Frank Zappa-The Torchum Never Stops.....Vols. 1, 2 & 3

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Folks, what we have here are 3 of a set of 4 fan generated publications profiling the musical works of one Frank Zappa.

The publications were created by a non-profit group of German FZ fanatics.

They are becoming rarer, because only a limited number were produced.........2000 to be exact......one set was presented to FZ as away of thanking him.

Volume 1 is limited edition # 1442

Volume 2 is limited edition # 1374

Volume 3 is limited edition # 1532

The books themselves have some wear on the spines as well as stacking wear on the covers. Volume 1 is probably in the best shape of the three. 

While this set is incomplete, it is still a prized item for any TRUE FZ fan and would most certainly enhance your collection.

I have included some synopsis from current copy holders to further describe the publications:

(1)  Classic fan items as well as invaluable references. (Vol 1 lists all the official releases BTW.) I'd rate these above all other books except Miles' and NDOPP. They contain only 100% pure facts, many of them unobtainable elsewhere, nobody's stupid opinions (why pay for them, I've got my own), no after-taste.

(2) Each volume is A4 sized, and contains around 200 pages. The books essentially break down into Vol. I - vinyl, Vol. II - CDs & cassettes, Vol. III - bootlegs, Vol. IV - live dates, plus updates to Vols. I to III. The books were put together by a group of German fans, so the English is not perfect (but what do you expect?). The books are essentially `hand- made', and in many instances the entries are merely copied from the album covers, as are the visuals. However, where these books do score is in the coverage of obscure releases -- Promos, special editions, pressings from around the World, different cover art, etc. Whilst I have heard that a lot of this information is ripped off from Zappalog, while that book remains out of print, the Torchum books do fill a gap.
  Volume IV contains a list of Zappa concerts over the years (not complete!), but does not contain set-lists; however, you could work some of them out by using the bootleg sections to find out what was played.  

 (3) In actual fact, the books made a loss for the Torchum Team (Reinhard and Willi, plus Peter the printer), which is a great shame considering the amount of time and effort put into them (having helped print/collate/bind these by hand, I can appreciate it!).
  We presented Frank with a signed set (number #1 - they were limited to 2000) via Dweezil at the Yellow Shark gigs at Frankfurt. Frank apparently read them and no writ was forthcoming from SheWhoCannotBeNamed so I guess he wasn't too upset by them (compared with his apopleptic fit over Viva Zappa).
  They are full of errors, but one has to bear in mind that the information came from many sources, not all of which are reliable or verifiable. Plus the fact that they were produced by a couple of Zappaphiles for whom English is not their first language (and in the case of the first couple of volumes) typed up on a manual typewriter by Willi. Tanking this into cosideration I think they did a good job. The books are still essential to fans, though they could have been improved by the inclusion of 'reviews' of the material covered.
  On the subject of Boots, a lot of thought was out into whether or not to include them and risk the Wrath of Gail. In the end they decide that to omit mention of them would be a great disservice, and they got round the 'moral' problems by refusing to 'grade' bootlegs, comment on their quality or recommend any (in fact, we went as far as including a caveat saying that we did not think bootlegs were worth the money, and that we recommended that anyone who wanted to buy a bootleg should buy ALL of the official stuff before even thinking about bootlegs - something I still stand by today).
  Anyway, go buy them. They're fun and a useful reference. I'd love to see a second edition, but last time I spoke to Reinhard, he was running away screaming at the suggestion. If you read this, Reinhard, (or if John passes it on), give it a thought. I'll DTP it for you...

The names of the above references have been omitted to prevent any copywrite infingements or for any other reason that I can think of.  However, you can Google yourself and get the full story on this set of publications should you be inclined to bid.

Thanks for looking!

PS....this is a second party sale so I cannot break up the set................

Shipping within the continental US is $15.00 priority mail..........