Frank Zappa: Apostrophe (') Over-Nite Sensation

Let me preface my remarks by saying that most of the negative reviews here were written by people who were expecting lots of concert footage. I read the label and online description and received exactly what I expected. Some people will give blue a bad review for failing to be red, but  Frank Zappa: Apostrophe / Over-Nite Sensation  is just what it claims to be.I got into Zappa while in high school in the late 70's and early 80's. I studied music and still play, but as much as I drifted through various styles and interests, FZs music always stuck and held a special place in my music library. I recall seeing him in concert in 1982 - mind-blowing.Zappa's music and the reasons we love it are often misunderstood. As Frank says in the video, everything he's done is part of the much larger body of his complete works. Albums like Apostrophe and Overnight Sensation were perhaps the most accessible of his recordings and while they have plenty of virtuosity and compositional brilliance, those who don't listen profoundly may simply hear the silly humor, and never grasp the larger context of the attitude behind that humor.This documentary provides plenty of music candy for people who appreciate Zappa's music on any level, but really zooms in on the people, processes and history that were part of his compositions and musical standards. Comments from bandmates like Ruth Underwood, Napoleon Murphy Brock, Steve Vai and others provide an inside look at what it was like to be part of FZ's musical odyssey.Special mention here is offered for the contribution of the very talented Dweezil Zappa who deserves an honorary doctorate as a musicologist. Rather than being the idiot bastard son (sorry, couldn't resist), Dweezil has mastered his father's guitar style, and has clearly developed a very sophisticated grasp of the instrument that Frank gets little credit for being a true pioneer with - the multitrack recording console. Dweezil has clearly paid his dues going through the old master tapes one track at a time and with the skill of a great musical archaeologist, has exhumed extraordinary treasures, artifacts and clues to the bigger picture of what happened in the musical life of Frank Zappa. In the video, he sits at the mixing console and solos tracks hidden in back of the mix that reveal nuances of Frank's orchestrating genius. Few people could muster the drive and talent to take advantage of this kind of inheritance. Bravo! As Dweezil is one of the few people who can grasp the musical sophistication of FZ's music, I'll be watching to see where he evolves it to next. There's no reason not to expect greatness.Extras on the DVD include a visit to the "vaults." Y'know how whenever some company wants to re-release some old crap, they tell you they're digging it out of "the vaults?" Well, there really is a Zappa vault and the archivist there offers a short tour of the miles of tape, film and video that comprise the Zappa legacy. This material is all being preserved, cataloged, digitized and cared for by some very talented people. I find that comforting.If "Dinah-mo-humm" is the extent of your Zappa palette, this video will either give you a new appreciation of the bigger picture that was Frank Zappa's music or you'll find it too focussed on details that don't matter to you. If you appreciate the whole Zappa ethos, from the cynical, raunchy humor to the extended guitar solos to the masterful engineering to the brilliant composition to the extended family of virtuoso musicians who performed these wonders, then this DVD is a must-have.

I'd have to put this episode of "Classic Albums"in the top 5 best in the whole series!"Apostrophe" and "Overnite Sensation" were thefirst Zappa albums which I bought by him and theyserved me well as a welcome mat into the bizarre,irreverent, unique, diverse and profoundly musicalmastermind that was Frank Zappa!Now my father and my uncle thought that the sun roseand set on Hendrix and Zappa!I remember hearing the "Mother's Of Invention" stuffas well as his later songs like the outstanding"Peaches En Regalia" and others back in the 70'swhen I was coming up. But as a child, this wasbasically interesting background noise which myfather would sometimes try to get me and my brotherslisten to and we would look at each other quizzicallyand shrug our shoulders as if to say"I dunno WHAT they hear in this Zappa character!" (-:Of course, by the time I began to play musical instrumentsand gain an adult ear and sensibility towards music ofall genres, Frank Zappa's music appealed to me on somany levels because of it's richness and complexityamazingly without pretense!He was a renegade, a self-contained true original,and had a knowledge and understanding of musicalcomposition, arrangement, sound textures, lyrical ideas,conceptual ideas, and instrumental and vocal voicings/phrasingsthat came just from the planet of ZAPPA and nowhere else! (-:It was very much like Hendrix's wide approach to guitar,but even more broad in it's scope!Anywayz, this DVD has plenty of behind the scenes footageof Zappa interviews, Zappa on various concert tours fromthis era (1973-74) with his astounding ensembleof band members like George Duke, Steve Vai, and manyothers, and his forays into experimental visual mediawhich were still almost 20 yrs away!The music is broken down song by song and track by trackin the studio by his son Dweezil and the engineers whoworked on the sessions for these two albums, which havebecome Zappa's most commercially successful.You get to see and hear the intricate processes thatZappa used when he was recording. Many great ideas endedup on the cutting room floor, muted out in the track,or pulled down deep in the mix, because it clashed withwhat he envisioned for the final product.It's great to hear all the ideas that he tried outbefore deciding on what worked.Other interviews are with son Ahmed, daughter Moon,his wife Gail, and others who either worked with oradmired being in the presence of one of the mostoriginal and innovative musical minds of the 20th Century!I've watched this DVD probably 25 times to date and Inever get tired of it. You also see Zappa performing alotof the songs live from these two albums as well as songsfrom earlier albums. It's chucked full of good stuff andwell worth the money to have this in your collection ifyou're Zappa fan like myself.

Not only was Zappa a musical genius, but he was a record production extraordinaire and wise businessman. This DVD shows the many steps leading to the production of these classic albums. A must for the Zappa lovers.

This is a great insight/behind the scenes look at Frank's work. I watch this DVD once or twice a year.

Ahsome DVD a must have

Great interviews and live footage....well worth the 10 bucks.