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Frank Zappa: Studio Tan

 A l b u m   D e t a i l s


Label: Zappa Records
Released: 1978.09.15
Time:
 39:05
Category: Pop/Rock
Producer(s): Frank Zappa
Rating: ***....... (3/10)
Media type: CD
Web address: www.zappa.com
Appears with:
Purchase date: 2001.04.03
Price in €: 7,99



 S o n g s ,   T r a c k s


[1] The Adventures of Greggery Peccary (Zappa) - 20:32
[2] Revised Music for Guitar and Low-Budget... (Zappa) - 7:36
[3] Lemme Take You to the Beach (Zappa) - 2:44
[4] RDNZL (Zappa) - 8:13

 A r t i s t s ,   P e r s o n n e l


FRANK ZAPPA - Guitar, Arranger, Keyboards, Vocals

EDDIE JOBSON - Keyboards, Yodeling
GEORGE DUKE - Keyboards, Vocals
BRUCE FOWLER - Trombone
PAUL HUMPHREY - Drums
CHESTER THOMPSON - Drums
TOM FOWLER - Bass
MAX BENNETT - Bass
DON BREWER - Bongos
DAVEY MOIRE - Vocals
JAMES YOUMAN - Synthesizer, Percussion

STEPHEN MARCUSSEN - Rematering
BOB STONE - Remastering
GARY PANTER - Artwork

 C o m m e n t s ,   N o t e s


1995 CD Rykodisc 10526
1995 CD Barking Pumpkin D2-74237
1978 LP Discreet DSK-2291
1995 CD Rykodisc 10526
1991 CD Barking Pumpkin 74237
1991 CS Barking Pumpkin D4-74237



The material on this album originally was intended to be part of a four-record set called Läther, prepared for release in 1977. Then Frank Zappa got into a disagreement with his record company, Warner Bros., and Läther was split up into several different releases as part of a contractual agreement. The results were dumped on the market during 1978 and 1979, while Zappa moved on to his own record label. Studio Tan contains four selections: a 20-minute recitative called "The Adventures of Greggery Peccary" in the imaginative, comic style of "Billy the Mountain" (who makes an appearance in the narrative), an orchestral instrumental, a pop tune called "Lemme Take You to the Beach," and a rock instrumental. All are typical Zappa, but none are particularly memorable.

William Ruhlmann - All Music Guide



Originally released in 1978, one of three albums (with SLEEP DIRT and ORCHESTRAL FAVORITES) comprised of material originally intended for the unreleased box set LATHER, recorded between 1974-1976. This material was originally lost in Zappa's contractural disputes with Warner Brothers; it's now here in fully-authorized form. This album's centerpiece is "The Adventures Of Greggery Peccary," a 24-plus minute mini-opera (written in 1972) that's a sequel of sorts to "Billy the Mountain" on JUST ANOTHER BAND FROM L.A. Also here is "Lemme Take You to the Beach," the closest thing to a Jan & Dean song that FZ ever wrote.

From the Label



Zappa's greatest record ... 'The Adventures of Greggerry Peccery' is probably Zappa's most mind blowing excursion into musical theatre. It is an endlessly creative panorama of soundscapes satirizing certain kinds of 'business tycoons.' In case you're wondering, all this stuff was composed and written down; this isn't some kind of off the cuff improvisation. It can be performed by any ensemble of musicians able to play it (though no one can replace Zappa's personality which is the main feature). Zappa's band is probably his greatest ever, featuring George Duke, Chester Thompson (later of Weather Report and Genesis), Eddie Jobson (of Roxy Music and U.K.) and Ruth Underwood among others. The second 'side' features two of Zappa's most brilliant rock 'n' roll instrumentals and one of his most hilarious song parodies. There isn't anything self-indulgent in the solos Zappa takes here; everything is economically constructed and magnificent.

Resun Samenrai from Los Angeles



Don't give away your vinyl or early CD copy! One of Zappa's best - incredible writing and performing. But beware - the remix for CD has dramatically changed the balance of instruments, particularly in "Greggary Peccary." If you grew up on the vinyl version as I did, you may find yourself missing the old mix. On the plus side, there is an additional half minute of material at the end of "Greggary Peccary" which brings it to a great conclusion, rather than the abrupt fadeout on the original mix. Still, I miss my vinyl & my early CD edition!

Nocturnal Gregarious Wild Swine from Milwaukee, WI United States



Get past the first 23 minutes and... I have loved this record ever since 1977. On the old vinyl version, "Gregory Peccary was the whole first side, which I ignored after the first listen. Ahhhh but side two... Even the silliness of "let me take you to the beach" can be inspiring in the right circumstance, but then, then, Music for guitar and Low Budget Orchestra, what an incredible piece! listened to it over and over love and know every note, mellow but charged. then the hyper Redunzl - a great piece also, great playing. In other words, after the first 23 minutes, this is an all time great album. Frank was a genius and a cool spirit, may he rest in peace and always rip in memory.

Richard Ashmore
 

 L y r i c s


THE ADVENTURES OF GREGGERY PECCARY

The adventures of GREGGERY PECCARY!

Oh, here comes GREGGERY,
Little GRECGERY PECCARY
The nocturnal gregarious
Wild swine

A peccary
Is a little pig
With a white collar
That usually hangs around
Between Texas and Paraguay
Sometimes ranging as far
west as Catalina

Catalina, Catalina, Catalina!

This particular peccary
Is part of that bold (bold),
New (new) breed (breeding)
That extinguishes itself
By markings which resemble a
WIDE TIE
Directly below the
White collar

If it's white enough
Everyone will know
That the tie I'm wearing
Is a symbol
Of how nimble mv mind will know
Ooh-ooh!

(Swine suave!)

Look out!
Here he comes again!

Oh here comes GREGGERY PECCARY.
Yes it's cravv, cravy, veah...

Every morning, GREGGERY drives
His little red Volkswagen to the ugly
Part of town where they keep the Government Buildings.

Voodn, Voodn!
Boy it's so hard to find a place to park around here!
GREGGERY PECCARY takes the elevator
Up to the eighty-third floor of a grim,
Gray, evil-looking building
With a sign on the front reading:
'BIG SWIFTY ASSOCIATES. TREND-MONGERS'.

And what, might you ask, is a TREND MONGER?
Well, a TREND MONGER is a person
who dreams up a TREND
(Like 'The Twist' --- or 'Flower Power'),
And spreads it throughout the land,
Using all the frightening little skills
That Science has made available!

And so it was, one fateful morning,
GREGGERY PECCARY made his way through the Steno Pool . . .

Hi Mildred!
Hello Gladys!
WANDA!

Yes, from the moment they laid
eyes on him,
All the girls in the BIG SWIFTY
Steno Pool
KNEW . . .
Here was a
Nocturnal,
Gregarious
Wild swine
ON HIS WAY UP!
A Peccary of Destiny,
Adventure
And
ROMANCE!

Is there any mail for me?

SWIFTY'S!
THIS IS BIG SWIFTY'S!
AT BIG SWIFTY'S WE ALL KNOW-OW-OW
YOU'LL GO
FOR ANY GIMMICK OR GIZMO!

WOULDN'T YOU RATHER BE INVOLVED
IN A SERIES OF COLORFUL
TIME-WASTINC TRENDS?

AIR HOCKEY . . . biff . . . dush-h-h!

LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA, YOUP YOUP YOUP YOUP

IS YOUR WIFE SNORING BY THE SINK?

LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA, YOUP YOUP YOUP YOUP

AIN'T YOUR LIFE BORING, DON'TCHA THINK?

YOUP YOUP YOUP YOUP YOUP YOUP YOUP
LIFE IS SO MUCH BETTER
WHEN THERE'S SOME LITTLE SOMETHING
TO DO!

Does it matter that this waste of time
Is what makes a LIFE for you? Hmmmmm?

I must plummet boldly
forward
To my ULTRA-AVANT
Laminated,
Simulated
Replica-mahogany desk,
With the strategically-placed,
Imported, very hip water pipe,
And the latest edition of the
WHOLE EARTH CATALOG,
And rack my agile mind
For a spectacular
NEW TREND,
Thereby rejuvenating our limping
economy,
And providing
For bored & miserable people
everywhere
Some great new
'THING'
To identify with.!

WE HAVE GOT THE LITTLE ANSWERS
TO THE THINGS
THAT MIGHT` BE BOTHERING YOU!

WE HAVE GOT YOUR LITTLE TOYS!
(WE'RE BUSY MAKIN' 'EM!)

BUSY MAKIN' 'EM,
WE'RE BUSY MAKIN' 'EM,
BUSY MAKIN' 'EM
JUST FOR YOU!

Yoo-hoo-hoo!
Very efficient. Miss Snodgrass!

And with that.
GREGCERY turned
And strode nonchalantly
Into his dinky little office
With the desk and the catalog
And the very hip water pipe.
And proceeded,
With a vigor and determination
Known only to piglets
Of a similarly diminutive
proportion,
To single-handedly invent
THE CALENDAR!
With his eye rolled heaven-ward.
and his little shiny pig-hoofs on the
desk, GREGGERY ponders the
question of ETERNITY (and fractional
divisions thereof), as mysterious
ANGELIC VOICES sing to him from a
great distance, providing the
necessary clues for the construction of
this thrilling new TREND!

SUNDAY

Sunday?
WOW!
SUNDAY,
'MONDAY

SUNDAY,

SATURDAY. . .TUESDAY THROUGH
- MONDAY'!

SATURDAY. . .

And thus THE CALENDAR,
In all of its colorful disguises
Was presented to
The bored & miserable people
Everywhere!

GREGCERY issued a memo on it.
Whereupon the entire contents
of the Steno Pool
Identified with it STRENUOUSLY,
And WORSHIPPED IT as a WAY OF LIFE,
And took their little Pills by it.
And went back 'n forth from
work by it.
And paid their rent by it,
And before long they were even
having
BIRTHDAY PARTIES IN THE OFFICE
by it,
Because NOW. AT LAST,
CRECGERY PECCARY's exciting new

invention
Had made it possible
For everyone
To find out
HOW OLD THEY WERE!

What hath GOD wrought?

Unfortunately,
There were some people
Who simply DID NOT WISH TO
KNOW,
And that's why,
On his way home from the office
one night,
GREGGERY was attacked
By a RAGE OF HUNCHMEN!
Making his way through the
evening traffic, GREGGERY notices
that the other vehicles which
crowd and bump his little red car
are all inhabited by slowly-aging
'VERY HIP YOUNG PEOPLE',
They appear to be casting
sinister glances toward him
through their glinting acid burn-
out eyeballs, trying to run him
off the road, or make him bump into
something, giving strong evidence
of HOSTILE AGGRESSION!

To elude them, GREGGERY takes the
SHORT FOREST EXIT off the express-
way. They zoom after him in all
manner of cars. trucks,
garishly-painted buses, and
motorcycles.

GREGGERY takes a bumpy trail
off the main SHORT FOREST ROAD,
which leads him up the side
of a FAMOUS (and convenientlv
placed) MOUNTAIN, and into a strange
cave on the edge of a cliff, not far
from a LITTLE TWISTED TREE. . .with
eyes on it.

Meanwhile, the enraged HUNCHMEN
(and HUNCH-'WOMEN) rumble
through the SHORT FOREST until
(realizing the little swine has
escaped, they decide to park their
steaming vehicles in a circular
pseudo-Wagon Train formation. . .

and have a LOVE-IN!

Under the influence of a fantastic
amount of TRENDY CHEMICAL AMUSEMENT
AID, they proceed to perform lewd
acts, rip each other off for small
personal possessions, and dance
with depraved abandon in the vicinity
of a six-foot pile of transistor radios
each one tuned to a different station).

WHAT?

The HUNCHMEN finally expire
from exhaustion,
And GREGGERY,
Who has viewed the proceedings
From a safe distance,
Breathes a sigh of relief. . .

Phew!
Only to be terrified once again
By a roar of immense laughter. . .

HO! HO! HO!

Which seems to be rumbling up
From the very depths of the cave
In which he has hidden his car!

(Good lord! What was that!?)

GRECGERY doesn't realize
He has concealed himself
Inside the very mouth of
BILLY THE MOUNTAIN!

HO! HO! HO!

And, as you all know,
Whenever BILLY laughs,
Rocks and boulders hack up,
And the air for miles around
Is filled with tons of dust,
Forming a series of huge
BROWN CLOUDS!

WHO IS MAKING THOSE NEW BROWN CLOUDS?
WHO IS MAKING THOSE CLOUDS THESE DAYS?
HO IS MAKING THOSE NEW BROWN CLOUDS?
BETTER ASK A PHILOSTOPHER 'N SEE WHAT HE SAYS!

GREGGERY stops at a gas station
And makes a mysterious phone

IS THIS THE OLD LOFT
WITH THE PAINT PEELIN' OFF IT
BY THE CHINESE POLICE
HERE THE DOGS ROLL BY?

IS THIS HERE THEY KEEP
THE PHILOSTOPHERS NOW,
WITH THE RUGS & THE DUST,
WHERE THE BOOKS GO TO DIE?

HOW MANY YEZ GOT?
SAY YEZ GOT QUITE A FEW,
JUST SITTIN' AROUND THERE
WITH NOTHIN' TO DO?

WELL I JUST CALLED YEZ UP
'CAUSE I WANTED TO SEE
A PILOSTOPER BE OF ASSISTANCE
TO ME!
GREGCERY receives information
that
'The Greatest Livin PHILOSTOPHER
Knon to Mankind'
Is currently in possession of the
very information
In question,
And, furthermore, this information
could be HIS,
If only GREGGERY would attend a
'SPECIAL THERAPEUTIC GROUP
ASSEMBLY'
(Classes now forming),
And available at a special
low introductory fee. . .
And now, here he is,
'The Greatest Living PHILOSTO-
PHER Known to Mankind',
QUENTIN ROBERT DeNAMELAND!
Take it away!

"Folks,
As vou can see for yourself.
The way this clock over here
is behaving,
TIME IS OF AFFLICTION!
Now this might be cause for alarm
Among a portion of you, as,
From a certain experience,
I TEND TO PROCLAIM:
'THE EONS ARE CLOSING'!"

Make your checks payable to

-25.8-

'QUENTIN ROBERT DeNAMELAND,
Greatest Livin Philostopher
Known to Mankind'!

WHO IS MAKING THOSE NEW BROWN CLOUDS?
WHO IS MAKING THOSE CLOUDS THESE DAYS?
WHO IS MAKING THOSE NEW BROWN CLOUDS?
IF YOU ASK A PILOSTOPHER, HE'LL SEE
THAT YOU PAYS!


REVISED MUSIC FOR GUITAR AND LOW BUDGET ORCHESTRA

Instrumental


LEMME TAKE YOU TO THE BEACH

Lemme take you to the beach
La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la
Lemme take you to the beach
La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-lahhh

Bring the weenies
I'll bring the soft drinks
And the cookies
Everybody's in love!

Lemme take you to a show
Wo-wo-wo -wo-wo-wo-wo-wo-wo
Lemme take you to a show
Wo-wo-wo-wo-wo-wo-wo~wo-wohhh
Eat a candy!
You are dandy!
Can I kiss you?
Maybe I'll just hold your hand-eeee!

Lemme take you to the beach again
La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la
Lemme take you to the beach again
La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-lahhh

At the freak out
Later we'll peak out
You're on restriction
So you'll probably speak out!


RDNZL

Instrumental

 M P 3   S a m p l e s


Currently no Samples available!