If there’s anything I’ve learned about Frank Zappa over the
\ncourse of doing this retrospective, it’s that he rarely said
\nanything he couldn’t back up.<\/p>\n
So, when Zappa titled an album
\nThe Best Band You Never Heard In Your Life<\/i>, you could be
\nsure of two things. First, this was indeed a band that was rarely
\nheard, as this is the second disc featuring performances from the
\nshort-lived 1988 band. Second, the title is stunningly accurate.
\nWhile this collection is a bit heavy on the cover versions, it does
\nportray what could have been Zappa’s finest group ever.<\/p>\n
Over the course of the two CDs making up this set, Zappa and
\ncompany do two things right. First, the stops are pulled out and
\ntracks rarely heard in concert are dusted off for your auditory
\npleasure. I mean, “Who Needs The Peace Corps”! “Florentine Pogen”!
\nEven one track I’m not particularly fond of, “The Eric Dolphy
\nMemorial Barbecue,” rears its head in a surprising move. This
\nreally was a collection of tunes that the long-time Zappa fan could
\ncelebrate, as all aspects of his career are considered.<\/p>\n
Second, the band is as tight musically as ever, and they show
\nit. What other rock group could get away with performing Ravel’s
\n“Bolero” and make it sound so good? Likewise, the group takes on
\n“Stairway To Heaven,” a track which is almost inviolate in the
\nmusic world, and do a respectable job tackling it with a reggae
\nfeel.<\/p>\n
What also makes this set special is that Zappa’s darkest vitriol
\nis saved for a subject who damned well deserved it at the time –
\nnamely, the Reverend (and I use that term loosely) Jimmy Swaggart.
\nHaving just been caught taking the parable of the good seed to
\nheart – albeit with a hooker in a motel room – Zappa and company
\nlet all the ammo loose towards Swaggart, releasing versions of
\n“Lonesome Cowboy Burt,” “More Trouble Everyday” and “Penguin In
\nBondage” with lyrics taking direct aim at the tele-fakir. Never has
\ntaking potshots at some poor bastard (though, in this case, remove
\nthe term “poor”) sounded so good.<\/p>\n
The group almost tries to prove itself a little too hard,
\nthough, as they jump from cover tune to cover tune. Their version
\nof “Ring Of Fire” is a lot of fun (and makes me wish that Johnny
\nCash had been able to make it to the show to sing live with the
\nband), but other tracks, like “I Left My Heart In San Francisco,”
\n“When Irish Eyes Are Smiling” and “Godfather Part Two Theme” are a
\nlittle too liberal.<\/p>\n
At times, it sometimes feels like
\nThe Best Band You Never Heard In Your Life<\/i> runs a little
\nlong, but the pure musicianship and energy save the day. Like the
\nprevious release featuring the ’88 touring band,
\nBroadway The Hard Way<\/i>, Zappa finally sounds like he’s having
\nthe time of his life on stage again – something that had been
\nmissing for a while.<\/p>\n
Zappa rarely blew his own horn without having a good reason to –
\nand in the case of
\nThe Best Band You Never Heard In Your Life<\/i>, that reason is
\nmost definitely there.<\/p>\n
2005 Christopher Thelen and “The Daily Vault.” All rights
\nreserved. Review or any portion may not be reproduced without
\nwritten permission. Cover art is the intellectual property of the
\nZappa Family Trust \/ record label, and is used for informational
\npurposes only.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":27204,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[5625],"rating":[5613],"class_list":["post-38552","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-frank-zappa","rating-rating-a-minus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/38552","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38552"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/38552\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27204"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38552"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=38552"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=38552"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}