Frank Zappa's Lumpy Money release delayed

Hard-core Frank Zappa fans will have to wait a little longer for revamped versions of two of the late composer's seminal works from the '60s.

An ambitious box set combining rare studio tracks and new mixes of both Lumpy Gravy and We're Only In It for the Money, creatively dubbed Lumpy Money, will not meet its slated Nov. 25 release date.

The project is set to include two separate versions of each album to celebrate the records' fortieth anniversary. An alternate mix of Lumpy Gravy will feature Zappa's original, "ballet" vision of the orchestral project. The original 1967 Capitol release combined pop culture sound cues, Igor Stravinsky-inspired dissonance and early configurations of themes that would figure into Zappa's subsequent, 30-year career.

According to Gail Zappa, Frank's widow, the three-disc set is also set to include added We're Only In It For the Money sessions, and serve as a foundation for future "sister" releases.

News of the delay did not hit the zappa.com until yesterday, and the Zappa Family Trust provided only vague clues as to why the project stalled.

Nor did they provide an updated time frame for release.

"We will notify you here as soon as we have a real date. Which should be soooooon!"

The only saving grace of this bad news is the 30-second snippet included on the site. If the rich, remastered orchestral tones hint at the richness of the rest of the album, Zappa fans are in for a treat, no matter how long they have to wait.-- A.H. Goldstein