MAKE A JAZZ NOISE HERE

Quite possibly one of the best Jazz Fusion Rock combo's ever to make it to recording status. Much more than that, this is actually live with no overdubs. This recording cooks from beginning to end.

First of all, FZ opens up the fire with STINK FOOT. This really sets the pace for the whole experience. Consider this song, if you have heard it before, you have never heard FZ play it with such soaring guitar frenzy before... quite an input for a Jazz oriented CD... and if this was a single for this CD one might consider the album a Jazz Metal output.... consider that for a genre....

Then, When Yuppies Go To Hell comes into fray. I really enjoy the sampling/synclavier additions and subtractions to the overall theme/feel fo the song. A very interestint NEWISH song from FZ.

Fire And Chains is quite possibly my favorite song on the CD. It really cooks from beginning to end. I really like this song, in fact it is a top twenty favorite from FZ's catalog... and that would be bottom of the list for mere mortals, but when you say a song is top twenty from FZ's catalog, you are giving it quite a compliment...

Then the whole pace picks up in a foot stomping jazz overdrive rabid horn sectioin banger... with Lets make the Water Turn Black ... all the way through ... Eat that question..... this is such an overpowering combo, it is really a waste of time to go into just how good and amazing it is... and consider this, this band did not get along with each other and ended up ending the tour in a break up and stopping this band from really completing a full tour of the USA. Bastards.

King Kong comes along later on in Disc one .. and FZ always finds ways to make this song adventerous. this is not an exception.

Star wars won't work.... a funny short song that really makes you laugh if you have sense of humor.

Onto Disc 2

Black Page NEW AGE VERSION really is a mind warper.. but I must tell you that I really like it just as much as any version I have heard, and I have heard them all... just about anyway.

TMershi Duween is good, but not a total favorite song of mine by FZ, but if you like this song, you will most liikely enjoy this due to the excellent band.

THEN COMES THE SONG OF THE CD... CITY OF TINY LIGHTS. This song, by far and large is worth the price of admission. This is such an outstanding song, and it gets a massive boost with this band, this is the best version of the song, and the best live version of the song (released anyway) The Horns are used so well in this song. And lets face it, Horns can ruin a song if used wrong way. The whole arrangement has been altered for this band by FZ and he did it just right this time... and sometimes FZ would take chances, and not all of the would work live... some of it was either FZ overreaching with his band, or his band not doing what they were paid to do PERFORM... but this time, FZ over reached and the band reached down and performed, and this song is nothing short of miraculous. God be praised or something. mama amazing.

ROYAL MARCH.... is next and again, the foot jazz stomping comes in.. I just wish that Stravinsky ... even Miles Davis could be alive to see this live.... I imagine a lot of smiling faces.

Bartok Piano Concerto is very good, once again, it is hard to distinguish where the previous song ended and this one started due to the excellent music stomping of this band... they had to be having a good time in their ill reputed favor with each other while playing these songs... perhaps the fact that the band was not getting along inputed into the music....lots of time conflict breeds fantastic music, consider Roger Waters/David Gilmour/Paul McCartney/John Lennon.

Sinsiter Footwear 2nd mvt. Very good, but the only complaint is, I wish FZ would have released a band, had a band perform and release all of these movements with a rock band. That would have been very interesting.

Alien Orifice.. I enjoy this song in every different band incarnation, and this is no exception. I like the hornish beginning of the song. Very nice intro... typically FZ rips into a very harsh audience hating solo during the mid part of this song and he does it in this song too, but it is more associated so that you can actually hear the band as well... and right after the guitar solo, you have some wonderful dissonate trumpet/sax etc...playing then right into xylophone madness, accompanied with FZ guitar and Chad Whackerman odd signature drum whapping.

great stuff.

Even better than The Best Band..., here the guys are closing the 80´s with a surprising powerfull band, with a wind section that worth a FIVE without doubt. The rest of the guys are workin´ hard to sound as good as ever, including Zappa, that is obviously inspired on guitar, in some stupid but funny lyrics and as a composer, off course, the compositions here show that he´s at his finest hour.The whole first disc is an amazing collection of Zappa live, with lots of nem material. The second one goes in the same way, and when they´re listened to in a sequence, the real idea of a memorable Zappa live act come to your head and simply blow your brain. Fascinating. Altough some guys argue in benefit of The Best Band... as the best record of this period I must say that both are excellent, but the wind section and the new material here, including the fact that the sound quality here is top notch, with the almost complete abscence of 80´s plastic sonority, make this record even better than The Best Band..., altough both are FIVE stars efforts. To show that are not overrated comments here, just check to this line-up (especially if you´re are yet introduced to Zappa´s world in the 80´s):

- Frank Zappa / lead guitar, synth, vocal - Ike Willis / rhythm guitar, synth, vocals - Mike Keneally / rhythm guitar, synth, vocals - Bobby Martin / keyboards, vocals - Ed Mann / vibes, marimba, electronic percussion - Walt Fowler / trumpet, flugel horn, synth - Bruce Fowler / trombone - Paul Carman / Alto saxophone, Soprano saxophone, Baritone saxophone - Albert Wing / Tenor saxophone - Kurt McGettrick / Baritone saxophone, contrabass clarinet - Scott Thunes /electric bass, mini moog - Chad Wackerman / drums, electronic percussion

Are you convinced? Pure entertainment. Get it.

Jazz Noise is a fascinating and unforgettable experience. The sound quality is excellent, even better than any studio album. Most of Zappa's repertoire has received plenty of modifications so that all of the songs would match in style. Even a Zappa know-it-all (who hasn't heard Jazz Noise yet) would find so much new stuff that the material could't be embraced in just one listen.

The concert starts off with 'Stinkfoot' wich is more of an introduction to the whole thing less than a song itself. Here Zappa gets acquainted with the audience givining comment to the Jimmy Swaggart prostitude scandal. 'Yuppies' is a very dark and mysterious piece from the more serious and dissonant part of Zappa's work. This one still seems to refer to the matter of Mr. Swaggart. 'Fire and Chains' is an agressive and crazy short number - Zappa still can't get enough of Swaggart. Next up is probably the most memorable part of disc 1. The medly covering everything from 'Let's Make the Water Turn Black' all the way to 'Lumpy Gravy' should even wake up the most bored Zappa-hater and put a satisfied grin on his face. Though 'Eat That Question' is a lot shorter than the one on 'The Grand Wazoo', it delivers the power the studio version was lacking - I'd give it an A+. 'Black Napkins' is very similar to the original version exept that most of the soloing is performed by the brass band. 'Big Swifty' is my favourite from the whole album. It starts very upbeat and energetic and flows in to a cool and quiet trombone solo section. Then the band wakes up the audience again with heroic and funny excerpts from classical pieces. In 'Big Swifty' Zappa also insinuates the meaning of a 'jazz noise'. 'King Kong' is like a reggae version of 'Yuppies'. 'Star Wars Won't Work' is a number where the brasses finally give chance for a Zappa's guitar solo. End of disc 1.

There's quite a difference between the material on the two discs. The second disc doesn't present the listener with happy cartoony themes or dissonant experiments. Most of the tracks are more like in the same key as 'Big Swifty' from disc 1. One of the highlights on disc 2 is 'City of Tiny Lights'. Very upbeat and alive with fine singing and funny sound effects. Next couple of tracks are two excerpts from classical works, both slightly zappafied. 'Sinister Footwear' continues the style of disc 2 thus making it nothing extraordinary. 'Stevie's Spanking' is the only straight-on-pedal-to-the-metal rock song on the album. And 'Alien Orifice' is yet another typical disc 2 piece. 'Cruisin' for Burgers' is a bit similar to 'Tiny Lights'. It has a bluesy rhythm with funny instrumental comments in between and again excellent singing. 'Advance Romance' is one of the coolest tracks on the album also featuring some bluesy elements. 'Strictly Genteel' is the last number and it is a mix of all moods presented throghout the whole album. The track is your typical 'good bye & good night' ending with a touch Frank Zappa weirdness.

This album is highly recommended even if you're not into Zappa that much. Normally I would rate a live album max 4 stars because usually they don't present you with anything that hasn't already been. Zappa on the other hand has tottaly transformed his old material into it's ultimate form. There are few live albums that can top the quality of this one.

Another live album from the '88 world tour, Zappa really pulls out all the stops with this record, which is overshadowed if you ask me by its counterpart record in The Best Band You Never Heard In Your Life. What makes this album different from that album is that the setlist here is completely different, and the entire show has a completely different feel than that album does. Here there is a feeling of improvisation and an overall jazzy edge (hence the album title most likely), unlike The Best Band You Never Heard In Your Life, which had a more jokey and silly atmosphere (reggae Stairway to Heaven says it all).

This album is filled with classic Zappa tunes, and is also one of the only albums that features a live song from The Grand Wazoo, I speak of Eat that Question, which unfortunately doesn't get a full rendition, but the brief snippet of that song here is a real treat. Black Napkins is great as always and Zappa really plays his heart out here. Some of the newer pieces are pretty interesting. Songs like Fire and Chains and When Yuppies Go to Hell are interesting quasi-instrumental compositions that explore various abilities of the band and have a really laid-back feel to them. King Kong and Big Swifty also get some pretty stellar workouts here as well. And all that's only in the first disc.

The second disc has some more modern Zappa pieces, like Stevie's Spanking and Alien Orifice, but he always seems to be able to pull out an older song, here it is Cruising for Burgers (which unlike the live counterpart in Zappa In New York, contains the vocals) and a rousing performance of Strictly Genteel. In all, the second disc will captivate as much as the first disc, although some of the pieces in the middle don't have the punch that most of the album contains.

Overall, I recommend this album over The Best Band You Never Heard in Your Life simply because I feel it has a better setlist and it explores more of Zappa's laid back and relaxed side. I won't discredit The Best Band... though because that album is also stellar. If you like Zappa's older pieces and more jazzy works, then this will also be right up your alley. No masterpiece, but not far from that coveted position.

And what a noise it was.

Make A Jazz Noise Here is another two disc live set from Zappa's '88 touring band. This makes a perfect companion to The Best Band You Never Heard In Your Life CD also from the '88 band, as this one focuses more on the instrumental/serious side of Frank's music (and probably no surprise the jazzier side). This of course is just a conveinent piegonhole. There is plenty of musical things happening here, filled with that typical Zappa humor and trademark sound. Because of this there should be something here for all types of Zappa fans. (As a side note, its hard to choose better this one and The Best Band...as which is better, so the smart thing to do is get both, but if you perfer the jazzier/instrumental stuffs get this one first, and if you perfer the rockier/direct humor stuff get The Best Band...first). Needless to say, this is played to perfection as Zappa never messed around with musicians and knew how to choose some of the best in the buisness.

There are many moments that make this album a must have. However, I will only highlight a few. First and foremost, When Yuppies Go To Hell. No question about it, this song goes in my list of top songs of all time. Thoughout the near 13 and a half minuets, much ground is cover, grooved based jazz-rock, experimental zaniness, a drum solo, free jazz, and bizarre sounds thrown together to make a psuedo melody. Sounds like Zappa at his finest eh? Secondly, the suite from Lets Make The Water Turn Black to Eat That Question. Absolutely amazing arrangements of some Zappa classics. The horns, the percussion, the guitar...everything is in the right place. This is capped by perhaps the finest moment to come out of the '88 band...an abbreivated Eat The Question. It is sad to see that it is shortened, but they certainly make the most out of it. (The baritone sax can shake the Earth when played at a loud volume) These two moments above alone, make this necessary. But there are more! City Of Tiny Lights. A rip-roaring version is presented here with a great guitar solo from the man. Royal March From L'Histoire Du Soldat and Theme From The Bartok Piano Concerto #3 are two short little covers. It is interesting and fun to hear these tunes arranged for a big-band jazz-rock performance (and I imagine it would be more so for people who are more familar with these works). Strickly Genteel ends the set, and while not being my favorite version of the song, is a great way to end the CD and certainly fits the best on this '88 band record. It also must be noted that even though I picked about five songs to highlight it is really hard to pick a bad moment on either disk (though I do perfer disk one as there are flatter spots on disk two, but nothing too deflating). From King Kong, to Dupree's Paradise, to Crusin' For Burgers...these songs are enjoyable, expertly arranged, well played, and always fun to hear.

All in all, this is one of the best live albums to come out of the Zappa's catalogue. I believe this has something for everyone and is one of Zappa's more progressive albums. While it wouldn't be the best place to start, once you've got the Zappa bug this one should be picked as soon as possible. 4.5 stars rounded up.

I think the biggest appeal for this album for me is the fact that it is primarily instrumental. Having such a gigantic lineup of musicians certainly only helps the instrumental Zappa experience here. The Jazz element is quite strong, of course, but I would never call this a jazz or even jazz rock type of album. Certainly, a song like Big Swifty was always a jazzy number, and gets quite the treatment here, along with King Kong, which wasn't quite so jazzy on it's original release. Those two are highlights for me on this album.

But with that many horns on stage, you really can't help but have a jazz rock, or even brass rock type of feel to all the music. Still, songs like When Yuppies Go To Hell and Star Wars Won't Work are far more experimental and strange, using more electronic sounds and dissonance (they seem to be improvisations, so I suppose the strangeness is not surprising).

Luckily for me, the few vocal numbers are ones I can deal with and even enjoy. Stinkfoot being one of the first Zappa songs I ever heard, and given a pretty uncomplicated reading here as sort of gentle introduction to the more dense and complex instrumentals to come. City Of Tiny Lights has always appealed to me, despite its somewhat disco era beat in the verses. Stevie's Spanking perhaps lacks for missing Via in the lineup, but still a worthwhile rendition. And Cruising For Burgers gets a grand reading here, as good a version of this one as you are likely to hear.

The last two tracks on CD 2 are two of Zappa's more involved and impressive compositions, and the expanded lineup on stage makes these versions something special.

A great live album, and a great document of Zappa's 1988 touring band. I prefer this one to The Best Band...., but that album is also well worth owning for the sake of getting the full picture of a Zappa performance (it contains far more vocal songs and some astonishing cover versions). For me, an essential Zappa album. But since it is live, and being aware of the somewhat shaky nature of live Zappa units in general (this is not easy material to pull off folks) I will settle on 4 stars.

Don't be affraid - it's not only jazz there! One of the best ever Zappa's live album presents perfect mix of everything Zappa played in late eighties, and in the best form.Whenever there are big team of musicians ( incl. brass section) participated in concert, album's sound is often very rich and heavy orchestrated.

Even the main musical base is jazz-rock ( but again, in very different forms: from classic fusion a-la "Hot Rats", to free form long avant-jazz improves), there are plenty of other elements, filling all that musical space. Every different piece has it's own sound, from retro songs, sounding as classic movie sountrack, to heavy metal pieces ( with electric guitar solos), from brass- orchestrated almost pop-melodies to near modern classical music.

And what is very important - all this different music is connected very organically into one bright, interesting and never boring long show! Every listener will find some perfect moments for himself. But if you like later Zappa albums, jazz-fusion and avantgarde music, all the album is a gem!

Back in the eighties, Frank Zappa would often play two shows in Boston when he toured. One show would feature the fun songs, the humorous pieces and the popular songs. The other show would feature the really fun songs, the complex compositions, to show aff in front of the Berklee School students. So it was a great thing for those of us who would get tickets to both shows.

That's the difference between this albun and "The Best Band You Never Saw In Your Life". Where as the other was fun (but marred by too much gloating over religious con-man Jimmy Swaggart's moral issues at the time), this album is just amazing.

Zappa's final tour featured an incredible lineup. He had five horn players (mostly the Fowler Brothers and their cohorts), which allowed the band to shift easily between rock, jazz and classical without a hiccup (maybe a burp or a fart, but not a hiccup).

There are some extended jams, with beautiful solos - sometimes slightly marred by the bizarre samples dropped in - but the focus is always on what this band could do. Black Napkins features the horn playing Frank's signature solo. Big Swifty and King Kong are both embellished (as Zappa does throughout) with quotes from other pieces.

There are even bits of Stravinsky and Bartok on the album.

I give this 4.5 out of five stars - rounded up.

Not many (if any) performers could release three live albums from the same tour and not have any of them be redundant (or, if you will, have no overlapping material), but Frank Zappa wasn't most performers. Whereas Broadway focused on the political theater aspects of Zappa's 1988 shows, and Best Band gave the sense of a "real" concert, this release mostly features the more instrumental-driven material of that tour. Predictably, I don't love this one as much as I did Best Band, and to be honest, I'm not even necessarily sure that longtime fans of Zappa's instrumental stuff would go ga-ga for this. A lot of the keyboard effects that were used sparsely and to good effect on Best Band are used to create some incredibly ugly passages on this one, and they definitely worsen my feelings towards this. There are also a few other tracks that hadn't appeared on albums before, and they don't really do much to make an impression amongst the more familiar material. I mean, I don't hate "Fire and Chains," or "Star Wars Won't Work," or "Sinister Footwear 2nd mvt." (which was on Them or Us, but seems awfully close in spirit to those other two tracks, so I'm lumping it in with them), but they hardly give me reason to listen to them again.

Still, there's a lot of good material on here. One thing this album is good about is interspersing faithful renditions of old favorites with bizarre reinventions of, uh, other old favorites. In the more familiar territory, there's a great medley of "Let's Make the Water Turn Black," "Harry You're a Beast," "The Orange County Lumber Truck" and "Oh No," with an immediate segue into the main theme from Lumpy Gravy. The first four tracks in that list aren't done very differently from how they were on Ahead of Our Time (remember that one?), but then again that archive release wasn't yet available, so it would have been a major treat to have a rendition of these. Staying in familiar territory, the first disc also contains decent enough renditions of "Stinkfoot" (including the only serious political material of the album, in more references to the Jimmy Swaggart sex scandal), a shortened "Eat That Question" and "Black Napkins" (never really liked this, but it's ok here).

"Big Swifty" and "King Kong" round out the first disc (aside from some of the new pieces mentioned earlier), and they're anything but conventional. They have the same main themes as their original versions, yes, but their midsections veer all over the place, touching on all sorts of well-known and obscure jazz, classical and other melodies from the past. In other hands, things like the quote from "The 1812 Overture" would seem cliche and stupid, but this is Frank Zappa we're talking about; he'd earned plenty of right to do something like by this point. These versions would never replace the originals (and I say that as somebody who doesn't love them, though I like them more now than I did in my initial reviews), but they're nice supplements, and that's really what live albums are for.

The second disc, for all of its busy instrumental excitedness, falls a bit into background noise for me, but I basically like it. I only sorta like this version of "The Black Page," and the Stravinsky and Bartok quotes are too brief to satisfy me (and besides, the third piano concerto was the weakest), but the rest is nice. Without mentioning every other track, I'd say that "Dupree's Paradise" is much more satisfying here than in the 24-minute version on YCDTOSA Vol 2; the metallic power of "Stevie's Spanking" is a terrific change of pace from the jazzy aspects of the rest of the album; "Advance Romance" is just as great of a weird blues piece as ever, and "Strictly Genteel" is the perfect regal way to end the album.

For all the praises, though, there's a tedium to the album that didn't exist on Best Band, and except for a couple of stretches, there isn't a lot of fun on this album. Still, there's no good reason to own the first two releases of the tour but not this one.

4.5 stars.This was from the same 1988 tour as the live album "The Best Band You Never Heard In Your Life". In my opinion they make great companion records because the song list is completely different. And while both live album showcase the band's incredible viruosity instrumentally and humour at the same time, "Make A Jazz Noise here" puts more of a focus on the instrumental work while "The Best Band..." is more about the humour and features more well know Zappa classics hence it's popularity among fans. Both are like listening to Big Band Zappa with lots of guitar solos to boot, and no overdubs in sight.

Disc one begins with Zappa's announcement about Jimmy Swaggert's infidelities and particularily that he got caught and then he brings him up as well in this opening track "Stinkfoot". Great tune.

"When Yuppies Go To Hell" is an interesting track, kind of unique to my ears when it comes to Zappa music. Some weird vocal expressions too. It picks up with horns before 4 minutes. I should mention that these songs all blend into one another. "Fire And Chains" has a guitar solo 1 1/2 minutes in. "Let's Make The Water Turn Black" is a short but classic tune with the horns honking in that familiar melody. It blends into two short tracks in "Harry,Your A Beast" and "The Orange Countuy Lumber Truck".

Next is "Oh No" with vocals right away then we get a guitar led instrumental section followed by horns. "Theme From Lumpy Gravy" has some brief spoken words from Frank as the melody continues. "Eat That Question" kicks in around a minute.

"Black Napkins" is horn led early and is quite horny throughout actually. An impressive laid back tune. Piano around 5 minutes but the horns still lead. "Big Swifty" is such a great track and it picks up right away then Frank says "Make a jazz noise here" before 1 1/2 minutes.Yeah this is jazzy. A calm 4 minutes in with piano and some carrying on in the background. We get a bass and horn solo after 7 minutes followed by vocal expressions and more horns.

"King Kong" is horn led. Some funny spoken words after 5 minutes then the horns lead again after 7 1/2 minutes.

Disc two begins with "The Black Page" which again is all about the horns with the guitar taking over before 4 minutes. This continues into the next track then we get "Dupree's Paradise" my favourite off this recording.This sounds amazing and check out the trumpet solo which ends before 3 1/2 minutes to big applause. From here to the end is incredible.

"City Of Tiny Lights" is a vocal track with lots of horns. A guitar solo before 4 minutes then the vocals return. A couple of short tracks follow then "Sinister Footwear" kicks in and we get some great sounding bass horn of some sort followed by some excellent drum work before 4 minutes.

"Stevie's Spanking" has a heavy intro with guitar then vocals.The guitar solo before 2 minutes is brief but more of that after 4 minutes. "Alien Orifice" is guitar and horns.

"Cruisin' For Burgers" is a classic vocal track with a long guitar solo late. "Advance Romance" features horns, vocals and drums that standout. Funny lyrics here.The guitar starts to solo around 3 1/2 minutes until before 6 minutes then the vocals return. "Strictly Genteel" has lots of horns as usual and some vocal outbursts.

The instrumental work on this one is mind blowing and that certainly is the focus of this album. Fantastic !

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.

Review #174

"Make a jazz noise here" is an amazing recording from the same 1988 tour that gave us "The best band you never heard in your life" but this album is completely different from the other one: most (not all) of the songs on this record are instrumental versions that showed the skills of Zappa and his band creating the most epic performances.

Some of the best moments of the first CD are the led by trumpet version of "Black napkins", the even jazzier version of "Big Swifty" and the tremendous guitar solo on "Fire and chains". Some classics by The Mothers of Invention as "Let's make the water turn black", "Harry, you're a beast" and the whole performance of "King Kong" were also excellent instrumental moments of this album while "Oh no" was not totally instrumental but definitely had very exquisite arrangements.

The second CD includes some titles previously performed in the magnificent Helsinki concerts in 1974 ("Dupree's Paradise" and "T'Mershi Deween") and other classic songs as "Cruisin' for burgers", "The black page" and "Strictly genteel" but most of the themes actually came from more recent (in those days) recordings and excellent improvisations (it even includes a song from "Frank Zappa meets The Mothers of Prevention"). The version of the "Sheik yerbouti" original song "City of tiny lights" has a much more entertained performance than the one on the most sold Zappa album. "Them or us" was also remembered with "Sinister footwear" and "Stevie's spanking" (even when Stevie didn't play here).

This is one of the jazziest albums Frank Zappa ever recorded, not fully Jazz since, as any Zappa record, this is a salad of a huge amount of different musical styles.

SONG RATING: Stink foot, 4 When yuppies go to hell, 5 Fire and chains, 5 Let's make the water turn black, 4 Harry, you're a beast, 4 The orange county lumber truck, 4 Oh no, 4 Theme from Lumpy Gravy, 4 Eat that question, 4 Black napkins, 5 Big Swifty, 5 King Kong, 5 Star Wars won't work, 3 The black page, 5 T'mershi duween, 5 Dupree's Paradise, 5 City of tiny lights, 5 Royal March from L'Histoire du soldat, 4 Theme from the Bartok Piano Concerto #3, 4 Sinister footwear, 4 Stevie's spanking, 4 Alien orifice, 4 Cruisin' for burgers, 4 Advance romance, 5 Strictly genteel, 5

AVERAGE: 4.4

PERCENTAGE: 88

ALBUM RATING: 4 stars