Frank Zappa - Zoot Allures
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Free Music Notes for Zoot Allures
Free Music Review: It's Zappa - It's all good!
Hit: 4 Stars
I couldn't agree more with the other reviewers here re: this release. It's FZ's most rock-oriented / straightforward / stripped-down album within his entire catalogue .... and it's just as essential, too! Any Zappa fan out there NEEDS this in their collection - trust me.
God, I miss this man and his genius!!!
Free Music Review: a weak effort with some quality moments
Hit: 3 Stars
After being blow away by the absolutely *incredible* One Size Fits All, I went in expecting an album at least somewhat on the same level, but instead I get a pretty weak -though still quite experimental and diverse- album in Zoot Allures.
Okay maybe it's not fair to immediately assume this album should have been on the same level of amazing quality as previous Zappa efforts, but well... I couldn't help it!
My biggest grip is definitely with "The Torture Never Stops". It's basically a 10-minute piece of easy listening lounge music with dreary and grim lyrics, an abundance of female groaning sounds, and the occasional guitar solos here and there. It's definitely the weakest song here because it drags and drags. I'm surprised- Zappa usually knows how to fill up a 10-minute song with really creative musical ideas, but here he misses the mark.
"Friendly Little Finger" is a decent attempt at an insanely heavy guitar jam, but much of it sounds like noise which separates it from the solos on, say, Hot Rats or Waka/Jawaka.
The title song I could have SWORN came from a Jeff Beck song released around the same time. I just can't remember the name of the song at the moment that sounds identical to this. Not a bad song, but pretty boring and underwhelming which puts it in the same category as "The Torture Never Stops". The biggest problem is that the guitar work finally gets going RIGHT when the song is about to end, so you hear some truly magnificent guitar soloing as the song fades out. Why Zappa, why???
"Find Her Finer" sounds like some kind of goofy attempt at a 60's-style ballad. It's really terrible though. Surprisingly bad. Even the lyrics fail to make any kind of impression on me even though I totally GET what he's trying to say. It seriously reminds me of that childish "Nanny nanny bobo" song many of us used to sing as kids.
"Black Napkins" is another display of shredding and rip-roaring guitar playing. Nothing more really needs to be said about it. At least it's more melodic than "Friendly Little Finger" though a crucial difference is that "Black Napkins" feels like it's going for an emotional display of guitar playing, whereas "Friendly Little Finger" is just Zappa completely letting loose and going borderline insane.
"Ms. Pinky" features an exceptionally heavy Black Sabbath-like guitar riff and it's REALLY catchy. The vocals rule too. This is the kind of song that holds up really well and sounds great. It doesn't sound dated at all. I must say though- these are some extremely filthy lyrics!!
My favorite track is easily "Disco Boy". Sometimes the vocals sound influenced by the Four Seasons (legendary pop band from the 60's) and they work wonderfully. It's the variety of vocal melodies that truly blows me away, and the way Zappa utilizes the guitar in a way that feels like it's mocking the whole disco movement. Awesome song. Oh, and the lyrics are REALLY darn funny!
Overall it's not the worst Zappa album in the world but it sure feels disappointing compared to earlier albums with the Mothers of Invention.
Free Music Review: Amazing, varied Zappa guitar textures. Great Bozzio drums.
Hit: 3 Stars
>>EDITI have brought down my original rating of 4 starts down to 3. The more I listen to this disc (I used to own the vinyl in the 80's, just got the disc recently for the 1st time), the more I think that this album has great moments and great sounds -- even great segues, but just doesn't gel as a great album. I think the Zappa-synth arrangements of the basic tracks, and the lacklustre vocals (mostly Frank's) drag down the listening experience to something "good", not "great". I think that's why I originally chose to list the songs individually, rather then comment on the album as an entity...the Zoot Allures album is probably less than the sum of its parts.
>>END OF EDIT
This album is hard to review without just describing the tracks individually. While the album as a whole might give a cheesy first impression, I think it is actually brilliant, for the most part. The three instrumentals are all incredible. The guitar work is top-notch, with a huge variety of electric and acoustic tones. Here's my track-by-track reasoning:
1. Wind Up Workin'...: This is a great little punch in the gut of a song. The nasal falsetto of Davey Moire, who sounds like the long-lost Bee Gee, is perfect for the music. And the GUITAR SOLO!! It is a tiny little solo, focusing most of its effort on the repetition of a single note. Yet it would be hard to improve upon it. Any electric guitarist would agree that solo is played with the right feel.
2. Black Napkins: What can one say? One of the best guitar solos ever recorded. The sparse background accompaniment is excellent. Bozzio's drums are superb.
**great segue between these songs**
3. The Torture Never Stops: This is a great song, but I do prefer all the live versions I've ever heard. Case in point, the live version recorded in 1978 on YCDTOSA vol.1
4. Ms. Pinky: No big deal. I much prefer the way this tune was reworked on the Thing-Fish album as "Artificial Rhonda".
5. Find Her Finer: A cool, laid back tune. Zappa apologizes for those who might find the lyrics crude. The overall feel of the song is very pleasing to me, especially with the backing vocals.
6. Friendly Little Finger: An under-appreciated guitar masterpiece, if you ask me. This instrumental kicks major arse. I love the odd rhythm.
**great segue between these songs**
7. Wonderful Wino: A song that just fits the lyrics perfectly. Kinda funny, and dirty rockin' Pretty decent.
8. Zoot Allures: Maybe the best track on the disc? Most Zappa fans like this one, and I'm no exception. What a unique blend of jazz and rock.
9. Disco Boy: Despite some interesting guitar timbres, I don't like this song. Along with Ms. Pinky, I'd call it a throw-away.
Free Music Review: New FZ Fans Love It, Old FZ Fans Hate It!
Hit: 3 Stars
I've been a Zappa fan since "Freak Out" in 1966, and have seen him in concert many times, but this was the last FZ LP I ever bought. He lost me on this one. I give it 3 stars... one for each of the good tracks: "Wind Up Working In A Gas Station", "Black Napkins", and "Disco Boy". The rest is pure pap (a real shame). This is definitely a turning-point LP for FZ... everything he released after this album was nowhere near as good as the previous ones. If you liked later LPs such as "Sheik Yerbouti" etc, you'll probably like this one. If you're an original FZ/Mothers fan, I'm sorry to say you should expect disappointment.Free Music Review: BUY THE VINYL!!
Hit: 3 Stars
This is a brilliant piece of work by a musical genius. Unfortunately, the CD MASTERING STINKS. The original vinyl release was bright and clear, with the kind of guitar solos that brings tears to your eyes. In stark contrast, every CD release I've heard makes me check my ears to see if I have cotton stuffed in there.It's not often that I say this, but you would be a lot happier finding a well-taken-care-of vinyl copy of this album than you will buying this CD. This would be a 5-star album if it wasn't for that.