How To Buy...Frank Zappa (Part Two Albums #21 - #40)

How To Buy...Frank Zapp by Rob H.

In this second part of the massive How To Buy Frank Zappa we cover albums #21 through #40. For the first part please click HERE!

#21 "Bongo Fury" Zappa/Beefheart/Mothers

Predominantly a live album recorded on the only tour that Captain Beefheart was in the band rather than the odd guest appearance.

How you view this will probably depend on if you are a fan of Beefheart or not although there are still plenty of FZ and Napoleon Murphy Brock moments. You have a couple of Beefheart improvisations/poems as well as a couple of songs marking the upcoming bicentennial of America and it's commercialisation in the cowboy song of "Poofter's Froth Wyoming Plans Ahead" and "200 Tears Old".

There are some great FZ solos especially in "Advance Romance" and "Carolina Hard-Core Ecstasy" but my fave track has always been the closer of "Muffin Man" which starts with a spoken intro which sets out the ridiculous tale to come.... "girl, you thought he was a man but he was a muffin!" another blistering solo dominates.

If you aren't a Beefheart fan then this is either a good introduction or not the album for you! It's a good album but not an essential ...if you are planning on extending your collection then it's a definite!

#22 "Zoot Allures" Frank Zappa

When I first heard "Zoot Allures" I was very underwhelmed by it but it has grown on me considerably and the 2012 mix on CD gives it a fuller feel. I think for me initially it felt a bit disjointed and took a while to gel, maybe as I heard different versions of these songs on other albums.

Firstly for the guitar fans out there this contains 2 of the 3 songs that Zappa considered to be his signature guitar tunes and which he asked not to be covered after his death. It's fairly obvious then that "Black Napkins" and "Zoot Allures" are both absolutely sublime pieces and very different to each other, it also means that the albums third guitar piece "Friendly Little Finger" will get overlooked in comparison!

The rest of the album is vocal with "Wonderful Wino" finally getting an album release 6 years after it was originally recorded (as can be heard on the recently released "The Mothers 1970" set), "Disco Boy" marks Franks first dig at the spreading musical craze and it's self obsessed fans....it wouldn't be his last visit to the dance floors of disco either! "Ms. Pinky" is about an actual sex toy, a rubber head which was discovered on a tour in Europe and alongside "The Torture Never Stops" would be reworked into the musical "Thing Fish" years later. "The Torture...." is another personal fave of mine, slow with Franks deepest voice providing the vocal and a great piece of storytelling completed by an obligatory and precisely picked guitar solo.

So do you need this one? It certainly wouldn't be on my first tier of essential albums, maybe not on my second or third either but it is a grower and has some great songs and music and the draw of those guitar pieces shouldn't be ignored (although you could skip ahead and pick them up on the "Frank Zappa Plays The Music Of Frank Zappa" album which contains all 3 of his signature guitar tunes - the third being "Watermelon In Easter Hay".)

#23 "Zappa In New York" Frank Zappa

A great live album recorded between Xmas and New Years 1976. The track listing has changed a bit through the years but the CD reinstates tracks removed by the record company and adds a few bonus ones too.

After the release of "Zoot Allures" Zappa had become increasingly frustrated with his label Warner Brothers who he claimed had failed to promote the album but for who he still owed 4 more albums to fulfil his contract. He delivered all 4 albums at once with "Zappa In New York" being the first....legal action then followed and while his albums remained unreleased by Warners Frank prepared his own release that would feature material from all 4 albums entitled "Läther" (pronounced leather from a band in joke). Franks release was blocked and wouldn't see light of day until 1996 years after Warners had released the albums that had been delivered. "Zappa In New York" was the only one of the four that Frank had delivered artwork for which explains why the subsequent releases all had a themed and distinctive art style.

"Zappa In New York" is one of the benchmark live albums and balances humour in tracks like "Titties & Beer" and "Punky's Whips" with lots of instrumentals. "Titties & Beer" sees Zappa bargaining with the Devil (played by drummer Terry Bozzio) for the return of his girlfriend and beer both of which the Devil has consumed. Fun Fact : The version of this track released on the "Baby Snakes" album in 1983 references the Warner Brothers dispute as a reason that Frank isn't scared of Hell as he'd already been through it! Bozzio features again on "Punky's Whips" which tells of his obsession with a photo of Punky Meadows the guitarist in Angel, it's another prime example of a comedy lyric being placed over a complex tune and has a great Zappa solo.

The other "odd" track is the folklore tale of "The Illonois Enema Bandit" based on the real life case of Michael Kenyon who carried out a series of armed robberies on women some of which he administered enemas to! Ray White gives an amazing vocal while Saturday Night Live's Don Pardo supplies opening narration. Pardo also appears on "Punky's Whips" and "I'm The Slime" .

Amongst the many instrumentals of note "The Black Page Drum Solo/Black Page #1" is just incredible, named because of the shear density of notes on the written page it features and amazing duet between Bozzio and Ruth Underwood which is just jaw dropping! "Black Page #2" is a full band version taking up the melody. "I Promise Not To Come In Your Mouth" has a tender minimoog solo from Roxy Music's Eddie Jobson along with a FZ guitar solo completely at odds with the in your face title (which is taken from the lyric of "Honey, Don't You Want A Man Like Me?" which is also on this album) The jazzier side returns for the 16 minute closer "The Purple Lagoon/Approximate".

This has something for everyone, it has the musical complexity combined with humour that ultimately defines Zappa in most peoples eyes.

See also : "Zappa In New Year 40th Anniversary Deluxe Edition" a 4 disc set that features the entire set and some alternate versions taken across the run of dates.

 

#24 "Studio Tan" Frank Zappa

Firstly let me tell you straight off that you don't need this album, that's not because it's without it's merits such as the excellent instrumental/solo "RDNZL" but more so that all four tracks feature on the infinitely better "Läther" set (see yesterdays post).

To be fair this will be another marmite album for most as it is dominated by another 20 minute plus story based track along the lines of "Billy The Mountain", indeed he is even referenced, called "The Adventures of Greggery Peccary". The suitably odd story which is dripping in conceptual continuity and complex music concerns the titular hero, a type of pig, inventing the calendar which then makes people miserable as people can now track how old they are getting and when to collect rent! Greggery consults a philosopher after being chased into a wood but is offered very little useful advice. FZ narrates in spoken voice and also sings the part of Greggery which is sped up. Not a track you will listen to every day but it has lots going for it.

The other tracks are the aforementioned "RDNZL", the completely forgettable "Lemme Take You To The Beach" and a guitar version of "Music For Violin And Low Budget Orchestra" from the Jean Luc Ponty Plays The Music Of Frank Zappa album suitably re-titled as "Revised Music For Guitar And Low Budget Orchestra".

The cover art was not supplied by Zappa but was commissioned by Warner Brothers.

 

#25 "Sleep Dirt" Frank Zappa

This one is a bit of an odd one to review as it is VERY different depending on the version you hear. Let's get the "Läther" question out of the way first, yes many of these tracks appear across both but not all and in different versions making "Sleep Dirt" worthy of consideration in it's own right.

Then we have the issue of the two very different versions released. The original album was entirely instrumental and so is the 2012 CD remaster however 3 (possibly 4) of the tracks were from "Hunchentoot", a science fiction musical that Zappa had written, when Frank released the album on CD he took the opportunity to add in vocals to "Flambay", "Time Is Money" and "Spider Of Destiny" which shocked the purists especially as they changed the feel of the tracks immensely. "Regyptian Strut" is also thought to be from the musical but renamed so it's a bit of guesswork. The vocals by Thana Harris are very theatrical and while there is nothing wrong in the slightest with them it seems a shame not to listen to the amazing music. Personally I think the album works better as an instrumental but it's nice to be able to hear what "Hunchentoot" could have been....another track would be released on the album "Them Or Us" in 1984.

The title track is a sublime acoustic guitar duet which only ends when James "Birdlegs" Youmans' fingers get stuck! The longest track on the album is the closer "The Ocean Is The Ultimate Solution" which started as an extended jam before being overdubbed moving through various themes and incorporates a fine string bass solo from Patrick O'Hearn and of course a trademark FZ guitar solo.

One for your extended collection, just make sure of the version you pick! This was another album where Warners commissioned the artwork and apparently even renamed the album as it was meant to be titled "Hot Rats III".

#26 "Sheik Yerbouti" Frank Zappa

Although Zappa had delivered Warner Brothers four albums in one go to conclude his contract with them "Sheik Yerbouti" was the first release on the newly formed Zappa Records coming out before Warners released the last of their albums "Orchestral Favorites".

I love this album, it's one of what I class the "rockin' teenage combo" releases and for those muso spotters out there this has Adrian Belew on guitar before being poached by Bowie for his band.

The humour is in full force with tracks like "Broken Hearts Are For Arseholes", "I'm So Cute", "Tryin To Grow A Chin", "Jewish Princess" and of course the surprise Scandinavian hit "Bobby Brown" (or "Bobby Brown Goes Down" as it has been retitled on CD and digital releases) which is the most overtly sexual track on the album but is actually not about that at all!

Disco gets a couple of digs with the wonderfully daft "Dancin' Fool" and the albums title being a pastiche of the KC & The Sunshine Band hit "(Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty" . Other lyrical targets are the preposterous rock artists in "I Have Been In You" (Peter Frampton had just released "I'm In You"), unions in "Flakes" which also features Belew doing his best Bob Dylan impression and "Jones Crusher" about a woman with very muscular genitalia!

Like most Zappa releases it's the music that matters most and here you have two great guitar tracks in "Rat Tomago" and "The Sheik Yerbouti Tango" as well as the wonderful "Yo Mama".

A must have album!

 

#27 "Orchestral Favorites" Frank Zappa

The final one of the end of contract Warners releases and the worst front cover in the entire Zappa catalogue! Frank had been composing orchestra music for many years but this was his first purely orchestral release featuring five tracks, 3 of which would also feature on "Läther".

The two tracks that aren't on "Läther" are both worthy of the admission price so to speak. "Strictly Genteel" which was the finale of "200 Motels" is here bereft of any vocal or narration to get in the way of the music. The other is the epic "Bogus Pomp" in which you can hear themes from other Zappa tracks as well as a rather nice violin solo. Frank does manage to slip in a guitar solo in "Duke Of Prunes" , a reworking of an early Mothers Of Invention track that appeared on "Absolutely Free" and listening to it in this form makes you appreciate the layers to Zappas skill as a composer.

You don't need this album, but you might need the anniversary version which expands the original release to a three disc affair adding in more of the concert from Royce Hall which the album was culled from. Hearing the full show with tracks like "Black Napkins", "The Adventures Of Greggory Peccary" (orchestral and without all the vocal and narration is a million miles from the "Studio Tan" version) and "Dog/Meat" makes the 40th anniversary version one of the better ways to discover this side of Zappa, the present day composer refuses to die indeed!

#28 "Joe's Garage, Act I" Frank Zappa

As I'm doing daily reviews following the albums as released I'll keep this to just Act I but if you buy the CD or download it comes with Act II & III which was the next album (see tomorrows review for that one!)

As you probably realise by now Zappa wrote a few different musical projects whether they be films, stage plays or even ballets and "Joe's Garage" follows this although it was never played in it's entirety and was conceived as an album rather than any of the previous arts mentioned.

The story of "Joe's Garage" is twofold really, Franks original story about making things illegal and therefore everyone being a criminal and equal and the one that you will derive at yourself which is the cautionary tale of the protagonist as he makes music with his friends ("We could jam at Joe's garage, his mother was screaming, his dad was mad, we was playing the same old song.....") discovers women, contracts a sexually transmitted disease and get's very confused.....all the blanks are filled in by the narrator or Central Scrutinizer as he is called here.

It's a joyous bunch of songs, yes it has it's smutty moments in "Catholic Girls" and "Wet T-Shirt Nite" not to mention the unfortunate realisation of "Why Does It Hurt When I Pee?" but it all works, it's all memorable and you can sing along without worrying too much about sudden time signature changes! There is only one instrumental of sorts (as it still features narration by the Central Scrutinizer) which is the guitar solo piece "Toad-O Line".

Muso wise Ike Willis features heavily on this album as he would on most of the band related releases for the rest of Frank's life time.

Is this one you need....hell, yes!

#29 "Joe's Garage, Acts II & III"

Continuing the story from the previous album and now available as a complete set Act II ramped up the sexual content with "Stick It Out", the sexual acts with the robot "Sy Borg" who is plooked too hard and of course "Keep It Greasey".

Act III concentrates more on Zappas guitar side with "He Used To Cut The Grass" and the third of his signature pieces the absolutely sublime "Watermelon In Easter Hay". You also have the famous "Information is not knowledge" speech in "Packard Goose" delivered by Dale Bozzio which ascertains that "music is the best". "A Little Green Rosetta" closes the set with a version very different from the one on "Läther" and minus the guitar solo that dominates.

Muso watch...this is also around the time that Steve Vai started working for Frank as he was hired to write transcriptions of Zappa's solos that would appear in "The Frank Zappa Guitar Book"....Vai appeared on the live dates around this time but not on the album.

 

#30 "Tinseltown Rebellion" Frank Zappa

Predominantly a live album (let's face it most Zappa albums were with splices of performances and overdubs) and the studio "radio friendly" track "Fine Girl" which starts the album.

It's pretty solid apart from the spoken Panty Rap" and "Dance Contest", the former is Frank encouraging young ladies in the audience to throw their panties on stage as they were collecting them to make a quilt! It turned in to an art collage but apart from being an interesting document of a strange tour behaviour it's not really something you want to listen to repeatedly.

There are a few early Mothers of Invention songs that get revisited with versions of "Love Of My Love", "I Ain't Got No Heart", "Tell Me You Love Me" and even "Brown Shoes Don't Make It" all present. The classic "Hot Rats" opener "Peaches En Regalia" is here as "Peaches III" as it was the third time it had been released on an album.

"Easy Meat" is a sexual lyric that is quickly dispensed with to lead to an extended guitar solo, as this album was recorded across a few tours there are different line ups on different songs but for those following my Muso alerts then this is the first album that features stunt guitarist Steve Vai!

The album also features a few examples of "meltdown" Zappa's own version of sprechgesang where a lyric is performed, and often adlibed, in a style that is not quite spoken and not quite sung. This can be heard on "The Blue light" and the title track but would be utilised more on the "Man From Utopia" album.

Is it one you need? It's a good album but there are much better ones from around this time so mark it in your extended collection list rather than an essential purchase.

#31 "Shut Up 'N' Play Yer Guitar" Frank Zappa

#32 "Shut Up 'N' Play Yer Guitar Some More" Frank Zappa

#33 "Return Of The Son Of Shut Up 'N' Play Yer Guitar" Frank Zappa

Three separate albums but more commonly found as a set just titled "Shut Up 'N' Play Yer Guitar". These will either be over the top and not your thing or they will become your holy grail!

After years of critics complaining about his "comedy music" Zappa released this three disc set via mail order which consists purely of guitar solos. All of the albums are mostly recorded live but there are also a couple of studio jams as well.

This isn't hours of Frank wailing on a guitar, that was never his playing style in the first place, most of the tracks here are edited from live performances of tracks such as "Inca Roads" , "Black Napkins" and "Zoot Allures" so you don't get the "song" part just the solo with Frank backed by the band. Solos are culled from across an eight year period.

If you are a fan of Franks playing and want to hear those improvised solos unencumbered of a song structure then this is a must have....if however you want songs about "Titties And Beer" then this isn't one for you!

 

#34 "You Are What You Is" Frank Zappa

Frank had now built his own home studio the Utility Muffin Research Kitchen (UMRK) and the freedom it provided shows on this predominantly studio double album.

Everything sounds very polished and natural, vocals are layered, lots of songs segue to form mini suites and there is even a guest appearance from former Mother Jimmy Carl Black (on the country pastiche "Harder Than Your Husband").

There is unusually only one instrumental in "Theme From The 3rd Movement of Sinister Footwear" in which Steve Vai plays alongside a FZ guitar solo note for note.

There's a lot of fun on this album and the suites work well even when dealing with serious or contentious subject matter especially in the trio of "The Meek Shall Inherit Nothing", "Dumb All Over" and "Heavenly Bank Account". The down side to this is that sometimes the tracks segue too quickly before being properly explored.

It's accessible, the songs are great, the band is great, what's not to love? Definitely one you need, not maybe in the first tier of purchases but probably the second

#35 "Ship Arriving Too Late To Save A Drowning Witch" Frank Zappa

This album will always be known for having Zappa's biggest and most unlikely hit single on it, the phenomena that is "Valley Girl". Frank's eldest child Moon Unit, who was about 15 at the time, had put a note under the studio door asking if she might be able to come in and record something one day. Sure enough one night Frank woke her and they went to record Moon's monologue about the "Valley Girls" at her school and around the area, Moon took the acetate to a radio station who were interviewing her and it was played on air....the place went nuts and the rest is history!

The rest of the album is hard to categorise, there are plenty of guitar workouts (Steve Vai was now listed as impossible guitar parts!) especially during "I Come From Nowhere" and "Drowning Witch". The latter is an absolutely supreme example of dispensing with a comedy lyric quickly before an incredibly musically complex instrumental segment takes over the remaining 10 minutes of the track. How complex was it? Put it this way even with the calibre of musicians in the Zappa band it was never played accurately live, they got close just once! A great one for fans of Franks soloing.

Opener "No Not Now" lyrically foreshadows "Truck Driver Divorce" which would appear on the "Them Or Us" album whereas the album's closer "Teen-Age Prostitute" sounds like nothing else with it's Vai guitar line and pseudo operatic vocal!

It's a relatively short album especially coming after the run of doubles but it packs in diversity and tracks that you'll want to explore again and again. It's much more than the album with "Valley Girl" on". You need it, it's not one of the essential releases but it's not far from it!

#36 "The Man From Utopia" Frank Zappa

A pretty disappointing album in many ways despite the excellent cover art! Part live and part studio, three of the live tracks ("The Radio Is Broken", "The Dangerous Kitchen" and "The Jazz Discharge Party Hats") demonstrate the meltdown style of sprechgesang vocal. While all are solid tracks with great lyrics and themes they will grate on some.

"Tink Walks Amok" is a nice instrumental featuring the bass playing of Arthur Barrow whereas the album's other instrumental "We Are Not Alone" focuses more on brass and vibes.

The more straightforward tracks just aren't widely exciting to be perfectly honest with "Cocaine Decisions" standing heads and shoulders above the rest....there would be a significant live version to be released as part of the "You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore" series but we are getting ahead of ourselves!

Sad to say this is more for the completest.

#37 "Baby Snakes" Frank Zappa

Partial soundtrack to the concert film of the same name featuring great live versions of previously released songs. It's a relatively short album (although the full soundtrack would be released by the Zappa Family as 2012's AAAFNRAA Birthday Bundle and then again on the "Halloween 1977" set) and over half of the album is devoted to tracks that featured on "Zappa In New York" only a few years previously.

"Titties 'N' Beer" is updated to reflect Franks issues with former record company Warner Brothers when in his dialogue with The Devil (Terry Bozzio) he states that he knows Hell as he has been through it after being signed to Warners for eight f**king years! The instrumental "Black Page #2" also features but maybe the albums biggest draw at the time of release was "Punky's Whips" that had been quickly removed from the release of "Zappa In New York".

The rest of the album includes "Jones Crusher", "Disco Boy", the title track and an excellent version of "Dinah Moe Hum" which is much faster than the original. It's a great album but given that you can pick up pretty similar versions on other key releases and then the full Halloween show which is worth getting instead you probably want to stream this as a short taster or fun shorter release.

#38 "The London Symphony Orchestra, Vol. I" Frank Zappa/ London Symphony Orchestra Conducted by Kent Nagano

Originally released in 1983 with Vol II following in 1987 both albums are now combined on to one release with the track listing rearranged so the ballet piece "Bob In Dacron" now leads in to it's companion piece "Sad Jane" instead of being on different volumes.....but lets talk about the original version.

Orchestral music was nothing new in the Zappa catalogue but Frank was often critical of the LSO sessions and the professionalism of it's members in respect to working with a rock musician. Then there were union regulations meaning rehearsals were near impossible financially, indeed a live performance was booked to act as a rehearsal prior to recording as it worked out to be more financially viable to do so.

What you do get with the LSO recordings is finally a much bigger orchestra with a crisp, clean sound. You have an orchestral version of "Ship Arriving Too Late's...." "Envelopes" and "Pedrow's Dowry" from "Orchestral Favorites" but the majority of "Vol. I" is taken up with the three part "Mo 'N Herb's Vacation", if you ever want to marvel at what was going on in Zappa's mind then read up on the story lines to these orchestral and ballet pieces!

Do you need it? Well, it's a good example of Frank as a composer but it's not his best orchestral release (that honour arguably goes to "The Yellow Shark" one of his final releases). So if you'r a fan or want something different then check it out but without the guitars and vocals many won't be interested!

#39 "Boulez Conducts Zappa : The Perfect Stranger" Frank Zappa / Ensemble InterContemporain / The Barking Pumpkin Digital Gratification Consort

Another classical work, with a twist! Famed conductor Pierre Boulez had commissioned Frank to compose a piece for his Ensemble InterContemporian which he did in "The Perfect Stranger". The near 13 minute title track is delivered in a much more accomplished way than the LSO had approached Franks compositions and the Ensemble InterContemporian also deliver fantastic interpretations of "Naval Aviation In Art?" and "Dupree's Paradise".

The rest of the album features Zappa's first Synclavier works, here dubbed The Barking Pumpkin Digital Gratification Consort, the fully programmable synthesizer that could also sample instruments ended the human fallibility meaning Frank could realise his more complex and challenging works. Of particular note are "Outside Now Again" that was built up around Steve Vai's transcription of the "Joe's Garage" track but played at a slower tempo and the haunting "Jonestown".

Zappa would return to the synclavier multiple times and the sound won't be to everyone's taste. "The Perfect Stranger" is an interesting work, not an essential one to have but it's worth exploring.

Fun fact: This is the first of three albums that would feature Patricia the dog on the cover as painted by artist Donald Roller WIlson.

 

#40 "Them Or Us" Frank Zappa

This is where I discovered Zappa, reading an article in the music press (pre-internet) I sought out the album and the rest is history! Luckily I knew someone with an older brother who had all the out of print early albums so I could quickly discover what I had been missing!)

Even allowing for the rose tinted glasses that I might have for it, it's still a great album! Starting with the doo-wop cover of "The Closer You Are" then straight in to the Johnny "Guitar" Watson guest vocal of "In France" listing some less than complimentary things to be found in that country. You have humour, you have complex musicalities, groupie stories and fantastic instrumentals not to mention guita solos from both Steve Vai and a then teenage Dweezil Zappa.

We have another part of "Sinister Footwear" (the theme from the 3rd Movement had appeared on "You Are What You Is"), the typical rushed novelty lyric before a complex musical workout of "Truck Driver Divorce" and the guitar laden groupie story of "Stevie's Spanking". Fans of guitar solos are well catered for with "Marque-son's Chicken" and the title track as well as the cover version of the Allman Brothers Band's "Whippin' Post" which closes the album.

The preposterous nature of the pop/rock star is also documented on "Be In My Video" which takes a fairly obvious swing or two at David Bowie amongst others. Furthermore Zappa can be seen wearing just one glove on the rear cover as per numerous stars of the day (most memorably Michael Jackson) except Frank chose an oven glove instead of sequins!

Fun fact - this is the second album cover to feature Patricia the dog as painted by artist Donald Roller Wilson.

An essential album in my opinion!