Frank Zappa ‘Apostrophe (‘)’ Sessions Spotify Playlist

Legendary late musician, composer and band leader Frank Zappa was nearly unparalleled in his prolific recorded output during the course of his storied career. His extensive discography has continued to rapidly expand since his death in 1993 at age 52, with three new titles released already in 2016 alone. This week’s installment of Saturday Stream examines one of those recently issued albums as well as one of Frank’s classic LPs in the Spotify Playlist below.

One of Zappa’s most well-known and favored albums was his 1974 release Apostrophe (‘). Featuring many classic Zappa compositions such as the opening “Don’t Eat The Yellow Snow,” “Cosmik Debris,” and “Uncle Remus,” the nine-song LP included contributions from a large cast of musicians. Among those who accompanied Zappa on the album were keyboardist George Duke, violinist Jean-Luc Ponty, saxophonist Napoleon Murphy Brock, drummer Aynsley Dunbar and bassist Tom Fowler, among others. The title track also featured Cream bassist Jack Bruce as well as drummer Jim Gordon.

Last week Zappa Records released The Crux Of The Biscuit, a new 15-track album made up of outtakes, live recordings and unreleased cuts from the Apostrophe (‘)-era. Taking its title from lyrics in the Apostrophe (‘) closer “Stink-Foot,” Frank’s son Dweezil Zappa expounded on the concept of “the crux of the biscuit is the apostrophe” in this 2010 essay.

Below is a Spotify Playlist sequenced with the original Apostrophe (‘) album tracks followed immediately by any alternate versions of the songs issued on The Crux Of The Biscuit. Nearly every song has an outtake, and album leftovers “Down In De Dew” and “Energy Frontier” are present at the end of the playlist. There’s also a lengthy live version of “Don’t Eat The Yellow Snow”/”St. Alphonzo’s Pancake Breakfast” and an explanation by Frank of the pair of songs’ meanings. The 24 tracks clock in at one hour and 40 minutes, dig in below: