Paul Buff Presents The Pal And Original Sound Studio Archives: The Collection

The Collection

Crossfire Publications (January 24, 2011)

During 2010, Crossfire rolled out 35 download volumes (a total of 417 tracks) from Paul Buff's archives of Pal and Original Sound recordings. Many of you wanted lossless files rather than MP3s, so we've gone and done it! After more than four years of meticulous work, we are proud to present Paul Buff Presents The Pal And Original Sound Studio Archives: The Collection.

We're offering the entire 35-volume set of recordings as WAV files along with a large, 138-page PDF featuring Greg Russo and Paul Buff's historical liner notes, photos and credits. The whole thing comes on a flash drive. Of course, all of the tracks that feature Frank Zappa as a performer, writer, producer or engineer are part of this set. Not only that, you also get 56 bonus tracks (two featuring Zappa) that were not part of the series. All of these bonus tracks were discovered and/or remastered after the series was completed, and you have to buy the entire set to get them.

 

Tracks Featuring FZ

January 1961
May 1961
Late 1962
December 1962
Original Sound Recording Studios, LA, CA
January 1963
January 1963
Early 1963
March 1963
March 15, 1963
April 1963
May 1963
June 1963
Summer 1963
October 1963
Fall, 1963
December 1963
FZ's home, LA, CA
September 13, 1970

 

Volume 1

10. Can't Stand Up

Greg Russo, liner notes for Paul Buff Presents The Pal And Original Sound Studio Archives: The Collection, Crossfire Publications, January 24, 2011

The Pal Studio Band featured Paul Buff, Frank Zappa and whoever else was around at the time. For the track on this volume, "Can't Stand Up," Buff and Zappa took the recent Dovells hit "You Can't Sit Down" and created their own reinterpretation in the spring of 1963. Zappa taught Paul Buff the drum roll that frequently turns up on this track, and Frank did multiple guitar parts. One of these parts is a fuzz solo that spans the second half of the song. [...]

10) THE PAL STUDIO BAND: Can't Stand Up (4:56)
(Frank Zappa-Paul Conrad Buff)
Personnel: Frank Zappa (lead guitar, rhythm guitar); Paul Buff (drums)
Producer: Paul Buff
Engineer: Paul Buff
Recorded: April 1963
Original Release: April 23, 2010 on this download-only album (Crossfire Publications 7238509933-2-1)

 

Volume 2

10. Masked Grandma

Greg Russo, liner notes for Paul Buff Presents The Pal And Original Sound Studio Archives: The Collection, Crossfire Publications, January 24, 2011

The Pal Studio Band returns with a Zappa doo-wop extravaganza that no one has ever heard—"Masked Grandma." Yes, little Frankie is in love with someone's grandmother! Everyone at the Pal stable at the time (Buff, Zappa and Ray Collins) is all over this track. The tape box shows that this song was to be jokingly billed as Little Franky & The Frogs!

10) THE PAL STUDIO BAND: Masked Grandma (2:42)
(Frank Zappa)
Personnel: Frank Zappa (lead vocal, guitar, drums); Paul Buff (bass); Ray Collins (backing vocals)
Producer: Paul Buff
Engineer: Paul Buff
Recorded: April 1963
Original Release: April 23, 2010 on this download-only album (Crossfire Publications 7238509934-2-0)

Please stay with me and let me whisper sweet words of pizmotology,
and discuss the pulchritudes of your jams and jellies.

 

Volume 3

7. Why Don't You Do Me Right? (Demo)

Greg Russo, liner notes for Paul Buff Presents The Pal And Original Sound Studio Archives: The Collection, Crossfire Publications, January 24, 2011

This Pal Studio Band's demo of Frank Zappa's "Why Don't You Do Me Right?" has never been heard. Even though it was very crudely recorded and it exists only on a tape mastered from an acetate, the track is an interesting document of how the song was originally conceived. [...]

7) THE PAL STUDIO BAND: Why Don't You Do Me Right? (Demo) (4:44)
(Frank Zappa)
Personnel: Frank Zappa (lead guitar, rhythm guitars, harmonica, lead vocal)
Producer: Frank Zappa
Engineer: Frank Zappa
Recorded: January 1963
Original Release: April 23, 2010 on this download-only album (Crossfire Publications 7238509935-2-9)

 

Volume 4

7. Walkin' Out

Greg Russo, liner notes for Paul Buff Presents The Pal And Original Sound Studio Archives: The Collection, Crossfire Publications, January 24, 2011

"Walkin' Out" by The Pal Studio Band is another Zappa instrumental showcase that has never been heard. Like many of the other Pal Studio Band tracks, this dates from April 1963. [...]

7) THE PAL STUDIO BAND: Walkin' Out (2:27)
(Frank Zappa)
Personnel: Frank Zappa (lead guitar, rhythm guitar, bass, drums)
Producer: Frank Zappa
Engineer: Frank Zappa
Recorded: April 1963
Original Release: May 7, 2010 on this download-only album (Crossfire Publications 7238509936-2-8)

 

Volume 6

1. Waltz

Greg Russo, liner notes for Paul Buff Presents The Pal And Original Sound Studio Archives: The Collection, Crossfire Publications, January 24, 2011

Our first track is The Pal Studio Band's "Waltz." Written by Frank Zappa and transferred from an acetate to tape, "Waltz" shows Frank experimenting with some guitar phrasing over a moving rhythm track. There are some occasional rough spots, but this is yet another unheard tune from 1963. [...]

1) THE PAL STUDIO BAND: Waltz (3:35)
(Frank Zappa)
Personnel: Frank Zappa (lead guitar, rhythm guitars, bass, drums)
Producer: Frank Zappa
Engineer: Frank Zappa
Recorded: January 1963
Original Release: May 21, 2010 on this download-only album (Crossfire Publications 7238509938-2-6)

 

Volume 7

7. I'm Losing Status At The High School

Greg Russo, liner notes for Paul Buff Presents The Pal And Original Sound Studio Archives: The Collection, Crossfire Publications, January 24, 2011

"I'm Losing Status At The High School" was the first version of what Frank Zappa would later call "Status Back Baby" when he did it with The Mothers Of Invention. This Pal Recording Studios version features Allison Buff as the female vocalist. Note the sped-up vocals, a technique that Paul Buff would use years later on Shapes Of Sound's "Twisted Conversation." [...]

7) THE PAL STUDIO BAND/ ALLISON BUFF: I'm Losing Status At The High School (1:10)
(Frank Zappa)
Personnel: Allison Buff (lead vocals, sped-up backing vocals); Frank Zappa (backing vocals, drums); Paul Buff (bass, piano)
Producer: Paul Buff
Engineer: Paul Buff
Recorded: Fall 1963
Original Release: June 4, 2010 on this download-only album (Crossfire Publications 7238509939-2-5)

 

Volume 8

14. Love Of My Life (Original Version)

Greg Russo, liner notes for Paul Buff Presents The Pal And Original Sound Studio Archives: The Collection, Crossfire Publications, January 24, 2011

Now we're talking—the original Ray Collins-sung Pal Studio Band version of Frank Zappa's "Love Of My Life." [...]

14) THE PAL STUDIO BAND: Love Of My Life (Original Version) (2:14)
(Frank Zappa)
Personnel: Paul Buff (piano, drums, fuzz bass, saxes), Frank Zappa (guitar), Ray Collins (lead vocal, backing vocals)
Producer: Paul Buff
Engineer: Paul Buff
Recorded: April 1963
Original Release: June 4, 2010 on this download-only album (Crossfire Publications 7238509940-2-1)

 

Volume 13

2. Love Of My Life (Piano Intro)

Greg Russo, liner notes for Paul Buff Presents The Pal And Original Sound Studio Archives: The Collection, Crossfire Publications, January 24, 2011

Frank Zappa's brief tinkering on the piano for "Love Of My Life" (with Paul Buff on bass) [...].

2) THE PAL STUDIO BAND: Love Of My Life (Piano Intro) (0:04)
(Frank Zappa)
Personnel: Frank Zappa (piano); Paul Buff (bass)
Producer: Paul Buff
Engineer: Paul Buff
Recorded: April 1963
Original Release: July 16, 2010 on this download-only album (Crossfire Publications 7238509945-2-6)

 

 

Research, compilation and maintenance by Román García Albertos
http://www.donlope.net/fz/
Original transcription by Román
This page updated: 2022-07-22