Frank Zappa – Studio Tan

...an elusive and essential (155 have it?) "Conceptual Continuity Clue" (the definitive remastered CD)...three years on, I'm still looking...

Looks like this version can be bought and sold again since the Discreet label issue has been resolved

Definitely a unique piece of art. Not entirely my style and yet I still like and appreciate it. That says a lot about this album.

this, sleep dirt, and bongo fury are the three zappa releases why i wonder never got a recent vinyl reissue. i wonder if i should wait on that, or just pull the trigger on one of the OG releases.

just another band from la is very likely getting one, i'd reckon. they just re-released an expanded fillmore east...

This is marked as "Unofficial" because the original submitter entered label as Discreet.

What?? i don't understand.........
A legit japanese lp pressing blocked?
WHY, WHY?????????????????????????

March 15, 2021 - why this has been blocked for sale on Discogs ? It is a legit Japanese LP pressing, one I had yet to acquire :(

Nobody's sold it or bought it? Nobody's got it, seen it, or heard it? Anyone out there know the REAL story on this (unconfirmed) release? I mean, seriously, I bet that I could find someone with a first-hand Sasquatch experience easier than I could find anyone that's come in with this "missing link",,,

I would echo the other reviewer's superlative-strewn of Greggary Peccary. It is undoubtedly one of FZ's uppermost masterpieces.
One of the essential requirements for liking Zappa across the board I think is to have a penchant, if not a ion, for classical, jazz, prog and pop equally. That being so, I would have to differ with the other reviewer's assessment of the last two tracks of Studio Tan which, along with several tracks like The Ocean Is The Ultimate Solution on Sleep Dirt, suffer from a lack of worthwhile ideas while having incredible musicianship on display. As it is, I PREFER the joyous Let Me Take You To The Beach to the last two tracks on Studio Tan.
This is coming from someone who equally loves Lumpy Gravy as well as Overnite Sensation and as well as his LSO albums Vols I & II. I like the whole gamut but I don't like it when he extracts the urine out the listener by simply filling up space with 'whatever he did that afternoon' style fusion. I even prefer the last track on Weasels Ripped My Flesh to that.

So all said and done, this album is ESSENTIAL for its Side One and as a diversion the first track of Side Two is great fun too. The rest though to me is a mixed affair.

review from J.Tobacco

Greggery Peccary is one of FZ's greatest, musical accomplishments. It's a 21 minute montage of various 20th Century music forms including but not limited to musique concrète, cartoon music, jazz, big band, aleatoric etc... It is expertly performed by George Duke, Ruth Underwood, Chester Thompson, Bruce Fowler, Tom Fowler, Sal Marquez, FZ etc... The fantastic aural detail through out this piece warrants repeated listenings, especially in headphones. It is a musical masterpiece. Lyrically, this is FZ's take on "time" and how we use it and abuse it. Of course Pope Gregory XIII and his Gregorian calendar come to mind. There are also references to "Big Swifty", "Billy The Mountain", "Toads of the Short Forest" and many other continuity clues lifted from FZ's huge catalog. So, if you are in to understanding FZ's musical oeuvre this is a major piece of the puzzle. The one unfortunate thing about this work is the dialog that has been taken out after the first few lines of the Quentin Robert DeNameland's philosophical spew. Not only did it originally fit in tandem with the music, it sort of solidified what this whole piece is all about. Without it, you sort of lose the absurdity and nonsense d with many philosophical tirades. Not sure why FZ canned it. The music is still wonderful but the conclusion doesn't quite have the bite I think he originally intended. The following is the unedited philosophical speech as noted in the Zappa book, "Them or Us":

Well folks as you can see for yourself the way this clock over here is behaving: time is an affliction. Now this might be cause for alarm on a portion of you that's from a certain experience I tend to proclaim: the eons are closing. Now what does this mean precisely to the layman? Simply this: Momentarily the need for the construction of the new light will no longer exist. Of course some of you will think, "Who is he to fell me from this light?" But in all seriousness, ladies and gentlemen, a quick glance at the erratic behavior of the large precision built time delineating apparatus beside me will show that it is perhaps only a few moments now... Look how funny it's going around there! Personally I find mechanical nature of this to be highly suspicious. When such a device doesn't go normal, the implication of such a behavior bodes not well (if you know what I mean). And quite naturally ladies and gentlemen if the mechanism in question is entrusted with the task of the delineation of time itself and ahh if such a mechanism goes "On the bum".... or the fritz... Well, it spells trouble.

In any event, this is an amazing work with intricate rhythms, catchy melodies and basically fun for the whole family. In general, if you like Warner Bros. type cartoon music, look no further. This extravaganza is followed by the lighthearted song "Lemme Take You To The Beach". It's a stupid catchy piece, outfitted with colorful orchestration, falsetto Frankie Valli type vocals and held together by an amazingly tight bass and drum performance. It's classic silly, fast paced Zappa and brilliantly executed. Who would have guessed, Don Brewer from Grand Funk Railroad plays the bongos on it? Well, he does and quite well.

The other two works that follow, "Music For Revised Guitar and Low Budget Orchestra" and RDNZL are seriously tasty stews of jazz, rock and classical motifs sprinkled with humor and unpredictability. They represent some of FZ's most brilliant instrumental work. The musicianship is of the highest caliber. FZ's guitar playing shines on "Revised Guitar" as well as his kick ass solo on RDNZL. Keyboardist George Duke is amazing through out and he even gets to play a Latin tinged piano solo near the end of RDNZL. Both these pieces warrant closer inspection to really appreciate how great they are. This review does not do them justice. If you got ears - you gotta listen!

In all, like it's companion CDs "Sleep Dirt" and "Orchestral Favorites" this collection demonstrates what an amazingly prolific, imaginative and accomplished composer Frank Zappa really was. It's a shame none of this music got any recognition at the time of its completion somewhere around 1973-75. Now is as good a time as any to appreciate it.