Posts Tagged ‘Mothers Of Invention’

FRANK ZAPPA – ” Zappa 88′ ” The Last U.S Show

Posted: April 23, 2021 in MUSIC
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Frank Zappa: Zappa ’88: The Last U.S. Show: Soft Pak 2CD

The first posthumous archival release from the ’88 touring band focuses on the historic last show Frank Zappa ever played in the U.S., at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, NY, with live concert material taken from that show plus additional performances from Providence, RI and Towson, MD, all newly remixed from the 48-track digital master tapes. It features the first official release of “The Beatles Medley” along with over 25 unreleased performances and liner notes by FZ’s drummer, Chad Wackerman and Vaultmeister, Joe Travers. Available June 18th on stream/download; on 2-CD; or a 4-LP 180-gram black vinyl box set.

As Travers writes in the liner notes, “Start with the fulcrum of the 1981-1984 touring bands (Robert, Scott & Chad), bring back Ike Willis, add the Synclavier digital workstation, a 5-piece horn section with multi-instrumentalist Mike Keneally and you have what FZ famously described as “The Best Band You Never Heard In Your Life.” While saying “never heard” might have been a bit of hyperbole, it wasn’t far off as the short-lived band (four months of rehearsal in 1987/1988, followed by a tour from February through June 1988) only played a few dozen shows on the East Coast and Europe before disbanding. Nonetheless, the shows they did play together were electrifying and a masterclass in musicianship

With Zappa on lead guitar, vocals, and wielding his new obsession the Synclavier, he led the proceedings through a career-spanning set, backed by a stellar cast of veteran band members and newly added members: Mike Keneally (guitar, synth, vocals), Scott Thunes (electric bass, Minimoog), Ike Willis (rhythm guitar, synth, vocals), Chad Wackerman (drums, electronic percussion), Ed Mann (vibes, marimba, electronic percussion), Robert Martin (keyboards, vocals) and the cracking horn section of Walt Fowler (trumpet, flugel horn, synth), Bruce Fowler (trombone), Paul Carman (alto, soprano and baritone sax), Albert Wing (tenor sax) and Kurt McGettrick (baritone and bass sax, contrabass clarinet).

Zappa ’88: The Last U.S. Show includes all of this and many more highlights such as fan favourites, “Peaches In Regalia,” “The Black Page” “Inca Roads,” “Sharleena” “Sofa #1” and “Pound For A Brown.” It also includes a horn-laden cover of The Beatles’ “I Am The Walrus,” and the first official release of the highly sought after “The Beatles Medley,” which features the band performing the music of The Beatles’ “Norwegian Wood,” “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds” and “Strawberry Fields Forever” with the lyrics completely changed to reflect the then-recent sex scandal of televangelist Jimmy Swaggart. The bawdy lyrics poke fun at the hypocritical minister and was part of Zappa’s agenda to demystify televangelists.

Just how Zappa felt it was important to rail against toxically prude self-appointed culture protectors and whatever hypocrisy or hypocrite rankled him that day, he was also a motivator of positive action, passionate about causes, especially voting rights, making it his mission to get his audiences to register to vote. With a presidential election looming, Zappa offered voter registration on the tour, aided by The League of Women Voters. Fans were encouraged to vote before the show or during a special 20-minute intermission in the middle of the two-hour plus concert, which would start with Zappa triggering the Synclavier to play a piece of music. In Uniondale it was “One Man, One Vote.” Notably, the version here is a different mix than the studio version released on Frank Zappa Meets The Mothers Of Prevention. Zappa 88: The Last U.S. Show kicks off with Zappa extolling the importance of voting and encouraging the unregistered to sign up at the show by registering someone live on stage. It was followed by a representative from Governor Mario Cuomo’s office reading a message congratulating “Mr. Zappa for the important work you are doing encouraging your audiences and others to register and vote.”

“Sadly after the European run was over,” as Travers pens in the liners, “Frank Zappa chose to disband the group and cancel the rest of the tour, reportedly forfeiting $400,000.00 in revenue and depriving additional audiences the opportunity to witness how special this group really was. With all of the time and money spent to prepare and promote the tour, not to mention the potential within the talented band and crew, now in 2021, it’s an even more historic loss considering FZ was to never tour again.”

Fortunately, Zappa’s final U.S. show, like so many others of his, was documented and can now be experienced in its glory more than three decades later.

FRANK ZAPPA – ” Halloween ’77 The Palladium NYC “

Posted: January 22, 2021 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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There was no one quite like Frank Zappa. He sucked the expected seriousness right out of rock ’n’ roll and triumphantly turned the genre on its head, injecting comedy and fusing other genres to it, like pop, jazz, psychedelia, proto-metal and more. He recorded more than 60 albums throughout his career as a solo artist and with his band, the Mothers of Invention, and he produced nearly all of them. A man who wore many hats, he also directed films, music videos and designed album artwork.

For Frank Zappa fans, his multi-night run at The Palladium in New York City back in October of 1977 is the stuff of legend. It came in the midst of one of the guitarist/composer’s most fertile creative periods, which would yield a dozen live and studio albums over the next five years as well as the feature film Baby Snakes, built from footage captured at one of these vaunted Halloween shows in ‘77. These performances were also a showcase for what is arguably Zappa’s best backing band of his lengthy career, an ensemble that boasted future Talking Heads/King Crimson member Adrian Belew on guitar, percussion master Ed Mann and, most crucially, the outrageously talented drummer Terry Bozzio.

The Zappa Family Trust is unleashing “Halloween ‘77″, the full performances from this small residency at The Palladium via a wonderfully-designed boxed set that includes a kitschy ‘70s-style costume (plastic Frank Zappa mask, plastic pull over top) and all the audio on a USB stick made to look like a candy bar. It’s charming as all get out, aimed directly at the hearts and bank accounts of (are they any other kind?) FZ super fans. There’s also a truncated three CD version for those not wishing to expend that much dough.

For the casual listener, it’s a lot to take in. The complete audio runs to just under 16 hours, and almost all the shows feature the same set list. The music, too, can be plenty imposing. Zappa’s compositions are full of quick time signature shifts, executed with almost rigid yet limber precision by a very well rehearsed band. The songs themselves are dizzying, braiding together jazz, psychedelia, proto-metal and contemporary classical. There are enough pop-style hooks to draw you in, but you’d better be prepared to hold on tight.

Zappa fans are more than familiar with his October 1977 residency at New York’s Palladium Theater. Zappa produced and directed a feature film around these shows called “Baby Snakes”, featuring backstage tomfoolery and stop-motion clay animation, as well as a live album box set, titled Halloween ‘77: The Palladium, NYC.

If you’re unfamiliar with Zappa’s work, it might be a little off-putting to listen to him invite audience members on stage to whip each other or delight in the uncomfortable sexual oddities of “Bobby Brown Goes Down,” the weird gay panic wrapped in “Punky’s Whips” or the tittering reference to mooning people in the title of instrumental “Pound For A Brown”...Luckily, much like the discomforting stage banter within, the music overshadows all of that nonsense. Especially when it is presented with such care and wit as with this set.

There’s also the matter of his conservative outlook, which peppers these performances, particularly the first show of the set, recorded on October 28th. In his intro to the song “Flakes,” he says, “This is a song about people who don’t do what they’re supposed to do. There’s a large concentration of these denizens in the state of California. The problem, simply stated, is that everybody who moves to California, moves there to collect unemployment or welfare or both.” He also makes clear what he thinks of his main character in “Bobby Brown,” calling him a “schmuck” for being “the first guy in town to say ‘Ms.’” Whether Zappa truly believed those things or not or was aiming for provocation, the cheers of the New York crowd in response is off-putting enough.

For those folks acutely familiar with the Zappa canon, this is the kind of treat you want someone to drop in your candy bag. All of the shows sounds spectacular. Working off of some great source material, the remixing and remastering work, overseen by Ahmet Zappa and Joe Travers, shows off each instrument with precision and clarity. There’s added allure here with the inclusion of rarely heard live tracks like the leisurely instrumental version of “Conehead” (a showcase for a particularly effusive solo by Zappa), a premiere of future single “Dancin’ Fool” and the only live performance of “Jewish Princess.” I can also see some fans debating over which epic version of “Wild Love” (each one ranges between 24 and 28 minutes in length) is the best or which Bozzio drum solo reigns supreme (I’m partial to the double kick drum-heavy antics of the first show on October 29th).

This Halloween-themed release comes along at a strange time for the Zappa family. Ahmet and Dweezil continue to fire off furious open letters to one another, and just as they keep reissuing FZ’s work in new formats, including freshly cut vinyl remasters, they’re going to attempt to bring the man himself back on tour via hologram. Those odd turns could tarnish this somewhat for long time supporters or leave a sour taste for someone looking to dive into this expansive body of work for the first time. Luckily, much like the discomforting stage banter within, the music overshadows all of that nonsense. Especially when it is presented with such care and wit as with this set.

Players:
Frank Zappa – Guitar, Vocals
Adrian Belew – Guitar, Vocals
Tommy Mars – Keyboards, Vocals
Peter Wolf – Keyboards
Ed Mann – Percussion
Patrick O’Hearn – Bass, Vocals
Terry Bozzio – Drums, Vocals

FRANK ZAPPA and the MOTHERS Of INVENTION – ” Go Ape! ” The Legendary Stockholm Concert 1967

Posted: August 29, 2018 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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“Americans are ugly. This music is designed for them,” proclaimed Frank Zappa during the Mothers of Inventions first ever European show, their landmark concert at London s Royal Albert Hall. Yet although Zappa s work may have been designed as a critique of his homeland, he would discover that the Mothers output found its most loyal audience on distant shores. That legendary performance occurred on September 23rd, 1967, and seven days later the band were playing to another packed crowd at The Stockholm Concert Hall. This momentous event, broadcast nationally, is presented in its entirety and in superb quality on Go Ape!,

By the time of the performance Zappa and the first incarnation of the Mothers were at the height of their powers. Their extended residency at New York s Garrick Theatre between April and September, 1967, had given the band a chance to experiment with both their musical repertoire and their unpredictable onstage antics This combination of off-the-wall experimentation and musical dexterity is captured perfectly in the Stockholm performance. With a set-list that includes cover versions of rock and pop standards alongside snippets of Stravinsky and Tchaikovksy, the Mothers run through inimitable versions of Freak Out s You Didn t Try to Call Me and It Can t Happen Here and their classic B-Side Big Leg Emma . The centre-piece of the concert is a remarkable rendition of King Kong , a composition that Zappa would develop and hone for years.

Frank Zappa, live at the Konserthuset, Stockholm, Sweden this remarkable performance, broadcast from the Konserthuset in Stockholm, Sweden on national FM radio, “Big Leg Emma” (which had recently appeared as a 45 in Sweden), and an epic rendition of “King Kong” (in its first known live recording), as well as a couple of Elvis classics Blue Suede Shoes and Hound dog.

A section of it had previously appeared in orchestral form on Lumpy Gravy, and another version would eventually make up an entire side of the double LP Uncle Meat. The live rendition presented here is a unique 18 minute phenomenon, its first section highlighting the remarkable interplay between Bunk Gardener on clarinet, Ian Underwood on alto sax and Don Preston on keyboards, and its second section a Zappa-conducted explosion of improvised sound. For many, the first Mothers of Invention were the greatest group Zappa ever assembled. Go Ape! is a perfect example of what made them such a rare and remarkable beast.

Very interesting early show from the original Mothers. This set seems complete and the sound is top notch, and the performance of King Kong is a blinder! One to add to your collection for sure.

FRANK ZAPPA – ” Lumpy Gravy, We’re Only In It For The Money, Cruising With Reuben And The Jets, Weasels Ripped My Flesh, Joe’s Garage ” Vinyl Reissues “

Posted: February 4, 2018 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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Ambitious Zappa Classics Back On Wax

Fifty years on from the release of his debut album with The Mothers Of Invention, Frank Zappa’s work remains the subject of fascination. With many archival releases already celebrating his vast body of work, on 9th December Zappa Records/UMe will release five of Frank Zappa’s most ambitious outings on 180g vinyl, spanning a decade’s worth of innovation.

Earlier in the year, the 3CD Lumpy Money Project/Object release offered an unprecedented look at the making of two of Zappa’s classics, his debut solo album, Lumpy Gravy, and his acerbic, hippie-baiting third album with The Mothers, We’re Only In It For The Money. Released in 1967, the first marked Zappa’s first foray into modern classical, mixing musique concrète with pioneering tape-editing techniques, and combining the 50-piece Abnuceals Emuukha Electric Symphony Orchestra with LA’s famed Wrecking Crew to create a truly unique sound. Following a year later, … “Money” gleefully took both the counter-culture and mainstream to task in a politically charged, no-hold-barred attack on contemporary politics. No less potent in today’s charged political landscape, it remains a high point in a career stuffed with them.

Frank Zappa We're Only In It For The Money Album Cover - 300

The trio of 60s reissues in this batch closes with 1968’s Cruising With Reuben And The Jets, in which Zappa and The Mothers revisited their beloved 50s doo-wop and R&B. Not that this was straight homage: despite sounding like an uncharacteristically straight attempt to capture the music, keen-eared listeners will hear nods to Igor Stravinsky in the music, while Zappa used the concept to both send up the doo-wop scene, even as he celebrated it.

Zappa called time on his original Mothers line-up in 1970, the same year that Weasels Ripped My Flesh was released. Pieced together from sessions that took place across 1967 and ’69, its mix of live and studio recordings shone a light on the wide-ranging influences that helped The Mothers of Invention become one of the most diverse groups of their generation. Featuring future Little Feat mainman Lowell George on guitar, and including everything from a cover of Little Richard (‘Directly From My Heart To You’) to an uncompromising barrage of feedback (the title track), it’s one of the most varied – but most insightful – albums in Zappa’s oeuvre.

Zappa’s confrontational streak only grew throughout the 70s. By the time he conceived of the three-act Joe’s Garage, which is here reissued as a 3LP set, the album surfaced at the height of punk and the new wave, and sees Zappa in as anarchic a mood as any of the young upstarts coming up beneath him. Envisioning a world where the government is trying to suppress music, Joe’s Garage is one of Zappa’s most successful satires, tackling religion, censorship and the government – and emerging as a typically wide-ranging release from a man for whom there were no boundaries.

Lumpy Gravy, We’re Only In It For The Money, Cruising With Reuben And The Jets, Weasels Ripped My Flesh and the 3LP Joe’s Garage are all due for release on 9th December.

FRANK ZAPPA – ” Eat That Question ” Documentary

Posted: November 22, 2016 in MUSIC
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Frank Zappa was actually Frank Zappa’s real name,  Zappa, the rock’n’roll musician, freak-provocateur and contemporary composer and orchestral arranger influenced by Anton Webern, Edgard Varèse and Igor Stravinsky. This film allows him to speak “in his own words”, which means clips from his imperturbably droll, articulate performances in TV interviews over the years .

In a perfect world, “Zappa in his own words” would really mean nothing but his music and lyrics, which is where he would be truly himself – but this is nonetheless a thoroughly entertaining watch. He emerges as a radical, sceptical libertarian who derided what he saw as the occasional fascism of the left. In one edition of a TV debate show, he even describes himself as a conservative, while making mincemeat of the plumply suited disapprovers ranged to his left and right.

Zappa allied himself broadly within the counterculture but was obviously a pretty strict taskmaster with his own band musicians, like a cross between James Brown and Leonard Bernstein. He didn’t much care for drugs, and to one interviewer he reveals he had sacked musicians for drug-taking on the road, on the pragmatic grounds that they might get thrown in jail when he needed them on stage. Hundreds, of musicians were inspired by him; drop in a few nuggets of We’re Only In It for the Money or Hot Rats . Of course, Zappa was never one to do anything the easy, or easily comprehensible, way — we’re talking about an artist who composed a concerto for two bicycles and railed against the norm at every opportunity. Better, then, to honor his life and work with a jagged, collage-like assembly of archival footage. And, given the eloquence and biting wit he displayed in his lyrics

He was cautious of the term revolutionary (though he did not object to “genius”), on the grounds that it was coercive and aggressive. But actually he does seem like a revolutionary, and someone who couldn’t be categorised. This film could trigger a revival in his music – and maybe new performances of his orchestral work.