Frank Zappa - Zoot Allures
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Free Music Notes for Zoot Allures
Free Music Review: Some of Frank's best playing
Hit: 5 Stars
This was my first Zappa album and is still one of my favorites to this day. As a previous reviewer said, Black Napkins alone makes it worth the price. Frank's guitar tone can only be described as fat - similar to the tone he gets on his previous two studio releases, Apostrophe and One Size Fits All. While some decry the poor mastering on the original CD release the FZ approved remaster is a vast improvement. Most of the CDs issued in the late 80s and early 90s sound horrible anyway. But that seems beside the point to me - I buy Zappa albums for the music, the production values are just icing on the cake. This album has music in spades. Of three instrumental tracks on the album the afore mentioned Black Napkins and the title track are both classics - Black Napkins having a dark almost bluesy feel to it. The title track is a showcase of Frank's percussive guitar playing over a mellow bass vamp. Of all the tracks on the album I could have done without Friendly Little Finger though. The vocal tracks are all first rate Zappa thought/humor pieces - although what you're supposed to be thinking about is not always clear and if it is it's probably better left unsaid - see The Torture Never Stops and Find Her Finer. So, while I may be unduly influenced by nostalgia I do beleive that this is one of Frank's top ten albums (which is saying alot since he has so many), is a good point to start your Zappa collection and is a must have for Zappa collectors.Free Music Review: Straight ahead rocking CD from the master of muffins
Hit: 5 Stars
How do you steer someone curious about Frank Zappa to a good place to start exploring his amazing career? Possibly the most prolific modern artist of all time, Zappa wore so many shoes it boggles the imagination.
Unlike some other classic Zappa albums that truly take getting used to, like "Weasels Ripped My Flesh" or "One Size Fits All", this CD rocks more than most anything else he did, with a minimal (in number, not ability) band to back him up. And, befitting his underappreciated guitar mastery, which easily is on a par with Jeff Beck and Jimi Hendrix for originality and overall excellence, "Zoot Allures" features plenty of Zappa guitar work, erasing any doubt to his brilliance.
Like all his material except for his instrumental works, Zappa was sarcastic, misanthropic and sometimes downright juvenile in his attacks on society in general. That acidic commentary is present here, but the real gem is the title track, "Zoot Allures", without question one of the most breathtakingly beautiful guitar instrumentals ever. It is indeed shocking to hear such elegance and sublety from a man not known for his restraint.
After this CD, one can leap virtually anywhere in the immense Zappa catalogue, but this reviewer recommends "Hot Rats" as his next stop and then perhaps "Shiek Yerbouti" or the "Joe's Garage" series. Zappa was a genius, and deserves more attention.
Free Music Review: Zappa is so extremely effective.
Hit: 5 Stars
Zappa's catalog is perhaps the greatest of musical endeavors in the history of mankind, and is 'frankly' superior to all other musical forms, be they by specific human design or deed of God. With "Zoot Allures," Zappa has managed to capture the essence of our unqualified social cozenage and transform it into a corporeal musical theorem, while unmistakably showing his distinct intolerance for society as depicted in shampoo and/or beer commercials. Briefly, "Zoot Allures," (or indeed, the "Zappa" style of composite musical melodrama as a whole), intermingles a certain anthropological, or indeed societal, pathos with a uniquely parallel unisonant structural design, based on his clearly emblematic and euphonious concepts. Like a piquant peanut butter and jelly sandwich --with extra jelly-- for the ear, the listener's (that's YOU) personal audile delectation effect, (due entirely to Zappa's complex incorporation of whimsical lyrical elements), is further compounded when taking into account the sophisticated musicology itself. Without going into all of the philosophical or technical minutiae, the product, (disc: Zoot Allures), with its facetious consonant style, actually adds performance superfluity to what would customarily have been considered an auditory raillery limit. With respect to these specific music/humor objectives, Zappa has once again performed absolutely admirably. Bravo Frank!
Free Music Review: some essential Zappa!
Hit: 5 Stars
I bought this album because it was described to me as being a essential album as far as "guitar music" goes . And it is! The songs "black napkins" "friendly little finger" and the title track are amazing (and like most of Zappa's songs in the 1970s show case his accomplished guitar playing) . This and other 70s albums of FZ prove he is the most underrated guitarists .Most people will go on about Jimmy Page and Jimi Hendrix all day , but if you listen to this album you should understand why a lot of people (including me) feel that Zappa belongs on the same tier as Jimi Hendrix ,Eric Clapton , and Jeff Beck . Personally I think that Zappa should have taken Jimmy Page's place on the list of "guitar gods" a long time ago.....Aside from the instrumentals (which revolve around FZ) the album also includes some standard Zappa satire including "wind up working in a gas station" "wonderful wino" and "disco boy"forgot to mention..."friendly little finger" sounds strange because it was created by tracking together bass and drum parts that dont make sense with the guitar in that their time signatures are off . This was intentional and was the beginning of Zappa's experiments in making compositions that didnt make sense structuraly ( by mismatching time signatures of different instruments)
Free Music Review: Creamed corn
Hit: 5 Stars
When I first bought Zoot Allures, I didn't really like it. Mainly I found the guitar sound on some tracks (Gasstation, Wonderful Wino) to be very cheesy. But now, probably six years after I first got it, it has become my favorite Zappa record. Zappa suspended his penchant (how often have YOU suspended your PENCHANT?) for elaborate arrangements on this one, opting for an admirable austerity best appreciated with headphones. Listen for the understated synth stuff sprinkled across these tracks as well as little electronic percussion and vocal morsels. There is probably more good guitar playing on this record than on any other Zappa creation. There's a control and delicacy to his melodies that I missed in his earlier (and even some later) guitar exercises. "The Torture Never Stops" is a masterpiece - a beautifully spacey soundscape with twisted/cryptic lyrics and wild tortured sex noises. The various instrumentals speak volumes for themselves. I even like the brief acoustic guitar break in "Disco Boy." If you like Zappa's guitar, if you like Zappa's sleaze, buy this disc.