Understanding America

Understanding America

Billed as an artistic statement, this is really just a compilation of unrelated Zappa tracks that are far better in their original contexts. If you're new to Zappa and want an introduction to his music, you might as well buy "Strictly Commercial" instead. But you're better off starting with an album like "One Size Fits All" or "Apostrophe." If, on the other hand, you are already a fan, you'll find "Understanding America" to be a complete waste of your time and money. It's full of excellent but seemingly randomly-chosen music that appears to have nothing at all to do with understanding America, or any other coherent theme. Billed as an artistic statement, this is really just a compilation of unrelated Zappa tracks that are far better in their original contexts. If you're new to Zappa and want an introduction to his music, you might as well buy "Strictly Commercial" instead. But you're better off starting with an album like "One Size Fits All" or "Apostrophe." If, on the other hand, you are already a fan, you'll find "Understanding America" to be a complete waste of your time and money. It's full of excellent but seemingly randomly-chosen music that appears to have nothing at all to do with understanding America, or any other coherent theme.