Frank Zappa Burnt Weeny Sandwich Vinyl

Over the last several years, the Zappa Family Trust and UMe have lovingly been restoring Frank Zappa's iconic catalog together by reissuing his classic albums on CD, pressing long-out-of-print records back on vinyl and digitizing the prolific composer's vast repertoire. Next up in the ongoing vinyl initiative is Zappa's enigmatic 'Burnt Weeny Sandwich' which will receive a 180gm audiophile repressing on black vinyl, via Zappa Records/UMe.

Supervised by the ZFT, the record was specially mastered for this release by Bernie Grundman with all analog production and cut directly from the 1970 ¼" stereo safety master tape in 2018. Unavailable on vinyl for more than three decades, Zappa last released this on vinyl in 1986 in the rare Old Masters Box Two.

The LP, which will be pressed at Pallas in Germany, will feature the album's distinctive original cover art by frequent Zappa collaborator Cal Schenkel and include the original album's black and white poster, which has never been reproduced in any of the album's CD editions.

Named for one of Zappa's favorite quick snacks, essentially a hot dog roasted over a flame and stuck between two pieces of bread, Burnt Weeny Sandwich was released in 1970 following Hot Rats.

The album was recorded by Zappa and one of the original incarnations of his legendary combo the Mothers of Invention, whose lineup Zappa disbanded just prior to this album's release. Perhaps suggestive of its gastronomic title, the record is structured like a sandwich: it is bookended by a pair of doo wop covers of the Four Deuces' "WPLJ" and Jackie & the Starlites' "Valarie," which harks back to Zappa's earliest musical influences, and filled with an array of stylistically diverse songs that focus on structured and tightly arranged compositions featuring virtuosic performances by Zappa and his expert ensemble.