Läther

Läther
Studio album by
ReleasedSeptember 24, 1996
Recorded1969; 1972–1977
Genre
Length173:18
LabelRykodisc
ProducerFrank Zappa
Frank Zappa chronology
The Lost Episodes
(1996)
Läther
(1996)
Frank Zappa Plays the Music of Frank Zappa: A Memorial Tribute
(1996)
2012 Re-issue

Läther (/lɛðɜːr/, or "Leather") is the sixty-fifth official album by American musician Frank Zappa. It was released posthumously as a three-CD set on Rykodisc in 1996. The album's title is derived from bits of comic dialog that link the songs. Zappa also explained that the name is a joke, based on "common bastardized pronunciation of Germanic syllables by the Swiss."

Läther integrates many aspects of Zappa's musical oeuvre — heavy rock, orchestral works, and complex jazz flavored instrumentals, along with Zappa's distinctive electric guitar solos and satirical lyrics, all edited together in a seemingly random way.

The Läther album was intended for release as a four-LP box set on Halloween, October 31, 1977. However, this release was cancelled. Prior to the official 1996 release, unauthorized bootleg recordings of this material were widely distributed.

Zappa said in 1978 that he originally configured the music on Läther as four individual albums. Frank's wife Gail Zappa claimed a different story upon the release of the album in 1996, after Frank's death.