Dweezil Zappa World

I just got the Barry Miles biography on Frank, from a local library. I'm not sure if others here have read it. But I'm half way through it and I'm not so sure I'd receommend this book to others.

For the most part, Barry Miles seems to pay some kind of sadness for his subject. But there are times he almost scolds Frank for certain activities. For example, Miles takes on a harsh tone when referring to the history about Frank working on the cover for " We're Only In It For The Money." As stated on page 151, " Zappa had a cynical ( prehaps even jealous ) attitude toward to the Beatles and never recognized the enormous contribution they made to rock music. " It seems a little strange that Zappa would be jealous of them since he once said in a 1992 TV interview that The Beatles were ( paraphrasing ) " okay but I preffered the Stones more. "

Furthermore, there are some editing flaws in the book with incorrect dates for many of Frank's concerts. Several pages, Miles incorrectly states the Helsinki shows took place on August 1974. Several pages later, these same shows are referred to on the correct dates on September 1974.

Finally, there is the famous story of Duke Ellington getting a ten dollar advance from his road crew chief, who was supposedly Duke's son, Mercer. This was stated in the Real Frank Zappa Book as well. Duke, at that time, was touring with the aid of the State Department, since Duke had received the Medal of Freedom several months before. But since I was once an Air Force brat, and having knowledge of how the Feds work when it comes to sponsoring arts, it seems unlikely State Deaprtments hand out per diems of cash to performers, at least in the 70's. In fact, trumpeter Miles Davis himself said in some interviews from the 70's that Duke was always short on cash. Barry Miles dosen't seem to recognize this. He states several pieces of information that contradicts Zappa's claim. Finally he concludes: " It seems extremely unlikely that [ Duke ] was begging for $10, as Zappa claimed in the Real Frank Zappa Book. "   

I'm half way through the book. I was hoping the book would reflect a little more on Zappa's contribution to music in general. There are some things here that are interesting. In fact, the jacket claims Barry Miles knew Frank personally and " was present at the recording of some of his most important albums. " I have not found this particular information yet since he seems to almost barely mention the albums. But I'll let you all know how it ends. Biographies tend to be 50/50 for me. Usually, they tend to be about things that, for the most part, have little to do with the actual subjects the authors claim to know. I would love to know what all of you think, just in case the book is not worth it anymore.

But there is ALWAYS the music! And that is good enough for me too. Take care and thanks for reading.