You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore Vol 4

With the fourth installment of the “You Can’t Do That On Stage Anymore” series, Zappa returns with a song lineup from a variety of shows covering many different periods of time. And while many individual songs include parts from different performances mixed together, there are several songs that were not mixed that way, presenting an unedited version of a song from a single show. That can be a rarity with Zappa recordings.

As mentioned, Vol. 4 lacks a specific theme or show for focus, covering instead a wide array of eras and bands in much the same way Vol. 1 did. There are a few gems on this release that are special not so much because of their performances, but because they show up at all.

The first track, “Little Rubber Girl,” typifies how many of Zappa’s live songs were put together for release. The intro portion of the song comes from a 1984 show at the Bismark Theater in Chicago, while the main song is taken from the 1978 Halloween show at the Palladium in New York City. If you hear something familiar in this song, it’s because it contains a quote from “Go Cry On Somebody Else’s Shoulder,” from the debut album “Freak Out!”

The next three songs are single edits: “Stick Together” is from the Dec. 18, 1984 show at the Queen Elizabeth Theater in Vancouver, and both “My Guitar Wants to Kill Your Mama” and “Willie the Pimp” are from the Dec. 23, 1984 show at the Universal Amphitheater at Universal City, Calif. This performance of “MGWTKYM” is very tight and includes an intense, albeit very brief, guitar solo.

One of the intriguing items on this release is track 7, “The Evil Prince,” a song from Zappa’s ill-fated attempt at a Broadway show, “Thing-Fish.” This version is pieced together from two performances with the main portions of the song coming from the 1984 Vancouver show, and the guitar solo coming from the Sept. 24-26, 1984 shows at the Hammersmith Odeon in London. Ray White’s vocals are outstanding in this, his voice strong and clear. Zappa’s guitar solo is inspired and delicious; it’s some of his best picking.

The “Let’s Move to Cleveland Solos” include saxophonist Archie Shepp during this performance from an Oct. 28, 1984 show at the Fine Arts Center Concert Hall in Amherst, Mass. Shapp plays an inspiring solo that includes beautifully rendered melodies as well as precision squawks and squeaks that are both amazing and spot-on in terms of the composition’s structure. Allan Zavod provides the keyboard solo, an up-tempo jazz performance that I think would sound positively heavenly had it been played on a grand piano as opposed to the electronic instrument.

The interesting rarity “You Call That Music?” goes all the way back to the original Mothers of Invention as it comes from a Feb. 14, 1969 show at the McMillin Theater at Columbia University in New York City. This piece is focused on percussive instruments, something that Zappa really had an affinity for (his musical career began as a teenager playing drums).

The solos in “Pound for a Brown” are taken from the Oct. 28, 1978 show at the Palladium in New York City. Originally released on “Uncle Meat,” this song shows up frequently at Zappa shows and in many mutations (it’s one of the bonus tracks on the CD release of “Zappa in New York”). This release also has a very rare performance of “Filthy Habits,” which comes from “Sleep Dirt” and “Lather.” It is pieced together from two performances from the 1988 European leg of the ill-fated Best Band tour. Zappa’s solo on this is really filthy, and I mean that in a good way. While this sounds great on electric guitar, it’s solos like this that lead me to often wonder what Zappa’s scores would have sounded like had be become the “classical” composer that he always wanted to be.

Zappa’s relationship with Captain Beefheart was always a tortured one, but when the two high school friends clicked, they produced together some fantastic music. This “original version” of “The Torture Never Stops” from “Zoot Allures” is a prime example. Next to “Inca Roads” from “One Size Fits All,” “Torture” is one of Zappa’s most popular songs in his concert lineups, with variations of solos showing up sampled in much of his later works and releases. But this performance is really like none you’ve probably heard released anywhere else. With this May 21, 1975 performance from the Armadillo World Headquarters in Austin, Texas, we get a bluesy interpretation of the song with Captain Beefheart’s guttural voice and shrieks set to a hand-clapping rhythm. Classic stuff. If you were in Austin to see that show, you witnessed something special and rare.

On Disc Two, we get a crazy performance of “Stevie’s Spanking,” which is pieced together from three European performances in 1982. Steve Vai kicks off the first solo with some maniacal shredding, with Frank following up with the second (Zappa’s solo begins at 4:41 into the song). Then at about 7:27 the two of them start shredding together, creating a sonic wall of guitar power. There’s only one other dueling guitar solo that comes close to this explosion of controlled distortion, and that is the solo during “Oh Jim” on the “Lou Reed Live” release.

We get another great solo from Frank in the next song, “Outside Now,” which comes from “Joe’s Garage.” What makes this track particularly nice is that it is taken from a single show at the Tower Theater in Upper Darby, Pa., from Nov. 10, 1984. The later track “Florentine Pogen,” a complex but very cool piece, is interestingly not only pieced together from different performances, but different bands as well: a 1974 performance in Helsinki and a 1979 show from the Hammersmith Odeon in London.

This is followed by three arcane bits that ought to please any Zappaphile. The first, “Tiny Sick Tears,” is based on the pop song “96 Tears” by ? And The Mysterians and includes a reference to Jim Morrison and The Doors’ song “The End.” What I find very interesting about this song is the way Frank describes mundane activities by using terms that reflect the described action as it really is. There are references in some biographical works that Zappa dabbled with Buddhism for a bit, and evidence of this periodically turns up in his work. The way the lyrics describe going to the kitchen and getting a raisin cookie and putting it in “your eating hole” might sound a bit stupid initially, but these concrete description of everyday activity is really quite brilliant in my view. As Zappa says on the track, “Some people would say it’s bullshit, but we love it, don’t we kids?”

And then there’s “Smell My Beard,” from a 1974 show at the Capitol Theater in Passaic, N.J. This is a sort-of quasi-spoken word bit accompanied by George Duke’s wild keyboards emitting a variety of somewhat cosmic-like sounds. This “story” leads into the next track from the same gig, “The Booger Man.” What’s a Zappa show without a bit of puerile humor?

Doo-wop fans are treated with this CD as well, with the second disc closing with a medley of this genre.

There’s a lot of good material on this release, something for just about every Zappa fan, with a smattering of nearly every major lineup. Realistically, anyone interested in Zappa could simply collect the YCDTOSA series and have a respectable representation of Zappa’s material from throughout his career.

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




Release date: June 14, 1991 on Rykodisc

Track listings

Disc One

1. Little Rubber Girl - 2:57
2. Stick Together - 2:05
3. My Guitar Wants To Kill Your Mama - 3:20
4. Willie The Pimp - 2:06
5. Montana - 5:48
6. Brown Moses - 2:38
7. The Evil Prince - 7:12
8. Approximate - 1:49
9. Love Of My Life (Mudd Club Version) - 1:59
10. Let’s Move To Cleveland Solos (1984) - 7:10
11. You Call That Music? - 4:07
12. Pound For A Brown - Solos (1978) - 6:30
13. The Black Page (1984) - 5:15
14. Take Me Out To The Ball Game - 3:01
15. Filthy Habits - 5:40
16. The Torture Never Stops (Original Version) - 9:16

Disc Two

1. Church Chat - 2:00
2. Stevie’s Spanking - 10:51
3. Outside Now - 6:09
4. Disco Boy - 3:00
5. Teen-age Wind - 1:54
6. Truck Driver Divorce - 4:47
7. Florentine Pogen - 5:10
8. Tiny Sick Tears - 4:30
9. Smell My Beard - 4:31
10. The Booger Man - 2:46
11. Carolina Hard-Core Ecstasy - 6:28
12. Are You Upset? - 1:30
13. Little Girl Of Mine - 1:41
14. The Closer You Are - 2:05
15. Johnny Darling - 0:52
16. No, No Cherry - 1:26
17. The Man From Utopia 1:15
18. Mary Lou - 2:16

Halloween 1978 The Palladium NYC

In 1978, Zappa played the Palladium in New York City for six shows: one on Halloween, two each on Oct. 27 and 28, and one on Oct. 29. As mentioned in my post on the official “Halloween” audio DVD release, Zappa recorded all these shows, leaving behind a ton of taped material. This boot from the Halloween night show is what should have been re-mastered and officially released. Why a cut-and-paste release of various songs from these shows was put together is beyond me. And added to my dismay is the fact that the official recording was released on an audio DVD, severely limiting how folks can play it. I don’t have a home theater to play it on and it won’t play in my CD changer or in my car stereo, so I had to download someone else’s rip so I could listen to it in my car. The official release sits on my CD shelf as a testament of how I occasionally waste my money.

But when you listen to the 1978 Halloween show in its entirety, it’s like WTF! Why wasn’t this put together into a three or four CD release? It is freaking outstanding, one of the most amazing concert recordings I’ve heard!

How amazing? This concert had some serious head-banging heavy metal guitar solos that stimulate your entire body with scintillating current; you will hear the magical musicianship of the band as it displays complete mastery of some of Zappa’s most difficult material; you will be awed by Denny Walley’s super sweet and melodious slide guitar delivered with a Delta blues fingerprint so implacable and delicious that it’s like a savory sweet potato pie; and the interplay between L. Shankar’s electric violin and Zappa’s guitar approaches the mystical.

And you’ll also hear Zappa just being himself as he includes some of his famous audience participation.

Granted, this recording is a bit rough due to the fact that it is a bootleg, but the material is so incredibly awesome that it really doesn’t matter. The only portion of the recording that is so rough that the final maniacal interplay between Shankar and Zappa is almost lost is at the very end. That part of the show was re-mastered and released on the official “Halloween” recording.

This was a very long show, as you can see by the track listing, so I’m only going to touch on some of what I consider to be the highlights.

Frank shreds on the fourth track, “Easy Meat,” which was also on the “Halloween” recording, except that the performance on that release came from the second show on Oct. 27. I really like the rhythmic and melodic progression of the solo as well as Vinnie Colaiuta’s aggressive drumming.

The band is incredibly tight on “Keep it Greasy,” and Frank’s vocals on “The Meek Shall Inherit Nothing” are really good, his singing effortless. And you can hear Denny Walley warming up the slide in preparation for the next song.

“City of Tiny Lights” always gives me the shivers, and this performance delivers. Walley’s slide guitar is electrifying, his solo brings a flavor of Texas and Delta blues while still retaining that cosmic aura of floating chaotically above the twinkling lights of Los Angeles. Frank picks up on the shred to continue the guitar part while Walley’s guitar hums menacingly in the background. The two of them finish off with a note-for-note pairing of the song’s theme.

The band is fantastic during “Pound for a Brown,” a demanding piece. Ed Mann’s percussion is brilliant and the bass playing by both Arthur Barrow and Patrick O’Hearn is flawless. But it’s Mann’s vibraphone playing that stars.

L. Shankar is introduced for the next song, “Thirteen.” This is beautiful stuff. Shankar starts low, but gradually works his way up the musical scale. You begin to notice something rhythmically going on, you’re not quite sure what it is, but Vinnie Colaiuta’s drumming keeps you safe. Because when Shankar begins to unload and let it rip on that violin, it leaves me stunned every time. When Zappa begins to play, the rhythm becomes so complex that there isn’t anyone else playing except for Colaiuta. The bass begins to rejoin as Zappa goes deep into the register to haul out a solo as if from the depths of oblivion. Then Frank, I believe, becomes possessed, his playing so inspired and amazing that I am in eternal regret that I never saw this performance. Shankar comes back, his playing bordering on the outside, giving Frank’s extended feedback an aural texture that becomes transcendent; Zappa takes it another step leaving you in the cosmos, but Shankar is right there as he becomes like a chaotic comet zipping about following no course, bouncing between quasars and super novas.


Both Shankar and Zappa bring the crowd back to earth, slowly bringing them back as the band joins back in for a crescendo that makes me cry. Why this was not included on the official release stupefies me. It is 17 minutes of outstanding music.

The infamous Warren Cucurullo is introduced in this show as well, as he comes up on stage to tell a pretty interesting story of becoming infatuated with a woman who he later finds out, is someone compromising manner, is a transvestite.

Frank pays homage to doo-wop with “Go Cry On Somebody Else’s Shoulder,” and delivers very nicely on the vocals. It’s really ironic in that Zappa did so many covers of doo-wop and R&B tunes that could be construed as satirical, as well as wrote many of his own, but the man had a deep love for this music. Check out the backing vocals on this, as they transition the song into “Little Rubber Girl,” which again is used as a transition into the “Idiot Bastard Son,” which is actually a waltz.

L. Shankar returns for more violin playing on “Conehead,” who, as Zappa says at his re-introduction, “give(s) them the works.” The band provides a really cool groove in the background for this as well. Good Zappa guitar solo too with some lovely feedback.

Disc 3 has a lot of treats on it, including “Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance” sans vocals (L. Shankar again on this, putting his interpretation of surf music on this), a decent performance of “Peaches En Regalia,” and “Strictly Genteel.” I really like “Sofa” on this, and “Magic Fingers” is decent as well. The standout, however, in this section of the show is “Packard Goose,” a song filled with time changes and one not often played, but which contains Zappa’s famous progression quote about “Music is the best!” This is followed by Shankar and Zappa trading riffs that rip the top of your head off. It’s probably the most impressive and synergistic part of the show.

Disc 4 begins with the “Yellow Snow Suite,” presented in its entirety as it was always performed. It was a serious blunder, in my opinion, that on “Halloween” only “Don’t Eat The Yellow Snow” was included.

As I mentioned earlier, the last part of this bootleg probably has the worst noise, which interferes significantly with one’s auditory pleasure while listening to “The Black Napkins” and “Deathless Horsie.” However, the recording was cleaned up and used on “Halloween.”

A note: There was no artwork with this boot, so I scanned some of the cover art from “Halloween” and used that.

I rate this 4.5 stars out of five despite the somewhat substandard audio. Add your own rating below.




Disc 1
1 Ancient Armaments
2 Intro
3 Dancin’ Fool
4 Easy Meat
5 Honey Don’t You Want A Man Like Me?
6 Keep It Greasy
7 The Meek Shall Inherit Nothing
8 City Of Tiny Lights
9 Pound For A Brown
10 Thirteen

Disc 2
11 Ms. X
12 Nancy’s Life Story
13 Dinah-Moe Humm
14 Go Cry On Somebody Else’s Shoulder
15 Little Rubber Girl
16 Idiot Bastard Son
17 Bobby Brown
18 Conehead
19 Suicide Chump
20 Little House I Used To Live In
21 Watermelon In Easter Hay

Disc 3
22 Preamble
23 Stink Foot
24 Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance
25 Peaches En Regalia
26 Strictly Genteel
27 Sofa
28 Packard Goose
29 Magic Fingers

Disc 4
30 Don’t Eat the Yellow Snow
31 Nanook Rubs It
32 St. Alphonso’s Pancake Breakfast
33 Father O’Blivion
34 Rollo
35 Camarillo Brillo
36 Muffin Man
37 Black Napkins
38 The Deathless Horsie

Frank Zappa – guitar, vocals
Patrick O’Hearn – bass
Arthur Barrow – bass
Denny Walley – slide guitar, vocals
Vinnie Colaiuta – drums
Ed Mann – percussion
Tommy Mars – keyboards
Peter Wolf – keyboards

Guests:
L. Shankar - electric violin
Warren Cucurullo - monologue
Nancy - monologue

With L. Shankar on tracks 10, 18, 20-21, 24, 28, and 38.

Trick or Treat, London 1968

Despite this bootleg’s title (it was also released by Rhino in 1991) and the overtly Halloweenish cover art, this is not a true Halloween performance, as the live tracks are from the Oct. 25, 1968, show at the Royal Festival Hall in London. And the first half of this boot includes studio tracks that were all officially released, except for Track 3, “Lonely Little Girl.”

According to the notes that come with this:

“From Biffy the Elephant Shrew:

“No, the Trick or Treat cut is not really the single version, except for the last line (where you'll note that it does switch to mono). The single consists of the first verse of ‘Lonely Little Girl’, in mono, with a different ending (like on the Trick or Treat boot), followed by the celesta tinkle and cough. This cuts to ‘Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance’ in its entirety (indeed, the single is more about ‘Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance’ than it is ‘Lonely Little Girl’), make a musique concrete noise here, and finally a sax-led shuffle riff that repeats and fades. This sax passage appears nowhere else in the Zappa oeuvre. [This sax riff is also at the end of side one of the Trick or Treat boot - JWB.]

“This riff is known in the trade as the ‘Bunk Gardner riff’. From Johan Lif:

“During the fade-out of the rare single version of ‘Lonely Little Girl’, there is a repeated brass riff, believed to have been added by Bunk Gardner during the ‘Big Leg Emma’ sessions after Zappa had left the studio [see Chevalier, pp. 224-5]. This riff has now been identified as a copy of the opening bass riff from ‘What’s So Good About Goodbye’ with Smokey Robinson & the Miracles.”

I dunno. (Read the comments to this post. Someone fesses up!)

Things kick off with a hard-driving “Why Don’tcha Do Me Right?” Nice guitar solo, although brief, in this song that reveals the strong blues roots that have influenced Zappa’s playing. In fact, Zappa admits in his autobiography that in learning to play the guitar, all he learned were blues riffs. From that comes his distinct style of playing.

Although released with a re-release of “Absolutely Free,” I had always preferred the version of “Big Leg Emma” released with “Zappa in New York.”

“Lonely Little Girl” comes from “We’re Only In It For The Money,” launched with Eric Clapton announcing “I see God, I see God,” finished with some snorks before heading into “Dog Breath,” which appears on “Uncle Meat.” However, this version is primarily instrumental, heavy on Ian Underwood’s saxophone.


Next up is “My Guitar Wants to Kill Your Mama,” which first appeared on “Weasels Ripped My Flesh.” However, this stripped down version is very cool. I like the “Weasels” cut, but this one is so spare that it’s delicious.

The next cut is taken from the “Fillmore East” album with Flo & Eddie singing “Tears Begin to Fall.” This is followed by the “Junier Mintz Boogie.” This appears to be a live recording, probably circa the Flo & Eddie tours, with Frank jamming away on his guitar. It is sizzling. This solo is a precious moment captured in time, the reason why I like bootlegs. Christ almighty, Frank is killing that guitar, it is so divine.

The London live stuff comes next, with a performance of “Uncle Meat” unlike anything you’ve probably heard, unless you’ve been lucky enough to see Zappa play live during this era. He brings the song down to “one note at a time,” giving the song a completely different interpretation from the official release. This is a character trait of Zappa’s, that even when he plays consecutive shows that include the same songs, they will not be performed the same way in each show. So when we come to the live performance of “Son of Prelude to the Afternoon of a Sexually Aroused Gas Mask,” it’s similar enough to the performance on “Weasels,” but is different in its own right.

No Zappa performance would be complete without a doo-wop number, and “In the Sky” delivers on this genre. The sides closes with an instrumental medley. Zappa pulls off several nice solos when the band switches into “The Orange County Lumber Truck,” then blends into one of my all time favorite Zappa numbers, “King Kong.” This is rock-n-roll. It’s avant-garde too. Aw, what the hell, it’s freaking great!

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






PREVIOUS PLASTIC:

1. Why Don’tcha Do Me Right? [listed as “Why Don't You Do Me Right”]
2. Big Leg Emma
3. Lonely Little Girl
4. Dog Breath
5. My Guitar [Wants to Kill Your Mama]
6. Tears Began to Fall
7. Junier Mintz Boogie

TREAT SIDE:

8. Uncle Meat (One Not[e] at a Time)
9. Son of Prelude to the Afternoon of a Sexually Aroused Gas Mask
10. Oh, in the Sky [listed as “In the Sky”]
11. The Big Medley [“Let's Make the Water Turn Black / Harry, You're a Beast / Oh No / The Orange County Lumber Truck / King Kong” - largely officially released on Ahead of Their Time]

The Man From Utopia

“Cold and digital” is a common phrase used to describe Zappa’s production during the mid-1980s. Repetitive is one that comes to mind as well. And mechanical, as it seems that Frank would develop a musical or recording technique during this time and then clone that development for unimaginative re-use.

As an example, consider “I Come From Nowhere,” which was released on “Ship Arriving Too Late to Save a Drowning Witch.” The unusual timbre that Zappa used for the vocals in this song, while odd, provided a point of interest against the incredibly strong guitar riff driving the melody. But then this same vocalization technique shows up on “The Radio is Broken,” from “The Man From Utopia.” Boring.

And yet, this very disappointing recording starts off quite strong, beguiling the listener with the first three tracks (on the CD release) that this might actually be something nearing the compositional quality of “You Are What You Is.” The letdown, however, is substantial (it occurs more quickly on the vinyl release).

Following the order from the CD release, “The Man From Utopia” opens with “Cocaine Decisions,” a simple song with a nice harmonica part by Craig “Twister” Steward that punctuates the folksy rhythm and presentation. Zappa always had time with his material to ridicule drug use and users, but with this song, he reveals his personal animus toward cocaine. He saw the ripple effects of cocaine use not only in the music industry, but everywhere, from hypocritical politicians to doctors and lawyers. The musical interlude in between the repeated bridge has some delightful keyboards, I am presuming by Tommy Mars.

Next comes “SEX,” which starts with a strong, in-your-face rhythm, coupled with a lighter bridge finished off with what the “sniffer says.” Hmmm, lot going on in this song.


Arthur “Tink” Barrow shines on the next song, the instrumental “Tink Walks Amok.” This fantastic polyrhythmic tune with multiple bass lines, all provided by Barrow, is very cool. Listening to this I’m beginning to think that this CD has got a good groove going on. But ACK! Along comes “The Radio Is Broken.” Shit.

Lyrically, Zappa is lampooning the cheesy story lines from TV science fiction programming and SciFi movies. But the sing-speak delivery is just plain annoying. About the only redeeming quality the song has are the brief interludes of spastic guitar and drums. Things improve with “We Are Not Alone.” I really like the baritone sax in this by Bobby Martin. And musically, the song is so much more interesting than the nonsense in “The Radio is Broken.”

The first time I heard “The Dangerous Kitchen” was at the live show I saw in Tucson. I liked it then, and I enjoy the song now. Having said that, it would be even more enjoyable if the sing-speak delivery technique was limited to this song, and not used so frequently with other songs. Nothing more annoying than Zappa slipping into this sing-speak during live performances of songs like “The Torture Never Stops.”

Things pick up with “The Man From Utopia Meets Mary Lou,” and then really get going with the reggae-style “Stick Together.” This is a very cool song, from the impeccable rhythm section to the backing vocal harmonies that bring a spiritual quality to the song.


The sing-speak delivery that I hate so much returns with “The Jazz Discharge Party Hats,” which strikes me as laziness on Zappa’s part. The story is interesting enough in its own right, so why not just tell it? Or write a real song about it?

Frank returns to his doo-wop roots with “Luigi & The Wise Guys,” an a cappella song complete with falsetto harmonizing and snapping fingers, along with completely stupid lyrics.

The CD finishes with “Moggio”, a welcome respite from some of the other items on the release that were passed off as music. It features superb vibraphone playing by Ed Mann, and concludes with Zappa’s trademarked snorks.

All in all, I find this to be a mediocre release. In fact, I’d like to see it repackaged, taking the better items on this release and putting them together with the better songs from “Sleep Dirt.” Then I think you might have something there.

I rate this three of five stars. Add your own rating below.





Released March, 1983, Barking Pumpkin Records.

Track listing

LP release:

Side One
1. Cocaine Decisions (2:56)
2. The Dangerous Kitchen (2:51)
3. Tink Walks Amok (3:40)
4. The Radio Is Broken (5:52)
5. Mõggio (3:05)

Side Two
1. The Man From Utopia Meets Mary Lou (Medley) (3:19)
2. Stick Together (3:50)
3. SEX (3:00)
4. The Jazz Discharge Party Hats (4:30)
5. We Are Not Alone (3:31)

CD release:

1. Cocaine Decisions (3:54)
2. SEX (3:43)
3. Tink Walks Amok (3:39)
4. The Radio Is Broken (5:51)
5. We Are Not Alone (3:18)
6. The Dangerous Kitchen (2:51)
7. The Man From Utopia Meets Mary Lou (Medley) (3:22)
8. Stick Together (3:14)
9. The Jazz Discharge Party Hats (4:29)
10. Luigi & The Wise Guys (3:25)
11. Moggio (2:36)

Personnel:

Frank Zappa (guitar, vocals, ARP 2600, Linn Drum Machine)
Steve Vai ('impossible' guitar parts on strat and acoustic)
Ray White (guitar, vocals)
Roy Estrada (pachuco falsettos etc)
Bob Harris (boy soprano)
Ike Willis (bionic baritone)
Bobby Martin (keyboards, sax, vocals)
Tommy Mars (keyboards)
Arthur Barrow (keyboards, bass, micro-bass, rhythm guitar)
Ed Mann (percussion)
Scott Thunes (bass)
Chad Wackerman (drums)
Vinnie Colaiuta (drums on "The Dangerous Kitchen")
Dick Fegy (mandolin)
Marty Krystall (sax)
Craig “Twister” Steward (harmonica)

Tinseltown Rebellion

There are several Zappa albums that upon first listen, I was not sure what I thought. For example, with “200 Motels,” I liked the comedic aspect, but was very ambivalent about its musical quality. Then again, at the time I was only 14. Over the years, however, I have grown to really appreciate this soundtrack. And there are also the albums that on first listen, I knew right away that I loved; releases like “Weasels Ripped My Flesh,” “One Size Fits All,” or “Burnt Weeny Sandwich.”

When I heard a mediocre album, I knew right away it was a mediocre album; “Sleep Dirt” comes to mind in this category, although there are others.

And then there are a few that when I first listened, I thought the album was good and played it often; but over time, I have listened to some albums less and less because I come to categorize them as only fair or mediocre. “Tinseltown Rebellion” falls into this category.

When I first bought this double album in 1981, Zappa played a show at Main Auditorium at the University of Arizona campus in Tucson, where I lived. I went to the second show and my recollection is that it was a great show. This set list, however, appears to exclude “The Dangerous Kitchen” and I am virtually positive he performed that. Which means that maybe I attended the Oct. 10, 1980 second show rather than the 1981 show. The site also indicates a bootleg exists of both the early and second show from 1981, but I have not found either. I know the show I attended included a brief interruption because someone allegedly broke into the tour bus and stole a gun. It occurred right in the middle of one of Zappa’s solos.

I bought a T-shirt at this show also, a canary yellow shirt that had the Barking Pumpikin logo on it. If you recall, that logo has a screeching cat hissing at a pumpkin. Out of the cat’s mouth is a balloon with Chinese characters. I had no idea what the characters said. Then, one day, I was wearing the shirt on a trip from Tucson to Puerto Penasco in Mexico to buy shrimp. A Chinese girl was on the trip with us, and she looked at my shirt and busted out laughing. I said, “Oh my god, you can tell me what it says on the shirt!” And she translated the Chinese characters as saying, “God is shit.”


Anyway, the band Zappa toured with for “Tinseltown” in 1978-80 was similar to the band I saw in Tucson. The double-album “Tinseltown” had a similar set list to the show I attended, and it got lots of play in my home.

Other than the first track “Fine Girl,” which is strictly a studio recording, and the second track “Easy Meat,” which has some studio overdubs, the rest of “Tinseltown Rebellion” is pure live taken from five different shows. And it was the third track, “Love of My Life,” that really hooked me initially on this album. The falsetto vocals are so delicious.

But nowadays, the version of “I Ain’t Got No Heart,” and the segue of “Panty Rap” just don’t entertain me much. I feel a bit reprieved by “Now You See It – Now You Don’t,” but again, “Dance Contest” doesn’t enthuse me as much as it did when I first bought the album. And “The Blue Light” has lost its appeal as well. And then there’s the title track.

This song has always annoyed me, even when I first bought the album. Ostensibly, the song is supposed to be about punk bands, but it’s just a vehicle for Zappa to attack the record companies with which he was always embattled. I knew he had troubles with the record companies, and the reps’ style of business did make them pricks. But do you have to sing about it Frank? Why do I have to listen to your troubles with record company executives? That’s not musical: it’s just Frank Zappa bitching.

I feel a bit better with “Pick Me, I’m Clean,” which is really quite funny. And with “Bamboozled By Love,” we get a delicious heavy, funky tune that has some decent guitar licks. And the double-album closes out with “Brown Shoes Don’t Make It,” which has always been one of my favorite songs, followed with “Peaches III.”

It’s worth pointing out that this album marks the album debut of Steve Vai.

So in general, “Tinseltown” is just an OK album for me now, although I admit that when I first bought it, I played it to death.

I rate this album three out of five stars. Add your own rating below.



Released May 7, 1981, Barking Pumpkin Records.

Album release:

Side One
1. Fine Girl (3:30)
2. Easy Meat (9:17)
3. For The Young Sophisticate (3:13)

Side Two
1. Love Of My Life (2:15)
2. I Ain't Got No Heart (2:00)
3. Panty Rap (4:36)
4. Tell Me You Love Me (2:06)
5. Now You See It - Now You Don't (5:03)

Side Three
1. Dance Contest (3:01)
2. The Blue Light (5:26)
3. Tinsel Town Rebellion (4:36)
4. Pick Me, I'm Clean (5:37)

Side Four
1. Bamboozled By Love (5:46)
2. Brown Shoes Don't Make It (7:14)
3. Peaches III (4:56)

CD release:

1. Fine Girl (3:31)
2. Easy Meat (9:19)
3. For The Young Sophisticate (2:49)
4. Love Of My Life (2:15)
5. I Ain't Got No Heart (1:59)
6. Panty Rap (4:36)
7. Tell Me You Love Me (2:07)
8. Now You See It - Now You Don't (4:45)
9. Dance Contest (2:59)
10. The Blue Light (5:27)
11. Tinsel Town Rebellion (4:36)
12. Pick Me, I'm Clean (5:08)
13. Bamboozled By Love (5:47)
14. Brown Shoes Don't Make It (7:15)
15. Peaches III (5:03)

Personnel:

Frank Zappa (lead guitar, vocals)
Ike Willis (rhythm guitar, vocals)
Ray White (rhythm guitar, vocals)
Steve Vai (rhythm guitar, vocals)
Warren Cuccurullo (rhythm guitar, vocals)
Denny Walley (slide guitar, vocals)
Tommy Mars (keyboards, vocals)
Peter Wolf (keyboards)
Bob Harris (keyboards, trumpet, vocals)
Ed Mann (percussion)
Arthur Barrow (bass, vocals)
Patrick O'Hearn (bass on Dance Contest only)
Vinnie Colaiuta (drums)
David Logeman (drums on Fine Girl and Easy Meat)
Creg Cowan (voice)

Cruising with Ruben and the Jets

It’s no secret that Frank Zappa was a fan of doo-wop. Almost every album has at the least one song dedicated to this genre. Early in his career, Zappa dedicated an entire album to this musical style, the LP that came to be known as “Cruising with Ruben and the Jets.”

I resisted for years buying this album. While I have enjoyed Frank’s occasional forays into this 1950’s musical take on rock and rhythm and blues, I had significant doubts about dedicating an entire album to the over-the-top crooning and love hyperbole that Zappa’s take on the music would include. But if I really wanted to consider myself a serious Zappa aficionado, I would need to add “Ruben” to my collection.

Oh well. I have it and I’ve listened to it once. Alright, so I listened to it again just for this post. But to say the least, it is not among my favorites. I listen to it even less than “Fillmore East.” However, because I waited so long to purchase this, I bought the CD release, which may have something to do with my dislike for this album (more later).

It’s really amazing what people will say about this recording. For example, someone wrote for the Wikipedia entry on the album that it “touched off the rock-and-roll revival movement,” giving the allusion that the album could be credited with inspiring the formation of Sha-Na-Na, and assisting with Bo Diddley’s comeback.


Yet, despite all the accolades by posters at Kill Ugly Radio, good reviews by folks like Mark Prindle, and other laudatory comments by those praising the album, “Ruben” gets just three stars in the All Music Guide and 5.38 stars out of 10 from the 42 folks who rated the recording for KUR. So it appears that people like to say they love this album, but when it’s stacked up against all of Zappa’s other releases, all that praise just turns out to be murmurs in the wind.

That’s not to say there aren’t any noteworthy points of interest contained within “Ruben.” The song “Love of My Life” became a standard during Zappa live shows, an outstanding rendition of which shows up on “Tinsel Town Rebellion.” And then with “I’m Not Satisfied,” Zappa takes doo-wop’s dolorous sound and matches with it hopeless lyrics about suicide. “Later That Night” contains a quote from “Glory of Love” by The Velvetones. “You Didn’t Try to Call Me” also became a concert staple.

But what really has a lot of Zappaphiles in a dither is the fact that Frank re-worked the original tapes in 1984 and re-released a different version from the vinyl on CD. Frank reportedly stated that all he did was re-record the bass and drum sections, but this article found on the Internet seems to dispute that assertion. And this link is to another article in which Zappa explains his reasoning for re-doing the tapes: his most significant rationale being that the original tapes had oxidized so bad that you could see through them. Take the time to read the information in the two aforementioned links; it’s worth the time.

What ever his reason for doing so, Zappa’s re-recording the “Ruben” tapes, as well as “We’re Only In It For The Money,” irked a lot of Zappa fans. It’s more evidence, in my opinion, that despite Zappa’s musical genius, his word as the final word is not always the right word. This notion that whatever he said about his music is sacrosanct is really a bit timid in my view. The bottom line is he made some bad decisions on his own, that it wasn’t always the record companies or musicians, or some other factor. Sometimes it was just him.

I rate this recording three out of five stars. Add your own rating below. By the way, don’t forget to read “The Story of Ruben and the Jets.”



Released: Dec. 2, 1968, Verve/Bizarre.

LP

Side one
"Cheap Thrills" (Zappa) - (2:20)
"Love of My Life" (Zappa) - (3:17)
"How Could I Be Such a Fool" (Zappa) - (3:33)
"Deseri" (Buff, Collins) - (2:04)
"I'm Not Satisfied" (Zappa) - (3:59)
"Jelly Roll Gum Drop" (Collins) - (2:17)
"Anything" (Collins,Zappa) - (3:00)

Side two
"Later That Night" (Zappa) - (3:04)
"You Didn't Try to Call Me" (Zappa) - (3:53)
"Fountain of Love" (Zappa) - (2:57)
"No. No. No." (Zappa) - (2:27)
"Anyway The Wind Blows" (Zappa) - (2:26)
"Stuff Up The Cracks" (Zappa) - (4:29)

CD

"Cheap Thrills" (Zappa) – 2:39
"Love of My Life" (Zappa) – 3:08
"How Could I Be Such a Fool?" (Zappa) – 3:34
"Deseri" (Buff, Collins) – 2:08
"I'm Not Satisfied" (Zappa) – 4:08
"Jelly Roll Gum Drop" (Zappa) – 2:24
"Anything" (Collins) – 3:05
"Later That Night" (Zappa) – 3:00
"You Didn't Try to Call Me" (Zappa) – 3:57
"Fountain of Love" (Collins, Zappa) – 3:22
"No. No. No." (Zappa) – 2:15
"Any Way the Wind Blows" (Zappa) – 3:01
"Stuff Up the Cracks" (Zappa) – 4:36

Personnel:

Frank Zappa – guitar, keyboards, sound effects, vocals, bass, drums
Jimmy Carl Black – guitar, percussion, drums, rhythm guitar
Ray Collins – guitar, vocals
Roy Estrada – bass, electric bass, sound effects, vocals, voices
Bunk Gardner – alto saxophone, tenor saxophone
Don Preston – bass, piano, keyboards
Jim Sherwood – guitar, vocals, wind
Euclid James "Motorhead" Sherwood – baritone saxophone, tambourine
Art Tripp – guitar, rhythm guitar
Ian Underwood – guitar, piano, keyboards, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, wind
Arthur Barrow – bass on Old Masters and compact disc versions (uncredited on CD)
Chad Wackerman – drums on Old Masters and compact disc version (uncredited on CD)
Jay Anderson - string bass on Old Masters and compact disc version (uncredited)

Uncle Meat

Whenever I think of the double-album recording “Uncle Meat,” two things immediately come to mind: the extraordinary composition “King Kong,” and the thought, “What is this monster movie garbage?”

I am perplexed by some of the praise that is heaped upon this album, but I suspect that is the result of my limited background in some of the technically arcane aspects of music composition. For example, Nick Paluzzi writing for Ground and Sky calls “Uncle Meat” a “Rosetta Stone in experimental progressive rock.” Bob Eichler, also writing for Ground and Sky, calls the recording “a cornerstone of the Zappa catalog,” an interesting metaphor because it implies that without “Uncle Meat,” Zappa’s catalog would collapse without having the benefit of the musical techniques and thematic concepts that were developed during the album’s recording. The moniker “Rosetta Stone” is also interesting because it, too, heaps a ton of responsibility on “Uncle Meat,” suggesting that one cannot properly decipher, understand or interpret any other experimental progressive rock by any other artist without first mastering an understanding of “Uncle Meat.”


That just sounds like an awful lot of misplaced hyperbole to me. True, “Uncle Meat” is a significant album in Zappa’s repertoire; there are amazing compositions in this recording, finely polished ones. However, the album could have been even better had Zappa shown more discretion over what was to be released. The lengthy dialogue from the ill-fated movie of the same name is a distraction and detracts from the overall piece. The conversations revealed in the dialogue are lame and repetitive, even more so than what Zappa admitted to in his autobiography. The conversations in “Lumpy Gravy” fit well into the overall composition of that album, but the dialogue from “Uncle Meat” sounds beyond trivial and mundane.

The real gem of “Uncle Meat” is “King Kong” and all its variations. The musical theme of this composition is one of Zappa’s most recognizable melodies. And it must have been one of his and the band’s favorites, as it is among the most ubiquitous songs in his live sets. That is probably attributed to what Francois Couture describes as the piece’s flexibility, allowing a wide range of interpretations in playing what was essentially a very simple musical theme. The band Babe Ruth did a very interesting interpretation of the song on its "First Base/Amarcabellero" LP in 1973. It's worth checking out.


Another song that got frequent live play was “Dog Breath, in the Year of the Plague,” which was often credited with the shorter title of “Dog Breath,” such as on the live album “Just Another Band From L.A.” There’s a bit of personal and regional history in this song in its reference to the lyric, “Going to El Monte Legion Stadium.” The photograph of Legion Stadium I provide is of dubious origin. I initially found it with one individual taking credit for snapping the image. However, I found other strikingly similar images on other Web sites without any credit or attribution as to the photographer or date the photo was taken. Having said that, Legion Stadium was quite the famous venue, not only playing host to boxing events, but to such bands as the Grateful Dead, who played a three-night gig there from Dec. 26-28 in 1970, to The Penguins, and even Zappa, who allegedly announces “Welcome to El Monte Legion Stadium” on the bootleg “Safe Muffinz.” I can’t verify that because I have not listened to this bootleg.

The structure was originally built for the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles as a wrestling venue, and later it played host to dances and shows by Art Laboe, who may be credited with creating the hackneyed phrase “Be there or be square,” whenever he did a radio spot to promote one of his dances. It was demolished in 1974 and a post office erected in its place. Everything from concerts to roller derby went on in Legion Stadium as it became a well-known local entertainment venue.


By and large, the majority of compositions on “Uncle Meat” defy categorization. Some sites have labeled it as fusion jazz, or avant-garde. Certainly, there are moments of avant-garde, such as the frenetic squeaking of Ian Underwood’s saxophone, but the majority of music seems to be in another realm; not quite jazz, not quite pop, not quite orchestral, and not quite ethnic. There are a few that musically are identifiable by genre, such as “Electric Aunt Jemima,” or “Nine Types of Industrial Pollution,” which represent Zappa’s interpretations of doo-wop and fusion respectively.


And then there is what I call the utter waste of time, the pathetically mundane conversations that were taken from the aborted movie project, including all the idiotic references to “measuring it with a chicken.” It is so out of place that it almost renders the recording unlistenable. At least with the vinyl release, you could skip over this garbage and get right to side four and “King Kong.” But with the CD release, additional effort is necessary to skip over this content. Eliminate this from the recording, and I say it is worthy of four or five stars, but with this tripe included, I can only give it three stars. Interestingly enough, Zappa told Chris Welch for an Oct. 5, 1968, article in Melody Maker that “Uncle Meat” and “Cruising With Ruben and the Jets” were two of his most satisfying albums.

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


New content and a new link were added June 10, 2009.

Released: April 1969, Warner Reprise/Bizarre.

LP Release

Side One
Uncle Meat: Main Title Theme (1:54) - related to Uncle Meat
The Voice Of Cheese (0:27)
Nine Types Of Industrial Pollution (5:56)
Zolar Czakl (0:57)
Dog Breath, In The Year Of The Plague (5:51) - related to Dog Breath
The Legend Of The Golden Arches (1:24) - related to A Pound For A Brown On The Bus
Louie Louie (At the Royal Albert Hall in London) (2:28)
The Dog Breath Variations (1:36) - related to Dog Breath

Side Two
Sleeping In A Jar (0:49)
Our Bizarre Relationship (1:05)
The Uncle Meat Variations (4:40) - related to Uncle Meat
Electric Aunt Jemina (1:53)
Prelude To King Kong (3:24) - related to King Kong
God Bless America (Live At the Whisky A Go Go) (1:22)
A Pound For A Brown On The Bus (1:29)
Ian Underwood Whips It Out (Live On Stage In Copenhagen) (5:08)

Side Three
Mr. Green Genes (3:10)
We Can Shoot You (1:48)
"If We'd All Been Living In California..." (1:29)
The Air (2:57)
Project X (4:49)
Cruising For Burgers (2:19)

Side Four
King Kong Itself (As Played By The Mothers In A Studio) (0:53)
King Kong (It's Magnificence As Interpreted By Don DeWild) (1:15)
King Kong (As Motorhead Explains It) (1:44)
King Kong (The Gardner Varieties) (6:17)
King Kong (As Played By 3 Deranged Good Humor Trucks) (0:29)
King Kong (Live On A Flat Bed Diesel In The Middle Of A Race Track At A Miami Pop Festival...The Underwood amifications) (7:22)

CD release

Disc One
Uncle Meat: Main Title Theme (1:55) - related to Uncle Meat
The Voice Of Cheese (0:26)
Nine Types Of Industrial Pollution (6:00)
Zolar Czakl (0:55)
Dog Breath, In The Year Of The Plague (3:59) - related to Dog Breath
The Legend Of The Golden Arches (3:27) - related to A Pound For A Brown On The Bus
Louie Louie (At the Royal Albert Hall in London) (2:19)
The Dog Breath Variations (1:48) - related to Dog Breath
Sleeping In A Jar (0:51)
Our Bizarre Relationship (1:05)
The Uncle Meat Variations (4:46) - related to Uncle Meat
Electric Aunt Jemima (1:46)
Prelude To King Kong (3:38)
God Bless America (Live At The Whisky A Go Go) (1:11)
A Pound For A Brown On The Bus (1:29)
Ian Underwood Whips It Out (Live On Stage In Copenhagen) (5:05)
Mr. Green Genes (3:14) - Remix
We Can Shoot You (2:03)
"If We'd All Been Living In California..." (1:14)
The Air (2:57)
Project X (4:49)
Cruising For Burgers (2:18)

Disc Two
Uncle Meat Film Excerpt Part I (37:34) - Bonus Track
Tengo Na Minchia Tanta (3:46) - Bonus Track
Uncle Meat Film Excerpt Part II (3:51) - Bonus Track
King Kong Itself (0:51)
King Kong II (1:19)
King Kong III (1:45)
King Kong IV (6:18)
King Kong V (0:34)
King Kong VI (7:25)

Personnel

The Mothers:
Frank Zappa (guitar, 'low grade' vocals, percussion)
Ray Collins ('swell' vocals)
Jimmy Carl Black (drums, 'droll humor', 'poverty')
Roy Estrada (electric bass, 'chesseburgers', 'Pachuco falsetto')
Don (Dom De Wild) Preston (electric piano, 'tarot cards', 'brown rice')
Billy (The Oozer) Mundi (drums 'on some pieces before he quit to join RHINOCEROS')
Bunk (Sweetpants) Gardner (piccolo, flute, clarinet, bass clarinet, soprano sax, alto sax, tenor sax, bassoon '(all of these electric and/or non-electric depending)')
Ian Underwood (electric organ, piano, harpsichord, celeste, flute, clarinet, alto sax, baritone sax, 'special assistance', 'copyist', 'industrial relations' & 'teen appeal')
Artie (With the Green Mustache) Tripp (drums, timpani, vibes, marimba, xylophone, wood blocks, bells, small chimes, 'cheerful outlook' & 'specific enquiries')
Euclid James (Motorhead/Motorishi) Sherwood ('pop star', 'frenetic' tenor sax 'stylings', tambourine, choreography, 'obstinance' & 'equipment setter-upper when he's not hustling local groupies')

Also:
Pamela Zarubica as Suzy Creamcheese, uncredited (vocals)
Ruth Komanoff (marimba and vibes with Artie 'on many of the tracks')
Nelcy Walker (soprano voice with Ray & Roy on Dog Breath & The Uncle Meat Variations)

Freak Out!

Sometimes I wonder if even some Zappa fans get it.

Clearly, someone in the record industry believed that a new band called The Mothers had potential. And indeed, that person was correct. But right from the beginning with Zappa’s release of “Freak Out!” it became clear he was not entirely in control of the message.

For starters, the record company insisted on the band changing its name to The Mothers of Invention. Although it may be viewed as minor in the long run, it was nonetheless a significant request at the time. And then there were the efforts by members of the Mothers to oust Zappa from the group, all because he didn’t do drugs! But as chance would have it, Frank and the Mothers had found someone who would give them a chance, that man being Tom Wilson. Wilson, in fact, went on to produce Zappa’s next two releases as well: “Absolutely Free” and “We’re Only in it For the Money.” These three releases, in my view, represent Zappa’s finest work until “Over-nite Sensation.”

But what is truly amazing about this double album (in his autobiography, Zappa suggests that “Freak Out!” was the first rock double album ever released, an assertion supported to some extent by the album’s Wikipedia entry; however, ample evidence suggests that it was not) is the irony present not only in its content, but in the history surrounding the album’s production and post-production.


In terms of its content, “Freak Out!” describes a messed-up America in which people find solace and meaning in meaningless things. The country’s youth is rebelling against this, spawning the hippie culture. Yet, Zappa clearly portrays the hippies as being just as shallow and self-centered as the adult society they are rebelling against. Much of this was lost not only on listeners, but on the music industry as well, as evidenced by the album’s review by Pete Johnson, which Zappa quotes in his autobiography. This theme of deriding the hippie counterculture was carried on with intensity for the next two releases: “Absolutely Free” and “We’re Only In It For The Money.”

Even more incredible is the fact that after “Freak Out!” was released, the band members tried to oust Zappa from the band because he didn’t do drugs. As he explains in “The Real Frank Zappa Book”:


“Listeners at the time were convinced that I was up to my eyebrows in chemical refreshment. No way. As a matter of fact, I had several arguments with the guys in the band who were into ‘consciousness-altering entertainment products.’ The whole thing blew up at a band meeting when Herb Cohen wanted to get rid of Mark Cheka… ‘Well, as long as we’re cleaning house here,’ some of the guys thought, ‘let’s get rid of that Zappa asshole too.’ Yes, folks, some of the members of the band wanted me to go away and leave them alone because (don’t’ laugh) I wasn’t using drugs.”

Musically, “Freak Out!” is as diverse as anything Zappa has recorded; it includes everything from pop to blues to extraordinarily bizarre avant-garde. Concert favorites like “I Ain’t Got No Heart” debuted on this album, but one tune that has shown amazing staying power is “Trouble Every Day,” which is actually the song the band was performing when Tom Wilson heard them and became interested. Virtually every pop gimmick was brought out on this album and played with loving sarcasm, like the bright and melodic “Any Way the Wind Blows,” and the slightly Beatles-like “I’m Not Satisfied.”


The more experimental pieces are at the end of the album, leading with “Help I’m a Rock,” a really infectious song despite its repetitive rhythmic structure. The song is really a collage of material that includes “It Can’t Happen Here” despite the fact that on the CD release, the songs appear as separate, which is why “Help I’m a Rock” is listed on the album release as being 8:37 rather than the 4:42 on the CD.

The last track, the truly experimental "The Return of the Son of Monster Magnet" (Unfinished Ballet in Two Tableaux), has me wondering if it provided any creative stimulus to groups like Sonic Youth.

Check out Chris Goes Rock, an interesting music blog that includes entries about Zappa, including this page regarding “Freak Out!” Also on this blog, I found an entry to a 1968 psycehedelic group called Brain Police. The group didn't officially release a recording, but the album "San Diego's Only Psychedelic Cops" is pretty good despite being a bit dirty (the recording that is, not the content). Finding this item had me wondering if the name came from Zappa's song on "Freak Out," "Who Are The Brain Police."

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


New content was added to this entry on Jan. 3, 2009.



Album release date: June 27, 1966, Verve/MGM records.

Track listings:

Double-album release:
Side one
"Hungry Freaks, Daddy" – 3:32
"I Ain't Got No Heart" – 2:34
"Who Are the Brain Police?" – 3:25
"Go Cry on Somebody Else's Shoulder" – 3:43
"Motherly Love" – 2:50
"How Could I Be Such a Fool?" – 2:16

Side two
"Wowie Zowie" – 2:55
"You Didn't Try to Call Me" – 3:21
"Any Way the Wind Blows" – 2:55
"I'm Not Satisfied" – 2:41
"You're Probably Wondering Why I'm Here" – 3:41

Side three
"Trouble Every Day" – 5:53
"Help I'm a Rock" – 8:37
Okay To Tap Dance
In Memoriam, Edgar Varèse
It Can't Happen Here

Side four
"The Return of the Son of Monster Magnet" (Unfinished Ballet in Two Tableaux) – 12:22
Ritual Dance of the Child-Killer
Nullis Pretii (No commercial potential)

CD release:
"Hungry Freaks, Daddy" – 3:32
"I Ain't Got No Heart" – 2:34
"Who Are the Brain Police?" – 3:25
"Go Cry on Somebody Else's Shoulder" – 3:43
"Motherly Love" – 2:50
"How Could I Be Such a Fool?" – 2:16
"Wowie Zowie" – 2:55
"You Didn't Try to Call Me" – 3:21
"Any Way the Wind Blows" – 2:55
"I'm Not Satisfied" – 2:41
"You're Probably Wondering Why I'm Here" – 3:41
"Trouble Every Day" – 5:53
"Help, I'm a Rock" – 4:42
"It Can't Happen Here" - 3:59
"The Return of the Son of Monster Magnet" – 12:22

Personnel:

Frank Zappa – guitar, conductor, vocals
Jimmy Carl Black – percussion, drums, vocals
Ray Collins – harmonica, cymbals, sound effects, tambourine, vocals, finger cymbals
Elliot Ingber – Alternate lead & rhythm guitar
Roy Estrada – bass, vocals, guitarron, soprano vocals
Gene Estes – percussion
Eugene Di Novi – piano
Neil Le Vang – guitar
John Rotella – clarinet, sax
Kurt Reher – cello
Raymond Kelley – cello
Paul Bergstrom – cello
Emmet Sargeant – cello
Joseph Saxon – cello
Edwin V. Beach – cello
Arthur Maebe – French horn, tuba
George Price – French horn
John Johnson – tuba
Carol Kaye – 12-string guitar
Virgil Evans – trumpet
David Wells – trombone
Kenneth Watson – percussion
Plas Johnson – sax, flute
Roy Caton – copyist
Carl Franzoni – freak
Vito – freak
Kim Fowley – (featured on hypophone)
Benjamin Barrett – contractor
David Anderle
Motorhead Sherwood – noises
Mac Rebennack – piano
Paul Butterfield
Les McCann – piano
Jeannie Vassoir – (the voice of Cheese)

Burnt Weeny Sandwich

I have my brother John to thank for much of my early exposure to Frank Zappa. It was his copy of “Absolutely Free” that I listened to back in 1968 when I was 10 years old that first opened my ears to Zappa’s music (That album was released in 1967, so I might have been 9, but my “memory” suggests I was 10 at the time). Another album among the earlier ones I was exposed to was “Burnt Weeny Sandwich,” which was released in 1970, but which I probably hadn’t listened to for the first time until about 1972.

There is always a story behind a name, whether it’s the name of a band or a song or an album. The story regarding “Burnt Weeny Sandwich” isn’t a story per se, but more of a deduction, and the best explanation I’ve found is in the Wikipedia entry for this album.

The two songs providing the “bread” in this tasty treat are the doo-wop singles “WPLJ” and “Valarie.” Zappa was significantly influenced by the doo-wop sound he grew up with in the 1950s, but not in a manner many might think. Others who may be influenced by a particular genre or sound will strive to emulate that “sound,” and the style as well, with an homage to it, a respectful homage. Zappa’s frequent inclusion of doo-wop songs in his catalog is such an homage, but one that is not entirely respectful. It’s more like how Mozart would expertly be able to play the music of his contemporaries, but because he recognized his own compositions to be superior, he would add a bit of his own personality to these pieces (yes, it is a bit self-absorbed). These additions did two things: made the original composition more interesting and made fun of it at the same time. The only way you can really do this successfully is to clearly know the genre you are about to satirize. Zappa clearly knew and understood doo-wop, so he was able to expertly eviscerate it musically in a very successful and entertaining manner.

That’s why, to me, the inclusion of the two doo-wop songs on this album are necessary; they provide the context for the more involved and complex pieces in between. It’s like he’s saying, “This is where music has been going, and this is where it can go.”

As to the rest of the album, I think the review on Amazon.com written by John Stodder covers the album pretty well, if you get past the first two paragraphs. But be sure to take a look at this post by Crimhead420 as well. All that’s left, then, are my own memories of this album. And these memories are profound.

There were many times when I was in my early teens I would don the headphones and listen to this album, mesmerized by Ian Underwood’s brilliant piano playing. I was particularly enthralled by his closing of “Aybe Sea.” It was so haunting, it pulled at me as the piano faded into the background, as though I was departing, leaving the notes of the music behind me as a rocket would leave the Earth. I know, it sounds pretty odd, but as a young teen, this music really did provide an intellectual escape that I couldn’t get enough of. And every time I listened to “Holiday In Berlin,” both the overture and “Full-Blown,” the music inspired my imagination to dream of things like a holiday in Berlin, or anywhere. I can’t forget, of course, when Sugarcane Harris enters on “Little House I Used to Live In.” To fail to mention that would be inexcusable.

This album may be like the Hebrew sausage that comprised the “burnt weeny sandwich” that Zappa used to eat in that it includes a conglomeration of melodies, set pieces and other musical intrigues that may have been “left over,” but his tying them all together into the dramatic progression of tunes that he did remains one of my favorites of the Zappa catalogue. It is a tasty sucker.

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


New content was added to this post on Jan. 10, 2009.

Album release date: Feb. 9, 1970, on the Bizarre/Reprise label.

Track listings:

1. WPLJ (2:52)
2. Igor’s Boogie, Phase One (0:36)
3. Overture To A Holiday In Berlin (1:27)
4. Theme from Burnt Weeny Sandwich (4:32)
5. Igor’s Boogie, Phase Two (0:36)
6. Holiday In Berlin, Full-Blown (6:24)
7. Aybe Sea (2:46)
8. The Little House I Used to Live In (18:41)
9. Valarie (3:15)

Personnel:
Frank Zappa – organ, guitar, vocals
Jimmy Carl Black – percussion, drums
Roy Estrada – bass, vocals
Gabby Furggy – vocals
Bunk Gardner – horn, wind
Lowell George – guitar
Don “Sugarcane” Harris – violin, vocals
Don Preston – bass, piano, keyboards
Jim Sherwood – guitar, vocals, wind
Art Tripp – drums
Ian Underwood – guitar, piano, keyboards, wind

Related links:
An interesting, but not quite complete, site regarding Don “Sugarcane” Harris
Lyrics to WPLJ
A Frank Zappa cover band that goes by the album’s name