On paper, even the most diehard Frank Zappa fan would have to
\nask themselves these questions when looking at
\nFrank Zappa Plays The Music Of Frank Zappa: A Memorial
\nTribute<\/i>: “Seven songs? Only four
\ndifferent<\/i> songs? Is this really worth my money?”<\/p>\n
Let’s answer the last question: Yes, it very much is.<\/p>\n
While I don’t know exactly why the powers that be selected what
\nthey did and how they did for this release, it’s pretty obvious
\nthat it wasn’t done half-assed. While some people may decry the
\nlack of variety in the songs, this actually works to the disc’s
\nadvantage.<\/p>\n
Listen, for example, to the opening two tracks, versions of
\n“Black Napkins” that were recorded in Yugoslavia in 1975 and Japan
\nthree months later (the latter being the version heard on
\nZoot Allures<\/i>). The way these two tracks intermingle is
\namazing, even if there is a little bit of a pitch adjustment when
\nthe versions change. The way that Zappa and the band’s playing was
\nable to work itself together to create one cohesive, interesting
\ntrack is nothing short of amazing.<\/p>\n
The 15-minute version of “Zoot Allures” (which also includes
\n“Ship Ahoy”) further demonstrates the magic that Zappa could bring
\nto the stage, taking such a long piece of music and keeping the
\nlistener interested in every note. While the second version – the
\nalbum version of the track – almost seems unnecessary, it is
\nintriguing to see how the piece was compacted into something just
\nas interesting without losing any of its power.<\/p>\n
As for the two versions of “Watermelon In Easter Hay,” what more
\ncan be said other than “perfection”? The live version from Germany
\nin 1978 working its way into the studio version, complete with
\nZappa as the Central Scrutinizer (as well as one add-on, a live
\nsnippet of Zappa saying good night to an audience), is flawless.
\nOnce again, Zappa is able to keep the listener’s interest with
\nevery single note, and not a second is wasted by either musician or
\nlistener.<\/p>\n
The only weak link on the disc is “Merely A Blues In A,” and
\neven there calling it a bad track is a misnomer. It’s kinda fun to
\nhear Zappa cut loose as a blues guitarist, even if the lyrics seem
\nimprovised, but it’s not quite of the same caliber as the other
\nthree titles on this disc. Still, on any other live disc that Zappa
\nreleased in his lifetime, this would have been a welcome addition,
\nso I don’t want to say anything too negative about it.<\/p>\n
\nFrank Zappa Plays The Music Of Frank Zappa<\/i> seems to orient
\nitself as one of the numerous memorial discs that were released
\naround this time by the Zappa family. As writer Matthew Turk noted
\nsome time ago,
\nHave I Offended Someone?<\/i> seemed to highlight Zappa as the
\nmisogynist,
\nStrictly Genteel<\/i> focusing on Zappa the serious composer. In
\nthat vein,
\nFrank Zappa Plays The Music Of Frank Zappa<\/i> seems to
\nhighlight Zappa the guitar god. This one isn’t the easiest to find,
\nbut it is a worthy addition to your Zappa collection.<\/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":27214,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"artist":[5625],"rating":[5615],"class_list":["post-38563","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-frank-zappa","rating-rating-b"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/38563","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=38563"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/38563\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27214"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38563"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38563"},{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=38563"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=38563"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}