| Understanding America | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Compilation album by | ||||
| Released | October 31, 2012 | |||
| Recorded | March 9, 1966 – February 26, 1988[1] | |||
| Genre | Rock,avant-garde | |||
| Length | 142:13 | |||
| Label | Zappa Catalog Number: ZR 3892[2] | |||
| Producer | Frank Zappa | |||
| Frank Zappa chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [3] |
| Critics At Large | (very favourable)[4] |
Understanding America is acompilation album byFrank Zappa. It was compiled and mastered by Zappa before his death in 1993 and released posthumously in 2012. Despite being released after UMe/Zappa Records had issued most of the albums in remastered form, all of the tracks included are sourced from the original 1986-1992 digital masterings.
All tracks are written by Frank Zappa except as noted.
| No. | Title | Original release | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Hungry Freaks, Daddy" | Freak Out! | 3:38 |
| 2. | "Plastic People" | Absolutely Free | 3:42 |
| 3. | "Mom & Dad (Remix)" | We're Only in It for the Money | 2:17 |
| 4. | "It Can't Happen Here" | Freak Out! | 3:07 |
| 5. | "Who Are the Brain Police?" | Freak Out! | 3:33 |
| 6. | "Who Needs the Peace Corps? (Remix)" | We're Only in It for the Money | 2:35 |
| 7. | "Brown Shoes Don't Make It" | Absolutely Free | 7:29 |
| 8. | "Concentration Moon (Remix)" | We're Only in It for the Money | 2:17 |
| 9. | "Trouble Every Day" | Freak Out! | 5:08 |
| 10. | "You're Probably Wondering Why I'm Here" | Freak Out! | 3:36 |
| 11. | "We're Turning Again" | Frank Zappa Meets the Mothers of Prevention | 4:55 |
| 12. | "Road Ladies" | Chunga's Revenge | 4:08 |
| 13. | "What Kind of Girl Do You Think We Are?" | Fillmore East – June 1971 | 4:33 |
| 14. | "Camarillo Brillo" | Over-Nite Sensation | 3:53 |
| 15. | "Find Her Finer" | Zoot Allures | 3:34 |
| 16. | "Dinah-Moe Humm" | Over-Nite Sensation | 6:02 |
| 17. | "Disco Boy" | Zoot Allures | 4:19 |
| 18. | "200 Years Old (withCaptain Beefheart)" | Bongo Fury | 4:30 |
| No. | Title | Original release | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "I'm the Slime" | Over-Nite Sensation | 2:35 |
| 2. | "Be in My Video" | Them or Us | 3:37 |
| 3. | "I Don't Even Care" (Zappa,Watson) | Frank Zappa Meets the Mothers of Prevention | 3:48 |
| 4. | "Can't Afford No Shoes" | One Size Fits All | 2:38 |
| 5. | "Heavenly Bank Account" | You Are What You Is | 3:16 |
| 6. | "Cocaine Decisions" | The Man from Utopia | 2:52 |
| 7. | "Dumb All Over" | You Are What You Is | 4:03 |
| 8. | "Promiscuous" | Broadway the Hard Way | 2:03 |
| 9. | "Thing-Fish Intro" | Thing-Fish (1984) under the title "Prologue" | 2:56 |
| 10. | "The Central Scrutinizer" | Joe's Garage, Act I | 2:50 |
| 11. | "Porn Wars Deluxe" | Previously Unreleased | 25:51 |
| 12. | "Tinsel Town Rebellion" | Tinseltown Rebellion | 3:43 |
| 13. | "Jesus Thinks You're a Jerk" | Broadway the Hard Way | 9:18 |