Frank Zappa - Roxy & Elsewhere
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Free Music Notes for Roxy & Elsewhere
Free Music Review: Favorite Zappa Album, Period.
Hit: 5 Stars
I am one of those that thinks the early seventies lineup with Napolean Murphy Brock, Ruth Underwood, The Fowlers, Chester Thompson!, et al. was the beast. I mean the Best. OK, the Beast. Later lineups may have been tighter, more technically proficient, but they can't compare when it comes to musicality, which here is absolutely magical. Zappa sounds completely in control and yet totally relaxed. His furious solos, while blazing fast and sophisticated, are just a bit more soulful. There appears to be more space, air around the notes. Frank seems to be viscerally connecting to every moment, and his pleasure is palpable throughout. Not that any other album has him as anything but convivial, but the lively rhythms here are just so damn soul stirring. I credit much of this to the phenomenal drumming of Chester Thompson, who kept things nicely paced with such funkified beats.
Frank's later bands often sounded rushed on live takes, hurrying through familiar numbers on their way to the more fun, more challenging stuff. In a related comparison, the difference between the original version of "Trouble Every Day" on "Freak Out" and the one here is just remarkable. It's been slowed down quite a bit to a true blues jam crawl but rocks along with the most distinctive, tremendous drum rolls I've ever heard. And Frank's solo on this one may just be his best ever. It's a raging wail of despair, most amazing. The lyrics have been edited (the song is faded out) and the song's all the more powerful for it; Frank's disgust is now fully focused on the Sad Conduct of the Citizens as seen on THE NEWS. In the original version he goes on to berate the Newscasters, who seem to take pleasure in their gruesome reports, which is another whole issue in itself, and worthy of a song of its own. It's my single favorite live Zappa performance, which is odd considering just how dour and angry is its tone. But the energy it radiates is tremendous.
What truly distinguishes this album is the flow. It really feels as though you're at a Zappa event, with well timed audience interactions and great segues. The "Village Of The Sun", "Echidna's Arf (Of You)", "Don't You Ever Wash That Thing?" trio flow one into the other so gracefully. It may in fact be the product of post production editing but the band has so often more than proven themselves expert at remarkable segues and adjusted tempos that I don't question it here.
The closing song, Bebop Tango (Of The Old Jazzmen's Church) is probably the best peek into the feel of a Zappa gig, where the audience plays such a big role in the show. It's like a bizarre bachelor party with plenty of unexpected shenanigans from the guests. Oh yeah, there's even a stripper doing her thing on stage with the Band.
I was in the audience when Zappa was on Saturday Night Live on December 11, 1976. I was a freshmen in high school and a classmate's father worked for NBC in NY and got us tickets. They played "Slime from the Video" on that show with a TV monitor rigged to have slime oozing out of the screen during the song. The audience was stunned. It was wild and wonderful. They played 2 other songs including "Peaches En Regalia." It was mostly a blur, over too fast, and I swore I would have to see them in concert. Tragically, unforgivably, stupidly I never ever did make it to a true, full show; one of my all time great regrets. So if you're a veteran of a live FZ show I'd sometime like to borrow your memories.
Free Music Review: ARRF!!
Hit: 5 Stars
Many will disagree with me here, but honestly, right before this album came out, I was finding my devotion to my utmost musical hero severely tested. Overnite Sensation was fun, but not as amazing as what I was used to from FZ. Apostrophe' plain left me cold, despite how popular it was amongst new Zappa converts. Roxy and Elsewhere restored much needed faith. I had seen some of this material played live in concert, heard something about a PBS special he was working on, forked out my hard-earned neo-teenage cash for a double live album, and was dancing on the ceiling from the first listening. I'd never heard such a great live recording, and the energy from the performance brought a much-needed element missing from the bottom-heavy, too-clean production of the two previous albums.
"Penguin in Bondage" is a hilarious view of sexual deviance, made somehow more so due to the restraints of having the performance recorded for television broadcasts; since he could not resort to outright raunch, the lyrics are peppered with strange, suggestive images (ie: kleenex on a coat-hang wire), and the song becomes a surrealistic goof on the whole 70s S&M phenomena. Zappa later pays homage to creature features of the 50s and 60s in "Cheepnis", a love letter to all those who ever sat out late night movies on TV just to look for costume zippers, 2x4s on fake cave sets, and visible nylon strings on giant insects.
A highlight of the album kicks off with an affectionate (yes, Frank COULD be affectionate) recollection of life in Palmdale, "Village of the Sun", famous for its turkey farms. Without missing a beat the band segues into a phenomenal instrumental of shifting rhythms, textures, keys, sounding by turns jazzy and cartoonish, even quite beautiful (Bruce Fowler's tromboning can ellicit chills), and through it all Zappa maintains the theatrical aspect as well ("ladies and gentlemen .... WATCH RUTH!"). Not only are his musicians expected to play complex, very difficult music ..... they also had to make it look fun.
This is exemplified in the final piece, "Be-Bop Tango", whose live performance borders on the athletic. In between the two tightly-structured sections his musical crew is given license to improvise, free-form, around a series of secret hand signals before coming back together to bring the piece to an abrupt finish. At one point during the proceedings, Zappa explains "Jazz isn't dead; it just smells funny."
In the five or so years that were to follow this album's release, Frank Zappa would go on to create the most extraordinary music of that decade, some of which was not to be heard until nearly twenty years later (see Laether). Apostrophe' snagged him a gold album, but it was this later release which really clues the listener in to the direction he was going. He was not finished pushing the limits yet. ... .
Free Music Review: great live album. and bebop tango too.
Hit: 5 Stars
This might well be Frank's greatest live album, and he has more live albums than most groups have albums.(I just counted them-about 20). It is very similar to that great album you can't do that on stage anymore vol2. The band features his funkiest line up. we have the funkmeister George Duke, we have Ruthie, the fowler bros.,jeff simmons,we have TWO drummers Ralph Humphrey and Chester Thomson. Don Preston is on this album too. And of course Napolean Murphy Brock, i almost forgot him. With these guys, how could it NOT be a great album? It begins with a great twisted song penguin in bondage. zappa gives some funny intros to some of the songs, and he does so with this song, talking about 'deVICES!!' and the like. Great guitar solo here . Pygmy twilight is a nice short little song about drugs i think. It's good but you should really get your hands on ycdtosa vol2 version which will blow your socks off man! A nice version of 'village of the sun' leads into the funny 'dummy up' with Jeff Simmons showing that you can be a pothead and play in frank's band. Then the awesome echidnas arf/ don't you ever wash that thing instrumental. The first one is a beautiful tune, one of Frank's best (also very tricky!). The second is also lovely but there is more room for soloing. We get great music from bruce fowler on trombone, george on keyboards, and the drummers with an amazing drum duel. And Frank delivers a short funky helluvah solo. Cheepnis has a hilarious intro by Frank-'twisting her ankle, on behalf of the Ice Cream Cone'. A great song about the cheapie monster movies. Then we get some oldies, ie More trouble every day and son of orange county. And just in case we forgot, zappa reminds us why he's the greatest guitar player with his soloing. Then bebop tango, my personal highlight. It's a difficult enough tune to get into, but so are a lot of great pieces. I love it when Frank says ' And this is a hard one to play'. It's such an unpredictable piece of music to listen to. So i kept on listening and eventually it made sense. And Bruce Fowler Great Trombone Solo #2!! There is also an extended audience participation which is the complete opposite of the tenacious discipline of the instrumental. fz delivers his quote ' jazz isn't dead it just smells funny'. Frank gets some fans to dance to George Duke's singing and ridicules their pathetic efforts 'no, no, you're just too reserved!' and praises the good dancing 'now THAT'S more like it!'. I love it when he says to them ' go back to your seats, and we'll bring up the next batch'. Sort of like sheep shearing! George then gets funky and we say good night, sadly the gig is over but only until i press the play button again. If you liked this, get ycdtosa vol2. Thank you.Free Music Review: Possibly the best Zappa album and place to start! Get it!
Hit: 5 Stars
I'm probably not as big of a Zappa fan as some of the other reviewers here, but having been a musician and an avid listener and fan for the last 22 years, I can easily say this is the best Zappa album of the ones I've heard. Many Zappaphiles (you know who you are) will say the same thing. This is Zappa album goes back to the CD player every year or two. The album from beginning to end is like going to see a movie, with various scenes and settings. Sometimes a Zappa record can be blatantly "Zappaesque". Not that that's a problem, that's what you bought the album for in the first place. However, there are times on Roxy that I forget that I'm listening to a Zappa album. I think that's a plus and a shows how dynamic this show/tour/album really was.
First of all, it's live (with a few overdubs), showcasing the band's talent, for sure. Enchinda's Arf (Of You)/Don't You Ever Wash That Thing? immediately come to mind. The trombone (which makes my hair stand on end) and Rhodes solos are highlights. The "tennis match" drum solo between Chester Thompson and Ralph Humphrey is a drummer's delight.
Second, some of Frank's best "song" writing is here, as well. Next to the blistering musicianship you might find on a jazz/fusion record, Roxy also has great SONGS. Meaning, there's a great pop sensibility found on certain tracks. Village Of The Sun and Pygmy Twylyte come to mind.
Those of you who have a affinity for Soul and R&B will especially like Roxy because this is the funkiest of all the Zappa lineups. There are two drummers here but, being a drummer myself, Chester Thompson lays down some ultra-funky, tight backbeats. Geoege Duke adds his amazing jazz and soul background. Napoleon Brock and Bruce Fowler's extensive jazz backgrounds are apparent here, as well.
There is, of course, all comedy you expect from a Zappa recording. This album is, again, pleasantly unique in that being live, Frank interacts with the audience so you not only have hilarious song lyrics but there is also banter that is reminiscent of a stand up comic. There ultimate being Bebop Tango, with it's great crowd participation and, as the jazz/noise climax comes near, the band busts into a bouncy blues staple. Whether it was done live or spliced in the studio, it's still a side-splitting moment.
This is where I tell everyone to start with Zappa. You should too.
Free Music Review: Not 100% live, too bad.
Hit: 5 Stars
This was one tight band. But, in an early instance of Zappa's doctoring of live material, "Roxy & Elsewhere" is partially a studio effort. Napoleon Murphy Brock's high vocals in "Cheepnis" are proof of this. Further proof would be Volume Two of "You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore." Vastly different arrangement, with no speeded-up vocal. The other instances are more subtle, but present, nonetheless. But I won't detract from this record. It really is good.
There is a relaxed feel all through this, even in the fast-paced, intricate arrangements, and it is obvious the whole band is having a lot of fun on stage. And despite a slight raciness in some of the material, Zappa keeps it all clean; a "PG" rating at worst. Too bad it wasn't aired on television, as intended. There is such mundane material in spots, who would have thought you could write a nice, jazzy ballad about turkey poop on your windshield ("Village Of The Sun"), and actually have it work? And, of course, cheap monster movies have a fan base all their own, including Zappa and The Mothers' salute with "Cheepnis." Despite the obvious overdubbing, this is an incredible piece of live music. It's no wonder he had a "NO DRUGS IN THE BAND" rule. Uppers could help, but you really need to be on top of your game to pull this stuff off. Take the first part of "Bee-Bop Tango," for instance. Frank Zappa tells the audience, just before the band starts, "This is a HARD one to play." Just listen to it, the band probably played it every night for the whole 73-74 tour, maybe not, but, as rendered here, it's one of the most difficult pieces in contemporary music. And, I have no doubt, this version has it's own ambience.
"Roxy & Elsewhere" has funny dialogue, good, lively interplay between band members and audience, and a clean, immediate sound, as if the band were set up in your home. One thing that is funny, how many times do you see a rock audience seriously listening to a jazzy trombone solo, and liking it?
He couldn't escape his "Freak Out" roots though, as a slowed down, truncated "Trouble Coming Every Day" is included, but called "MORE Trouble Coming Every Day," along with a rearranged "Orange County Lumber Truck," from "Weasels Ripped My Flesh," but not sounding dated at all at the time. And even now, it still sounds fresh.