Search - Frank Zappa :: FZ:OZ

Not the best Zappa band, but an entertaining concert!

F. J. Khoury | Parsippany, NJ United States | 09/08/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"An uncut Frank Zappa concert -- YAY! I want more of these in the near future!Many Zappa fans have understandably wondered why the first Vaulternative release had to be a concert from THIS particular obscure Zappa tour (winter '76), rather than something like 1972's Petit Wazoo tour, or the Halloween '78 blowout in New York, for instance. Unlike those fans, I was happy to see that the concert was from the depths of Zappa obscurity. I really don't mind them going in after the most deeply buried dusty, forgotten bins first.Despite the small band (Zappa, Bozzio, Brock, Estrada, and Lewis) I expected the concert to be very good, and I think the disc delivers a great show. The sound is a bit lackluster. It seems that there's not enough low end. Bozzio's drums sound kind of compressed or something. So, not the highest marks for sound fidelity. Also, the disc edits in a couple of bits of audience recordings when the "official" reel was being changed. It doesn't sound great when this happens, but I do appreciate the fact that they kept the entire recording intact from one, and only one, concert. Frank would never have done this...I'm pleased that his family is doing it.Now for the show. Perhaps the strongest aspect of it is Frank's guitar playing, both lead and rhythm. He was in his ascent towards (actually beyond) guitar greatness at this time. On this tour, Frank used many different amp/effect settings with musically tasteful results. He plays what must be 30+ minutes of guitar solos on this disc...and they are for the most part, pretty inspired, not just noodling for the sake of it. High points include Flithy Habits, Advance Romance, and Zoot Allures.The rest of the band is great too, possibly with the exception of Andre Lewis on keyboards. His playing is actually interesting at first, again with lots of creative 1970's effects use, but his style - especially in his long solos - gets boring. He tended to play what sounds like single-handed solos with little use of chords. And Frank gives him a few solos that go on and on and on... Anyway, I think Nappy does a swell job on vocals and sax. Terry's drums are not at their peak, but it is him, and that's a darn good thing. And the big surprise...Roy Estrada seems to groove really well on bass. He gels with Terry too. Zappa obviously employed him for his bass playing, and not for a gimmick.The setlist is a nice mixed bag of new and old. For the most part, not only are the song choices good, but they are played as well by this band as they would be by most other bigger-better Zappa bands. Some will disagree, and just not get past the thinner sound of this ensemble. I think their enthusiasm makes up for most of the lacking texture.I do like the rather upbeat version of The Torture Never Stops (with a guest Aussie harmonicist), although it's very different from the slow brooding studio version. The Freak Out and We're Only in it for the Money medlaye are both fabulous, especially the latter. There is also the previously unreleased Kaiser Rolls. It's no big deal, but it appears again at the end of the CD from a practice recording of the song, (Du Jour). This "Du Jour" practice version is MUCH better, as it's played at a brisker pace, and Frank's guitar playing throughout is real snappy and creative.I welcome another uncut concert from the Zappa vaults. C'mon Dweezil, "Bring 'em on!""

Wait until the end.

zappafanatic | 04/29/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Well, this is a cd you have to buy when you're a zappafan.
This '76 band rocks!!!! especially on disc 2. My absolute hero here is of course FZ but also napoleon murphy brock on lead vocals and tenorsax. Disc one has some nice tunes like dirty love and killers like Black Napkins and Advance Romance.
Disc two is the one!
I like the superb played reggae version of take your clothes off when you dance.Outstanding is the rocking, jazz, freak me out, Frank version of Chunga's revenge. But that's not all. What about the version of Keep it greasy with a terrific job of NMB on lead vocals and Roy Estrada on some tremendous basswork. The closer Muffin Man with some greasy sax and great guitarwork of FZ is the best closing for this outstanding concert.
Get this cd,now!!"

Conceptual continuity

Andreas C G | Huntington Beach, CA United States | 12/14/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I'll try not to repeat what was already written by others below. While not as essential as the 1974 Helsinki concert (YCDTOSA, Vol 2) - which is a MUST HAVE, Zappa fans will want to pick this up for a number of reasons:



- Like "Imaginary Diseases", this release showcases a band that was largely unrepresented in the catalog (incl. the YCDTOSA series).

- There is a previously unreleased (I think!) song, "Kaiser Rolls".

- Interesting "Conceptual Continuity Clues", including early versions of several tunes from "Zoot Allures" and a version of "Keep it Greasy" 3 years before "Joe's Garage" was released. "Canard Tujours" would later be renamed "Let's Move to Cleveland" in the 1980's.

- Of particular interest is the version of "The Torture Never Stops". This is a work-in-progress version that is sort of midway between the 1975 version with Captain Beefheart on vocals (on the YCDTOSA series), and it's final version on "Zoot Allures" and later live recordings. This one has a bluesier, less "Goth" feel. While not entirely successful, it's still quite good and it's an excelent illustration of Zappa's creative process. Many songs were played very differently by his various bands over the years, not to mention the orchestral and electronic versions.



I personally like Napoleon Murphy Brock a lot. He may be my favorite Zappa vocalist, and since he wasn't in the band long, I'm happy to have this release.

"