Board 8 > The Frank Zappa Appreciation and Song of the Day Topic! Part 10.1

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Zappa News: 200 Motels: The Suites is now available on Spotify. I think that album wasn't on there before...
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Song of Two Hundred Fifty Days Ago: I'm the Slime (bootleg)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYMRjkMkAQs" data-time="

I was listening to a bootlegged '84 concert the other day and thought to myself: man, this version of "I'm the Slime" is really cool. Apparently PLASTICDADA thought so too, as about a month ago he uploaded this exact version to his channel! I actually prefer this version to the Zappa in New York version. For one thing, it doesn't have Don Pardo making noises throughout Frank's guitar solo (good solo BTW). And for another, it's slightly more uptempo, which sounds better to me. Also, I usually avoid doing bootlegs for SotD because often the sound quality leaves a lot to be desired, but the sound quality of this is actually quite good.
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Song of Two Hundred Fifty-One Days Ago: I'm the Slime (from Over-Nite Sensation/ZAPPAtite: Frank Zappa's Tastiest Tracks)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aiJFz1tA2s" data-time="

As good as the version of "I'm the Slime" I just did is, it can't top the studio version. Shorter Frank guitar solo, yes, but I vastly prefer the Over-Nite Sensation band to the '84 band.
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Song of Two Hundred Fifty Days Ago: Worms from Hell (from Feeding the Monkies at Ma Maison)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MFxm2z2R3Q" data-time="

Speaking of Spotify, for reasons unclear to me the Spotify version of Feeding the Monkies at Ma Maison only includes the first three tracks (according to Wikipedia the last two, one of them being "Worms from Hell," are "bonus tracks"?). Good thing I own the full album on CD!
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im testing out a new pair of headphones with Muffin Man RIGHT NOW
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aww yeah
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Zappa News: A new album was released on 2/2: The Roxy Performances. It's a 7CD box set. It's available on Spotify.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxcQRFBkeRw" data-time="

she's frosting a cake with a paper knife...
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oh god PLASTICDADA uploaded a 9/11 truther video a few months ago.
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I 100% believe that if Zappa were alive he'd be a 9/11 truther
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Song of Two Hundred Sixty-One Days Ago: Dancin' Fool (from Sheik Yerbouti/ZAPPAtite: Frank Zappa's Tastiest Tracks)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGOJ7FRTcA8" data-time="

I'm still working my way through Halloween 77. One of the interesting things I've heard so far is that before the 10/30 performance of "Dancin' Fool" - the first performance of this song ever - Frank introduces it as "a song about the Disco Boy's father." Nice bit of CC I wasn't aware of!
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Song of Two Hundred Sixty Days Ago: Peaches en Regalia (from Hot Rats/ZAPPAtite: Frank Zappa's Tastiest Tracks)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSb_YW3p8CY" data-time="

Another interesting thing was to hear Frank introduce "Peaches en Regalia" in one of the shows and discover that I've been mispronouncing its title for all these years >_>; (I thought the g was pronounced as in "giraffe," not "go." Or "genes," not "green," if you will.)
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Song of Two Hundred Fifty-Nine Days Ago: Fine Girl (from Tinsel Town Rebellion)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRZpNfC-l54" data-time="

I don't think I've mentioned this before, but there's a bootleg album on Spotify called Nasty Rats. It contains material from the two Halloween '81 concerts - a slightly different selection from these shows also appears on the Torture Never Stops DVD. One of the tracks on it is "Fine Girl," which sounds pretty much identical to the YDCTOSA Vol. 1 version (aside from the sound quality). It's played pretty much exactly as the Tinsel Town Rebellion version but with one major difference: the "We need some more like that" section is way shorter and not nearly as accomplished vocally. This is my favorite part of the song, so for me the live versions can't hold a candle to this studio version.
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Somehow, it was just today that I noticed Mary Lou was a Bob Seger cover?
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"Mary Lou" was originally released by Young Jessie & The Cadets in 1955. I guess Bob Seger also covered it, but I don't know that version.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q35Ci6iImWg" data-time="
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Another FZ related thing today - as I was taking an uber home, I heard the driver sort of scoff and I swear he muttered "Dweezil Zappa..."

Turns out he was on the marquee for the House of Blues we were driving by... although he isn't coming until like April. So I guess in a couple months I'll have the chance to see him!
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OK cool!

Yeah, he's playing in Amsterdam in July and I'm probably going. The date isn't even listed yet on his site though.
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Song of Two Hundred Sixty-Four Days Ago: Rat Tomago (from Sheik Yerbouti)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huHqjxmakUc" data-time="

There's six new versions of "The Torture Never Stops" on Halloween 77. This Frank guitar solo was excerpted from a version of "Torture" from the first '78 tour (which featured the same band as the one on Halloween 77). Not the lengthiest solo Frank played in this song but a great solo nonetheless.

I only recently read what the title means: Ahmet revealed that when he was little he was drawing a picture, Frank asked him what it was, and he replied "a rat tomago." I guess we can add "stuff Frank's kids told him when they were little that appeared in his music" to the list of CC clues. Other examples of this are "T'Mershi Duween," "Moggio" and "Chana in de Bushwop."
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Song of Two Hundred Sixty-Three Days Ago: The Torture Never Stops (from Hammersmith Odeon)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSO8WX6ysM4" data-time="

A full version of "Torture," from the same tour "Rat Tomago" was excerpted from. Contains another great Frank guitar solo.
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Song of Two Hundred Sixty-Two Days Ago: The Torture Never Stops (from You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore Vol. 1)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFSWBjpussY" data-time="

Uploaded a few months ago by PLASTICDADA. (Actually, this version already existed on YouTube so this upload isn't that revolutionary, but still!)

Another full version of "Torture" from the first '78 tour. This version probably contains the best "Torture" Frank guitar solo I've ever heard.

Not sure why Frank didn't edit in a different performance for the pre-solo composed part, though. There's obviously some pretty bad feedback issues going on!
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Song of Two Hundred Sixty-One Days Ago: Tryin' to Grow a Chin (from Sheik Yerbouti)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Ffaymi4NIE" data-time="

Who's thrilled about there being five new official versions of this song on Halloween 77? (Note that one of them was already released on YCDTOSA Vol. 6*, so that's why I said five rather than six.) I know I am! (Kidding aside, at least the YCDTOSA Vol. 1 version was worth being released. That one has Denny Walley on vocals, so at least it sounds different from all the other officially released versions.)

* Comparing the YCDTOSA Vol. 6 version to the Halloween 77 version, I must say the Halloween 77 mix isn't as good, unfortunately. Particularly Terry Bozzio's drums sound clearer on the Stage version.
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Song of Two Hundred Sixty Days Ago: City of Tiny Lites (from Sheik Yerbouti)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzJZ0WNd4cE" data-time="

There's six new versions of "City of Tiny Lites" on Halloween 77 (though two of these versions partially appeared in the Baby Snakes movie). Pretty nice, as I love Frank's guitar solos in this song from this era. No, they're not the epic solos over the Carlos Santana Secret Chord Progression that occurred in this song in the '80s, but the late '70s vamp is great and inspired Frank to play some very rocking, headbanging solos. Unfortunately the solo in this particular version isn't that great - it's ridiculously short.

Speaking of short solos, I read that there was stuff cut out from Frank's "City" solo from the first show on Halloween 77. Not sure why the heck Ahmet and Joe Travers did that - why not just release the six shows uncut?
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Song of Two Hundred Fifty-Nine Days Ago: City of Tiny Lites (from Hammersmith Odeon)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eT5ZKbUK6Kg" data-time="

Now this version contains a great Frank "City" guitar solo from this period.
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Song of Two Hundred Fifty-Eight Days Ago: Pound for a Brown (from Zappa in New York [CD version])

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-RzX3MxP3k" data-time="

There's six new versions of "Pound for a Brown" on Halloween 77 (though two of these versions partially appeared in the Baby Snakes movie), which all are a lot better than this particular version. Unfortunately this is still the only "Pound" PLASTICDADA ever uploaded in all these years. That being said, this version isn't bad either, with Frank playing a good guitar solo.
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Song of Two Hundred Fifty-Seven Days Ago: Pound for a Brown (from Hammersmith Odeon)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyDrXhyf-xc" data-time="

OK, before I talk about this version, let's discuss the "Pound" versions on Halloween 77 for some context. For the first three shows, the tune starts with the theme as it always appears in every version ever. Then there's a short, new composed section (this section actually sounds beautiful). Then we get the solo section. First Tommy Mars takes a (scat-enhanced) keyboard solo, then Peter Wolf takes a keyboard solo. Then the tune segues into the next song. For the last three shows, Patrick O'Hearn actually gets the chance to play a bass solo in the solo section before the number proceeds as normal with the Tommy and Peter solos. Finally, on the final show of the album (10/31), after the Patrick/Tommy/Peter solos, special guest Roy Estrada joins the band for the rest of the performance. I'm not sure if I should still count this as a part of "Pound"; on the album it's listed as a separate track, called "The Demise of the Imported Rubber Goods Mask." Anyway, this part features Roy doing a "Gas Mask" routine, doing faux operatic singing for the most part while the band improvises the accompaniment. For clarity's sake, in the late '60s the title "Gas Mask" referred to any part of the show that had Roy singing/screaming/laughing maniacally/making weird noises while the rest of the Mothers improvised the music behind him.

Now, while this version sounds pretty similar to the ones from Halloween 77, there are some major differencees. In this version the main theme is played as normally and then we get into the solo section - unfortunately, the beatiful short new section of composed music before the solo section I mentioned above has been dropped for this tour. In the solo section we first get an Ed Mann vibraphone solo. I've done some research and it turns out that an Ed solo only started appearing very late in the tour (this performance is from the final date of the tour) - it was not part of the normal procedure. Usually, the tune would only consist of the main theme and solos by the two keyboardists (no Patrick bass solo). (This is the best Ed solo - be it on vibraphone or any other instrument - I've ever heard, BTW. Lengthy but continually interesting, with excellent support from the rhythm section.) After Ed is done we get a great Peter keyboard solo. Then something weird happens - the band does some free improvisation (this sounds way more like a '60s Mothers improvisation than something this '78 band would play) and Patrick does a (partially inaudible in this mix) improvised routine, starting with the exclamation: "Hail Caesar!" (CC: "Emperor of Ohio" from YCDTOSA Vol. 6 contains the phrase "Hail Caesar! Emperor of Ohio!", but this does not turn into a full blown routine.) After this, we finally get a (rather subdued) Tommy solo, sporadically interspersed with Patrick continuing his routine. Then the track ends.

At 20+ minutes, this is probably the longest version of "Pound" I have ever heard (I'm sure Frank played longer ones over the years, though). It's also one of the best ones I've ever heard. The first half (roughly), with the Ed and Peter solos, is by far the best one. I'm not as fond of the free improvisation section and the Tommy solo, but these things are definitely worth hearing as well.
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Song of Two Hundred Fifty-Six Days Ago: Prelude to the Afternoon of a Sexually Aroused Gas Mask (from Weasels Ripped My Flesh)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZN6bxCdH2Y" data-time="

This is an example of the "Gas Mask" stuff I described in the previous post. Note that Frank usually just called these improvisations "Gas Mask." The "Prelude to etc." stuff is a parody of the title of "Prelude to the Afternoon of the Fawn" by Claude Debussy.
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Song of Two Hundred Fifty-Five Days Ago: Envelopes (from Ship Arriving Too Late to Save a Drowning Witch)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMmOLJN-AjQ" data-time="

Not a big fan of this tune, so I didn't care much for there being six new official versions of this on Halloween 77. They are vocal versions (with Tommy Mars doing the singing), but we already had an official vocal version on Hammersmith Odeon, so that aspect doesn't add much either. Oh well, not all of the newly released material can be gold, I guess.
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Song of Two Hundred Fifty-Four Days Ago: I Promise Not to Come in Your Mouth (from Zappa in New York)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kpCAFf3KdQ" data-time="

There's six new versions of this tune on Halloween 77. They sound pretty similar to this version, though obviously they're not played by a huge ensemble like this version is. Also, Eddie Jobson obviously wasn't in the band during the Halloween 77 shows. Peter Wolf is the person who gets to take on the keyboard solo in place of him in the newly released versions.
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Song of Two Hundred Fifty-Five Days Ago: Wild Love (from Sheik Yerbouti)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0gkFD5k1sY" data-time="

There's six new versions of this song on Halloween 77. This particular performance, from the first '78 tour, actually ended with an Adrian Belew guitar solo that Frank left on the cutting room floor. On this tour "Wild Love" always contained an Adrian solo and possibly solos by other band members, depending on the show. From what I've heard they're good versions, but not as epic as the six versions that appear on Halloween 77.

I'll talk more about the Halloween 77 versions of "Wild Love" in my next post. For now, I'll just mention that I've read that this performance (from the final date of the tour, like the version of "Pound for a Brown" I discussed in post #88) originally started with the lines "Many well dressed negroes/And several Caucasians/Are fighting quite a bit." If that's true, Frank apparently wasn't happy with these lyrics and overdubbed different lyrics for the Sheik Yerbouti version.
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Song of Two Hundred Fifty-Four Days Ago: Bowling on Charen (from Trance-Fusion)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZiCLzh2b890" data-time="

OK, so here's a description of the structure of the six versions of "Wild Love" on Halloween 77 (this is going to get a bit confusing, apologies for that). First the song is played as it is on Sheik Yerbouti, with minor differences: after the line "But that's the way it goes sometimes," there's no "That's the way!" exclamation. (Sidenote: with all the mocking of disco Frank was doing during this era, could this exclamation be a reference to "That's the Way [I Like It]" by KC and the Sunshine Band? I dunno, I was just reminded of this song.) Then we get into the solo section. In the solo section, we first get a Peter Wolf keyboard solo, then a Tommy Mars keyboard solo, then an Ed Mann marimba solo (at least I think it's a marimba; it doesn't quite sound like a vibraphone). Then, unfortunately, we always get the only low point of these jams: Terry Bozzio starts playing a quite simple 4/4 rock groove over which Adrian Belew gets to take a guitar solo. While Adrian solos, Terry beats this very boring groove to death. In this song Adrian's solos always start off sounding very spacey and King Crimson-ish, with lots of pedal effects, and then get into more regular rock territory. Adrian's playing is not bad at all, but obviously suffers from Bozzio's terrible rhythmic support (not blaming him; obviously Frank told him to play the groove and not deviate from it but for what reason, we'll probably never know). Luckily, things get better when the solo section concludes with a Frank guitar solo, and this is where this "Bowling on Charen" track starts (taken from the 10/28 early show). For this solo, we basically get a prototype version of what would later become "Yo' Mama." Terry plays the slow drum beat that would later appear at the start of "Yo' Mama," and over this Frank plays his solo. For his solo, Frank sort of plays what he would later title "The Sheik Yerbouti Tango." While the solo is obviously not over a tango groove, he plays dissonant licks that would later appear on the Sheik Yerbouti track (which was performed on the first '78 tour), and variations thereon. After awhile - at the 1:12 point in "Bowling on Charen" - the band starts playing the two-chord vamp that appears in the Sheik Yerbouti version of "Yo' Mama" as the third vamp Frank's guitar solo is over, after the spacey part and the one-chord part. Note that this transition to this two-chord vamp only happens in the first four versions of "Wild Love" on Halloween 77; for some reason they never make it to the second vamp in the last two versions, so the Frank solos in those versions are over just one vamp. In comparison to the "Wild Love" solo as it appears on Halloween 77, there's a bunch of stuff cut from the solo as it appears in the "Bowling on Charen" track. After Frank's solo, the main melodies from "Wild Love" are played through once more (without vocals), and then the song segues into "Titties & Beer."

The full versions of "Wild Love" on Halloween 77 are definitely worth hearing, containing some fine solos by Frank and his bandmates.
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Song of Two Hundred Fifty-Three Days Ago: The Sheik Yerbouti Tango (from Sheik Yerbouti)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYNB0mKm3QI" data-time="

Here's "The Sheik Yerbouti Tango," which I mentioned in my previous post. Note the similarity between some of the licks Frank plays here and the ones he plays in "Bowling on Charen" (especially in the first minute or so of that track). This guitar solo was excerpted from a performance of "Little House I Used to Live in."
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Song of Two Hundred Fifty-Two Days Ago: When No One Was No One (from Guitar)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoBfOFGo_Nw" data-time="

This Frank guitar solo was excerpted from a performance of "Zoot Allures" from the '82 tour. Note that from about 1:30 on, Frank - again - plays some "Sheik Yerbouti Tango" licks (I wouldn't call this solo a full blown "Sheik Yerbouti Tango" solo, though).
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Song of Two Hundred Fifty-Three Days Ago: Titties & Beer (from Baby Snakes/Baby Snakes: The Compleat Soundtrack/Baby Snakes [video])

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iu4d43V348

There's five news versions of "Titties & Beer" on Halloween 77 and one that's partially new; the version I'm doing now is the 10/31 version, but there was stuff cout out from it. One funny thing that Frank often does in the improvised portion in the Halloween 77 versions that he doesn't do in this version is request that the Devil play music when the Warner Bros. employees are in Hell. The bands and artists Frank pokes fun at include: Leo Sayers, The Doobie Brothers, Fleetwood Mac, Black Sabbath and "the entire disco catalogue of Warner Bros." Another noteworthy thing is that Frank is always extremely cheerful in these routines. He's constantly cracking up when he's bargaining with the Devil.
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Song of Two Hundred Fifty-Two Days Ago: Dance Contest (from Tinsel Town Rebellion)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UXxkUPrTIk

After every version of "Titties & Beer" on Halloween 77 there's a segment where Frank gets the crowd involved and dares them to dance to the always-next "The Black Page #2" (not sure if this should be seen as a coda to "Titties & Beer," an intro to "Black Page" or a separate track - on Halloween 77 they appear as separate tracks titled "Audience Participation"). Though it's from a different tour (the second '78 tour), "Dance Contest" is a pretty good representation of what these performances sound like. Though it's not evident on Tinsel Town Rebellion, here Frank is also getting people on stage to dare them to dance to "The Black Page." The backing music is different, though; on Halloween 77 the band plays what sounds like the bass line from "Down to Love Town" by The Originals (doesn't have to be a reference, as it's a pretty generic bass line [though it wouldn't surprise me if it IS a reference, as it would be another instance of Frank mocking disco music]). The bass line also appears in "Audience Participation" from Hammersmith Odeon (another example of a "try dancing to The Black Page" dare), though in that track it's not as pronounced as on Halloween 77. Also, the band members often insert musical quotes during this section. In one of the shows Tommy Mars clearly quotes a disco song at one point - it's been driving me nuts that I can't identify it.
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Song of Two Hundred Fifty-One Days Ago: The Black Page Drum Solo/Black Page #1 (from Zappa in New York)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YP8O1vo14y8

I must admit I just now figured out the whole "Black Page" continuity: "The Black Page Drum Solo" is, well, the drum solo version, "The Black Page #1" (which Frank released together with the Drum Solo as one track on Zappa In New York) is the drum solo with other instruments included, and "The Black Page #2" is a longer version of "The Black Page #1." The Drum Solo and #1 were only played at the ZINY shows, while #2 became a concert staple for many years. Anyway, we get five new versions of "The Black Page #2" on Halloween 77. The 10/31 version had already been released on the Baby Snakes album and in the Baby Snakes movie (without any cuts, for once). In comparison to the version on the Baby Snakes album, the mix on the Halloween 77 version isn't as good, unfortunately.
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Song of Two Hundred Fifty Days Ago: Jones Crusher (from Baby Snakes/Baby Snakes: The Compleat Soundtrack/Baby Snakes [video])

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8cvE6n_vBM

Four new versions of "Jones Crusher" appear on Halloween 77. This is the version from the 10/28 early show, and the one from the 10/31 show already appeared on Sheik Yerbouti.
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