Live Zappa

Anger was one of his four food groups, along with coffee, cigarettes and staff paper — the tragedy of the 1973-74 band, the best band he ever had, was that he seemed to break it up because it didn't feed his anger. Everybody was too fuckin' happy! "Village" and "Cheepnis" were clear cracks in his misanthropy, signs of him taking actual pleasure in the world that wasn't at anyone else's expense.

Yeah the other great stretch is "Cheepnis/Orange County/More Trouble." I never play the "Penguin" side, or "Bebop Tango." That's a 2LP set that could have been a single disc imo.

c'mon guys, Pygmy Twylyte is great. Probably the Zappa track that gets stuck in my head most frequently.

i really like the summer '73 arrangement of "village of the sun" with an intro/outro dropped from later versions, and lead vox by george duke. it's here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kx74o-AjmdA

here's a nice version of dummy up featuring soul singer erma coffee guesting on vocals from the "un-concert":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khUu2LGjEg8

"Village" and "Cheepnis" were clear cracks in his misanthropy, signs of him taking actual pleasure in the world that wasn't at anyone else's expense.

I don't know about this. As a diehard fan of Roxy and this era of Zappa in general, I always heard "Village of the Sun" as a potshot; the kind of sentiment every rural person suspects is in the thoughts of every snobby so-called "coastal elite." The song is about Palmdale / Lancaster, a place from which Zappa escaped, and I always heard this as him ridiculing the "turkey farmers" who are "all still there"--"I don't know how the people stand it, but I guess they do," etc

Listening to the Roxy box now and omg this solo on the first version of Penguin is so fucking hot..... how did he not put this out before? Insane.

The Roxy box is pretty much the only Zappa I'm gonna listen to from here on out.

i nearly bought a copy of "Just Another Band From L.A." last weekend. i love that version of "Billy the Mountain"

This is so great -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvtvVf8_ITE

i guess i can't go on and on about zappa in the beefheart thread so i'm here to talk about how much i, like everyone who's ever encountered them, love the roxy '73 performances, what a fucking band. zappa's an insufferable nerd but at least very few of the songs are about sex (this is what kills over-nite sensation for me even though it is ecstatically played) and did i mention the band???? i was so surprised by the appearance of my man george duke. glad i persevered after nearly being defeated by uncle meat

however i also think this is close to the end of my zappa journey; i'm gonna check bongo fury and then the läther stuff and then i don't really think there's a lot left for me after that. which is fine bc the first incarnation of the mothers -> zappa's jazz/big band records -> the george duke mothers spans a ton of music. i even downloaded the roxy box

ranking is totally antithetical to the zappa project but this is where i land so far:

one size fits all
roxy & elsewhere
the grand wazoo
hot rats
weasels ripped my flesh
burnt weeny sandwich
we're only in it for the money
waka/jawaka
apostrophe (')
cruising with ruben and the jets
freak out!
lumpy gravy (orchestra only version)
uncle meat
over-nite sensation
lumpy gravy (musique concrete version)

i like uncle meat more than i've implied in this post and previous ones but also i mainly just like "king kong" "sleeping in a jar" and "dog breath"

oh i forgot absolutely free. good record but i think i'd put it after over-nite sensation, another one sunk by its lyrics

Brad, have you heard You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore vol. 2? It's a full concert (actually pieced together from more than one show) by that almighty 73-74 band, Helsinki late '74. Really, really good.

the 73-74 band was a motherfucker. curious about whether you've heard the live grand wazoo release. it's a really interesting one. also, on the hot rats tip, there's one live gig the hot rats group with sugarcane harris did, march 7, 1970 at the olympic theatre. it's a really nice set. it opens with the ten-minute version of "sharleena" featuring sugarcane harris as heard on the "lost episodes" release; one of his finer moments.

there's also a really nice tape of zappa and shuggie otis jamming on acoustic guitars together on the johnny otis show in '70. that's a good one as well.

and oh, if you like the hot rats band, you should definitely check out the pure food and drug act. sugarcane with the fantastic harvey mandel on lead guitar. the record of theirs i keep coming back to is a live recording from pasadena '71, super stretched out jamming, but for more concise stuff there's a live set of theirs released in '72 as "choice cuts" - i should probably give it another listen!

wow these recommendations are exactly why i post here, thanks y'all

YCDTOSA vol. 2 is great, but the whole "Echidna's Arf" medley is too damn fast compared to Roxy & Elsewhere, which is pretty much my favorite chunk of Zappa.

Definitely gonna check out that Wazoo live release.

and oh, if you like the hot rats band, you should definitely check out the pure food and drug act. sugarcane with the fantastic harvey mandel on lead guitar. the record of theirs i keep coming back to is a live recording from pasadena '71, super stretched out jamming, but for more concise stuff there's a live set of theirs released in '72 as "choice cuts" - i should probably give it another listen!

― Kate (rushomancy), Thursday, August 20, 2020 9:48 AM (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink

ooh awesome i picked up a copy of cristo redentor by mandel this year, what a great record.

also came up in the van halen book i just read as the guy eddie picked up two-handed tapping from. (him and george lynch from dokken go see mandel in the mid 70s and it turns both their heads around)

yeah, thanks for the live wazoo tip, Kate. i haven't listened to Läther in a very long time, but recall thinking Greggery Peccary was the best thing on that release

it's particularly nice for those of you who might not be too fond of zappa's comedy vocals, being an instrumental. (as an early version, there's one part on the release that isn't performed on this version - that piece already existed, though, and appears as "Some Ballet Music" on the beat the boots release "The Ark".)

Listening to Wazoo now and yeah, it's pretty great. (As an aside, I wrote about the Hot Rats box back in February.)

One thing I like about YCDTOSAv2 is the relatively low "comedy" quotient -- just skip "Room Service" and the rest is gold.

Harvey Mandel is teh shit, I recommend all his 60s, 70s albums..

Live Zappa wise,I like shut up and play your guitar

This live “Dupree’s Paradise” from 1973 is sick:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qr6mTloYJJs

yeah Mandel was an early tapper, he does a lot of really cool things with sustain and stuff

is shut up and play your guitar all instrumental?

Yeah, except for a bunch of very small interstitial bits that also show up on Sheik Yerbouti and Läther.

sadly he does those little mini callouts briefly between tracks (fucking dude couldn’t keep his mouth shut) but musically yeah it’s just a bunch of guitar solos from various shows throughout the years

(Xp)

cool i can live w.that. i wonder if there's a master list of all instrumental only zappa somewhere, that would be ideal for me.

i wonder if there's a master list of all instrumental only zappa somewhere, that would be ideal for me.

Ooh, I was looking for any excuse to once again recommend a bunch of chamber groups doing FZ music in the wake of his death.

Omnibus Wind Ensemble — Music by Frank Zappa
Ensemble Ambrosius - The Zappa Album (FZ played on Baroque instruments, fan-fucking-tastic arranging and playing)
Le Concert Impromptu – Prophetic Attitude (woodwind quintet)

FZ the composer without the hassle of FZ the misanthrope/"comedian"

This live “Dupree’s Paradise” from 1973 is sick:

― brimstead

that whole concert is fantastic, there were significant changes in the band over the course of 73-74. particularly the ponty-era band, before napoleon murphy brock came on board they didn't really have a dedicated singer so there's a _lot_ of instrumental stuff. that whole stockholm '73 show is amazing, they do an early version of "bebop tango" in a medley with tunes that would become bits of "greggery peccary" and "cucamonga" called "farther oblivion". parts of the show (but not the whole show) are on the beat the boots release "piquantique".

surprised at how much i like bongo fury, maybe i shouldn't be bc cap'n beefy is hollerin' all over these jams, like practically screaming, it rules, but also "carolina hardcore ecstasy" is one of the best-written frank zappa songs i've ever heard, and i don't think much of zappa as a "song"writer

xpost - wmc - thanks for that list, I would be very interested to hear takes on his work in that context.

Pretty sure I've recommended this in some other non-comedy Zappa context, but Ed Palermo Big Band Plays the Music of Frank Zappa.

WmC, I wasn't familiar with Le Concert Impromptu, this is really cool, thanks. It's what I want Zappa's orchestral music to sound like, that often didn't coming from FZ himself.

Just to bring it back to live Zappa since I derailed, I just discovered that Ambrosius has a live album called Zappa Spielt Für Bach – Strictly Baroque. I get a thrill every time I hear their version of "RDNZL," much slower tempo and very elegant.

Dan, I like a lot of the Palermo FZ stuff – the first one from 1997 is much better than Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance, imo. Another FZ-performing chamber group is the Meridian Arts Ensemble, a brass quintet + drummer. I actually got to see them play live, which was great. Their CDs I always thought were poorly recorded, but I don't know how easy it is to record a brass ensemble.

damiano puliti's string arrangement of "alien orifice" (ugh, those fucking song titles) has long been a favorite of mine

oh man, you can't do that on stage anymore 2 is wonderful, thanks y'all

but the whole "Echidna's Arf" medley is too damn fast

they absolutely blast through it (and "village of the sun" too) but i kinda love it

slowed down "pygmy twylyte" is bliss

If you're listening on Spotify or another streamer, you probably haven't read the liner notes, so here's FZ's brief intro to this set:

This concert (does anybody remember the actual place or name of the recording engineer?) was fun, in spite of the fact that Napoleon Murphy Brock had pneumonia, and that Coy Featherstone, our lighting director, had been maced in the face by a guard at the Hotel Hesperia the night before.

The repertoire is basically the same as the Roxy album, however, the ultra-fast tempos on the more difficult tunes demonstrate what happens when a band has played the material for a year, and is so comfortable with it they could probably perform it blindfolded.

This band had a lot of skill (and miserable touring equipment – it was always breaking down, and full of hums and buzzes). In spite of this, it has remained one of the audience's favorite ensembles, and so, for those of you who crave what they used to do, we present a full concert with a little bit of everything – including stuff that you can't do on stage anymore.

lol that also provides context for one of the jokes in "room service"

That Helsinki concert is a long time favorite of mine. Kind of an amazingly crisp recording given the time and circumstances. The guitar solo from the One Size Fits All version of "Inca Roads" was taken from this concert. I'd say the concert overall is pretty much the pinnacle of his guitar playing.

i'm loving the läther material but i gotta say i may think sleep dirt on its own is the best frank zappa record, or at least it would be really hard to choose between it and one size fits all, but then again there are no lyrics on sleep dirt

Always surprised the live albums that came out featuring the '88 touring band (Make a Jazz Noise Here, Best Band You Never Heard in Your Life, Broadway the Hard Way, YCDTOSA 4/6) don't have more fans. I guess the lineup was one of the least flashy, had more of a big-band vibe than most other Zappa bands, less rock-oriented, but by far the tightest, and the recordings are the clearest of his career imo.

I nominated Make a Jazz Noise Here as essential in the second post in this thread...

... and I was shocked not to see it come up again when it's clearly his best live album!

I loved those '88 albums at the time, but don't listen to them much these days.

zappa in new york is great aside from the fact that it's lyrically signaling zappa's sex and toilet humor era, which... i'm gonna get at least as far as joe's garage or your are what you is, but i'm already very tired of the gay panic in "punky's whips" and the generally reprehensible vibe of "the illinois enema bandit" (the thing is that compositionally these songs both rule). glad they restored the original mix on the 2019 box set, because the digital reverb zappa added to it in the '80s sounds gross

i also listened to läther, which is fucking incredible