It's been a big week for fans of Frank Zappa, as his estate has announced plans for an ambitious documentary on the iconic performer and now has let us in on an exclusive agreement with Universal Music to grant access to a huge amount of the performer's "vault."
"This is literally an opportunity of a lifetime for me," Gail Zappa, the bandleader's wife, said. "I am universally thrilled with this partnership because the fans will have unparalleled access to Frank Zappa's works. The doors to the vault are now officially wide open."
Gail will be handing over control of the Zappa Family Trust soon, to son Ahmet Zappa.
Among the albums that are being hyped for release as part of the Universal deal are the film version of Zappa's performance at the Roxy Theatre, Roxy Movie; a performance with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, 200 Hotels, and Joe's Garage, The Musical. There aren't any solid dates for when those offerings will be released, however the Trust has teased the drop date for One Size Fits All, a rerelease of the '74 album from Zappa's band The Mothers of Invention. That will become available on 180-gram vinyl come August 14. His estate also hopes to rerelease more albums by the end of the year as well.
A statement from Ahmet seemed to imply that a large portion of Zappa's catalogue will be readily available for streaming as well.
"The fans of Frank Zappa will have more music and more access—when they want it and how they want it," he said. "I couldn't be more excited about the future."
Fans of rock music know that few discographies are as long and deep as Zappa's. June saw the release of Dance Me This, the final album that the multi-instrumentalist worked on during his lifetime. Its release was the 100th LP from the performer.
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