Läther

Overview

The recordings for the album were originally delivered to Warner Bros. in 1977. Contractual obligations stipulated that Zappa deliver four albums for release on DiscReet Records, which eventually resulted in much of the material on Läther being released on four separate albums: Zappa in New York (1977), Studio Tan (1978), Sleep Dirt (1979), and Orchestral Favorites (1979), only the first of which was produced with Zappa's oversight. Zappa had planned to include much of the material from these albums as a quadruple box set entitled "Läther", but Warner Bros. refused to release it in this format. However, bootlegs of the original recording had existed for decades before the album's official release as a result of Frank Zappa broadcasting it over the radio in 1977 and encouraging listeners to make tape recordings of it.

Gail Zappa has confirmed that the 2-track masters for the planned original album were located while producing the 1996 version. While the official CD version of Läther released is reportedly identical to the test-pressings for the original quadruple album, four bonus tracks were added to the 1996 release and the title of the song, "One More Time for the World" was changed to "The Ocean is the Ultimate Solution", the title under which the same song appears on the album Sleep Dirt. The album does not include "Baby Snakes", a song which was originally planned for the album. A version of the song served as the title of the film from the same era.

Background and release history

Zappa's relationship with long-time manager Herb Cohen ended in 1976. Zappa sued Cohen for skimming more than he was allocated from DiscReet Records, as well as for signing acts of which Zappa did not approve. Cohen filed a lawsuit against Zappa in return, which froze the money Zappa and Cohen had gained from an out-of-court settlement with MGM over the rights of the early Mothers of Invention recordings. It also prevented Zappa having access to any of his previously recorded material during the trials. Zappa therefore took his personal master copies of the rock-oriented Zoot Allures (1976) directly to Warner Bros., thereby bypassing DiscReet.

In the mid-1970s Zappa prepared the material for Läther as an intended four-LP project. Wary of a quadruple-LP, Warner Bros. Records refused to release it.

Test pressings and separate releases

Zappa managed to get an agreement with Phonogram Inc. to release Läther in its original configuration, and test pressings were made targeted at a Halloween 1977 release, but Warner Bros. prevented the release by claiming rights over the material. Zappa responded by appearing on the Pasadena, California radio station KROQ, allowing them to broadcast Läther and encouraging listeners to make their own tape recordings. After Warner Bros. censored Zappa in New York to remove references to Angel guitarist Punky Meadows, and demanding four additional albums, a lawsuit between Zappa and Warner Bros. followed, during which no Zappa material was released for more than a year. Eventually, Warner Bros. issued Studio Tan, Sleep Dirt and Orchestral Favorites. The original cover artwork had featured a photograph of Zappa in blackface and holding a mop; this photograph was eventually used as the cover for Joe's Garage, Act I.

CD issues

Despite officially acquiring the rights to the material in the 1980s, Frank Zappa chose to release the four previously released albums on CD in 1991 with their original artwork. The four albums were each altered or remixed in some way.

Zappa in New York was released on CD in November 1991 in its uncensored form, remixed entirely and supplemented with the addition of previously unheard bonus tracks. The original uncensored version of the album has never been made available on CD.

Studio Tan was released on CD in October of the same year with the track "the Adventures of Greggery Peccary" entirely remixed. When the CD was reissued in 2012, the complete original vinyl mix of the entire album was used.

Sleep Dirt was released on CD for the first time in September 1991 and featured a new overdubbed drum track along with vocals by singer Thana Harris portraying a character named "Drakma: Queen of Cosmic Greed" that Zappa had created in 1972 for a stage musical that never materialized. In 2012, when Sleep Dirt album was reissued, the original instrumental vinyl mix was used.

Orchestral Favorites was digitally transferred for CD with a reversed stereo orientation, switching the left and right channels. This mix has been used for all subsequent reissues.

In 1995, Rykodisc reissued Zappa's entire catalog. None of the four albums related to Läther were altered from the original CD issues, though new digital transfers were made. One year later, Läther was released officially for the first time through the Rykodisc label as a triple album with four bonus tracks.

Music and lyrics

Läther encapsulates various aspects of Zappa's musical styles — rock, orchestral works, complex instrumental pieces, and Zappa's distorted guitar solos, assembled in a seemingly random way.

Release and reception

The official version of Läther was released posthumously in September 1996. It remains debated whether Zappa had conceived the material as a four-LP set from the beginning, or only when approaching Phonogram; In the liner notes to the 1996 release, however, Gail Zappa states that "As originally conceived by Frank, Läther was always a 4-record box set." Along with most of Zappa's material, a "mini-LP" CD edition was also released by Rykodisc in Japan, with the artwork reformatted to resemble the packaging of a vinyl album. In December 2012, the album was reissued with different packaging that better reflected the intended album cover.

Allmusic writer Richie Unterberger praised the album, but wrote that it would "appeal far more to the Zappa cultist than the general listener, though the Zappa cult – which has been craving Läther in its original format for years – is a pretty wide fan base in and of itself."

Track listing

All tracks written by Frank Zappa.

Personnel

Disc One, Track 1

Frank Zappa – percussion

George Duke – keyboards

Bruce Fowler – all brass

James "Bird Legs" Youman – bass

Ruth Underwood – percussion

Chester Thompson – drums

Disc One, Track 2; Disc Two, Track 7 & 10

Frank Zappa – guitar

Dave Parlato – bass

Terry Bozzio – drums

Emil Richards – percussion

Orchestra conducted by Michael Zearott

Disc One, Track 3 (Part One)

Frank Zappa – vocal

George Duke – keyboards

Disc One, Track 3 (Part Two)

Frank Zappa – lead guitar

Andre Lewis – keyboards

Roy Estrada – bass

Terry Bozzio – drums

Disc One, Track 4, 7 & 8; Disc Three Track 6

Frank Zappa – guitar, vocals

Ray White – guitar, vocals

Eddie Jobson – violin, keyboards

Patrick O'Hearn – bass

Terry Bozzio – drums, vocals

Disc One, Track 5

Frank Zappa – all guitars, bass

Jim Gordon – drums

Disc One, Track 6

Frank Zappa – lead guitar, vocals

George Duke – keyboards

Tom Fowler – bass

Ralph Humphrey – drums

Ricky Lancelotti – vocals

Disc One, Track 9; Disc Two, Track 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8; Disc Three, Track 2

Frank Zappa – lead guitar, vocals

Ray White – rhythm guitar, vocals

Eddie Jobson – violin, keyboards, vocals

Patrick O'Hearn – bass, vocals

Terry Bozzio – drums, vocals

Ruth Underwood – percussion, synthesizer

David Samuels – timpani, vibes

Randy Brecker – trumpet

Michael Brecker – tenor sax, flute

Lou Marini – alto sax, flute

Ronnie Cuber – baritone sax, clarinet

Tom Malone – trombone, trumpet, piccolo

Don Pardo – sophisticated narration

Disc One, Track 10

Frank Zappa – guitar, vocals

Davey Moire – vocals

Eddie Jobson – keyboards, yodeling

Max Bennett – bass

Paul Humphrey – drums

Don Brewer – bongos

Disc One, Track 11; Disc Three, Track 4

Frank Zappa – guitar, vocals

George Duke – keyboards

Bruce Fowler – trombone

Tom Fowler – bass

Chester Thompson – drums

Disc One, Track 12; Disc Three, Track 8

Frank Zappa – guitar

George Duke – keyboards

James "Bird Legs" Youman – bass

Ruth Underwood – percussion

Chester Thompson – drums

Disc Two, Track 5 & 9

Frank Zappa – guitar

George Duke – keyboards

Patrick O'Hearn – bass

Ruth Underwood – percussion

Chester Thompson – drums

Disc Three, Track 1

Frank Zappa – guitar, keyboards

Dave Parlato – bass

Terry Bozzio – drums

Disc Three, Track 3

Frank Zappa – guitar, synthesizer

Patrick O'Hearn – bass

Terry Bozzio – drums

Disc Three, Track 4

Frank Zappa – percussion

George Duke – keyboards

Bruce Fowler – all brass

James "Bird Legs" Youman – bass

Ruth Underwood – percussion

Chad Wackerman – drum overdubs

Production credits

Digital Mastering & EQ – Spencer Chrislu

Transfer Engineers – David Dondorf, Spencer Chrislu

Vaultmeisterment – Joe Travers

Bonues Section Assembly, Edits & Mastering – Spencer Chrislu

Cover Concept – Dweezil Zappa

Forward Motion – Gail Zappa

Deep-dish Descriptions – Simon Prentis

Cover Execution & Layout Design – Steven Jurgensmeyer