Customer Reviews

Anyway the Wind Blows

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Although a bootleg (later recognized by FZ) is one of the best samples of the late 70's Zappa Shows. Recorded in Paris early 1979 (just a week before Odeon Hammersmith Concert, with some releases on Tinsell Town Rebellion 'n' YCTOSA Vols.1 & 6). The sound quality is acceptable (8/10) 'n' the tunes are AWESOME. From "Watermelon" overture to "Peaches (should i call it IV?)the band plays from MOI old tunes (Brown Shoes...) to new material to be released in future records 'n' shows (as any FZ ensemble) all their musical talents. This is an essential record to any Zappa freak!

This two disc set is a great addition to the Zappahiles collection and not a bad primer to Zappa music in general. A good selection of cuts from the late '70s touring band while they were in Europe. The band is outstanding (even for a Zappa band)and you get plenty of the Zappa guitar fire on cuts like "Andy", "Inca Roads", and "Watermelon In Easter Hay." While not the best of live Zappa, the arrangements are great on the tunes and it covers a very under-documented period of live Zappa. I would recommend this because even at its worst it is great live music and many of Zappa's best tunes are available here in arrangements unique to the period.

It's the most extensive and historically accurate document of the 1978-79 Zappa band - which was one of the most spectacular-sounding of what I refer to as Frank's "rock big bands" (as opposed to nearly-jazz big bands like the Petit Wazoo or the '88 band). A couple of highlights from this era found their way onto Tinseltown Rebellion, many guitar solos from this era appear in the Shut Up box..but this is where you find out what the 1979 shows were really like.
They played pretty much the same set at every show, but then it WAS a great set. A fine balance of pop Zappa (including rare chances to hear "Dead Girls of London", "For The Young Sophisticate" [mistitled on sleeve], the Denny Whalley arrangement of "...Chin" and the `slow version' of "Easy Meat"), complex Zappa (the three One Size Fits All tunes) and inbetweens ("Wet T-Shirt Nite" and a terrific "Brown Shoes Don't Make It", which you may find preferable to the original version).
In my opinion, Frank never played better than he did with the Arthur & Vinnie rhythm section - he himself credited Mr Colauita as his most polyrhythmically simpatico accompanist (but not in those words!) - and there's plenty of evidence here. Even if it never doesn't reach the insane heights of the Shut Up... solos, it's one of the best "guitar discs" in the Zappa catalogue.
What's not to like - the sound quality doesn't flatter the keyboards and rhythm guitar at times, but nonetheless it is very good for a bootleg (this may not be the edited radio transcript of this show, but it IS a soundboard tape). The editing is a bigger problem - a large chunk of Jumbo Go Away (in the middle!) is missing. Also the peculiarly slow Watermelon fades in during the performance - nine- or ten-minute guitar/drum jousts were not uncommon on this tour. Was this one of them - we'll never know.

This great live album is actually one of the official Zappa-released bootleg recordings from the "Beat the Boots" Vol. I box set (which also included The Ark, Freaks and Motherfu#@ers, As An Am, Saarbrucken '78, Tis the Season To Be Jelly, Unmitigated Audacity and Piquantique). Because of this, the sound is not exactly the highest quality around. But, as far as bootlegs go, the recording isn't too shabby. Definitely the strongest disc out of the Beat the Boots Vol.I collection. A great Zappa line-up as well.

GUITAR HEAVY

This is part of Zappa's Beat the Boots boxset, where he took bootlegs, cleaned the sound a little and put them on CD. It was also sold separately.

It is 2 CD's and the total time is around 87 minutes. The sound quality is good for a bootleg, but poor for professional quality standards (although I have heard legitimite releases that have had worse sound quality). It definitely sounds like a bootleg, with reduced dynamic range and fuzziness.

The concert is supposedly from Paris, February 24, 1979. The band consists of 4 guitarists (Willis, Walley, Barrow, Colaiutu), two keyboardists (Mars, Wolf), bassist, drummer and Ed Mann on percussion. The music is very guitar oriented with the bombastic keyboards thrown in.

This band has been represnted on live albums many times. Many of the songs are available in a couple of versions live. So, much of it sounds familiar. However, I like the versions of most of the songs on this album better than most other versions I have heard. If the sound quality were better, I would say that this is the album to get.

The real standouts on this CD are City of Tiny Lights and Easy Meat. Brown Shoes Don't Make It is fairly good, but not much different than other versions.

There are a few songs that are just so-so, like Jumbo Go Away, Florentine Pogen and Dead Girls of London. Dead Girls of London is a song Zappa wrote for violinist L Shankar for his studio album (which is on Barking Pumpkin records). It is not a very good song.

There are very few complete Zappa recordings out there from a single show. On ANYWAY, you get a good selection of some of Frank's best works and shows the range he had then. His mini opus Brown Shoes is hysterical, as are Why Does It Hurt and Don't You Want A Man. Plus you're left wondering how the band stays so tight on City Of Tiny Lights and Inca Roads. None of the solos go on too long and keep your attention throughout. Granted, the sound isn't 48 track digital, and there's even a spot where the bootlegger accidently records over about a second of "The Meek Shall Inherit Nothing", but ceratinly listenable. It even has Dancin' Fool. What more could you want?