Läther

The recordings for the album were originally delivered to Warner Bros. in 1977. Contractual obligations stipulated that Zappa deliver four albums for release on DiscReet Records, which eventually resulted in much of the material on Läther being released on four separate albums: Zappa in New York (1977), Studio Tan (1978), Sleep Dirt (1979), and Orchestral Favorites (1979), only the first of which was produced with Zappa's oversight. Zappa had planned to include much of the material from these albums as a quadruple box set titled Läther, but Warner Bros. refused to release it in this format. However, Zappa had broadcast a test pressing over the radio in 1977, encouraging listeners to make tape recordings of it; these bootlegs circulated for years before the album's official release.[1]

Gail Zappa has confirmed that the stereo masters for the planned original album were located while producing the 1996 version.[2] While the released official CD version of Läther is reportedly identical to the test pressings for the original quadruple album, four bonus tracks were added to the 1996 release, and the title of the song "One More Time for the World" was changed to "The Ocean is the Ultimate Solution", the title under which the same song appears on the album Sleep Dirt. The album does not include "Baby Snakes", a song which was originally planned for the album. A version of the song served as the title of the film (Baby Snakes) from the same era.

Zappa's relationship with long-time manager Herb Cohen ended in 1976. Zappa sued Cohen for skimming more than he was allocated from DiscReet Records, as well as for signing acts of which Zappa did not approve.[3] Cohen filed a lawsuit against Zappa in return, which froze the money Zappa and Cohen had gained from an out-of-court settlement with MGM over the rights of the early Mothers of Invention recordings. It also prevented Zappa having access to any of his previously recorded material during the trials. Zappa therefore took his personal master copies of the rock-oriented Zoot Allures (1976) directly to Warner Bros., thereby bypassing DiscReet.[4]

In the mid-1970s Zappa prepared the material for Läther as an intended four-LP project.[5] Wary of a quadruple-LP, Warner Bros. Records refused to release it.[2][6][7][8]

Läther encapsulates various aspects of Zappa's musical styles — rock, orchestral works, complex instrumental pieces, and Zappa's distorted guitar solos, assembled in a seemingly random way.[2]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[7]

The official version of Läther was released posthumously in September 1996. It remains debated whether Zappa had conceived the material as a four-LP set from the beginning, or only when approaching Phonogram;[10] In the liner notes to the 1996 release, however, Gail Zappa states that "As originally conceived by Frank, Läther was always a 4-record box set."[2] Along with most of Zappa's material, a "mini-LP" CD edition was also released by Rykodisc in Japan, with the artwork reformatted to resemble the packaging of a vinyl album.[7] In December 2012, the album was reissued with different packaging that better reflected the intended album cover.

Allmusic writer Richie Unterberger praised the album, but wrote that it would "appeal far more to the Zappa cultist than the general listener, though the Zappa cult – which has been craving Läther in its original format for years – is a pretty wide fan base in and of itself."[7]

All tracks are written by Frank Zappa.

Disc One, Track 1

• Frank Zappa – percussion
• George Duke – keyboards
• Bruce Fowler – all brass
• James "Bird Legs" Youman – bass
• Ruth Underwood – percussion
• Chester Thompson – drums

Disc One, Track 2; Disc Two, Track 7 & 10

• Frank Zappa – guitar
• Dave Parlato – bass
• Terry Bozzio – drums
• Emil Richards – percussion
• Orchestra conducted by Michael Zearott

Disc One, Track 3 (Part One)

• Frank Zappa – vocal
• George Duke – keyboards

Disc One, Track 3 (Part Two)

• Frank Zappa – lead guitar
• Andre Lewis – keyboards
• Roy Estrada – bass
• Terry Bozzio – drums

Disc One, Track 4, 7 & 8; Disc Three Track 6

• Frank Zappa – guitar, vocals
• Ray White – guitar, vocals
• Eddie Jobson – violin, keyboards
• Patrick O'Hearn – bass
• Terry Bozzio – drums, vocals

Disc One, Track 5

• Frank Zappa – all guitars, bass
• Jim Gordon – drums

Disc One, Track 6

• Frank Zappa – lead guitar, vocals
• George Duke – keyboards
• Tom Fowler – bass
• Ralph Humphrey – drums
• Ricky Lancelotti – vocals

Disc One, Track 9; Disc Two, Track 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8; Disc Three, Track 2

• Frank Zappa – lead guitar, vocals
• Ray White – rhythm guitar, vocals
• Eddie Jobson – violin, keyboards, vocals
• Patrick O'Hearn – bass, vocals
• Terry Bozzio – drums, vocals
• Ruth Underwood – percussion, synthesizer
• David Samuels – timpani, vibes
• Randy Brecker – trumpet
• Michael Brecker – tenor sax, flute
• Lou Marini – alto sax, flute
• Ronnie Cuber – baritone sax, clarinet
• Tom Malone – trombone, trumpet, piccolo
• Don Pardo – sophisticated narration

Disc One, Track 10

• Frank Zappa – guitar, vocals
• Davey Moire – vocals
• Eddie Jobson – keyboards, yodeling
• Max Bennett – bass
• Paul Humphrey – drums
• Don Brewer – bongos

Disc One, Track 11; Disc Three, Track 4

• Frank Zappa – guitar, vocals
• George Duke – keyboards
• Bruce Fowler – trombone
• Tom Fowler – bass
• Chester Thompson – drums

Disc One, Track 12; Disc Three, Track 8

• Frank Zappa – guitar
• George Duke – keyboards
• James "Bird Legs" Youman – bass
• Ruth Underwood – percussion
• Chester Thompson – drums

Disc Two, Track 5 & 9

• Frank Zappa – guitar
• George Duke – keyboards
• Patrick O'Hearn – bass
• Ruth Underwood – percussion
• Chester Thompson – drums

Disc Three, Track 1

• Frank Zappa – guitar, keyboards
• Dave Parlato – bass
• Terry Bozzio – drums

Disc Three, Track 3

• Frank Zappa – guitar, synthesizer
• Patrick O'Hearn – bass
• Terry Bozzio – drums

Disc Three, Track 5

• Frank Zappa – percussion
• George Duke – keyboards
• Bruce Fowler – all brass
• James "Bird Legs" Youman – bass
• Ruth Underwood – percussion
• Chad Wackerman – drum overdubs

Production credits

• Digital Mastering & EQ – Spencer Chrislu
• Transfer Engineers – David Dondorf, Spencer Chrislu
• Vaultmeisterment – Joe Travers
• Bonues Section Assembly, Edits & Mastering – Spencer Chrislu
• Cover Concept – Dweezil Zappa
• Forward Motion – Gail Zappa
• Deep-dish Descriptions – Simon Prentis
• Cover Execution & Layout Design – Steven Jurgensmeyer