HALLOWEEN 77

Frank Zappa

RIO/Avant-Prog

4.16 | 23 ratings

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DangHeck
Prog Reviewer

I will be following the tracklist above. On the officially available Halloween 77 on Spotify, the above tracks begin not at the start of that version, but on Disc 4. To reiterate, I started there. I assume this is because the 3-disc version of the album was most available to those who had purchased it. Even as a Zappa fan, I'm glad to trim the fat on this in some way. I often would.

Released 40 years after this performance, this is one of the famed FZ Halloween show boxsets that featured a Halloween mask and more! These are the performances from which the film "Baby Snakes" pulls.

And from the start, as a believer in the great final MOTHERS OF INVENTION above all else (Duke, Murphy Brock, Underwood, Humphrey, Thompson, Fowler x 2, etc.), I take for granted often how good this lineup is--I think it's that I associate the lineup with some of my least favorite, even cringiest Zappa material... Of course is the excellent Terry BOZZIO, but also the self-proclaimed debut Zappa stunt guitarist Adrian BELEW. Mars and Wolf naturally share keys responsibilities, the great Ed Mann is on aux. percussion and O'Hearn is the very tasty bassist found here (famously the only bass solo on any studio album was performed by him, if I'm not mistaken). Original Mother Roy ESTRADA is also a feature on "The Demise Of The Imported Rubber Goods Mask" (and at least one other track), I figured and was correct in figuring a reference to "Prelude To The Afternoon Of A Sexually Aroused Gas Mask" off Weasels Ripped My Flesh (1970).

A hefty undertaking to put together I'm sure, but also one such undertaking for us the listener. It sounds great and it's of course excellently performed all 'round.

Personal highlight tracks are as follows: "City of Tiny Lites" [that synth/piano solo!], the soft if not balladic "Bobby Brown Goes Down" [he pauses midway to read a note attached to a bra and panties haha], "Conehead" [featuring an excellent guitar solo from Frank], Lather [just a great song I'm glad to hear live], [in a surprise event] the 30-minute super-epic version of "Wild Love", "Punky's Whips" [not historically a favorite of these longer tracks from this era], "Camarillo Brillo" just to hear it transition into "Muffin Man" [neither of which are versions I feel are anything particularly special, so we're clear--pretty good solo on the latter though], "San Ber'dino" [if not just because I don't remember hearing this covered by this era's band(s) before; pretty quick, still dancy version], and "Black Napkins".

DangHeck | 4/5 | 2022-1-19

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