The Old Masters
| The Old Masters | |||||
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| Box set series by Frank Zappa | |||||
| Released | Box One - April 1985 Box Two - November 1986 Box Three - December 1987 |
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| Genre | Rock | ||||
| Label | Barking Pumpkin | ||||
| Producer | Frank Zappa | ||||
| Frank Zappa chronology | |||||
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| The Old Masters Box II | |||||
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| The Old Masters Box III | |||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic Box I |   |
| Allmusic Box II | |
| Allmusic Box III | |
The Old Masters is a box set series by Frank Zappa, released in three volumes on Barking Pumpkin Records from April 1985 to December 1987, consisting of studio and live albums by Zappa and The Mothers of Invention originally released from 1966 to 1976 on other labels, as well as "Mystery Discs" which contained previously unreleased material. The graphics (not including the photo inserts) on all three sets was airbrush illustrated by Larry Grossman.
The box sets contained new masters mixed and edited by Zappa in his Utility Muffin Research Kitchen home studio, prepared for the compact disc format. The albums were remixed and reedited, and are substantially different from their original releases.
The series was well received by critics, although some criticism was aimed at Zappa's alterations, most notably the decision to rerecord the rhythm sections of the albums We're Only in It for the Money and Cruising with Ruben & the Jets, which provoked a lawsuit over unpaid royalties. These are official releases #43, #46, and #49.
In the 1980s, Frank Zappa had regained the rights to the albums he had released on other labels. He decided to reissue them as part of a series of three box sets for collectors. Zappa found the quality of the original masters to be unsatisfactory for release, and decided to prepare new masters, remixing and reediting the original tapes. In the case of the albums We're Only in It for the Money and Cruising with Ruben & the Jets, Zappa decided to rerecord the rhythm tracks, overdubbing newly recorded performances by bassist Arthur Barrow and drummer Chad Wackerman. Barrow stated of the remixing, "I had mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, as a musician, I'm always happy to be employed and doing sessions is always fun. But on the other hand, I did try to talk Frank out of it the best I could." Zappa told Barrow that he did not like the original performances, by bassist Roy Estrada and drummer Jimmy Carl Black.
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