The Frank Zappa Companion: Four Decades of Commentary

by Richard Kostelantez

Frank Zappa has been described as controversial, inspirational and creative. This is a collection of articles, reviews and interviews, including the full text of his testimony against the labelling of records before the United States Senate.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, Biography

240 pages, Paperback

First published August 4, 1997

Reviews

[Michael Beal]

For no artist is a family of criticism more appropriate than Zappa, whose music sometimes seems like one big continual practical joke on the listener. Book main hand Richard Kostelanketz has the following praise for a particularly prominent Zappa historian, that "(Ben) Watson's inspired commentaries are radical in the way that Zappa's music was radical," and indeed there is a potent anti-capitalist tinge to Watson's diction regarding machines being made to rule over and outlive man. To this book's credit, though, with a couple exceptions of overly effusive, gushy fandom from Watson and the likes, it reads more as centering than puzzling -- more thought-fulfilling than thought-provoking. Full of historical narratives and unabashed societal agnosticism, The Frank Zappa Companion is the best friend of the erudite devoted to making fun of things -- it's the key informational additive to a world in which Zappa is portrayed as just treading water, by very way of his complete demolition.

[Jack Brånfelt]

Despite some factual errors (and me being familiar with some of the material already), a good and interesting compilation of pieces attempting to span the various aspects and phases of Zappa's career (which is no easy task). Ben Watson's essay on the relationship between Zappa's use of recording techniques and the dadaist tradition is terrific. Also, the transcription from the PMRC hearing is a lot more interesting and illuminating than the PMRC part of the Real Frank Zappa book.

[Mark]

Zappa: often brilliantly quotable and other times infuriatingly mean and insulting, bordering on stupid and narrow-minded in his own way. A selection of the above and essays by lovers and not-big-fans. Worth it if your interested or or if you just wish to bone up on your Zappa knowledge.