PHILLY '76

One of only a few live releases from the Zappa archives to feature keyboardist and vocalist Lady Bianca, who was in his touring band briefly but ended up parting ways after she'd frustrated Zappa by talking back to an audience member who'd been yelling sleazy nonsense at her, and Zappa frustrated her by suggesting she show a little more skin onstage. Apparently the actual parting was amicable, but it's pretty evident from the story that Bianca might not have been the best fit for the lewd and occasionally kind of sexist Zappa's lyrical direction was going at the time, and Zappa was perhaps being a bit too blase about the frat boy-ish audience that material had been attracting.

Still, this particular gig is pretty solid, not least for how it showcases a sort of middle ground between the muscular rock of Zoot Allures and the approach of Zappa In New York. After Zappa's touring lineups went through a patch from 1975-1976 where they were very slimmed down, this finds Zappa expanding his live sound again, and whilst the Lady Bianca experiment did not work in the long run her Gospel-inflected vocals add new dimensions to the music this time around.