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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Zappa Swedish TV Broadcast, May 12, 2004
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!
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
actually, 3 and a half stars................., January 12, 2005
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.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Essential Zappa CD with just a few imperfections...., October 1, 2002
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.
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~ Frank Zappa
~ Frank Zappa
~ Frank Zappa
~ Frank Zappa
~ Frank Zappa & the Mothers of Invention
by Frank Zappa 
