Customer Reviews

Zoot Allures

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Zoot Allures is one of the most unique albums in Zappa's catalogue. Nearly all of the instruments are played by FZ himself (including bass!), with Ruth Underwood on percussion, the incomparable Terry Bozzio on drums, and some backing vocalists. It really is Zappa "stripped down" as its often described. Most of the songs have the same instruments, tones, and the same heavy-breathed vocals. The drab production, however, makes this album a chore at spots when the songs themselves aren't strong enough to work without a little production effort. What really saves this album are a few incredible instrumental pieces.

The opener is often sneered at, but WIND UP WORKIN' IN A GAS STATION is an actually one of the better tracks on the album. Its a little something like rock-doowop. A relatively simple song with a simple riff that belies a pretty intricate vocal arrangement. BLACK NAPKINS, the one live track on the album, is absolutely incredible. Zappa weaves a beautiful thematic phrase into some of his most inspired guitarwork, creating one of his most somber and emotive tone poems in his career. Its unfortunately followed by the mediocre, over-long and over-used THE TORTURE NEVER STOPS. The next tracks, MS PINKY and FIND HER FINER, are rather typical Zappa sex numbers. They're pretty good songs, but the production here really fails them, and after a few entertaining listens they lost their charm. The same can be said for THE WONDERFUL WINO, although this one manages to keep a lot of panache.

FRIENDLY LITTLE FINGER is an incredible instrumental with a great oriental guitar opening that leads into a rather wandering guitar solo. The real treat here is Zappa's rapid-fire bass work. The title track, ZOOT ALLURES, is another one of Zappa's most amazing solos. The composed portion of this solo is one of the most incredible things FZ wrote in his entire career. The majesty of this number is nicely undercut by the levity of the closer, DISCO BOY, which is absolutely fun.

It should be noted that BLACK NAPKINS and ZOOT ALLURES, along with one other FZ solo (Watermelon in Easter Hay), are believed to have been considered by Zappa himself as his best work. The Zappa Family Trust goes so far as to ask cover bands to not cover these songs, and a posthumous album (Frank Zappa Plays The Music of Frank Zappa) is devoted entirely to tracing the progression of these three songs. Its absolutely incredible that two of these solos are found on this unlikely album.

Although I wouldn't call it his best by any shot, or even one of his best, this album is absolutely essential. There's too much interesting going on here not to count this as an integral part of any FZ collection.

When I first bought Zoot Allures, I didn't really like it. Mainly I found the guitar sound on some tracks (Gasstation, Wonderful Wino) to be very cheesy. But now, probably six years after I first got it, it has become my favorite Zappa record. Zappa suspended his penchant (how often have YOU suspended your PENCHANT?) for elaborate arrangements on this one, opting for an admirable austerity best appreciated with headphones. Listen for the understated synth stuff sprinkled across these tracks as well as little electronic percussion and vocal morsels. There is probably more good guitar playing on this record than on any other Zappa creation. There's a control and delicacy to his melodies that I missed in his earlier (and even some later) guitar exercises. "The Torture Never Stops" is a masterpiece - a beautifully spacey soundscape with twisted/cryptic lyrics and wild tortured sex noises. The various instrumentals speak volumes for themselves. I even like the brief acoustic guitar break in "Disco Boy." If you like Zappa's guitar, if you like Zappa's sleaze, buy this disc.

I like this record a lot. I have read many of the reviews for this record by Amazonians and have found valid points in many. This is not really a typical Zappa album. But I remember in '76 when it came out, Zappa described it as his tribute to Heavy Metal (in his own tougue & cheek way). Thirty years later, I listen to this record and this it excites me more than most metal albums of that era. His mixing from song into next song was so typical for the time and Zappa does it with expertise! It is a fun and RUSHING record. There is lots of the Zappa silliness as well. Excellent spin!

This one brings back loads of memories. I was one of the many that was waiting for this record to hit the shelves. We were part of the cult, the mass of regulars that made as many concerts as we could and knew all of Frank's inside jokes. We thought we were cool, but of course we weren't. This disc caused descent in the ranks. For some of the old school FZ fans, this was the last straw and they walked away muttering about how it was all downhill after the original Mothers were gone.

I was pretty much old school, having started out on Freak Out and progressing album by album, thanks to an old burnout that got me started into Frank's music at the bright young age of 12. But I didn't cling to the old school rant - new was OK and this, when it was new, sounded VERY good to me! The live show of this album tour that we saw was excellent too. For perspective, I was alcohol legal by the time of Zoot Allures... Some of the tunes hit me right in the face. I was working at a gas station while in college and took that minimum wage paycheck to pay for this disc. I worked at the gas station with a reject named Jerry that was a thief. He'd steal money out of the register and we'd all have to make up the shortage out of our paychecks, so nobody wanted to work with Jerry. So I remember hearing "Wind Up Workin' In A Gas Station" and thinking I should go play it for Jerry. I also wanted to go play "The Torture Never Stops" for one of my literature profs, because it reminded me of his class.

To get more to the review, just consider this: the album is a work of synergy in that the whole is much stronger than any individual portion. One could point out Black Naspkins, The Torture or the title track as being particularly strong, but it is the flow of the album that takes over once you get to know it. As usual, Frank was writing from his Amateur Anthropologist point of view (he should have been given an honorary degree in the field) in many of the songs, such as Gas Station, Ms. Pinky, Find Her Finer, Wonderful Wino and Disco Boy. It all weaves together perfectly and the playing and singing are outstanding.

This is a brilliant piece of work by a musical genius. Unfortunately, the CD MASTERING STINKS. The original vinyl release was bright and clear, with the kind of guitar solos that brings tears to your eyes. In stark contrast, every CD release I've heard makes me check my ears to see if I have cotton stuffed in there.

It's not often that I say this, but you would be a lot happier finding a well-taken-care-of vinyl copy of this album than you will buying this CD. This would be a 5-star album if it wasn't for that.

This is one of frank's critical albums in terms of direction. Frank was focussing more on guitar after the glorious 74 band, so he gets all the attention here. It is not one of his top albums, but it has too many great moments to be dismissed (and it is often dismissed) as a 'poor' album. It is a good album. The highlight of this album is undoubtedly Frank's amazing guitar playing. 'Black napkins' is one of his very best solos. Terry Bozzio contributes a lot with his drumming. The track was a live recording. 'Zoot Allures' is as soothing as napkins is intense. On both solos Frank shows his great feedback skill. Another solo is called 'Friendly Little Finger'. It took me years to appreciate this one but i love it now. It is a strange one. It uses a technique called 'xenechrony' which was used on sheik yerbouti and extensively used on Joe's Garage, two great 1979 albums. The bass and drums are playing in one time signature and the solo, taken from a completely different song, in another time signature. Experimental but i like it! So these three guitar pieces are the real meat of the album, along with that great song, 'the torture never stops'. It's a big long song about a torture chamber with midgets and an 'evil prince'. The evil prince appears in 1984's Thing Fish album, as does this song. In fact zappa must really have loved this song, it appears on about 5 or 6 of his albums! (check out ycdtosa vol4 for original version sung by captain beefheart). Anyway, there is some more zappa guitar on this song as well. And some truly horrible female screaming/moaning! It all adds up to one of Frank's greatest songs. So we have 4 great tracks already. What about the rest? 'wind up workin' in a gas station ' is a great little tune , terry bozzio shines here too. ms pinky is an amusing little song,good guitar playing, but it isn't amazing. Find her finer is just ok. Wonderful Wino-ugh. The lyrics are funny but this is one of the few zappa cuts i don't like. He should have stuck a live version on, this version is a bit sterile. For a rippin' version, check out lost episodes, ricky lancelotti sings it brilliantly! Disco boy is a good but not great song (dancin fool is way better). I prefer other versions of disco boy that appear on the ycdtosa series. Overall it is a good album though. The great tracks make up for the disappointing ones.Thank you

Let's face it, "Zoot Allures" is a pretty freaky record, unlike anything else Zappa has ever made. The album is dark and greasy...bubbling with stench, yet mind-bogglingly(?) beautiful. The production is decidedly low-fi, but the music is wonderful.

"Black Napkins" alone is worth the price of the album, a simply lovely, sprawling instrumental featuring Frank's virtuosic guitar work. My favorite cut here is "The Torture Never Stops". This is the most descriptive song ever written by any artist in the history of history. The music is evil (pronounced EVE-ill). The baritone vocals are nothing short of sinister. It's disturbing and awe-inspiring.

Other highlights include "Find Her Finer", "Wonderful Wino", "Zoot Allures" and "Wind Up Working in a Gas Station" among others. Not for everyone, but if you're sick of the norm, this one's for you.

First of all, this is not a bad Zappa album. The sound quality is good. The songs are good. The playing is good. The lyrics are good. Infact, replace good with great. I was disappointed to see people giving this album 3 stars because i feel it deserves more than that. It is very accessable but not like his Mothers works. Every track belongs on this album and there is a pervading sense of quality sleaze and filth! I'm not sure I can think of many other songs about a female pleasure device (Ms Pinky)! Black Napkins is as good as anything of SYNPYG and The Torture Never Stops is a brilliantly graphic song (I wonder what sort of torture it is,cos the woman doesn't seem to be hating the experience....perhaps it's just me!)

Anyway, this album is a worthy addition to any fans or newcomers collections alike. Along with One Size Fits All this makes one of Zappa's best from the 70s, if not ever!

Originally tiled "Night Of The Iron Sausage," this 1976 release was a bit of a departure for Zappa. Even though it includes many of the earlier musicians from The Mothers (Roy Estrada, Don Vliet, Ruth Underwood, and Terry Bozzio), it was pretty much a two-man effort, Bozzio on drums and Zappa on guitars, bass, and keyboards (via overdubs), with a stripped-down sound. The sound is also very compressed sounding, for better or worse. It is its own item, not sounding like any of his records before or since.

It starts off with the usual commentary on our underachieving species, "Wind Up Workin' In A Gas Station," featuring the trademarked falsetto vocal of Davey Moire. High-energy and very complex in texture, it is based on a top-heavy 5/4 rhythm, not a foot-tapper, but who needs that anyway? "Black Napkins" has been a stage favorite since the time of its release, a solo where FZ gets to show you what he's made of, and in later years, it became a vehicle for the brass section usually featured. But here, it's the original. And speaking of stage favorites, "The Torture Never Stops" has been recorded many, many times since 1975, when the "Bongo Fury" band premiered it in Austin, Texas. Originally written around a repetitive blues riff, and featuring slide guitar solos by Denny Walley and vocals and harmonica by Captain Beefheart (Vliet), it was drastically changed for this release, and virtually every version after. The original can be heard on Volume 4 of the "You Can't Do That On Stage..." series, and where it has its own atmosphere, the deep, dark dungeon quality is conveyed perfectly here. You can just get lost in the guitar solo he played on it, as well. "Ms. Pinky;" oh my. This is a song about a self-gratification device, a prosthetic head with the mouth shaped in a way for the user to fulfill his deepest, most perverted desires, no apologies, no commitments. It was songs like these which caused his very conservative (yet extremely funny) daughter, Moon, frequent embarrassment. But, as he has always said, "...Hey, it's just words, and words in music don't hurt people..." And he was right. "Find Her Finer" is a simple song about simple people; if you over intellectuallize, you probably won't get very far with the opposite gender, if you are just looking for a quickie. A Free-Form jam is featured in "Friendly Little Finger(dontcha just love these titles?)," a guitar-drum duet with some anchoring by the bass, but not really. It reminds me of the jams some bands like Cream did in the 1960's, just thrashing away at their instruments, but to do melodically, as we have here, takes more than just a little talent, as Cream and Zappa have shown. "Wonderful Wino" dates back to the days of The Mothers, when Jeff Simmons played bass (before the "200 Motels" fiasco), and once again, it has been recorded many times by many line-ups, but never released until this release. Many people call the title track Frank Zappa's signature guitar solo. It is gentle, emotional, even. When a rock band plays modern jazz with this conviction, how can you go wrong? This set closes with another anthropological study, "Disco Boy." In the 1970's the whole disco thing was really big, and people like me said "WHY?" It was just gaudy clothes, cocaine, meaningless sex, and really, REALLY lame music. This is a playful rock number, but the content tells the story perfectly. The dance floors were, and still are, full of perrennial losers, and this song is about them.

In the big picture, "Zoot Allures" is a very good record, but several Amazon reviewers have said it doesn't translate very well to CD. The analogue record (the one I have) is supposedly better sounding, but maybe one of these days, as with "Fillmore East, 1970," some day, a version will appear to make everyone happy.

As a P.S.:

I eventually did get the CD, and it sounds fine.

Almost commercial (compared to much of the catalog), Zappa stripped down (Terry Bozzio on drums and occasionally Ruth Underwood on percussion, though "Black Napkins" is a live recording with a band) and played much of the album himself: guitars, bass, keyboards. Yep, all those instruments on the centerpiece "The Torture Never Stops" are ALL Frank by his lonesome over Terry's drums.

This album flows very well and touches all the bases, though the emphasis here is pretty much Frank's guitar. There's a lot of Frank Metal/ Fuzztone Frank ("Wonderful Wino", "Ms Pinky"), a little Frank humor ("Wind Up Working in a Gas Station", "Disco Boy") and some trademark Pure Frank ("Napkins", "Zoot Allures"). There's even Frank's Irish jig at the begining of "Friendly Little Finger".

This is a cornerstone of my Zappa collection (with Hot Rats and One Size Fits All) and leads very nicely into Shiek Yerbouti, another good record from this period.