psychedelicsea

If you don’t know much about Frank Zappa, or are not yet a fan, you’ll learn quite a lot about who this guy is and what he stood for. Don’t worry about getting pulled into some bizarre stage play with incoherent ramblings and fake music. This isn’t that Zappa film. You might actually enjoy this, seeing the life of someone who is undeniably a rock legend and a unique cultural phenomenon. Just understand that Frank Zappa went to every length possible to be strictly uncommercial, though he clearly wanted to be popular by being outrageous and true to himself. If you’re a Zappa fan you’ll enjoy this documentary for its condensed overview of Frank’s career. Don’t expect to be blown away by insights or rare footage. In some ways it jumps parts of his career in the 70’s and early 80s, which means it skips highlights and discussions of some of his major albums, focusing most on perspective of him as a man and a musician/composer, and the eventual political stint he seemingly stumbled into. However, any other Zappa feature I’ve seen before this seems twice as long and half as good. It’s nice to see a well made, respectable piece on who the man behind the music was.