FZ3
The Complete Works of Frank Zappa -- an American Composer (1940-1993) (Part 3) [by Lewis Saul]
1970-1975
11. Chunga's Revenge (LP, Bizarre/Reprise MS 2030, October 23, 1970)
Frank always had a special viewpoint about groupies. The next couple of albums feature this unique subgenre of the female species.
This wonderful collection consists of bits and pieces from MOI performances and a few studio cuts. The ex-Turtles, Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman join the group.
Highlights: two guitar solos (Transylvania Boogie [5:01] and the title track [6:15]); Twenty Small Cigars (2:17), a carefully edited piece from the The Hot Rats Sessions (#120); a long King Kong jam (The Nancy & Mary Music [9:27]); groupie songs (Road Ladies [4:10]; Tell Me You Love Me [2:33] and Would You Go All the Way? [2:29]); a song about the Musicians Union (Ruby Wants to Buy Yez a Drink [2:44]); and the classic Sharleena (4:03).
This wonderful collection consists of bits and pieces from MOI performances and a few studio cuts. The ex-Turtles, Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman join the group.
Highlights: two guitar solos (Transylvania Boogie [5:01] and the title track [6:15]); Twenty Small Cigars (2:17), a carefully edited piece from the The Hot Rats Sessions (#120); a long King Kong jam (The Nancy & Mary Music [9:27]); groupie songs (Road Ladies [4:10]; Tell Me You Love Me [2:33] and Would You Go All the Way? [2:29]); a song about the Musicians Union (Ruby Wants to Buy Yez a Drink [2:44]); and the classic Sharleena (4:03).
12. Fillmore East -- June 1971 (LP, Bizarre/Reprise MS 2024, August 2, 1971)
Despite a less than perfect field recording from the days of analog, there is plenty to enjoy here, with Zappa diving deep into the Groupie Mystery:
Little House I Used to Live In (4:42; from #9) serves as an intro to The Mud Shark (5:21), a true story about fishing and groupies; What Kind of Girl Do You Think We Are? (4:16); Bwana Dik (2:21), a melody from #4 ... and the highlight is perhaps the arrangement of the big Turtles' hit, Happy Together (2:57).
Little House I Used to Live In (4:42; from #9) serves as an intro to The Mud Shark (5:21), a true story about fishing and groupies; What Kind of Girl Do You Think We Are? (4:16); Bwana Dik (2:21), a melody from #4 ... and the highlight is perhaps the arrangement of the big Turtles' hit, Happy Together (2:57).
13. Frank Zappa's 200 Motels (2LP, Bizarre/United Artists UAS 9956, October 4, 1971)
Frank made a movie! The soundtrack release differs from the music in the film. But the Zappa fan finally gets to hear Frank's real passion -- composing modern orchestral music. The Royal Philharmonic does a decent job -- and the pop numbers sandwiched in between the classical are raunchy and delightful -- take Magic Fingers (3:53), for example, which features a wonderfully blazing guitar solo ...
14. Just Another Band From L.A. (LP, Bizarre/Reprise MS 2075, March 26, 1972)
Call Any Vegetable (7:22; from #2) gets an update, with a Gustav Holst quote introducing the guitar solo. The highlight is the mini-rock opera Billy the Mountain (24:46).
15. Waka/Jawaka (LP, Bizarre/Reprise MS 2094, July 5, 1972)
With good reason, FZ put the words "HOT RATS" on the faucet handles. This is a sort of follow-up to the '69 masterpiece; an all-studio album -- but it is quite different than #8. No Underwood, Ponty or Harris.
Zappa had been thrown off a stage in London by a crazed fan and was severely injured. He recuperated -- in a wheelchair, his leg in a cast -- by creating two new masterpieces.
Big Swifty (17:22) features a six-piece band (FZ, Tony Duran, George Duke, Sal Marquez, Erroneous [Alex Dmochowski), and Aynsley Dunbar, with tons of overdubs.
Your Mouth (3:12) is hilarious.
Zappa had been thrown off a stage in London by a crazed fan and was severely injured. He recuperated -- in a wheelchair, his leg in a cast -- by creating two new masterpieces.
Big Swifty (17:22) features a six-piece band (FZ, Tony Duran, George Duke, Sal Marquez, Erroneous [Alex Dmochowski), and Aynsley Dunbar, with tons of overdubs.
Your Mouth (3:12) is hilarious.
Your mouth is your religion
You put your faith in a hole like that?
You put your faith in a hole like that?
It Just Might Be a One-Shot Deal (4:16) features FZ on "electric bed springs." Wonderfully obtuse lyrics:
Just consider this:
You can be scared when it gets too real
You can be scared when it gets too real
Waka/Jawaka (11:19) This is modern big-band sound, with never a dull moment.
16. The Grand Wazoo (LP, Bizarre/Reprise MS 2093, November 27, 1972)
As Zappa's injuries healed, he rehearsed this large ensemble from his wheelchair, and began pondering about the idea of taking this band on the road -- which he ultimately did for two very brief tours at the tail end of 1972 (see here).
The five tracks here are all superb. Blessed Relief (8:00) has become a jazz standard, with its lilting 3/4 melody and rich 9th-chord harmonies.
The five tracks here are all superb. Blessed Relief (8:00) has become a jazz standard, with its lilting 3/4 melody and rich 9th-chord harmonies.
17. Over-Nite Sensation (LP, DiscReet MS 2149, September 7, 1973)
Every song on this album (with the exception of Fifty-Fifty [6:10]) became a staple of Zappa's concerts.
These seven-tracks are stitched together like a thousand-dollar suit. What sound like relatively benign "pop songs" (almost all about sex) are carefully tailored charts, using Zappa's sophisticated musical language in new and unusual ways -- the dirty blues feel he achieves with syncopated flat-sevens; the cute musical fills that he jams into tight musical spaces, etc.
Camarillo Brillo (3:59): Well, I was born to have adventure / So I just followed up the steps ...
I'm the Slime (3:34). Zappa gets serious about television:
These seven-tracks are stitched together like a thousand-dollar suit. What sound like relatively benign "pop songs" (almost all about sex) are carefully tailored charts, using Zappa's sophisticated musical language in new and unusual ways -- the dirty blues feel he achieves with syncopated flat-sevens; the cute musical fills that he jams into tight musical spaces, etc.
Camarillo Brillo (3:59): Well, I was born to have adventure / So I just followed up the steps ...
I'm the Slime (3:34). Zappa gets serious about television:
I am gross and perverted
I'm obsessed 'n deranged
I have existed for years
But very little has changed
I'm the tool of the government
And industry too
For I am destined to rule and regulate you
I may be vile and pernicious
But you can't look away
I make you think I'm delicious
With the stuff that I say
I'm the best you can get
Have you guessed me yet?
I'm the slime oozin' out
From your TV set
I'm obsessed 'n deranged
I have existed for years
But very little has changed
I'm the tool of the government
And industry too
For I am destined to rule and regulate you
I may be vile and pernicious
But you can't look away
I make you think I'm delicious
With the stuff that I say
I'm the best you can get
Have you guessed me yet?
I'm the slime oozin' out
From your TV set
Dirty Love (2:58) ... poodle love; and a blazing guitar solo in the middle -- short, but potent ...
A tight lick in seven precedes the lyrics of Zomby Woof (5:10):
A tight lick in seven precedes the lyrics of Zomby Woof (5:10):
Three hundred years ago
I thought I might get some sleep
I stretched myself out onna antique bed
An' my spirit did a midnite creep
I thought I might get some sleep
I stretched myself out onna antique bed
An' my spirit did a midnite creep
Dinah-Moe Humm (6:02) ... "you gotta play Dinah-Moe Humm a lot of times to make that much money," Frank famously told Arthur Barrow, referring to the millions of dollars FZ spent on his home studio, and hiring the London Symphony (see #39).
For many tours, this was the big, final extravaganza-filled moment of many a concert. As the years went by, the tempo got faster and faster -- FZ whipping the audiences into one final frenzy ...
Montana (6:33) is unquestionably one of Frank's finest -- a funny song about dental floss, a complex chart diffused with creamy trombone, dreamy vibes, and a sharp, cutting guitar solo which slides back into the vocal with smeary, dripping triplets -- and Tina Turner & Co. singing one of Frank's most unforgettable, complex lines:
For many tours, this was the big, final extravaganza-filled moment of many a concert. As the years went by, the tempo got faster and faster -- FZ whipping the audiences into one final frenzy ...
Montana (6:33) is unquestionably one of Frank's finest -- a funny song about dental floss, a complex chart diffused with creamy trombone, dreamy vibes, and a sharp, cutting guitar solo which slides back into the vocal with smeary, dripping triplets -- and Tina Turner & Co. singing one of Frank's most unforgettable, complex lines:
I'm ridin' a small tiny hoss
(His name is MIGHTY LITTLE)
He's a good hoss
Even though
He's a bit dinky to strap a big saddle or
Blanket on anyway
He's a bit dinky to strap a big saddle or
Blanket on anyway
Any way
I'm pluckin' the ol'
Dennil Floss
Even if you think it is a little silly, folks
I don't care if you think it's silly, folks
I don't care if you think it's silly, folks
(His name is MIGHTY LITTLE)
He's a good hoss
Even though
He's a bit dinky to strap a big saddle or
Blanket on anyway
He's a bit dinky to strap a big saddle or
Blanket on anyway
Any way
I'm pluckin' the ol'
Dennil Floss
Even if you think it is a little silly, folks
I don't care if you think it's silly, folks
I don't care if you think it's silly, folks
18. Apostrophe (') (LP, DiscReet DS 2175, March 22, 1974)
Mostly recorded at the same time as #17 -- with some bits and pieces razor-bladed in from as early as 1969 -- Frank scored a huge commercial success -- which of course led to Zappa fans saying that he finally "sold out."
If so, he sold out in gold. This album is an unforgettable experience, from start to finish.
The first half is a suite, consisting of Don't Eat the Yellow Snow (2:07), Nanook Rubs It (4:37), St. Alfonzo's Pancake Breakfast (1:51), and Father O'Blivion (2:18). The whole thing was peeled off the LP by a Pittsburgh DJ and edited down to a single, which was a huge hit. Zappa later released the single himself on DiscReet.
Cosmik Debris (4:14) concerns itself with idol worship.
Stink-Foot (6:33) has a dog explaining the title of the album:
If so, he sold out in gold. This album is an unforgettable experience, from start to finish.
The first half is a suite, consisting of Don't Eat the Yellow Snow (2:07), Nanook Rubs It (4:37), St. Alfonzo's Pancake Breakfast (1:51), and Father O'Blivion (2:18). The whole thing was peeled off the LP by a Pittsburgh DJ and edited down to a single, which was a huge hit. Zappa later released the single himself on DiscReet.
Cosmik Debris (4:14) concerns itself with idol worship.
Stink-Foot (6:33) has a dog explaining the title of the album:
Well then Fido got up off the floor an' he rolled over
An' he looked me straight in the eye
'An you know what he said?
Once upon a time
Somebody say to me
(This is the dog talkin' now)
What is your Conceptual Continuity?
Well, I told him right then
(Fido said)
It should be easy to see
The crux of the biscuit
Is the Apostrophe (')
An' he looked me straight in the eye
'An you know what he said?
Once upon a time
Somebody say to me
(This is the dog talkin' now)
What is your Conceptual Continuity?
Well, I told him right then
(Fido said)
It should be easy to see
The crux of the biscuit
Is the Apostrophe (')
19. Roxy & Elsewhere (2LP, DiscReet 2DS 2202, September 10, 1974)
I was fortunate enough to attend one of these shows. Identically dressed in black tees, this astonishing ensemble (FZ, Ruth Underwood, Napoleon Murphy Brock, Duke, two drummers: Humphrey and Chester Thompson + three Fowler brothers: Tom [bass]; Bruce [trombone] and Walt [trumpet] played this music from memory -- not only flawlessly, but with such a feeling of joy and ease, that completely captivated the club audience.
The highlight is the Village of the Sun suite [Village of the Sun (4:17)/Echidna's Arf (of You) (3:53)/Don't You Ever Wash That Thing? (9:40)]
The highlight is the Village of the Sun suite [Village of the Sun (4:17)/Echidna's Arf (of You) (3:53)/Don't You Ever Wash That Thing? (9:40)]
Cheepnis (6:33) is a tribute to low-budget monster movies. This flows into Son of Orange County (5:53) [see #10] and More Trouble Every Day (6:00) [see #1] -- both from the "Elsewhere" of the title -- Edinboro State College.
20. One Size Fits All (LP, DiscReet DS 2216, June 25, 1975)
Usually on every fan's Top Five list, this music just jumps out at you -- so beautifully played and recorded.
It is worth perusing Cal Schenkel's back cover -- inspired by National Geographic's Heavens map.
It is worth perusing Cal Schenkel's back cover -- inspired by National Geographic's Heavens map.
It is best studied on a full-size LP:
**
Inca Roads [video] (8:45). George Duke sings the lead vocal in this magnificent classic Zappa excursion into the weird:
Inca Roads [video] (8:45). George Duke sings the lead vocal in this magnificent classic Zappa excursion into the weird:
Did a vehicle
Come from somewhere out there
Just to land in the Andes?
Come from somewhere out there
Just to land in the Andes?
The first 12-bar verse segues into a tricky bar of marimba trills, followed by an overlapping three-way conversation:
George: So white, Don, I ain't never seen nothin' like that is my entire life! Oo. Little round ball, I could ... couldn't ... What's that white thing doin' up there?
Napoleon: Whose python boot is that? Hey, rush it. What? Ja-ee-zus! Wait a minute.
FZ: Why don't you sharpen it then? Mother Mary and Jozuf!
Napoleon: Whose python boot is that? Hey, rush it. What? Ja-ee-zus! Wait a minute.
FZ: Why don't you sharpen it then? Mother Mary and Jozuf!
An example of Zappa's skill with the razor blade:
The basic tracks were recorded at KCET-TV on August 27, 1974. Listen to this track on #84 and you will here the guitar solo originally recorded.
But on this release, Zappa stripped off the original solo and substituted it with a 79-bar solo from a live concert in Helsinki, recorded shortly after the TV special -- September 22-23. The result is stunning.
As Duke poses the question for the third time (Did a vehicle / Come from somewhere out there), Zappa pulls out all the stops and cascades through a series of odd meters -- culminating in a rushing torrent of 7/16 -- to 6/8 briefly -- and then back to 7/16 for a Duke piano/synth solo.
And finally:
The basic tracks were recorded at KCET-TV on August 27, 1974. Listen to this track on #84 and you will here the guitar solo originally recorded.
But on this release, Zappa stripped off the original solo and substituted it with a 79-bar solo from a live concert in Helsinki, recorded shortly after the TV special -- September 22-23. The result is stunning.
As Duke poses the question for the third time (Did a vehicle / Come from somewhere out there), Zappa pulls out all the stops and cascades through a series of odd meters -- culminating in a rushing torrent of 7/16 -- to 6/8 briefly -- and then back to 7/16 for a Duke piano/synth solo.
And finally:
Did a booger-bear
Come from somewhere out there
Just to land in the Andes?
Was she round
And did she have a motor
Or was she something different?
Guacamole Queen
Guacamole Queen
Come from somewhere out there
Just to land in the Andes?
Was she round
And did she have a motor
Or was she something different?
Guacamole Queen
Guacamole Queen
Guacamole Queen
At the Armadillo in Austin, Texas, her aura
Or did someone build a place
Or leave a space for Chester's thing to land
(Chester's Thing ... on Ruth)
At the Armadillo in Austin, Texas, her aura
Or did someone build a place
Or leave a space for Chester's thing to land
(Chester's Thing ... on Ruth)
Zappa gives Underwood a final tribute:
On Ruth
On Ruth
That's Ruth
On Ruth
That's Ruth
Can't Afford No Shoes (2:38) -- nice circle of fifths progressions and tasty guitar work.
Sofa No. 1 (2:39) -- Zappa loved 3/4. This lovely instrumental will have words by the final track. Note that SOFA can be rearranged to OSFA (acronym of the album title) ...
Po-Jama People (7:39) -- a subtle jab at boring classical musicians ...
Sofa No. 1 (2:39) -- Zappa loved 3/4. This lovely instrumental will have words by the final track. Note that SOFA can be rearranged to OSFA (acronym of the album title) ...
Po-Jama People (7:39) -- a subtle jab at boring classical musicians ...
Some people's hot
Some people's cold
Some people's not very
Swift to behold
Some people's cold
Some people's not very
Swift to behold
Florentine Pogen (5:27) -- the story.
Evelyn, a Modified Dog (1:04) -- Harpsichord (or tack piano). Conceptual Continuity: Echidna ...
San Ber'dino (5:57) -- A hero of Zappa's youth -- Johnny "Guitar" Watson -- is upfront with a tune about Frank's personal experience with the criminal justice system. Shower optional.
Andy (6:04) -- The opening chime-filled 4/4 is underpinned with a crazy, pointillistic drum part. On top of that, Zappa repeats a tight little guitar riff which introduces the lyric in insane, angular odd meters:
Andy (6:04) -- The opening chime-filled 4/4 is underpinned with a crazy, pointillistic drum part. On top of that, Zappa repeats a tight little guitar riff which introduces the lyric in insane, angular odd meters:
Is there anything good inside of you?
If there is, I really wanna know
If there is, I really wanna know
Suddenly, everything slows down to a 50's 6/8 groove, followed by development of the previous guitar-lick motif. A pedal A leads to a chorus in C-Sharp Minor:
Show me a sign
If you don't mind
If you don't mind
This leads to a breakdown, restatement, more odd meters, short guitar solo, and finally
Andy de vine (de vine)
Had a thong rind (rind)
It was sublime (sublime)
But the wrong kind
Had a thong rind (rind)
It was sublime (sublime)
But the wrong kind
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