch MTV on August 01, 1981.

Downes made his first appearance in Yes on their 1980 album Drama. The band would split in early 1981 but with bandmate Steve Howe, Downes would form Asia with ELP drummer Carl Palmer and King Crimson vocalist John Wetton. Their synth-heavy pop tunes, including the #1 single “Heat Of The Moment,” would garner them major success for a few years. Downes would continue to work with various former bandmates in other projects, as well as releasing his own solo albums. He would reunite with Yes in 2011, recording the albums Fly From Here and Heaven & Earth with them. In 2013, they did a tour playing three of their classic albums, The Yes Album, Close To The Edge and Going For The One, in their entireties.

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CURRENTLY AVAILABLE FROM YES AT GONZO

Union (Standard DVD) DVD - £9.99

Union DVD - £12.99

Union (2CD) 2CD - £7.99

Rock Of The 70's DVD - £12.99

The Lost Broadcasts DVD - £7.99

Rock of the 70s DVD - £9.99

TODAY'S BLOGS

We are in the process of installing new computer systems. So there may or may not be blogs today for both the CFZ and Gonzo Multimedia....

THE GONZO TRACK OF THE DAY: Fernando Ortega - Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence

Being Sunday I always post sacred music. The name of the deity may change, or even the deity Him/Herself but the spirit remains the same.

Billy Sherwood Offering New CDs Ahead Of Wide Release

(Glass Onyon) Yes and Circa icon Billy Sherwood has announced the release of his new solo album Divided By One as a physical CD following its digital release as well as a compilation called Collection that includes a hand autographed postcard.

These two CDs and the signed postcard are currently only available directly from his official website ahead of their wide release in October 30th, 2015. Sherwood had this to say: "I'm very excited to finally have 'Divided By One', my 7th solo release come out on CD. I'm proud of the record and look forward to getting it out there, I had many requests to release it on CD as it was only for download till now."

The new compilation, Collection, includes two exclusive tracks and Sherwood had this to say about it, "I'm happy to announce the release of 'Collection', it's made up of tracks from each of my previous solo records. In addition to that there are 2 bonus tracks, one is a new yet unreleased solo track and the other is a cover I did of Sting's song 'I Hung My Head'"

Read on...

CURRENTLY AVAILABLE FROM YES AT GONZO

Union (Standard DVD) DVD - £9.99

Union DVD - £12.99

Union (2CD) 2CD - £7.99

Rock Of The 70's DVD - £12.99

The Lost Broadcasts DVD - £7.99

Rock of the 70s DVD - £9.99