Strictly Commercial

Ryko went on a versioning spree with this release: American, European, Japanese and Australian CDs were all unique, and so was the vinyl. There's also a pared-down, 2004 budget release based on this compilation.

ESSENTIAL VERSIONS FOR COMPLETISTS: US or European CD plus either vinyl or Japanese CD (unless you have the 12" disco-mix single of "Dancin' Fool", in which any version is OK). [completist's guide]

Issues

Audio Details

"Fine Girl" comes from Tinsel-Town Rebellion, an album which has had some slight sound quality problems in almost all its CD versions - the only Tinsel-Town Rebellion CD without them was an EMI version in the 1980s (and that had some other problems instead). Does the "Fine Girl" track on Strictly Commercial, then, also exhibit these slight defects? From Michael Gula:

Do you (or anyone else) also hear these defects on "Fine Girl" as included in Strictly Commercial? To me, it sounds the same as the EMI Tinsel-Town Rebellion "Fine Girl."

David G chimes in:

Sorry, it's definitely the version from the stock/bad 1995 TY CD, wavering volume and all.

Advance CD

An advance CD of Strictly Commercial had a black cover with no picture, but the words "Advance CD", which were also on the disc.

US CD

1. Peaches en Regalia (03:37)
2. Don't Eat the Yellow Snow (single version) (03:34)
3. Dancin' Fool [Sheik Yerbouti version] (03:43)
4. San Ber'dino (05:57)
5. Dirty Love (02:57)
6. My Guitar Wants to Kill Your Mama (03:31)
7. Cosmik Debris (04:14)
8. Trouble Every Day (05:49)
9. Disco Boy (05:08)
10. Fine Girl (03:29)
11. Sexual Harassment in the Workplace (03:42)
12. Let's Make the Water Turn Black (02:01)
13. I'm the Slime (03:34)
14. Joe's Garage (single version) (04:08)
15. Tell Me You Love Me
16. Montana (single version) (04:48)
17. Valley Girl (04:50)
18. Be in My Video (03:39)
19. Muffin Man (05:33)

  • The vinyl and the Japanese CD had a 12" dance mix of "Dancin' Fool", but not the Sheik Yerbouti version
  • "Cosmik Debris" was replaced with "Who Are the Brain Police?" on the Japanese CD
  • "Tell Me You Love Me" was replaced with "Bobby Brown Goes Down" on the European CD ("Bobby Brown" has been a big hit in several European countries, and more than once in some)
  • The Australian & NZ CD also had "Elvis Has Just Left the Building", as a bonus single, but was otherwise identical to the US CD

The front cover is Zappa with goggles; the back cover is Zappa smoking. For the European CD, this was reversed. The words "Strictly Commercial" arfe printed in the disc in white; on the Japanese discs, they are printed it silver. The Japanese package also includes lyrics to all the songs, which the US package doesn't.

Radio version

A special "Banded for Radio" version, VRCD 10500, has space between the tracks instead of segues. It came in an opaque red jewel case.

European CD

1. Peaches en Regalia (03:37)
2. Don't Eat the Yellow Snow (single version) (03:34)
3. Dancin' Fool [Sheik Yerbouti version] (03:43)
4. San Ber'dino (05:57)
5. Dirty Love (02:57)
6. My Guitar Wants to Kill Your Mama (03:31)
7. Cosmik Debris (04:14)
8. Trouble Every Day (05:49)
9. Disco Boy (05:08)
10. Fine Girl (03:29)
11. Sexual Harassment in the Workplace (03:42)
12. Let's Make the Water Turn Black (02:01)
13. I'm the Slime (03:34)
14. Joe's Garage (single version) (04:08)
15. Bobby Brown Goes Down
16. Montana (single version) (04:48)
17. Valley Girl (04:50)
18. Be in My Video (03:39)
19. Muffin Man (05:33)

  • The vinyl and the Japanese CD also had a 12" dance mix of "Dancin' Fool", but not the Sheik Yerbouti version
  • "Cosmik Debris" was replaced with "Who Are the Brain Police?" on the Japanese CD
  • The American CD had "Tell Me You Love Me" instead of "Bobby Brown Goes Down" ("Bobby Brown" has been a big hit in several European countries, and more than once in some)
  • The Australian & NZ CD also had "Elvis Has Just Left the Building", as a bonus single, but was otherwise identical to the US CD

The front cover was Zappa smoking, and the back cover Zappa with goggles - a reversal of the American cover.

banded-for-radio.jpg (16015 bytes)

Radio version

A special "Banded for Radio" version, VRCD 10600, has space between the tracks instead of segues. It came in an opaque red jewel case.

Japanese CD

1. Peaches en Regalia
2. Don't Eat the Yellow Snow (single version)
3. San Ber'dino
4. Dirty Love
5. My Guitar Wants to Kill Your Mama
6. Who Are the Brain Police?
7. Trouble Every Day
8. Disco Boy
9. Fine Girl
10. Sexual Harassment in the Workplace
11. Let's Make The Water Turn Black
12. I'm the Slime
13. Joe's Garage (single version)
14. Tell Me You Love Me
15. Montana (single version)
16. Valley Girl
17. Be in My Video
18. Muffin Man
19. Dancin' Fool (12" disco mix)

  • The American and European CDs had the Sheik Yerbouti version of "Dancin' Fool", but not the 12" dance mix
  • The American and European CDs had "Cosmik Debris" instead of "Who Are The Brain Police"
  • "Tell Me You Love Me" was replaced with "Bobby Brown Goes Down" on the European CD ("Bobby Brown" has been a big hit in several European countries, and more than once in some)
  • The Australian & NZ CD also had "Elvis Has Just Left the Building", as a bonus single, but was otherwise identical to the US CD

the infamous "Frank Zappa" kanji from the back cover of ZOOT ALLURES (cover detail from the Japanese STRICTLY COMMERCIAL CD)The cover was identical to the American CD cover, but with the addition of the kanji that was used to write "Frank Zappa" on the back cover of Zoot Allures. They're pronounced approximately /fu-ran-ku za-pa/ and mean approximately "no frantic pain miscellanous schools" (which might be interpreted to mean that Zappa went through (or worked in the tradition of) many different schools of thought easily without discomfort). And while the American issue had "Strictly Commercial" printed on the disc in white, the Japanese issue has silver print. It also includes printed lyrics (in English) to all the songs, which the American issue doesn't.

Different Catalogue Numbers

From Mikael Agardsson:

I asked Yoji Miyazaki if there were any differences between VACK 1104 and 2013. I was slightly surprised when it turned out that he himself had NEVER heard about VACK 1104! He asked a few friends, and they didn't know about VACK 1104 either. Anyway, he phoned VACK and asked what the deal was. And there are no differences between these two issues. Apparently, Polydor were handling the distribution at first, that is of VACK 1104. Then VACK changed distributors to Pioneer LDC - but why the catalogue number changed when VACK changed distributors I really don't know! :)

Japanese Promo CD

Japanese promo CD front cover Japanese promo CD back cover

12-Inch "Dance Mix" of Dancin' Fool

From David G:

The 12-inch "Dance Mix" of Dancin' Fool is a bit of an odd beast. The extended length of the song is due almost entirely to what I will charitably call "non-song content," i.e. the end-song vamp repeated endlessly with some odd percussive elements thrown in. Gloriously uninteresting. The body of the song itself is EQed very differently from most other issues, and it (thankfully) lacks the audio problems that plague other iterations of the track.

For those wondering whether it's actually an alternate mix, or just the standard version with extra bits tacked on...err, well, it's really hard to tell, but the intro (before the vocals come in) is clearly a different mix, with the gong/keyboards mixed way up.

Japanese Paper-Sleeve Version (2001-2002)

Starting in 2001, Video Arts Music released a limited-edition series (2000 copies each) of Zappa CDs in paper sleeves - miniature LP sleeves. There was nothing special about this series other than the covers, which were very well done - inserts and "bonuses" were reproduced, the albums that originally had gatefold covers got little miniature gatefolds, and cover track lists were exactly as on the corresponding LPs, even in cases where the CD has bonus tracks or a different track order. Included in this series were some entries that never had "proper" LP issues, i.e. Läther. Additionally, some rarities--like the "green/gold" cover of Chunga's Revenge--were reproduced as special items in this run.

We need to stress that the sound quality of these discs matches the US Ryko issues, which they are clearly derived from. These are collectors items, not new remastered editions.

Late-2012-update: It appears as if the Japanese may be warming up the mini-LP ovens for a new batch based on the 2012 UMe remasters. We'll let you know if this happens.

Australian & NZ Double CD - with "Strictly Bonus"

This certainly was a special edition. Rumour has it that only a thousand copies were made. It was a double CD, with the first disc identical to the US CD, and the second disc being a bonus single (TVD93446-2, titled "Strictly Bonus") with the track "Elvis Has Just Left the Building" on it. The packaging was a slimline, green-tinted jewel box, with the same cover as the US CD.

David Blumenstein has seen some dodgy copies:

Lately in stores here in Melbourne, Australia, I've seen copies of Strictly Commercial going for cheap, and while they look like pirated copies (dodgy cover, with ugly yellow border on sides, plus additional company name, I think it's "Interfusion"), they've been showing up in reputable or well known stores (JB Hi-Fi, Sanity).

South African CD

From Mikael Agardsson:

This is the only Zappa CD, as far as I know, that Ryko released in South Africa. Catalogue number: Rykodisc CDRYKO 7. Bar code: 6 001211 599233. The cover is identical to the American version, as is the track list. The difference is the bar code on the back cover. At the top of the disc surface is, from left to right: the Ryko logo; the  FZ logo; the catalogue number above a "Made in RSA"; another logo which says "ASAMI" and (barely legible) "Seal of approval"; the Compact Disc logo.

European Budget-Line CD (Retitled "The Best of Frank Zappa")

In 2004, Ryko International released a pared-down version of the UK "Strictly Commercial" at a budget-line price (usually around £6.99). It's missing a few tracks as compared to the standard UK CD:

1. Peaches En Regalia
2. Don't Eat The Yellow Snow (Single Version)
3. Dancin' Fool
4. San Ber'dino
5. Dirty Love
6. My Guitar Wants To Kill Your Mama
7. Cosmik Debris
8. Disco Boy
9. Fine Girl
10. I'm The Slime
11. Joe's Garage (Single Version)
12. Bobby Brown Goes Down
13. Montana (Single Version)
14. Valley Girl
15. Muffin Man

No audio-quality differences have been reported.

Vinyl

The double vinyl was a limited, individually numbered edition, different (of course) from the CD. The vinyl track list, courtesy of JWB:

1. Peaches en Regalia
2. Don't Eat the Yellow Snow (single version)
3. Dancin' Fool (12" Disco Mix)
4. San Ber'dino
5. Let's Make the Water Turn Black

6. Dirty Love
7. My Guitar Wants to Kill Your Mama
8. Cosmik Debris
9. Trouble Every Day
10. Disco Boy

11. Bobby Brown Goes Down
12. I'm the Slime
13. Joe's Garage (single version)
14. Fine Girl
15. Planet of the Baritone Women
16. Sexual Harassment in the Workplace

17. Tell Me You Love Me
18. Montana (single version)
19. Valley Girl
20. Be in My Video
21. Muffin Man

  • The American and European CDs had the Sheik Yerbouti version of "Dancin' Fool", but not the 12" disco mix
  • "Cosmik Debris" was replaced with "Who Are the Brain Police?" on the Japanese CD
  • "Bobby Brown Goes Down" was not available on the American or Japanese CDs ("Bobby Brown" has been a big hit in several European countries, and more than once in some)
  • "Planet of the Baritone Women" was not on any CD
  • The Australian & NZ CD also had "Elvis Has Just Left the Building", as a bonus single, but was otherwise identical to the US CD

Turkish Counterfeit CD

Dr István Fekete, with an Istanbul report:

I'm in Istanbul again and this time I have something to report to you. As everybody knows, in Turkey you can get all kinds of counterfeit products, so it was only the question of time for me to find a Zappa CD and today I found one. It is the european Strictly Commercial, RCD 40600, the disc itself is a CD-R, the insert is a single sheet with the cover picture, its back white, the bottom is also a very bad quality copy of the original. They took another copy of the front picture, cut it to the shape of the disc and glued it on the disc.

But as soon as I gave it a spin it turned out that the music on that CD is not Zappa at all. I could not yet identify what it is. On the last track something is said about the relationship between fish and men. I don't think the bootleggers wanted to cheat the Turkish Zappa fans (?). They must simply have swapped two stacks of CD-Rs.

Questions

  • What's on the cassette?
  • How do these edits compare to the original edits? A walkthrough would be helpful.
  • Any details on the Russian CD?
  • KRISTIAN KIER: How many vinyls were pressed? My copy number is #19194, but I've seen copies in the range of #23000.

Additional Informants

  • Román García Albertos
  • Dr István Fekete
  • Yoji Miyazaki
  • Noriyuki Tsunofuri
  • Mikael Agardsson
  • Kristian Kier

home - vinyl vs CDs - weirdo discography - bootlegs - misc - hot lynx - e-mail us at zappa dot patio at gmail dot com 2006-04-22 20:02

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