15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Rutabaga, Rutabaga, Rutabaga !!!, January 15, 2002
This review is from: Just Another Band From L.A. (Audio CD)
4.5 Stars, rounded up because Frank was a genius.
As the 60's melted into the 70's, Frank Zappa was moving towards change. This recording is a sort of predictor of that change. Upon hearing it back in '72, I couldn't help but feel that the innocent age of the Mothers was about to come to a close. It was as if the Mothers had gone full circle and were, in a way, a parody of their former collective self. Still, this disc is excellent, if for nothing but an historical document. But I like the music and in many ways prefer these live performances to the original studio versions.
Who among us cannot relate to a song about a mountain named Billy who's wife Ethyl is a tree growing off his shoulder? And when the song's self proclaimed hero (Studabaker Hawk) serves up an ultimatum to Billy and Billy responds by unleashing a rock slide on him, we feel Hawk's pain as he exclaims: "Oh ****, I'm gonna need a truss!"
And who among us cannot relate to a song that implores us to "Call any vegetable, call it by name" ? Personally, I'm glad I cannot relate to the character singing "Magdelena", since I have no interest in molesting children, but many in the day dismissed it as an indicator of Frank's sickness, rather than seeing it for what it was: social commentary. So don't buy this for it's sound quality - many later Zappa live albums have much better sound. And I don't think of it as one of the better performances from the virtuoso rock band point of view, which evolved in Frank's bands during the 70's. No, buy this disc because it is a window into a point in time when rock and roll was allowed to be goofy, silly and sleezy while still having a foundation of intelligence and informed perspective.
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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
humour definitely belongs in music ..., November 23, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Just Another Band From L.A. (Audio CD)
The album begins with the 25-minute "Billy the Mountain", an astoudingly clever construct which presents itself as a mini-operatta where draft-dodging, air-force bases, las vegas, an economic superhero with a most amusing method of levitation, and SO much more, all tie-in to one of zappa's most hilarious pieces of social commentary. After this the listener is pummelled with a storming suite of songs covering issues such as how to treat your vegetables, double knit pants which stretch in all the right places, and father-daughter paedophilia. Inane advertising jingles and slogans serve as a conceptual theme throughout the album - Zappa absorbs this stuff and spits it back in our face. And we take notice 'cause it's so damn funny. The reason why this and most of the other Zappa albums with Flo & Eddie were live recordings seems to be so as to capture their frenetic, spontaneous energy and endearing charm. They had an enthusiastic dyanimsn about them which later more high-brow Zappa line-ups where never quite able to recapture. I love this album!
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Funny Anti Establishment Album, March 30, 2000
This review is from: Just Another Band From L.A. (Audio CD)
As a child of the late sixties and early seventies, this album brings back fond memories. The saga of Billy the Mountain, Ethel the Tree and Studebaker Hawk is silly and vulgar and reeks of the anti establishment fervor that was rocking our country during that time.
This isn't an album you can enjoy as background music all day. This is an album you listen to intently, in order to enjoy its wonderful weirdness. It's a twisted time machine.
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