For the first time in history, the complete songbook of one of the most eclectic, unclassifiable and fascinating activists of the counterculture of the second half of the 20th century is published. And “in history” means that not even in English were, until this edition, all of Frank Zappa’s songs (1940-1993) compiled.
The present songbook, Frank Zappa. Complete lyrical work (Libros del Kultrum, 2024) is, therefore, due to the efforts of the Professor of Communication at the University of Valencia Manuel de la Fuente (València, 1974), one of the greatest experts in our country on the life and work of Zappa and previously author of the only biography about the musician, classical composer and film director originally written in Spanish: Music refuses to die: Frank Zappa. unauthorized biography (Editorial Alliance, 2021).
It is a large and voluminous book, which exceeds 600 pages and contains all the songs that Zappa composed arranged chronologically by album, starting with his legendary first band, The Mothers of Invention, and continuing through his other groups and his career in lonely. Along with the presentation of each work, de la Fuente includes a short explanation contextualizing it.
So, Frank Zappa. Complete lyrical work It covers 45 albums of the nearly sixty that it published – “those that are not there are because they are instrumental or are made up of songs that appeared previously,” points out de la Fuente – and more than 400 songs, in the original English and translated into Spanish. It also has a prologue by Julián Hernández, leader of Siniestro Total, a band that tried to transfer Zappa’s legacy to the Iberian lands. With permission, of course, from Moncho Alpuente’s Las Madres del Cordero – an almost literal translation of The Mothers of Invention, Zappa’s first band – and Gran Wyoming.
A passion that comes from afar
De la Fuente’s relationship with Zappa comes from their university days. It began with a class at the university of the poet and philologist Jenaro Talens, which put him in contact with the lyrics of his songs back in the nineties, when the Californian genius – although born in Baltimore, his artistic training took place in the rebellious California of 60 – had already died.
“I started listening to their albums and I realized the timeless value of what their lyrics tell,” the editor of the songbook tells elDiario.es. That revelation led to a passion that has marked his career. “I did my doctoral thesis on political discourse in the lyrics of Frank Zappa and then, in 2006, I published a first book about him titled Frank Zappa in hell”he explains.
Later, in 2014, he translated his memoirs into Spanish, which were not translated and which “are the true story of Frank Zappa,” as well as the memoirs of his secretary Colin Butcher, which were titled Hallucinate! My life with Frank Zappa. Then came the aforementioned biography for Alianza and now this Complete lyrical work.
Texts from the past to reread the present
Just as Nietzsche used hermeneutics with the Greek and Latin classics to give us news of the death of God, de la Fuente sees in Zappa’s songbook an excellent opportunity to understand the challenges of the present. Reading them, she claims that she discovered all the power of a speech that she never wanted to marry anyone. “Zappa said that he was against any ideology that annulled the individuality of the human being, and that included both fascism and communism,” comments the professor in this regard and adds: “He harshly criticized the neoconservatives of Ronald’s era. Reagan in the presidency, but also to the Democrats.”
The composer considered the latter more interested in maintaining their status than in improving the lives of their fellow citizens. “Regarding Reagan,” De la Fuente reveals, “Zappa accuses him of having institutionalized lying in politics.” The subsequent question is inevitable: What would you think, if you were alive today and at 84 years old, about Donald Trump? “He already said in his day that Trump was a lying businessman,” responds De la Fuente, who takes it for granted that today he would oppose the current president-elect of the United States of America.
However, it would be a mistake to see Zappa as a radical leftist. The editor of the songbook warns that “he never showed support for the European left and considered himself a pragmatic conservative.” In his ironic and corrosive lyrics “he attacked the union members of the American unions, whom he considered gangsters; against the young people of horse racing, who seemed fatuous to him and, in general, against all the elements that he considered nullify the freedom of the individual.”
Zappa, radical individualist
Even the Beatles received harsh criticism for the supposed commercialism of their work. The cover of Mothers of Invention’s third album, We’re only in it for money, It’s a hooligan parody of the album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band of those from Liverpool. In this regard, the author and translator of the compilation explains that the figure of Zappa is difficult to understand outside the United States: “He was an extreme individualist.”
The professor exemplifies Zappa’s radical independence with this anecdote: “He even considered running in his country’s elections and came into contact with the Libertarian Party, but he did not reach any agreement with them because the Libertarian Party, as it handles the freedom to its ultimate consequences, he also even defends the right to own weapons, something that Zappa flatly rejected.”
Despite the complexity of Zappa’s political position, a careful reading of his songs transcends their musical value, which is saying a lot, because musically Zappa was also radical and complex, drawing as much from the Californian acid rock of the sixties as , later in the seventies, of progressive rock and mixing it all with fifties vocal styles such as duduá, jazz and contemporary music. In fact, his greatest musical reference was not Chuck Berry but Igor Stravinsky.
A precursor to Spotify
This is what De la Fuente believes: “This is a guy who talks to you from his time about issues that affect our present.” And he continues: “It tells you about censorship, the relationship between artists and political power, freedom of expression, the right to abortion, even the management of copyright.”
In this section, De la Fuente says that Zappa was a pioneer in looking for solutions to piracy even before the Internet era arrived: “He proposed to record companies a system that would allow fans to download albums from their phone and be able to listen to them.” on the television.” In the 70s and 80s that probably sounded crazy, but today it is a reality on platforms like Spotify.
As a coda and recommendation, the professor from the University of Valencia highlights Frank Zappa. Complete lyrical work from a literary point of view because, he assures, Zappa’s songs are pure literature and he wanted to translate them as faithfully as possible to the phrases that the Californian used to criticize, whenever he could, the foundations of his country. He compares them to the lyrics of Tom Waits – who, De la Fuente reveals, started opening for Zappa – or Leonard Cohen. By the way, like the latter, Zappa had a cameo in the series MiamiVice.
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