Customer Reviews

Make a Jazz Noise Here

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

That's the noises jazz guys make when they are improvising or blowing their wad as some like to call it. Well, Zappa used to poke fun at these people and there is no exception on this outing. But let the truth be known - for the musician's on the stage for this particular incarnation of Zappa music are all amazing jazz musicians and all have prodigious chops to show off all that talent (and therefore have the right to poke fun at themeselves). This group of twelve of the best musicians on the planet (in any genre of music) play like I've never heard any before them. There are so many amazing moments on these two discs that I could write an entire book on this one album. But a few highlights (especially for the jazz cats) - the guitar solo by Frank on the tune "Cruisin' For Burgers" might as well be the greatest guitar solo you'll ever hear in this lifetime. Another amazing moment is the middle section of "Alien Orifice" where guitarist Mike Keneally realizes Zappa's impossibly difficult scored melody (and if that wasn't enough - listen to this same passage how it is doubled on marimba, alto, tenor, bari, trumpet, trombone, and keyboards). This music is mindblowing on all accounts, and lover's of great progressive rock (Crimson, Genesis, Yes, and others) who obviously respect talented musicians owe it to yourself to check out this disc -it will leave you speechless. Another amazing Zappa record in his MAMMOTH catalog. Full of jazz noises too, in all the right places...

If you're new to Zappa's catalogue then it can be very daunting to decide what to try out. The man had so many releases and jumped across so many styles that there's no real guarantee that any particular release will do it for you.

This album is great for any of you who want to hear Zappa leading a TIGHT, TIGHT band playing mostly instrumental music. There are plenty of "jams" in the jazz sense of the word, not the Grateful Dead sense of the word. In other words, instrumentalists improv within a tight technical structure but the full band never drifts out into unrehearsed meanderings. More than any other release since Waka/Jawaka, this album makes me appreciate Zappa as a composer and bandleader. The man was a force!

Having heard well over half of Zappa's output before picking this up, I was a little surprised that it became one of my favorite listens almost immediately. I didn't realize just how good the '88 band was. And, I confess, the relative paucity of stage antics and jokes is actually somewhat refreshing. I just want to hear them play!

The 1988 Zappa band doing a lot of what they did best - instrumentals that allow for a lot of unusual improvisation.
What is there to say that other reviewers haven't said already?
A few useful facts - "When Yuppies Go To Hell" is a medley (of sorts) combining the tune also known as `The Dessicated Number' with improvisatory moments from at least five different shows. "Big Swifty" incorporates the infamous `Readers Digest' Medley of well-known classical themes. "Star Wars Won't Work" is an odd guitar solo originally bolted onto a rendition of "Stairway to Heaven". "Dupree's Paradise" is the one and only version on this tour where Zappa "took the tune outside" (excuse me, that's jazz-speak for "added some far-out collective improvisation"). The Stravinsky/Bartok medley doesn't appear on all pressings of the album - make sure your copy has it.
And at last, some opinions. "Black Napkins" benefits from having no guitar solo, there's no way Zappa could follow Walt Fowler and Albert Wing's contributions. "The Black Page" gets the most imaginative arrangement since '76. "Sinister Footwear 2" is arguably the definitive version - no synthesizer arpeggio, no inappropriate guitar solo, just the horns in all their glory. "Cruising for Burgers" is also a best-ever arrangement, and "Strictly Genteel" is nearly the best (there's the vocal version to consider).

The 1988 touring edition of Zappa's 'rockin' teenage combo' was capable of rearranging heads on a nightly basis. Here they tear through Frank's most maddeningly complex material and more than do it justice. This disc and Best Band You Never Heard in Your Life are essential if you want to understand what this group was capable of doing on stage. Phenomenal sound quality as well. Scott Thunes bass sound is marked by extraordinary beauty.

This album is almost overwhelming at some points. I havn't had it for too long, but Ive listened to it daily and enjoyed every second of it. The musicianship and understanding of the music between the members is amazing. This ranks (for me) above nearly everything (if not everything) that Zappa has put out, for me. This is one of the testemants to his genius. A few of the albums that define his musical ability for composition and musical structure aren't always accessable for the casual fan or people just interested in Zappa's music or more challenging works (such as the yellow shark or Civilization Phaze 3). That is by no means a let down, those albums show, when you really pay attention to everything thats going on, and realize that its not just random notes (aside from the few tracks that alot of close minded people would actually call music), that everything that's being played is meant to be played, are also a testemant to his genius. But sometimes people cant quite wrap their minds around that (which is understandable, although those are 2 of my favorite Zappa works). That's why this album is one of the most amazing outings in Zappa's vast catalog.

It's accessible upon first listen, it has alot of humor, alot of Zappa's best songs, including the Black page, the absolutely stunning melody of older tunes on the first disc, a reggea version of King Kong, an incredibly tight rendition of Big Swifty with a couple of really funny "musical quotes" lets call them, kind of like what happens at the end of Stairway to Heaven on The Best Band You've Never Heard in Your Life, Alien Orifice (check out the middle section to that one, HOLY CRAP, what band can do that?!). I wish I had gone into how the songs are, but trust me, it's worth every penny. Unbelievable songs performed by unbelievable musicians created by one of the twentieth century's great composers. My only complaint is that there are some unneccesary (alot of the times sloppy) guitar solo's in the middle of some of the songs, mainly on the second disc. But if you look passed that, which is actually very easy cause they're not all that bad, they just seem unneccesary sometimes, then you have one of the most impressive, enjoyable, stunning outings in Zappa's career. Hands down.

The ill-fated 1988 band broke up mid-tour, and it ended up being Zappa's last tour. This was one of Zappa's big bands, and this is the most interesting of the 3 albums documenting it. This one focuses on extended instrumental sections. The band is very tight and the big horn section allows for ineresting new horn-driven arrangements of oldies like "Black Napkins" and "Orange County Lumber Truck", plus I THINK it's the only album where "Dupree's Paradise" is really fleshed out in a "rock" format.

One of the great things about Zappa's work is that he constantly reinvented his music. Listen to different versions of songs like "Cruisin' for Burgers" over a 20 year period (this version is a highlight of the album!), and you will see what I mean. I am lucky to have seen Zappa live many times from 1978 to 1988, and a Zappa show was never predictable. One could go see Zappa 2 or 3 nights in a row and get a different song list and truly improvised on-stage antics, audience participation, etc. Zappa didn't just go through the motions.

People who like "Roxy and Elsewhere", "Uncle Meat", "Burnt Weeny Sandwich" and "Grand Wazoo" will enjoy this one.

I hope someday they will release the Swaggart-version Beatles meddley they played as an encore on that tour. I nearly fell out of my chair laughing during that one (use your imagination - it's Zappa!)!

This is by far the most ambitious and amazing iconoclastic brilliance any and every living functional human and non-human could possibly ingest/digest... or be lucky enough to have been exposed to...even the roots of trees have heard this masterpiece and have died in awe of such ridiculous mastery. Not a person on this planet with 3/4 of a brain (anything less could not fathom what on earth this is about) would/could possibly give this anything but 5 stars. Flawless in every respect/aspect, from Thunes' amazing deep thunder, to Wackerman's insatiable rhythm/chops, Ike Willis' genius........... possibly the cure of cancer itself...

Out of the three '88 band albums, this is my least favorite, but it is still worth every second you spend with it. Great music within.

I am writing this in favor of every live Zappa album there is. I personally love Frank and grab up everything I can. Put on a pair of headphones listen to this album and I defy you to find any other rock group that comes anywhere close to the complexity of what Frank did live. 99% of what other groups do are rehashes of studio work mostly of inferior quality, but it is live. The absolute confidence and skill Frank and his "real musicians" accomplished in live performance puts the vast majority to shame. Frank passing was a great loss to the musical community, rock, jazz and classical venues alike.

SIMPLY PUT, THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST ALBUMS THAT FRANK ZAPPA EVER PUT OUT. FROM HIS 1988 "BIG BAND' TOUR, THE MUSIC RUNS THE GAMUT FROM CLASSICAL COMPOSITIONS, JAZZ CLASSICS, POLITICAL SATIRE, OLD ZAPPA FAVORITES, BLUES, EXTENDED JAMS FROM THE SPECTACULAR BAND HE PUT TOGETHER (WHEN DIDN'T HE?), A VERY FAT HORN SECTION, AND SOME ABSOLUTELY BLISTERING GUITAR SOLOS FROM FZ. GREAT ALBUM.