CHICAGO '78

Zappa's late 1978 band hasn't had so much in the way of official releases compared to other lineups, and I hear Zappa himself preferred the mildly tweaked 1979 lineup. Chicago '78 also has unusually lukewarm recording quality mitigating against this - don't get me wrong, it's an officially-sourced recording and whatnot, but it was recorded to four-track and this means there's only so much the mixing job can do, meaning it sounds a little muggy and flat compared to, say, the Hammersmith Odeon live set from the start of the year.

Still, Zappa's increasing use of influences from disco and the mellower side of funk adds an interesting twist here which proves rewarding if you persist at it, and whilst the lyrics are often juvenile on balance the vicious turn they took in 1977 and early 1978 seems to be alleviating - the end of Zappa's legal troubles with Warner Brothers perhaps mellowing him out somewhat. And Zappa's lead guitar solos add spice even to what is otherwise a fairly flat mix. Nonetheless, it's got a "rough draft" feeling to it which perhaps points to why Zappa made adjustments later on down the line.