Which is the best

youtube.com/watch?v=Ukbu9dmmzJg

freak out changed the music industry more than the others
first double rock ep
first "orchestral rock" album appartently
first album with lyrics displayed

but in fz's discography it's nowhere near the top

pet sounds is cheesy and tinny

I feel like it's hard to appreciate Frank Zappa's stuff now. My parents had a copy of Freak out lying around they got from a garage sale that they never opened. I had to clean cat hair off all four sides and how it gets slowly more and more manic and crazy with all four sides is something you just won't get with listening to it on CD/digital.

this ay
it starts off like a rock pop thing
by the end its like you've dropped too much acid and the walls are all bent
although the digital versions of his stuff are ok, helps with enhancing the bass

As much as I like the songwriting on Pet Sounds I've always had a huge issue with the "tinny" sound as well. It's just a wonderfully written album that isn't pleasant at all to listen to. I've never understood why this is such a rare opinion as I think it's pretty valid.

have you listened to it in stereo?

Freak Out > Pet Sounds > 13th Floor > THE FACT THAT

"HELP IM A ROCK!"

youtube.com/watch?v=BbAA4_B8k0I

brian wilson sure didn't

(Nice dubs)
I see what you did there!

I have and I do find it an improvement over the mono. I think last time I listened to it was also a remastered version which was also more listenable. Like, I think one day it will be an album I can greatly appreciate, but I just haven't found the right mix yet.

I think the most famous similar example to this is the mixing on The Stooges' Raw Power. Great album but we need a definitive version already!

yeah, there are good elements to it that were new at the time and weren't just avant-garde wankery
heck i'd even like to be a policeman

You only need the Iggy version.

youtube.com/watch?v=nNVffJ1NppA

13th Floor Elevators is really out of place next to those 3

This song is about dropping acid and looking inside yourself, seeing yourself the way you appear to the outside world for the first time ("I've seen your face before, I've known you all my life / And though it's new, your image cuts like a knife") or coming to terms with your own personality. Very introspective, deep stuff for early psychadelia.