Customer Reviews

You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore - Vol. 1

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This set works perfectly on a couple of different levels. As an introduction to the "non-serious" part of Frank's World, it's great. While it doesn't have most of the "signature" tracks (Peaches, Montana, Dancin' Fool, Valley Girl, etc.), it gives the needed depth and breadth (Sorry Gail). The Zappa catalog is both vast and varied. So how do you get the guitar playing, arranging, twisted humor, and maybe even a hint of the monstrous line-ups that Frank put together (again and again and again)? There isn't a studio record that can do it, largely because so much of Frank's reputation was built on his live shows.

We get a 15 year overview (1969-1984) on two discs, ranging from on-the-road-between-show-conversation about vomiting on stage (The Florida Airport Tape) and on-stage rap about various health problems in the band (Diseases Of The Band), to sharing life on the road with groupies (The Groupie Routine, on a far better night than the Fillmore record).

And then there are the bands performance, the improvising, and Frank's guitar work. On disc one, The Mammy Anthem is pure molten metal. Big Swifty is equal parts pulsing jazz track and other worldly guitar solo. The disc closes with a 20 minute version of Don't Eat The Yellow Snow that includes an almost out of control audience participation segment that no other musician could ever hope to instigate, let alone pull off.

The highlights on disc two include an absolutely crushing 15 minute version of The Torture Never Stops (the original version on Zoot Allures is pretty darn great too). The three tracks taken from the 1981 MTV Halloween (Dumb All Over > Heavenly Bank Account > Suicide Chump) are over the top. They rock, they swing, they make you laugh, and it's all political.

Another facet of Frank's World is Social Critic. If you're easily offended, this may not be the set for you. He gives The Church a pretty thorough hosing. There's "raw" language and sexual references throughout, but by no means gratuitous.

To the merely curious or casual fan, this might be a bit much. Better you find out now, rather than later. This set is an absolute must for any fan of Frank Zappa's rock music. For those interested in Frank's electronic & "serious music," check out "The Perfect Stranger." Part electronic, part orchestral, you get a little sample of the other two musical parts of Frank's World. "Jonestown" is one of the most haunting pieces of music I've ever heard.

No, you can't do this on stage anymore. And that is a crying shame.

The ycdtosa series is essential listening for any zappa fans. this is the first installment. it starts off with some dialogue from 1970, then the sofa lecture-straight into conceptual continuity! The flo and eddie version of sofa is beautiful. you can't go wrong with sofa (it also appears in the 2nd disc as the closing song). Then we go forward in time , to 1982 one of frankie's most technically proficient bands. The mammy nuns theme from thing fish, a staggering solo from frank, which is one of the highlights of this album. After a splendid 1980 u didn't try to call me, the 1979 band is introduced to us. They are a sick bunch, with stomach flu, malnutrition and mental health problems but whip up a terrific tryin' to grow a chin anyway. sung by denny walley who fluffs a line at the end! Then we go back to the 60s mothers with a nice medley. they broke up (or frank disbanded them morelike) a few months after this. After some more flo and eddie with the groupie routine, we get a tasty slice of the 73-74 mothers. ruthie-ruthie is a louis-louis type tune, and babette. Then a 73 i'm the slime and a stonking big swifty. Frank solos majestically again and george duke is delightful. The last track on disc 2 is an earth-shattering 1979 yellow snow, complete with audience poetry recitals and the 'rollo' section. great. disc 2 has a terrific plastic people from 69 sung to the louis-louis tune again. fabulous. A 77 torture hits great heights with a 7 minute zappa guitar excursion.(a la rat tomago). a snappy 82 fine girl is followed by a zomby woof from the same gig, with a juicy zappa solo. after some more 1969 treats (oh no and sweet leilani) the 1984 band, the much maligned 84 band, get their moment to shine. we get a bitchin deathless horsie, a hilarious dangerous kitchen and a similarly hilarious be in my video. the 84 band rule. some youarewhatyouis songs from 1981 band. dumb all over-a classic. heavenly bank account and suicide chump too. these were taken from the mtv special. there are more songs from this mtv show in vol 3. to wrap up the 82 band in italy with tell me you love me and the aforementioned sofa . italy 3, west germany 1, and a lot of satisfied customers. Thank you.

I found it slighty disconcerting to see FZ's music pigeon-holed as "Progressive" on the Amazon website. Zappa has a vast and varied body of work ranging from fusion to 4/4 rock. If you listen closely to the things he did onstage in this compilation you will find this to be true. "The Evil Prince" is a scathing indictment against Android Lloyd Webber and his almost single-handed destruction of the Broadway musical. How can you not laugh when you hear George Duke intone about his "Great plan". When my then wife first heard Volume 1 she said; "How can you listen to that"? I replied how can you not? That was 12 years ago. J.... is long gone. Frank is still here.

They're right, you can't do this on stage any more. This is the best of the amazing series. "Yellow Snow" is incredible. And "Dangerous Kitchen" takes some beating. The two versions of "Sofa" are so different, it gives you a feel for the genius of the guy. You'll probably also like YCDTOSA #2 (Helsinki gig) and YCDTOSA #3 (for the amazing Ike Willis foolishness, and the pastiche-and-patch "King Kong"). But what the hell, buy them all. There will never be another Zappa, and oh, do we miss him now.

I have still yet to hear Vol. 5. However, I risk saying that besides the special case of Vol. 2 (a single concert by the much beloved '74 Mothers), this one is probably the most successfull installment of the series. Read, something for everyone. No matter how you may dislike some Zappa line-up or other, it is unlikely that no part of this double CD at all won't give you immense listening pleasure (if you enjoy Zappa's music, of course). I am tremendously thrilled by the Roxy band (1973) version of "Big Swifty", one of the hottest pieces of jazz-rock music I have ever heard, anywhere... very different from the original studio version. Three words: GEORGE DUKE SMOKES! (And we all know that if Duke smokes, then so will the Zapper!) Spend the dough for this ditty alone, and listen to 'em go... It is that good! I am also fond of the lovely minuet groove of "Once Upon a Time" (a prelude to "Sofa"), with Jim "The Lord" Pons' nasal bass voice that is so funny... The London 1978, 20 minute version of "Don't Eat the Yellow Snow" includes an otherwise unavailable "classical" composition called "Rollo", that features striking 12-tone style vocals by Tommy Mars, and an overall impressive performance by an eight-piece band, half of whom were affected with various road diseases and ailments... That is quite historical and has "MC" Zappa giving one rather snide shot at the English people's eating habits (though one cannot help but question here the American composer's own notorious Wiener-based diet...) and having punters come on stage to recite poetry. Which is... enlightening!... Lastly, I will second the "molten metal" metaphor by the other reviewer with regard to the instrumental "Mammy Anthem", performed as it is in Palermo ('82). That was recorded in the middle of an actual riot in the audience, complete with tear gas bombs (which can be overheard here), that says quite a lot about the band leader's guts and work ethics! One other beautiful tune!

In the late 1980's Frank Zappa went into his vault, and began work on a mammoth retrospective of every phase of his professional career, from the early recordings of the scandalous Mothers Of Invention, all the way through to what would be his final touring ensemble, the 11-piece backing band that, due to infighting, wound up disbanding before the tour was completed. There is a lot, and I mean A LOT of music in this series. Every line-up has something to offer, and this volume, the first in the series, gives the listener twenty-eight tracks, all live, recorded on different stages all over the world. The opening number, "The Florida Airport Tape," is a candid recording Zappa made on his portable tape recorder, of Mark Volman telling the other guys in the Mothers, circa 1970, that he had vomited on stage ("puked onstage," in his words), and wanted to know if anybody else had noticed this. Of course, poor-taste jokes follow, and this segues to a 1971 performance of the band, with most of the guys from the 1970 Florida tape, playing part of a forgotten suite,"Once Upon A Time," that leads into an early version of "Sofa (sung in German)." This leads right into a recording of the 1982 band playing an instrumental version of what would, with lyrics, appear on "Thing-Fish," two years later, as "The Mammy Anthem." And so forth, all through this disc, ending with a 1979 performance of "Don't Eat The Yellow Snow." FZ himself referred to this as a "totally stupid" song, but the version included here, is a first-class live performance, and worth buying the disc for. It depicts the band, in top form, recreating the music from the original as heard on "Apostrophe'," but with a lot added, most notably, the unreleased "Rollo."

Disc Two follows the same format, starting with the original Mothers Of Invention playing in a bar in the Bronx, New York, Spring tour, 1969, replete with stage announcements by Frank Zappa, telling the owner of a green Chevy, that his car needs to be moved, and the listener is transported through time and space, from the 1960's, through the 1970's, and into the 1980's, ending with the 1981 band's MTV special, before MTV turned into what it is now; it actually had MUSIC, played by MUSICIANS back then, and to give this volume a sense of beginning, main body, end, it closes with the MTV special's clip of the 1981 band playing an instrumental version of "Sofa," the track near the beginning of the first disc that had Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman singing in German.

Bottom line, this is a THOROUGHLY enjoyable cross-section of Frank Zappa's music, all live, and an excellent first volume of the series. In time, I aim to write reviews of all six volumes.

The first volume in the You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore series set a precedent that sadly, the remaining volumes in the series did not live up to. While not the best entry in the series (Volume 2 almost unanimously takes that honor), it is one of the best for several reasons:
1) The track list represent the widest range of bands and styles than any other volume. Volume 2 was one show from one band; volume three and four were heavy on the early '80's bands; volume five's two discs represented one era exclusively (late '60's and '82); and volume six attempted the diversity but lacked the success rate. Volume One sets foot in 1969, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1974, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, and 1984, and in doing so, captures the essence of each era while also featuring tracks that were previously unreleased or appear here, for the first time, in dramatically different versions. "The Mammy Anthem", a track from the best ignored "Thingfish" album, appears here as an instrumental, heavy metal guitar showcase, featuring a typically aggressive '82 Zappa guitar solo. Several songs from "We're Only In It for the Money" appear in instrumental versions. The '74 band appears in two previously unreleased tracks- "Ruthie Ruthie" and "Babbette"- that while not band highlights, display that unit's remarkable improv and comedy skills. "Don't Eat The Yellow Snow" features the entire four part suite, which includes "St Alphonso's Pancake Breakfast", "Farther O'Blivion", the live coda "Rollo", and some hilarious audience participation. And that's just disc one! Disc two does not quite compete, though it does feature some of Zappa's best guitar playing in an epic 15 minute "The Torture Never Stops", a blitzkrieg version of "Zomby Woof", and the always beautiful "The Deathless Horsie".
2) The liner notes on this volume sadly outshine the liner notes from all subsequent volumes. I think we all want to know Frank's thoughts on each track and why he included them in this series, and here we get those thoughts. Stories behind songs, band anecdotes, amusing little tidbits that enrich the Zappa experience- they're all here.
3) The sound- WOW! Even the late '60's/early '70s tracks sound great, illustrating the brilliant foresight Zappa had to record everything from the very beginning- this includes off stage conversations, such as the one featured in "The Florida Airport Tape".
If you are a Zappa newbie, this is a great place to start. This volume will introduce you to most of the facets of Zappa's career and give you direction if you continue to delve into his exhausting catalog. If you are already a Zappa fan, then know that you will discover some great treats here- reworked songs, great solos, more humor, and just some solid, great sounding performances.

Excerpted from my review of this album at my blog Frank Zappa's Revenge.

The first of the YCDTOSA series samples material from 1969 all the way to 1984, including a complete performance of the "Yellow Snow Suite" from a London show that includes some of Zappa's famous audience participation.

Some of the more interesting items on this double CD are tracks 2 and 3 on Disc One. These consecutive takes were recorded Dec. 10, 1971, at the Rainbow Theater in London, just a week after the band lost its equipment at the Casino de Montreux in Geneva, Switzerland, in a fire immortalized by Deep Purple's "Smoke on the Water." The song "Once Upon a Time" acts as an introduction into "Sofa No. 1" with Mark Volman setting things up with allusions to both the upcoming song as well as to material the band had been playing in previous concerts, in particular the song "Eddie Are You Kidding Me," which was released on "Just Another Band from L.A." Of course, the song "Sofa No. 1," as well as its companion "No. 2," weren't released until 1975 with "One Size Fits All."

Another interesting song is the guitar solo "The Mammy Anthem," which pulls heavily from themes developed and later released as the instrumental "Zoot Allures," from the album of the same title. However, this particular item later appeared as "The Mammy Nuns" on "Thing-Fish," with vocals by Ike Willis and Ray White.

There are two songs set to the musical signature of "Louie Louie," about which Zappa comments on the second of these two songs, "Plastic People," which was originally released on "Absolutely Free." While introducing "Plastic People" in 1969 to the folks at The Factory in the Bronx, Zappa tells the crowd, "Now, if you'll analyze what we're playing here, if you use your ear and listen, you can learn something about music, y'see? `Louie Louie' is the same as the other song with one extra note, see? . . . They're, they're very closely related and they mean just about the same thing."

The song "Ruthie Ruthie" is also based on the "Louie Louie" melody, this time the lyrics themed around an homage to Ruth Underwood, who performs on this song and the next, "Babbette."

The performance of "I'm the Slime" (from "Over-Nite Sensation") on this release was taken from a couple 1973 gigs at The Roxy in Los Angeles. It includes a very tasty and heavily fuzzed guitar solo. This transitions right into "Big Swifty," also recorded at The Roxy, a sweeping orchestration that debuted a year and a half earlier on "Waka Jawaka." There's a really fine keyboard solo by George Duke here. Gotta love Ruth Underwood's playing during this as well, she was brilliant. But the really delectable treat during this performance is Zappa's solo. It pulls the band away from the original musical theme into a much funkier and more rock-n-roll timbre that is beautifully executed rhythmically by the dual drumming of Chester Thompson and Ralph Humphrey. It all smoothly returns to the "Big Swifty" theme, played by Zappa on his guitar.

Unsurprisingly, on Disc Two, there is a performance of "The Torture Never Stops." I say unsurprising because this composition shows up on a lot of Zappa recordings, both official and bootlegs. This performance is credited to being from an "unknown venue," likely during the band's European tour during the winter of 1978. It doesn't sound like any of the performances from that tour that I have, so I remain stumped.

"Torture" is followed by "Fine Girl" and "Zomby Woof," both recorded at the infamous concert in Milan, Italy, on July 7, 1982, when the band was nearly eaten alive by swarms of mosquitoes, an incident immortalized on the cover of "The Man From Utopia." Despite that annoyance, the band's performance of "Zomby Woof" is chilling. Steve Vai's "stunt guitar" is crisp and fantastic, and Zappa's guitar solo is the best I've heard for this song ever - even better than the studio solo.

"The Deathless Horsie" comes next from a 1984 performance at The Pier in New York City. Although a frequent number in the sets lists for live performances, it was first officially released on the "Shut Up `N Play Yer Guitar" series in 1981, and then again later on "Halloween" in 2003.

You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore (Part 1) is the first of six double CD's that include 28 tracks of live performances. The quality of the sound engineering is quite impressive. I was particularly impressed with the bass on "One Upon a Time." In addition, I believe that Zappa fans will not be able to find the following tracks in any other location (at least Zappa didn't authorize such productions) "One Upon a Time," "Ruthie-Ruthie," "Babbette," and "Sweet Leilani." I listened to these four tracks with great fascination. If there are other copies, I doubt they could achieve the same level of quality found on this CD. Excluding these four, the other tracks can be found on various CDs and LPs. However, the renditions on this CD are live and offer a different interpretation of the music. I enjoyed listening to familiar music executed in a different manner. I think all Zappa fans will enjoy this CD and the others in the set.

You'll need all the YCDTOSA volumes anyway, but buy this even if only for Yellow Snow (suite) with live poetry recitals. Zappa throws in a weird Dylan Thomas poem. Stunning performances from many Zappa bands.