Customer Reviews

You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore - Vol. 2

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

An unusually small but powerful group--FZ, Napoleon Murphy Brock, George Duke, Tom Fowler, Ruth Underwood, and Chester Thompson--performed in Helsinki September 22nd 1974. The whole concert was captured on tape, and is presented on these two discs without ANY over-dubs, and with clear audio. Since this is the only volume from the YCDTOSA series that features the same group, and performances from only one concert throughout, these two discs naturally have a comforting main thread. This talented group had been playing together for a whole year prior to this performance, and in the liner notes Zappa has pointed out that the band therefore is so comfortable with the material that they could probably have performed it blindfolded, which I do not doubt. The only unrehearsed number here is the Finnish tango "Satumaa", which is a special request for only this particular concert. The band sight-reads the number on stage (very well), and Brock makes an attempt to sing the lyrics to the song. This always cracks me up, as I live in Finland, and am familiar with this song and its lyrics. During this concert is when the idea of playing Allman Brothers' "Whipping Post" was born; it is here requested by an audience member, but neither Zappa or the band is familiar with the tune, and so naturally they do not perform it. Zappa later familiarized himself with the tune, and made it a regular number in his band's repertoire. In the 80's, when he returned to Finland, he announced to the audience "guess what - we now know the song you requested back in '74", and performed it.
YCDTOSA vol.2 has such a perfect balance of humour, great musicianship, and different kind of material, that it certainly is one of FZ's best live albums. It should be of great satisfaction to fans of "Roxy and Elsewhere", which was recorded on various occasions four to eight months prior to this concert.

While many Zappaphiles will forever debate about Zappa's live bands, there is no question to this musichead that not only were the '74-era Mothers Of Invention the most accomplished of them all, they were also one of the finest pure BANDS ever!

All the elements of Zappa & The Mothers are here. Frank's unnerving wit ("Stinkfoot"), blistering instrumental passages ("Inca Roads"), complicated & challenging changes performed at effortless clips ("Inca Roads", "RDNZL") and daring humor ("Room Service"). While a good chunk of this material is found on The Roxy & Elsewhere, every version here is easily tighter and superior, especially "Village Of The Sun".

If there is a flaw anywhere in this set -- and this is arguable -- it's the overlong drum/percussion solo, but the Mothers clearly give new meaning to the term "ensemble". It is clear every musician listens to each other in the strictest of conditions and pays close attention to every detail and nuance.

Simulatanously, this edition of the Mothers manages to avoid excesses that would flaw other Zappa backing bands. For example, the '77 & '84 bands are marred by the screeching tones of synthesizers and heavy-metal-ish guitars. The difference between this Mothers and every other Zappa band is clear: The musicians and music both receive the necessary room to breathe.

If you're going to dive into Frank Zappa, probably the most accessible place to start is Hot Rats. However, if you want a crash course on the genius of Zappa and the Mothers, YCDTOSA Vol. 2 is the best place to start.

Not only does this 2-CD set receives my highest recommendation, it also deserves its rightful place among the finest live albums ever!

From its opening Tush Tush Tush (usually don't want the kids to listen too closely) to the Montana/Whipping Post double speed jam this hilarious concert is incredible.

There are alot of great Zappa recordings... it is hard to choose a favorite. But my preference is for the early 70's sound. (My favorite studio work is HOT RATS.) What makes this double CD so good is that it covers the whole concert and with one of the best bands Frank put and kept together. Also there is the contrast with how the band sounded at the beginning of the tour (as recorded on the excellent ROXY AND ELSEWHERE), and here something like 6 months later. The band knows the tunes inside out, and you get the treat of hearing the uptempo changes they can make, such as the double time version of Village Of the Sun.

Zappa is not always an easy listen (thank God!), he is though one of the best American composers of the 20th century, and his torturous sounds and songs are worth getting through to get the pearls. This concert shows him at one of his finest hours.

I first need to start with agreeing with past reviewers in saying that this line up is easily the best that Zappa ever toured with. If nothing else sells you on this live release it should be the 'Inca Roads' and 'RDNZL'. I believe the solo that showed up on the One Size Fits All album version of 'Inca Roads' is actually taken from this concert. I once read an interview with Zappa where he said that the guitar was the only instrument that could actually swear. Frank could make his guitar drop the F-bomb, make it scream foul language.
Seriously, this band was amazing. I've never heard anyone play percussive instruments with the skill and grace of Ruth Underwood. George Duke's vocals are amazing as is his keyboard playing. Chester Thompson's Drumming is very low-key, but nothing less than brilliant and there's nothing standard about it. Napoleon Murphy Brock and Tom Fowler round out the band with Sax/Vocals and Bass, respectively. This is an amazing band which shouldn't be missed.
As for song selection, I can't think of a better mix of tunes. There's the funny comical tunes like 'Room Service' and 'Stinkfoot' and then there are the amazing works of instrumental gymnastics like the aforementioned 'Inca Roads', 'RDNZL', 'Dupree's Paradise', and the classic 'Dog Breath Variations' and 'Uncle Meat'.
If you like Zappa even a little bit, this is for you. Live and in your face, the '73 band shows that they're heavyweights of the music industry and despite their attempts to come off as silly freaks, they can't help but show their superior musicanship and skill.

This is the 1974 line-up of The Mothers, so far removed from the original band that paved the way, clear back in 1965, but still a stellar example of how Frank Zappa's music is to be played on stage, per September 22nd, 1974. The music is complex, with lots of arrangements, and even though there are only six musicians on stage for this performance, it sounds at times like many more. There is silly interplay between the members of the band, and as I said earlier, there are no original members of The Mothers Of Invention on these two discs, but, as talented as they were, I believe most of this material does push itself past the capabilities of the original line-up. This is in no way to disparage the original band, I loved what they did, all of it, but the chops the members of this particular band display, are in a league all their own; the definitive jazz-fusion line-up. George Duke, Chester Thompson, and Tom Fowler are a complete jazz combo themselves, and when you add percussionist Ruth Underwood and lead vocalist Napoleon Murphy Brock, with his abilities on sax and flute, this is an intimidating roster of talent. Frank Zappa has always used outstanding musicians in his touring and recording ensembles, and as I have already said, this is no exception.

This volume of the series is unique, in the fact that this is the only installment in the whole series featuring one band, on one stage, recorded on one particular day. All the others feature various line-ups at different stages of Zappa's career. So you get to hear the momentum of the show (some say it's the best of two separate performances in one day; possible, given FZ's penchant for editing the best segments of various perfomances together).

The Mothers play Zappa's live standards such as Apostrophe's "Stinkfoot" with such ease, they make it sound like it's a mind-numbingly simple song to play. Not his most difficult, by any standard, but they show what true PROFESSIONALS they really were, because songs like "Stinkfoot" sound easy, and so do incredibly difficult arrangements such as "Echidna's Arf." Don't let the silly titles fool you; songs named "Tush, Tush, Tush," "Stinkfoot," "Cheepnis," and "Building A Girl," are only the names these selections have. They are incredibly intricate, complex arrangements that most bands, then and now, could not approach.

One priceless bit of FZ history is included here, the reason Zappa's band included "Whippin' Post" in their repertoire after this tour. Someone in the audience called out "Whippin' Post!" The band at this juncture didn't know this song, so Zappa toyed with the heckler, asking him to sing it, and cut him off after about one second. Some people really step into it when they don't know who they are messing with. This exchange is at the beginning of "Montana," and FZ changed the lyrics on the spot, to make references to the heckler's request for "Whippin' Post," and the rest is history. To hear the conviction that he covered this with, check out the last track on 1984's "Them Or Us." It's the 1984 touring band playing "Whippin' Post," and even though nobody can do it like The Allman Brothers Band, the arrangements played by Zappa's touring band at the time, are a phenomenal job. There is video of this song on "Does Humor Belong In Music?," the 1985 video, and it has some changes in the middle, but it all began with the guy in the audience at Helsinki, way back in 1974.

In all, this is the most consistent volume, as I have already said, because this is all one band, on one stage, on one day. It's many people's favorite, and I can clearly see why.

Seeing as the 30th anniversary of this show's performance recently came and went, I thought I'd take it out and give it a listen since I hadn't in a while.

Wow.

If you ever saw FZ in concert, then you know that his bands were highly-disciplined, rigidly-timed machines that could bend, stretch, improvise and create at Zappa's every whim.

In the band presented here, Zappa had what he later described as "the band that could play anything." You get the feeling that he knew he was never gonna have it this good again, and in some ways that's probably true.

Here you get the entire show from the '74 band's concert in Helsinki, Finland. Highlights include some blistering guitar solos, plus fantastic soloing by other members of the group.

My favorite cut, though, has to be "Montana," the "Dental Floss" song, which Frank mutates a bit after someone in the audience calls out a request for the Allman Brothers' song, "Whipping Post." (This band didn't know the song, but on future tours, he made SURE the band knew how to play it, and they did!)

Pop on the headphones and go back 30 years to one of the best Zappa shows you're ever gonna hear. It's all here and it's all great.

Along with "Make A Jazz Noise Here", this album is one of my favorite live albums ever. The musicianship is stunning, and this band had so much talent, they usually out play the heavy hitters of jazz/rock such as King Crimson, Mahivishnu Orchestra, Tony Willimas Lifetime, Weather Report, and many others. If you don't believe me, try learning any song on this album on your choice of instrument, then dim the lights, then go ahead and play it live with as much conviction as heard here. Good luck. Every tune jams, and Frank's solos are unbelievable. I know these are bold statements - but trust me! Out of over 700 CD's in my collection, this one is still the most amazing.

If you thought Frank zappa after 1970 was all downhill, just listen to this little concert and be amazed. They were just so good. Ruthie on percussion, georgie on keyboards and vocals, chetser thomson on drums tom fowler on bass and the great napolean murphy brock on sax and vocals. A lot of this stuff is on the roxy album but this band is an evolved version. less players, but tighter. I am listening to approximate at the same time as writing this. what genius! as well as the great musicianship we have great fun too. room service is so funny:'..a fish with the eye falling out-that sounds delicious!' then the dupree's paradise..'ladies and gentlemen , the name of this song, seeing as how we are confronted with a partial, how shall we say, language barrier here, we don't want to press the issue too much folks but the chances of you figuring out what he is going to say during the song are nil...' the audience being finns. But the montana takes the biscuit. This is possibly the funniest 3 or 4 minutes from the entire zappa catalogue...an audience member requests whippin post but frank doesn't know how to play it. he incorporates it into montana with hilarious results. But it is the music that will really tickle you. Trust me! Thank you.

This is definately the best of the YCDTOSA series. It features an entire live show from one of the best line-ups of 70's era Zappa. I really love this line-up because they had travelled together a great bit, and were extremely tight. Plus, Chester Thompson, George Duke, and Napoleon Brock lend a nice jazzy element to the extremely technical jams that Frank wrote. This is a definate must for fans of Frank.

A little bit of research on the 'net will tell you that this is, regardless of what the liner notes say, likely edited - some Finnish fans who were at the concert say that the "Finnish Tango" was actually performed during the second day's show on the 23rd rather than during the show on the 22nd as stated here. It hardly matters, though. This was an incredible band, and the playing will leave you breathless. Some of the highlights that I think haven't been touched on by others include:

- The "Inca Roads" solo is beautifully melodic in a "conventional" sense and a perfect example of improvisational composition.

- "Cheepnis" is the single best song, with an incredibly funky middle section.

- George Duke has a great voice and, like everyone else in the band, is obviously totally committed to the music. Even better, everyone (including Frank) sounds like they're having fun. Check out the articles on the 'net from Finnish correpsondents - it's clear that, despite the hassle of touring (and towels), Helinski turned out to be a great experience.

- Poor Suzi Quattro.

- There are mistakes, or better, accidents. That may sound bad, but for me those can be the best thing about live performance. Best examples - Ruth can't keep up on the opening of "Montana" and Frank, after some surprisingly good-natured ribbing, slows the song down, and George changes "Tush Tush Tush" to "squeek squeek squeek" at the inadvertent feedback squeal going into "Stinkfoot."

- Finally, the band playing the "Finnish Tango" (they aren't sight-reading - a photo is published from rehearsals earlier that day that shows Finnish percussionist Matti Koskiali helping the band learn the song) absolutely straight, until Napoleon Murphy Brock enters with a horribly mangled vocal in bad phonetic Finnish.

Wow. Too much detail, maybe, but this is a great recording. If you get nothing else of Zappa playing live, this should be it.