Funky Nothingness

Product Information

Finally, there’s a few weird odds and ends: “Halos and Arrows,” a fragment where Zappa overdubs himself with layers of guitars (it’s perhaps a cousin to “Nine Types of Industrial Pollution”), “Moldred” which is a slowed-down and overdubbed bit from “Tommy/Vincent,” and “Fast Funky Nothingness” which bookends the set with another bluesy guitar jam. Zappa/Hot Rats ’70: Session Masters & Bonus Nothingness” spans the second and third discs. Among these outtakes, alternate edits, unreleased masters of songs from the period, and improvisational recordings is “Tommy/Vincent Duo III (Unedited Master),” which finds Zappa and Dunbar squaring off on nearly 22 minutes of guitar/drum improvisation. With this welcome offering of three and a half hours of unheard studio Zappa that follows one of his most celebrated albums, one can’t help but wonder what else might eventually escape from the Zappa vault. ( www.zappa.com)

Dutchcharts.nl – Frank Zappa – Funky Nothingness" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 2, 2023. Let’s Go! – weekly SiriusXM show with Tom Brady, Larry Fitzgerald and Jim Gray – makes Season 3 debut on September 4 Posthumous releases of Zappa's music have been a mixed bag, ranging from band rehearsals with less than high fidelity sound, expanded reissues which include works in progress prior to overdubbing and editing, expanded versions of previously issued albums and CDs or CD sets of completely unreleased (or mostly so) music. This collection falls into the latter category and is a release which long-time Zappa fans have dreamed of being discovered.

Notes

Another awe-inspiring jam is “Tommy/Vincent Duo II,” showcasing the magic between Zappa and Dunbar in their earliest days together. An unedited version, which stretches to nearly 22 minutes long, appears on Disc 3. Travers writes, “By 1970, Frank had worked with some great drummers between The Mothers and the L.A. studio scene…[but] Aynsley took things to another level. It’s easy to understand how Frank would be excited to see where their chemistry would take them musically. Here is audio proof.” Funky Nothingness, as an album, is special in that it features at least three written compositions, three cover versions, and multiple instrumental jam-oriented segments, all previously unreleased,” vaultmeister Joe Travers said in a statement. “It’s very rare to find that amount of music from one set of sessions that has gone unheard for such a long period of time.”

Disc Two includes a nearly 15-minute long unedited version of the full take of “Sharleena” which includes an alternate vocal part, additional overdubs and a longer guitar solo than the version first heard on The Lost Episodes collection! Offiziellecharts.de – Frank Zappa – Funky Nothingness" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved October 2, 2023.Disc three opens with two lengthy percussion pieces: “The Clap” parts one and two. They’re not essential, but it’s nice to have them in full. There’s another version of “Chunga,” this time going long enough to take up a whole LP side. And there’s also the full version of “Tommy/Vincent Duo” which at 20 minutes is enough to satisfy any Zappa fan who wants to hear him and Dunbar really cutting loose with the tapes rolling. You don’t really get this freewheeling experience on any of the records he released at that time. The Clap" (CD3: Zappa/Hot Rats '70 More Session Masters & bonus Nothingness - Unedited Master - part I)