Customer Reviews

Trance-Fusion

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is by far the best release since LATHER. And the sound quality is amazing, particularly for a Zappa CD. There is breadth, depth, "space" between this instruments, etc.. In fact, The Zappa Family Trust should task Mr. Ludwig with remastering all of the pre-1993 catalog, most of which sounds like its had the life sucked out of it by Mr. Stone's previous remastering efforts. Think I'm kidding? Just compare the depth/quality of sound on any vinyl Zappa album to that of the same release on CD and you'll see what I mean. The sound of those pre-1993 albums on CD is pretty awful.

Now on to the music. There is some truly diabolical string-mangling on this gem of a disc!! This is an excellent sequel to the "Shut Up N' Play Yer Guitar" and "Guitar" releases. Be forewarned, however, that 2 tracks (the first and final) feature Dweezil, NOT Frank as soloist (while there is a bit of noodling from Frank toward the end of "Chunga", its Dweezil's solo that is the focus of the piece). That said, sandwiched between those two bookends (which are pretty good themselves) are some moments of pure sonic delight. Check out "Ask Dr. Stupid", which features the Coliauta lineup from the late 70's: the solo is taken from a performance of "Easy Meat", and Vinnie's drumming turns the piece into a somewhat deranged permutation of a "cha-cha" while Frank "puts the eyebrows on it"!! Most of the other solos are from the 1988 and 1984 tours. As with the previous "Guitar"-oriented releases, its interesting to note the very different sounds of the various lineups represented, particularly in the drums. While Chad Wackerman is an amazing drummer, his sound on all of Zappa's releases always comes off as somewhat mechanical, particularly when contrasted with Vinnie's much more "organic" approach. Vinnie and Frank always seemed to have some sort of "mind meld" happening when Frank was soloing, with Vinnie somehow able to anticipate what Frank was about to play most of the time. That quality simply isn't there with Wackerman (or Bozzio, for that matter), giving the Coliauta lineup's output a slight edge over the others (in my opinion). Maybe we'll be fortunate enough to get an official release of some of Mr. Coliauta's live work with Jeff Beck from this past summer (2006) so we can find out if he's still the same type of musician that played with Frank so long ago.

Other highlights are "Light is All That Matters", "Bowling on Charen", and the title track. But its ALL good stuff! And its VERY HARD to find anyone else around these days who can hold a candle to Frank's sheer brilliance on guitar and his mastery of so many varied tones/moods (Jeff Beck and Nels Cline come to mind, but that's about it). So go out and get this thing, crank it up, and annoy the heck out of your neighbors!!

All in all, I'd actually give this 4.5 stars.

After the great 'Imaginary Diseases' the Zappas hit another ball out of the field with 'Trance Fusion'. This is an album that Frank himself prepared for release, but it has been sitting in the vaults for more than 13 years. It was about time! The Zappas got it right. Comes in a jewel case (not like those digipacks that cant be replaced if broken), with a great art cover and the sound is to write home about. They gave the tapes to Bob Ludwig, who remastered among other things the Virgin Stones catalogue, and this material sound very very good. Zappa playing is in his own class, and it is nice to have more solos from the 88 tour, probably one of the tightest bands ever put together by Frank. Highly recommended.

A collection of guitar solos from FZ's vault stockpile that he compiled from various live tour recordings just before his untimely passing. There are tracks from 1984, and a couple from the late 70s, but the majority of the tracks are from the 1988 tour. While his chops and technique weren't up to par during this period, nor did he have drummer Vinnie Colaiuta to fuel his fire as evidenced on the workouts found on the Shut Up 'N Play Yer Guitar series, it didn't stop his fire. The cuts on this album are much shorter and more compact slices of inspired, frenzied, visceral energy, more in line with what's on the Guitar albums, and feature Zappa's idiosyncratic style of melody and rhythm and his hard hitting bluesy attack and interesting tones. Sonically speaking, it's kind-of funny because when he's playing you can actually hear every tick, scrape and squeak. The various rhythm sections on this disc provide excellent support, trying to deal with FZ's sometimes seemingly chaotic and unexpected turns. Not the greatest thing he's ever done, but a fun & energetic collection nonetheless with some really remarkable moments and tracks. Zappaheads will definitely want this one.

If you have Shut Up @ Play Your Guitar and Guitar you might as well purchase this one. All selections are superbly recorded. Most extracts are from the '84 and '88 tours, however, there are a couple from different tours. As always the band line-up is magnificent and they form a solid base for F.Z. to carry the listener to the stratosphere. I wouldn t call this cd a must for die-hards only. If you like guitar and improv you should check it out. I mean the Inca Roads solos number 3 on this cd and they are all different. I believe that F.Z. got more technical as he aged. It seemed to me as though there might have been more aggressive playing on the SU@PYG cd. However, I like the mood of this cd. Any new F.Z. is a welecomed addition to my collection. Even though you could have purchased this years ago through imports and ebay it is nice to see it commercially released. Not a bad price either. Enjoy!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

For a dead man, Frank Zappa can still put out some astonishing music. This latest effort from the Zappa Family Trust is a collection of smoking guitar solos from the master of the guitar himself. Mostly recorded with his legendary 1988 touring band, Trance-Fusion sports some riveting dramatic guitar work supported by rock-solid fusion rhythm work by a big band that is nothing short of spectacular. People like to dismiss Frank Zappa as a weirdo who sings smutty songs with bizarre musical changes, but the reality is different. His guitar playing is out of this world, unlike anything else being put to CD these days, and the sound of these live recordings is lush, bountiful, and extraordinary. You can feel Terry Bozio's kick drum pulsate through your body, and hear every player's work sizzle upward through the potent brew of notes, and everything fits nicely into a jazz rock fusion framework that soars above all the current musical competition. I know this review sounds overly effusive. But if you enjoy guitar music supported by outlandishly expert musicians, then Trance-Fusion needs to be a part of your collection. NOW.

This is an absolutely excellent collection of guitar solos from the master himself.

This is one of my favorite releases since Zappa's death - the solos are wide in variety and, as expected, always excellent. Some are in Zappa's mad-cap impossibly difficult style, others are good old-style jams, and others are quite emotionally moving.

I am a long time Zappa fan - obsessive one might say, forcing Zappa on a great many people, as much and as often as I can - and I am LOVING this CD!

Listening to it reminds me, though, of how empty the world is without Frank still around with his incisive and brilliant political and social anthropological insights and, of course, his music. But as Frank's fave composer Edgar Varese said, "The modern day composer refuses to die". Given the incredible amount of unreleased material that is still in the Frank Zappa can, it will be a long time before he truly dies.

If you're a Zappa fan, especially a fan of his guitar work, I think you will love this album. I definitely do!

Thank you Zappa family for putting out this amazing release. The third in a series of releases from Frank Zappa consisting entirely of guitar solos, excerpted from different live performances of Zappa's tunes. The first was 'Shut Up 'n Play Your Guitar,' which concentrated mainly on the 1979-1980 period, and the second was 'Guitar,' which covered 1981-1984. 'Trance-Fusion' focuses mainly on the years 1984 and 1988, and Frank shines so well on this cd. If you want to hear amazing guitar solos by one of the greatest, most distinctive guitar players who ever lived, then get this cd. There is just some incredible work here. Frank put together the entire sixty-two minute Trance-Fusion album himself, and this cd was mastered from stereo masters that he left. It sounds great and is full of such sublime beauty. Thank you Frank.

Some of the Zappa albums that have been released posthumously have been wanting, either in terms of material, quality, or length. This one exceeds expectations. Primarily Zappa guitar solos from live performances in the latter part of his musical career, if you are a fan of his guitar wizardry, then you will definitely like this CD. No old, rehashed, or rereleased material on this, which makes it a "must-have" for Zappa fans. And the sound quality is superb.

This is the third "Guitar" album set that Frank Zappa has put out. These are albums of guitar solos that were taken out of the middle of songs from different concerts.

The first set was the 3 LP set "Shut Up and Play Your Guitar". It was originally released through mail order, only,as 3 separate LP's over a period of time. It then could be bought as a complete set as a very expensive Japanese import (unless you were in Japan). Finally, it was released as a 3 CD set, although it could have almost been squeezed on to one CD. It was very good.

The second set was a 2 CD set called "Guitar". It was poorly executed. It was short snippets just yanked out of songs. The editing and splicing was poorly done. It was just annoying, short pieces and the album did not have any flow.

Trance-fusion was a project started and almost finished by Zappa before he died. It was resurrected, remastered and released 10 years later. It is 61 minutes long and the sound quality is excellent. You wouldn't know it was live, except for some light background audience cheering in a few spots.

One thing I like is that it was taken from a number of different time periods. The selections are long guitar solos that sound like complete pieces. The editing is pretty good so that everything flows.

Some of Zappa's guitar solos have a strange aura to them. With the solos pulled out of songs, and the song parts edited out, there sections of the CD that have an eerie atmosphere.

This is a great album. Imaginary Diseases, another recent Zappa release, is even better.

This was one of the projects that Frank completed before his untimely death 13 years ago. Not to be ungrateful, but I'll never understand why it took the Zappa Family Trust so long to release. (And there are a couple other projects he finished that haven't come out yet!)

Most of this material comes from Zappa's last tour in 1988, which means that it's distinctly mellower that the previous collection of solos, Guitar, which focused on the early '80s. But it has a much better flow to it than Guitar, and a more manageable length, which makes it a more pleasant listen. It's got a wide variety of approaches and moods, and it's perfectly bookended by the two duets with Dweezil. (Dweezil's Van Halen-influenced shredding isn't usually my cup of tea, but there's no denying that Bavarian Sunset flat-out sounds glorious.) Frank's first solo collection, Shut Up 'N' Play Yer Guitar, will always be the best, but this is damn good.