Frank Zappa & The Mothers Of Invention - 1997 - Cucamonga [EAC FLAC]

Wikipedia
Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American musician, bandleader, songwriter, composer, recording engineer, record producer, and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa composed rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed album covers. Zappa produced almost all of the more than 60 albums he released with the band The Mothers of Invention and as a solo artist. While in his teens, he acquired a taste for 20th-century classical composers such as Edgard Varèse, Igor Stravinsky, and Anton Webern, along with 1950s rhythm and blues music. He began writing classical music in high school, while at the same time playing drums in rhythm and blues bands; he later switched to electric guitar.

Zappa was a self-taught composer and performer, and his diverse musical influences led him to create music that was often difficult to categorize. His 1966 debut album with the Mothers of Invention, Freak Out!, combined songs in conventional rock and roll format with collective improvisations and studio-generated sound collages. His later albums shared this eclectic and experimental approach, irrespective of whether the fundamental format was rock, jazz or classical. His lyrics—often humorously—reflected his iconoclastic view of established social and political processes, structures and movements. He was a strident critic of mainstream education and organized religion, and a forthright and passionate advocate for freedom of speech, self-education, political participation and the abolition of censorship.

He was a highly productive and prolific artist and gained widespread critical acclaim. He had some commercial success, particularly in Europe, and worked as an independent artist for most of his career. He also remains a major influence on musicians and composers. Zappa was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 and received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997. Zappa was married to Kathryn J. "Kay" Sherman from 1960 to 1964. In 1967, he married Adelaide Gail Sloatman, with whom he remained until his death from prostate cancer in 1993. They had four children: Moon, Dweezil, Ahmet and Diva. In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked him at No. 71 on its list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time", and in 2011 at No. 22 on its list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time".

The Mothers of Invention were an American rock band from California that served as the backing musicians for Frank Zappa. Their work is marked by the use of sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows.

Originally an R&B band called The Soul Giants, the band's original lineup included Ray Collins, David Coronado, Ray Hunt, Roy Estrada and Jimmy Carl Black. Zappa was asked to take over as the band's guitarist following a fight between Collins and Coronado, the band's original saxophonist/leader. Zappa insisted that the band perform his original material, changing its name on Mothers Day to The Mothers (which for legal liability reasons was morphed by record executive decision into The Mothers of Invention), and leading the band to substantial popular commercial success. Originally formed in 1964, the band first became popular playing in California's underground music scene in the late 1960s. Under Zappa's helm, the band was signed to jazz label Verve Records as part of the label's diversification plans, and released The Mothers of Invention's début album Freak Out! (1966), featuring a lineup including Zappa, Collins, Black, Estrada and Elliot Ingber.

Under Zappa's leadership and a changing lineup, the band released a series of critically acclaimed albums, including Absolutely Free, We're Only in It for the Money and Uncle Meat, before being disbanded with Zappa's departure in 1969. In 1970, Zappa formed a new version of The Mothers that included Ian Underwood, Jeff Simmons, George Duke, Aynsley Dunbar and singers Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan (formerly of The Turtles, but who for contractual reasons were credited in this band as The Phlorescent Leech & Eddie). Later adding another ex-Turtle, bassist Jim Pons, this lineup endured through 1971, when Zappa was injured by an audience member during a concert appearance.

Zappa focused on big-band and orchestral music while recovering from his injuries, and later formed the Mothers' final lineup in 1973, which included drummer Ralph Humphrey, trumpeter Sal Marquez, keyboardist/vocalist George Duke, trombonist Tom Fowler, bassist Bruce Fowler, and percussionists Ruth Underwood & Ian Underwood. The final album using the Mothers as a backing band, Bongo Fury (1975), featured guitarist Denny Walley and drummer Terry Bozzio, who continued to play for Zappa on non-Mothers releases.

Cucamonga

Released February 17, 1998/September 14, 2004
Recorded 1963–1964
Genre Surf music, doo-wop, garage rock, rock and roll
Label Del-Fi Records/Rhino Records

Tracklist:

1. Dear Jeepers - Bob Guy
2. World's Greatest Sinner - Baby Ray & The Ferns
3. How's Your Bird - Baby Ray & The Ferns
4. Every Time I See You - The Heartbreakers
5. Cradle Rock - The Heartbreakers
6. Slow Bird - Paul Buff
7. Blind Man's Buff - Paul Buff
8. Mr. Clean - Mr. Clean
9. Jesse Lee - Mr. Clean
10. Cathy My Angel - The Pauls
11. 'Til September - The Pauls
12. Heavies - The Rotations
13 . The Cruncher - The Rotations
14. Letter from Jeepers - Bob Guy

Cucamonga is a compilation album consisting of songs recorded with the involvement of Frank Zappa and Paul Buff at Pal Recording Studio in 1963-1964. In 2004, Rhino Records re-released the album with extra tracks and a new track order, after acquiring Del-Fi. The two songs performed by Paul Buff and the two songs performed by the Pauls have no Zappa involvement.

Ripped from original CD with Exact Audio Copy.
Art, cue sheet & Rip log included. All tracks are Properly tagged with art embedded in tag.

Enjoy!