SHIP ARRIVING TOO LATE TO SAVE A DROWNING WITCH

Another very enjoyable 80's effort by Zappa, although being quite commercial in places though the title track and "Envelopes" are both jarringly complex and some of Zappa's most complex songs ever written back in the early 80's. The musicianship here his even tighter than usual and the production is clear as always giving the album a very polished but somewhat sterile sound, but the music mostly makes up for that. A guest appearance from Roy Estrada (from the old Mothers of Invention line-up) on "I Come From Nowhere" as lead vocalist singing like a retarded man is one of the funniest moments on this album and finish the song with a three-minute guitar solo (one of Zappa's coolest). The rest of the album is also good, notably the opener "No Not Now" with a catchy, repetitive melody with some really hilarious high-pitched singing to top it all. While "Valley Girl" is slightly weaker, but still has plenty of good riffs and was Zappa's only US top 50-hit. "Teenage Prostitute" is a hilarious Opera/Hard rock parody with some really hilarious lyrics and closes the album with a smile!

Highly recommended for Zappa fans that like his more polished material soundwise. A bit uneven but still very good!