Roxy & Elsewhere

Roxy & Elsewhere is one of Zappa’s recordings that consistently shows up at or near the top of the ubiquitous lists of favorite albums within his catalog. It’s not surprising, as this live recording qualifies as being labeled with the term “fun,” along with many other superlatives. Also not surprising, is how Rolling Stone panned the album, essentially saying it was a recording for fans only.

Zappa was always known for mixing studio and live material together, but he didn’t often mix bands. When a live recording was released, the band lineup was, with very few exceptions, consistent for the entire recording, even if the material came from multiple nights or even multiple locations during the same tour. But Roxy not only includes material from different nights, but from different tours that had different band members: hence the “Roxy” tour and the “Elsewhere” tour.


There’s not a lot of difference in the two lineups. For example, Ruth Underwood is in the Roxy band, but absent from Elsewhere. While Ralph Humphrey and Chester Thompson command the drums for Roxy, Thompson is banging the skins solo for Elsewhere. Don Preston shows up for Elsewhere, but the Roxy band performs sans Preston. And as far as what material on the release comes from where, it’s not an equitable division, as all but three tracks come from the Roxy show. Interestingly, those three tracks, “Dummy Up,” “Son of Orange County,” and “More Trouble Everyday,” that came from the other show are the only tracks that weren’t overdubbed during post production.

When compared against Zappa’s “live” recordings up until the Roxy release (I have to put quotations around the descriptor “live” because almost every studio album included live material), Roxy is by far the best for so many reasons. But some key elements that make Roxy superior to anything live Zappa had previously released are the sound and recording quality. When you combine that with the brilliantly performed material, some of Zappa’s most complex, the result is a truly outstanding album.


Yes, Zappa had recorded live some very complex material in the past. But there’s no doubt that with the quality of Roxy’s recording, it all just sounds so much better than any of the Flo and Eddie recordings like “Fillmore East,” or “Just Another Band from L.A.”, or even the live tracks within such classics as “Burnt Weeny Sandwich,” or “Weasels.”

I will refer you to the excellent exposition explaining the album’s material, found in the posting for the album at Kill Ugly Radio. In reading this, you will note the thematic focus on Roxy is predominantly about drug use. Zappa always made fun of stoners, but starting with Roxy, his material takes on this theme with increasing frequency and with increasing heat. Not only did drug use distort a user’s perception of reality, it also turned the user, in Zappa’s mind, into a feeble-minded automaton that allowed corrupt officials to hijack the country’s constitutional values to stuff their pockets. Drug use also caused problems with his bands, rendering musicians incapable of playing his music the way he wanted it to be played. And there were also the rapacious record executives who did what they could to rip off musicians so they could feed their own cocaine habits (later expounded upon with “Cocaine Decisions”).


And if you’re interested in some excellent musical analysis of Roxy, then you ought to check out this site, which I’ve linked to in previous posts on occasion as well.

As accomplished as this band lineup was for Roxy, you should hear them on Vol. 2 of “You Can’t Do That on Stage Anymore,” which presents a full concert of the Roxy group, but after they’ve been playing together long enough that they blister through some of the songs at an even faster pace than they did on the Roxy release.

I rate this 4.5 out of 5 stars. Add your own rating below.



Released: Sept. 10, 1974, DiscReet Records

Track listing:

LP
Side One

Preamble (1:24)
Penguin In Bondage (5:24)
Pygmy Twylyte (3:22)
Dummy Up (5:03)

Side Two

Preamble (0:54)
Village Of The Sun (3:24)
Echidna’s Arf (Of You) (3:54)
Don’t You Ever Wash That Thing? (9:47)

Side Three

Preamble (2:10)
Cheepnis (4:22)
Son Of Orange County (5:55)
More Trouble Every Day (6:08)

Side Four

Preamble (1:25)
Be-Bop Tango (Of The Old Jazzmen’s Church) (15:23)

CD
Penguin In Bondage (6:48)
Pygmy Twylyte (2:13)
Dummy Up (6:03)
Village Of The Sun (4:17)
Echidna’s Arf (Of You) (3:53)
Don’t You Ever Wash That Thing? (9:41)
Cheepnis (6:31)
Son Of Orange County (5:54)
More Trouble Every Day (6:01)
Be-Bop Tango (Of The Old Jazzmen’s Church) (16:41)

Personnel:

The Roxy Band:

Frank Zappa (guitar, vocals)
Napoleon Murphy Brock (tenor sax, flute, vocals)
George Duke (keyboards, vocals)
Bruce Fowler (trombone, "dancing!")
Tom Fowler (bass)
Ralph Humphrey (drums)
Jeff Simmons ("makes a guest appearance on stage")
Chester Thompson (drums)
Ruth Underwood (percussion)

The Elsewhere Band:

Frank Zappa (guitar, vocals)
Napoleon Murphy Brock (tenor sax, flute, vocals)
George Duke (keyboards, vocals)
Bruce Fowler (trombone, "dancing!")
Tom Fowler (bass)
Walt Fowler (trumpet)
Don Preston (synthesizer)
Jeff Simmons (rhythm guitar, vocals)
Chester Thompson (drums)

Apostrophe(')

Zappa followed “Over-nite Sensation” relatively quickly with “Apostrophe(‘),” an album that probably got the most radio play of his entire catalog. It went gold and sold more copies than the previous “Over-nite Sensation,” perhaps largely because the humor in the compositions was subtler than with previous material, as exemplified by the suite that opens the album.

Yes, suite. Despite being listed separately without any overt indication that they are connected, the first four tracks of the album are, indeed, one continuous piece. As Francois Couture explains in his review of the first song of the suite, “Don’t Eat The Yellow Snow,” in the All Music Guide, the four-song suite (the other compositions include “Nanook Rubs It,” “St. Alfonzo’s Pancake Breakfast,” and “Father O’Blivion”) was always performed in its entirety whenever the group played live. Daniel Durchholz also identifies the four-song set as a suit in his review of the album in “Musichound Rock: The Essential Album Guide” published in 1996 and excerpted here.

I find interesting the hyperbole used to describe the album when it was released, particularly the Rolling Stone review by Gordon Fletcher published in the June 6, 1974, issue. “Songs like ‘Stink-Foot’ and ‘St. Alfonzo’s Pancake Breakfast’ again attest to Zappa’s abilities at contorting song forms to serve his distorted purposes: They’re a welcome reminder that comic lunacy is still alive and well.” The high praise the album received was, over time, gradually perceived with scorn by Zappaphiles, who again rejected the commercial success of the recording. Also, over time, the reviews of the album became more realistic in their assessment as the recording became compared with the rest of Zappa’s catalogue. The reviews that can be found in Prog Archives.com show the wide variety of praise it received, from wildly positive to more muted respect.

Something unique with this album is the title track, “Apostrophe’.” This instrumental jam is both powerful in its performance and significant in the fact that the personnel involved were non-Mothers. This ad-hoc group of players included former Cream bassist Jack Bruce along with drummer Jim Gordon. One individual that does show up on other recordings with Zappa was rhythm guitarist Tony Duran. The song has an intense fuzz bass solo by Bruce that sears its way into your brain, leaving you in bewilderment. Contrasted with Zappa’s amazingly clean guitar work, the song leaves an indelible impression on the listener: its style is unique from anything else Zappa composed. And as far as I can tell, the recording found on this album is the only example of it you can find. Unless someone can provide some evidence to the contrary, I don’t think Zappa ever performed the song live. These facts lend meaning to the song’s title.



But there’s more to the story too. According to the Wikipedia entry on the album, while the collaboration may have been serendipitous, the experience was not mutually satisfying for either Zappa or Bruce. In fact, Bruce appears to deny he played the bass part on the track, despite him receiving credit on the album liner notes.

When we examine the definition of apostrophe – which includes the use as an indication of the omission of letters – the song of the same title can take on some explanation. It is a song that when placed within the context of the rest of the album shows a clear omission of both personnel normally associated with Zappa as well as a diversion from the album’s overall feel.

The song “Apostrophe’” is one of my all-time Zappa favorites. Another favorite on this album include “Uncle Remus,” a really beautiful bluesy ballad with George Duke’s extraordinary piano work. While “Cosmik Debris” is not considered officially part of the “Yellow Snow” suite, it does act as a thematic close to pieces composing the suite. It became a concert favorite on subsequent tours. “Stink-Foot,” however, despite its radio play and popularity, is to me the weakest composition on the album. Weakness, though, is relative.

I rate this recording with five out of five stars. Add your own rating below.


Album release date: April 22, 1974, DiscReet Records.

Track listings:

“Don’t Eat the Yellow Snow" – 2:07
“Nanook Rubs It” – 4:38
“St. Alfonzo’s Pancake Breakfast” – 1:50
“Father O’Blivion” – 2:18
“Cosmik Debris” – 4:14
“Excentrifugal Forz” – 1:33
“Apostrophe'” – 5:50
“Uncle Remus” – 2:44
“Stink-Foot” – 6:33

Personnel:

Frank Zappa – vocals, guitar, bass, bouzouki
Lynn – vocals, backing vocals
Kerry McNabb – backing vocals, engineer, remixing
Ian Underwood – saxophone
Ruth Underwood – percussion
Sal Marquez – trumpet
Sue Glover – backing vocals
Jim Gordon – drums
Aynsley Dunbar – drums
Tom Fowler – bass guitar
Napoleon Murphy Brock – saxophone, backing vocals
Robert “Frog” Camarena – vocals, backing vocals
Ruben Ladron de Guevara – vocals, backing vocals
Debbie – vocals, backing vocals
Tony Duran – rhythm guitar
Erroneous – bass guitar
Johnny Guerin – drums
Don “Sugarcane” Harris – violin
Ralph Humphrey – drums
Bob Ludwig – Technician
Jack Bruce – bass on “Apostrophe’” (see controversy presented above)
George Duke – keyboards, backing vocals
Bruce Fowler – trombone
Jean-Luc Ponty – violin
Cal Schenkel – artwork, graphic design
Barry Keene – engineer
Ferenc Dobronyl – cover design
Paul Hof – technician
Oscar Kergaives – technician
Brian Krokus – technician
Mark Aalyson – photography
Bob Stone – transfers, digital remastering
Steve Desper – engineer
Terry Dunavan – engineer
Zach Glickman – marketing
Bob Hughes – engineer