Series for the official Frank Zappa releases on Zappa Records.
TYPICAL IDENTIFIERS:
- "This is Official Release # x" note on back covers of both CD and LP packaging,
- series number in speech bubble above mustache logo on spines of both CD and LP releases and on back covers of LPs,
- "Official Release #x" in speech bubble above mustache logo on CD faces.
These identifiers may not be consistent as they evolved somewhat since they were first introduced on posthumous Zappa releases.
INSTRUCTIONS:
- DO NOT use this series at releases where none of the above identifiers appear, although the series number may be noted on the master release page.
- Please add "#" together with series number, with no space (e.g. #1 at Freak Out!)
HISTORY:
The series was established by Zappa Records / Zappa Family Trust as a canonical order of Frank Zappa releases. This series is not the first to establish a numbered order of Zappa albums: some releases in the FZ 25 series (1990-1991) had "This is Album # ..." noted on itself. Zappa Official Release is the series that has been used the most consistently, by now covering the complete catalog and the most apparently, becoming the most known Zappa album numbering order.
The first release where this sequencing was noted is FZ:OZ (#69) from 2002, followed by Frank Zappa - Halloween (#70) the next year. Its identifiers were applied on ZFT's further posthumous releases, not used on reissues of Frank Zappa albums by Rykodisc. When the family trust started reissuing the complete catalog in 2012 these numbers with the typical series identifiers were applied also on all albums released prior to Zappa's death.
Until the 2012 reissue campaign the series had inconsistent wording (e.g. "This is #.. on the official Frank Zappa Masters list", "This is official album #", "This is Official FZ Master # etc.), location and graphics. The developed style and wording from 2012 is as described above in the Typical Identifiers section.
MISPRINTS
There are two misprints of releases regarding sequence number:
- Frank Zappa - Frank Zappa For President misprinted as #103 instead of #105
- Frank Zappa & The Mothers - Roxy - The Movie misprinted as #102.2 instead of #104.
