Customer Reviews

Piquantique

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

 

 

Just some additional information regarding this release, and other comments already posted. NO, this is NOT an "official" Zappa release. The sound quality alone should make that clear. It was, however, released as an official "Beat the Boots" recording. The performance dates to a 1973 or 74 performance on a Swedish TV show called Oopoppa (or something like that...sorry about the spelling). There are videos of this performance floating about. Apparently there were 2 sets performed - one maybe for the "official" show, and a second videotaped set that was perhaps broadcast separately. The concert was performed outdoors, in Sweden (hence Zappa's comment about how cold it is on the stage) in front of a fairly large audience, most of whom are polite but pretty oblivious to what they are witnessing (language and music barriers?). There is a fadeout on the CD, but for reasons unknown to me, because the video includes the full song (including long, wonderful solos by Ponty, Fowler and Zappa). The set also includes several vocal songs - early vocal incarnations of Montana and Cosmic Debris. Maybe another vocal as well..I cannot remember. The video is therefore definitely much longer than the CD, and yet the video ends during a song too! Despite the sound limitations, this is "MUST LISTEN TO" Zappa, with perhaps his most innovative band during perhaps his most innovative period of composition and performance. And yes, Ian Underwood is on the recording, playing clarinet and bass clarinet - even though he was inadvertently omitted from the personnel listing by the original publishers of this bootleg gem. The concert pictures on the CD are from the actual broadcast - check out Zappa's checkered, bell-bottom double-knit stretch pants, and Bruce Fowler with hair on top of his head!

the sound quality is not so good. A couple of the songs are a bit weak, but the other ones shine. JLP, FZ, Ruth Underwod, Tom and Bruce Fowler, Ralph Humphries, George Duke, and an uncredited Ian Underwood, make for some pretty great musicians up there on stage. As far as I know, this was the only tour with this exact lineup in it, which is a shame, 'cause when they were on, they were on. Also a lot of "experimental" type music here, typical Zappa dissonance, and songs that were still in their infancy. Overall a good CD, but the sound quality is what gets to me.

Positives: All good song selections here. The short version of "Redunzl" is very potent with brief, hot solos by Ponty, Duke and FZ. "Father O'Blivion" (I guess it's actually "Farther O'Blivion") is a real treat, combining parts of "Greggery Peccary", a solo laden "Be-Bop Tango", and "Cucamunga" (sp?).

The band is a particularly good line-up, essentially the Overnite-Sensation line-up, sans Sal Marquez. Each musician is giving it 100% on these songs. They must have been enjoying the tour, despite the evidently cold weather as per Zappa's amusing audience rap in "Dupree's Paradise".

Great solos all around; keyboards, violin, guitar, vibes, trombone, clarinet, drums. What a delicious variety of timbres.

The sound quality is overall decent for a bootleg. I was expecting (and have heard) much worse. There's a detectable bit of fuzz in the background, but the sound is balanced pretty well.

OK, now the negatives, which do NOT outwiegh the positives!!

"Dupree's Paradise" fades out after 11+ minutes, in the middle of a Ponty violin solo. Oviously, the song wasn't finished, so it seems like we have one of those bad bootleg cut-in-the-tape experiences right there...but wasn't this from an FM broadcast? Oh well...

Also, I am convinced that this recording plays slightly FASTER than it was originally performed in real time. Listen to Frank's voice when he speaks to the audience on any track...it sounds like his higher voice from the pre-Rainbow Theater attack days. That bugs me in the same way as cassette tapes often do when they play back too fast in car stereos. I wish ol' Frank had taken the time to tweeze the recording back to it's original speed. Then again, I suppose he was quite ill by the time this CD was released.

The only other negative I can think of is that I wish the CD was longer. 40+ minutes isn't bad, but I am left hungering for more from this great Zappa tour.

Frank Zappa And The Mothers-Piquantique *****

As I was walking through the record store the other day I came across a blue album with Frank Zappa's picture on it. Then I saw the title was Piquatique and thought to myself I have never heard ot that Zappa album before so I bought it. It was a live album and truly one of the best I have ever heard in my entire life.

Many people who have reviewed this album have said it was amazing and that it was one of Frank Zappas best live albums, well I agree with them there one hundred percent. They also said that it had horrible sound quality and that it sounds like it was recorded on a tape recorder from wallmart, I couldnt disagree more, I love the sound of the album, I think it is authintic and adds to the over all feel of the album.

Supposedly this is from 1973-1974. Im not sure who The Mothers are on this record, what I mean is Im not sure who the line up consists of. Whoever that may be it is one hell of a band. They all brought out something special in Frank during this recording because his guitar playing is fantastic here, some of his best playing if his whole carear.

'Kung Fu' is the only song on the album that I knew when I bought it and thats becuase in my opinion it is a classic and one of Frank Zappa's all time best. It is a killer way to start off a live show. 'Redunzl' features some excellent guitar playing by the masterful viruoso that is Frank Zappa. 'Duprees Paradise' is another fantastic song. Great flute playing is the vocal point of this song. 'T'Mershi Duween' is amazing. The live performance here is so full of life and energetic. Truly wonderful, I only wish I could hear the studio version of the song if there is one to compare. the album closes with 'Father O'blivion' which has a great horn section and is a really great way to close the album, and a superb way to and a live show.

This maybe the height of Frank's early 1970's acid jazz faze. The live performance, or perfomances here are some of the best by Frank and his band that I have ever heard and I would recomend this to all. Before this album I thought Jeff Beck was the king of early 1970's acid/fusion jazz, but now I cann see that I was wrong.

Zappa was pushed off the stage at the Rainbow Theater, London, in 1971, not 1972.

This performance shines. The muddy sound is moot, because the band plays like few others can. I'll step out of character, and make this a very short review.

If you can listen to a recording that sounds like it was made on a portable tape recorder, and you like the jazz line-ups in Zappa's career, you simply have to hear this. Highly recommended.

Yes it's a bootleg, but despite the 'bootleg' sound quality it's well worth getting , actually this is essential for serious fz fans. The stuff is from concerts from jul and aug 1973, mostly from stockholm. This particular band makes only one appearance on a live zappa album, vol6 of the ycdtosa series,'father oblivion'. But the father oblivion on this cd is totally different, more about this later. Anyway, the band features the fowler bros, george duke, the underwoods,ralph humphrey and the great jean-luc ponty. The first track is a quick 2-minute affair, it starts off with some 'eric dolphy memorial barbecue' and moves onto kung fu, then we have a decent redunzl, with some good soloing. It's great to hear ponty in action. There's a funny and funky dupree's paradise, george shines on this one and Frank has some funny banter with the crowd. A snappy tmershi is followed by the disc's highlight, a 20 minute father oblivion. This is not the father o blivion that we all know and love so much, it is a big instrumental 'medley' if you like. We have some choice music from greggary peccary here-the music that accompanies the lyrics 'swifty's,at big swifty's..' on the studio version. Class, and then wait for it, they move into the great 'bebop tango', sans audience participation. Truly a classic and jean-luc really shows his chops. Some great drumming too. There's also some cucamonga thrown in at the end, and Frank even makes the band play this section again because they played so many wrong notes the first time. Highly recommended.

This CD was part of the Beat the Boots boxset, where Zappa took bootleg recordings of his concerts, and converted them to CD with minimal liner notes (just a song and band listing). The original bootleg "artwork" is also included. There were two boxsets, and then the CD's were released individually.

This CD features the band from 1973 tour with Jean-Luc Ponty, the Underwoods and the Fowlers. This was a great band and this is the only CD I know that covers it. Zappa has released many live albums, but most have featured the later Ike Willes/Ray White bands or the Flo and Eddie bands. The Beat the Boots is heavy on the early Mothers.

The problem with the CD is the sound quality is poor. It isn't the worst I have heard, and it is even better than some more legitimate live releases. In some respects, it is better than many of the recent Dave Matthews live releases. Supposedly this comes from a European TV show, but I don't believe it, based on the sound quality, editing and song selection.

Like many live Zappa recordings, songs are cut in the middle. Sometimes they fade in or out, or sometimes the change is abrupt. Zappa, himself, is guilty of this (especially on the Guitar album). But, much of it is because of the nature of a Zappa concerts were songs segue, one into another.

This is mostly an instrumental album. So, I think the editing was done to cut out the parts where the group breaks into vocals, or when Zappa interrupts a song for audience participation.

There are some very good long stretches of excellent music. There are other parts that I don't think are up to the standards of the best of this band. But, the CD is only 40 minutes long, so there is not much room for weak spots.

In summary, this is a great band, the sound quality is poor and the track selection could have been better....it is a typical bootleg.


Side note that doesn't have anything to do with my review of the CD:
This band played at the Univeristy of Arizona and was responsible for the school not holding anymore rock concerts for 5 years (although it wasn't the band's fault). The UofA recently built the McHale center for basketball. The court had a polymer floor, instead of the standard wooden floor. It was junk, did not hold up and bubbled. For the concert, the floor was covered in tarps. The concert was blamed for causing the bubbles and cigarette burns in the floor surface. It wasn't until after the floor was replaced with a conventional wooden floor that the U of A hosted the next rock concert, which was the return of Bob Dylan.

First of all, this is not a bad reccord. In fact, is actually good. I would even give a higher note if it wasn't a Frank Zappa's record. But, as I just said, IT IS a Frank Zappa's record, and I believe there are better stuff composed by him in other records, like "strictly genteel", "Grand Wazzoo", "Roxy & Elsewhere", "King Kong", "Hot Rats". But maybe I'm just not ready for this record yet. Certainly,in here is some of the most complicated Zappa's work, wich take a while to be digested. A good record, though.

Essentially a full scale blowing fest with the emphasis on chops, this member of the Beat the Boots series succeeds on all fronts. Buy YCDTOSA #2 first, then treat yourself to this little gem.

Being a Zappa fan i felt compelled to correct the moron who wrote the review before me. First of all, this is not an official Zappa release. Second of all, there are NOT "well over 1000 albums" put out by zappa (including bootlegs), and on top of that, Zappa was never in a car accident. he got pushed off the stage by a crazed fan in 1972 during King Kong. Also, Ralph Humphrey also appear alone on some songs on Apostrophe and all of Overnite Sensation. So before you write, try to know what your talkin about buddy. And btw, this is a great album.