Most people either love or hate Frank Zappa - if they've heard of him at all. To much of the press, he's incomprehensible. To his lyrical targets, he's obnoxious. To fans, he's a musical genius whose every recorded note deserves a place in their collections. To disbelievers, he's not funny enough, too much - or not enough - of a 'rock' star, too political, too 'jazzy', too 'classical' or too crude.

At the time of his death in 1993 from prostate cancer, Zappa had released almost 60 albums. A huge number of musicians, including Captain Beefheart, Lowell George, Steve Vai, George Duke, Jean-Luc Ponty, Adrian Belew, The Brecker Brothers, Eddie Jobson and Warren Cucurullo, had worked closely with him over the years.