MAKE A JAZZ NOISE HERE

This is one of Frank Zappa's best albums, period. The 1988 band was one of Frank's tightest groups, and they could play just about anything Frank desired them to. This album showcases the (mostly) instrumental side of the band (though I think the other 2 albums featuring this lineup have plenty of instrumental/complex stuff too) Most of the new songs from this tour were featured on Broadway the Hard Way, but there's a few on this album.

However, right off the bat we get to hear Frank speak, and the story of Ed Mann making a mistake in the song "Dickie's Such an Asshole" is humorous. Then we are thrown into unknown territory. "When Yuppies Go To Hell" is an original tune unique to this album, and combines jazz-fusion with electronic stuff and some Synclavier as well. A dense piece that took me a while to appreciate, but it gets better every time I hear it. Out of that we get Fire and Chains, another original tune, though this is mostly a guitar solo. The other original is Star Wars Won't Work, which is more of a goofy song.

The rest of the album consists of older material, but with rousing renditions due to the horns and the arrangements. This album focuses a lot on the big improv pieces, so tunes like Big Swifty, King Kong, and Dupree's Paradise go into all kinds of directions, so much that beyond the main themes, these are all new pieces (and Dupree's Paradise (along with T'Mershi Duween) never had an official release before this album, I believe.)

But seriously, the entire album is one big highlight. It's amazing how many 2 disc albums Frank made and released in the late 80s/early 90s and that hold my attention the entire time (which is most of them.)

This album is a top 5 Frank Zappa album, but should be checked out after you are familiar with a good chunk of Zappa's 60s and 70s albums first; mostly to understand how Frank modified the older tunes, but you could do a lot worse than making this one of your first Zappa albums, especially if you appreciate the horn-dominated, jazzier side of his music.