Studio Tan
Encyclopedia
Studio Tan is an album by Frank Zappa
, first released in September, 1978 on his own DiscReet Records
label. It reached #147 on the Billboard 200
albums chart. The music on this album is also part of the Läther
album which was planned for release in 1977 but not issued until 1996.
ended in litigation. Zappa and Cohen's company DiscReet Records
was distributed by Warner Brothers. When Zappa asked for a re-assignment of his contract from DiscReet to Warner in order to advance the possibility of being able to do special projects without Cohen's involvement, Warners briefly agreed, which led to the 1976 release of Zoot Allures
on Warner. At this point, Zappa was contractually bound to deliver four more albums to Warner and or DiscReet.
Early in 1977, Zappa delivered the master tapes for four albums to Warner Bros. The exact contents of these tapes remain unclear. Some sources claim that it was a quadruple-LP set, entitled Läther
. Other sources insist that the albums were four individual titles.
What is known for sure is that Zappa In New York
(a two-LP set) was delivered complete with Zappa-approved artwork. This was followed by Studio Tan, Sleep Dirt
, and Orchestral Favorites
. For the latter 3 albums Zappa delivered tapes only. It is unlikely that a single 4LP set could have fulfilled the requirements of Zappa's Warner Bros. contract, which would have ordinarily called for 4 individual titles. In any case, Warner Bros. refused to release some of these recordings. Perhaps believing that the material was not up to par, Warner refused to pay Zappa for his production costs upon delivery of the four albums. This violated the terms of Zappa's contract.
During 1977 Zappa created the Läther compilation by re-editing recordings from same batch of tapes that made up the individual album configuration. The earliest confirmed appearance of the Läther compilation dates from October 1977. Zappa attempted to forge a distribution deal with Phonogram
to release Läther on Halloween
on his new Zappa Records label. This led Warner Brothers to threaten legal action, preventing the release of Läther. During 1978 and 1979, Warner elected to release the three remaining individual albums they still held: Studio Tan, Sleep Dirt, and Orchestral Favorites. As Zappa had only delivered the tapes, the three individual albums were released with no musical credits and some mistakes in the song titles. (see http://www.arf.ru/Notes/Ziny/append.html) Warner commissioned their own sleeve art by Gary Panter
, which was not approved by Zappa.
" is presented in a slightly different mix on the CD edition Studio Tan and that the ending of the song had been faded on the original vinyl release on DiscReet. The CD, in addition to using a new remixed version of "Greggery Peccary" changed the running order of the album, switching tracks 2 & 3. Later CD editions have a severe dropout during 'Rdnzl' that is not present on any LP pressing or on the initial CD edition (Barking Pumpkin; ZAX Capitol matrix).
An excerpt from an unreleased alternate version of "Revised Music for Guitar and Low-Budget Orchestra" appears on the 1987 compilation The Guitar World According to Frank Zappa
, with drum overdubs by Chad Wackerman
.
(North America)
Frank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed...
, first released in September, 1978 on his own DiscReet Records
DiscReet Records
DiscReet Records was a company founded by Frank Zappa and his then business partner/manager Herb Cohen. It was created in 1973 when their previous companies Bizarre Records and Straight Records were discontinued...
label. It reached #147 on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
albums chart. The music on this album is also part of the Läther
Läther
Läther is an album by Frank Zappa which was released on CD posthumously in 1996. Produced by Zappa in 1977, the recordings contained in Läther were made between 1972 and 1977 . A collection of these tapes was delivered to Warner Bros...
album which was planned for release in 1977 but not issued until 1996.
Background
In early 1976, Zappa's relationship with manager and business partner Herb CohenHerb Cohen
Herbert "Herb" Cohen was an American personal manager, record company executive, and music publisher, best known as the manager of Frank Zappa, Tom Waits, and many other Los Angeles-based musicians in the 1960s and 1970s.-Life and career:Cohen was born in New York...
ended in litigation. Zappa and Cohen's company DiscReet Records
DiscReet Records
DiscReet Records was a company founded by Frank Zappa and his then business partner/manager Herb Cohen. It was created in 1973 when their previous companies Bizarre Records and Straight Records were discontinued...
was distributed by Warner Brothers. When Zappa asked for a re-assignment of his contract from DiscReet to Warner in order to advance the possibility of being able to do special projects without Cohen's involvement, Warners briefly agreed, which led to the 1976 release of Zoot Allures
Zoot Allures
Zoot Allures is a 1976 rock album by Frank Zappa. This was Zappa's only release on the Warner Bros. Records label. Due to a lawsuit with his former manager Herb Cohen Frank Zappa's recording contract was temporarily re-assigned from DiscReet Records to Warner Bros.The title is a pun on the French...
on Warner. At this point, Zappa was contractually bound to deliver four more albums to Warner and or DiscReet.
Early in 1977, Zappa delivered the master tapes for four albums to Warner Bros. The exact contents of these tapes remain unclear. Some sources claim that it was a quadruple-LP set, entitled Läther
Läther
Läther is an album by Frank Zappa which was released on CD posthumously in 1996. Produced by Zappa in 1977, the recordings contained in Läther were made between 1972 and 1977 . A collection of these tapes was delivered to Warner Bros...
. Other sources insist that the albums were four individual titles.
What is known for sure is that Zappa In New York
Zappa in New York
Zappa in New York is a live double album by Frank Zappa. It was recorded at a series of concerts at New York City's Palladium in December 1976. It was released by Zappa's DiscReet Records label in 1977, then quickly withdrawn. A second version was re-released in 1978 with changes ordered by...
(a two-LP set) was delivered complete with Zappa-approved artwork. This was followed by Studio Tan, Sleep Dirt
Sleep Dirt
Sleep Dirt is an album by Frank Zappa released in January, 1979 on his own DiscReet Records label. It reached 175 on the Billboard Pop Albums chart...
, and Orchestral Favorites
Orchestral Favorites
Orchestral Favorites is an album by Frank Zappa first released in May, 1979 on his own DiscReet Records label. The album is instrumental and features music performed by the 37-piece Abnuceals Emuukha Electric Symphony Orchestra...
. For the latter 3 albums Zappa delivered tapes only. It is unlikely that a single 4LP set could have fulfilled the requirements of Zappa's Warner Bros. contract, which would have ordinarily called for 4 individual titles. In any case, Warner Bros. refused to release some of these recordings. Perhaps believing that the material was not up to par, Warner refused to pay Zappa for his production costs upon delivery of the four albums. This violated the terms of Zappa's contract.
During 1977 Zappa created the Läther compilation by re-editing recordings from same batch of tapes that made up the individual album configuration. The earliest confirmed appearance of the Läther compilation dates from October 1977. Zappa attempted to forge a distribution deal with Phonogram
Phonogram Records
Phonogram Records was started in 1962 as a joint venture between Philips Records and Deutsche Grammophon. In 1972, Phonogram was merged with Polydor Records into PolyGram....
to release Läther on Halloween
Halloween
Hallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...
on his new Zappa Records label. This led Warner Brothers to threaten legal action, preventing the release of Läther. During 1978 and 1979, Warner elected to release the three remaining individual albums they still held: Studio Tan, Sleep Dirt, and Orchestral Favorites. As Zappa had only delivered the tapes, the three individual albums were released with no musical credits and some mistakes in the song titles. (see http://www.arf.ru/Notes/Ziny/append.html) Warner commissioned their own sleeve art by Gary Panter
Gary Panter
Gary Panter is an illustrator, painter, designer and part-time musician. Panter's work is representative of the post-underground, new wave comics movement that began with the end of Arcade: The Comics Revue and the initiation of RAW, one of the second generation in American underground comix...
, which was not approved by Zappa.
Content
Of the four albums that comprise Läther, Studio Tan is the only one of the individual albums to be represented in its near-entirety. It is also the only one that could have been possibly taken from the Läther tapes. The only clear differences are that "The Adventures of Greggery PeccaryThe Adventures of Greggery Peccary
"The Adventures of Greggery Peccary" is a piece by Frank Zappa, originally released on the album Studio Tan in 1978 and later recompiled into the posthumously released Läther album. An instrumental version now appears on the Wazoo CD featuring the original Wazoo ensemble and debuted at the...
" is presented in a slightly different mix on the CD edition Studio Tan and that the ending of the song had been faded on the original vinyl release on DiscReet. The CD, in addition to using a new remixed version of "Greggery Peccary" changed the running order of the album, switching tracks 2 & 3. Later CD editions have a severe dropout during 'Rdnzl' that is not present on any LP pressing or on the initial CD edition (Barking Pumpkin; ZAX Capitol matrix).
An excerpt from an unreleased alternate version of "Revised Music for Guitar and Low-Budget Orchestra" appears on the 1987 compilation The Guitar World According to Frank Zappa
The Guitar World According to Frank Zappa
The Guitar World According to Frank Zappa is a 1987 compilation album featuring guitar solos by Frank Zappa. It was issued as a cassette from Guitar World magazine, and has also been available in bootlegged versions as Guitar Hernia and Solo on Guitar...
, with drum overdubs by Chad Wackerman
Chad Wackerman
Chad Wackerman is a jazz, jazz fusion and rock drummer; arguably best known in the United States for his work as a drummer and percussionist in Frank Zappa's band...
.
Side two
- "Let Me Take You to the Beach" – 2:44
- "Revised Music for Guitar & Low-Budget Orchestra" – 7:36
- "RDNZL" – 8:12
Personnel
- Frank Zappa – guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration... - George DukeGeorge DukeGeorge Duke is a multi-faceted American musician, known as a keyboard pioneer, composer, singer and producer in both jazz and popular mainstream musical genres. He has worked with numerous acclaimed artists as arranger, music director, writer and co-writer, record producer and professor of music...
– keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments... - John Berkman – pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
- Tom Fowler – bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Chester ThompsonChester ThompsonChester Cortez Thompson is an American drummer and session musician.-Biography:Thompson made his name as a session drummer, going on to play in Frank Zappa's touring band and with Weather Report...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person .... - Davey Moire – vocals
- Eddie JobsonEddie JobsonEdwin "Eddie" Jobson is an English keyboardist and violinist noted for his use of synthesizers. He has been a member of several progressive rock bands, including Curved Air, Roxy Music, U.K., and Jethro Tull. He was also part of Frank Zappa's band in 1976-77...
– keyboards, yodelingYodelingYodeling is a form of singing that involves singing an extended note which rapidly and repeatedly changes in pitch from the vocal or chest register to the falsetto/head register; making a high-low-high-low sound.The English word yodel is derived from a German word jodeln meaning "to... - Max BennettMax Bennett (musician)Max Bennett is an American jazz bassist and session musician.Bennett grew up in Kansas City and Oskaloosa, Iowa, and went to college in Iowa. His first professional gig was with Herbie Fields in 1949, and following this he played with Georgie Auld, Terry Gibbs, and Charlie Ventura...
– bass guitar - Paul HumphreyPaul HumphreyPaul Nelson Humphrey is an American jazz and funk/R+B drummer.He worked as a session drummer in the 1960s for jazz artists such as Wes Montgomery, Les McCann, Kai Winding, Charles Mingus, Lee Konitz, Blue Mitchell and Gene Ammons.As a bandleader, he recorded under the name Paul Humphrey and the...
– drums - Don BrewerDon BrewerDon Brewer is the drummer and co-lead singer for American rock band Grand Funk Railroad.- Early life :Brewer was born in Flint, Michigan on September 3, 1948 and is a graduate of Swartz Creek High School....
– bongosBongo drumBongo or bongos are a Cuban percussion instrument consisting of a pair of single-headed, open-ended drums attached to each other. The drums are of different size: the larger drum is called in Spanish the hembra and the smaller the macho... - James "Bird Legs" Youmans – bass guitar
- Ruth UnderwoodRuth UnderwoodRuth Underwood is a retired professional musician, best known for playing xylophone, marimba, vibraphone and other percussion instruments in Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention from 1967 to 1977....
– percussion, synthesizerSynthesizerA synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones... - Michael Zearott – conductor
- Pamela Goldsmith – violaViolaThe viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
- Murray Adler – violinViolinThe violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
- Sheldon Sanov – violin
- Jerry Kessler – celloCelloThe cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
- Edward Meares – upright bass
- Bruce FowlerBruce FowlerBruce Lambourne Fowler is a prominent American trombone player and composer. He notably played trombone on many Frank Zappa records, as well as with Captain Beefheart, and in the Fowler Brothers Band...
– tromboneTromboneThe trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate... - Don Waldrop – trombone
- Jock Ellis – trombone
- Dana Hughes – bass trombone
- Earle Dumler – oboeOboeThe oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
- JoAnn Caldwell McNab – bassoonBassoonThe bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family that typically plays music written in the bass and tenor registers, and occasionally higher. Appearing in its modern form in the 19th century, the bassoon figures prominently in orchestral, concert band and chamber music literature...
- Mike Altschul – fluteFluteThe flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
- Graham Young – trumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
- Jay Daversa – trumpet
- Malcolm McNabMalcolm McNabMalcolm Boyd McNab is a trumpeter and player of other brass instruments, and a Los Angeles-based session musician who has performed on nearly 2000 film and television soundtracks.-Education:...
– trumpet - Ray Reed – flute
- Victor Morosco – saxophoneSaxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
- John Rotella – woodwind instrumentWoodwind instrumentA woodwind instrument is a musical instrument which produces sound when the player blows air against a sharp edge or through a reed, causing the air within its resonator to vibrate...
s - Alan Estes – percussion
- Emil RichardsEmil RichardsEmil Richards, born Emilio Joseph Radocchia on September 2, 1932 in Hartford, Connecticut, is a percussionist who plays a variety of different percussion instruments.-Biography:...
– percussion
Charts
Album - BillboardBillboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
(North America)
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Pop Albums | 147 |