ROXY & ELSEWHERE

I have always respected Frank Zappa as both a band leader, musician, songwriter, and basically anything he could get his hands on. His work ethic is so well defined and he clearly had a knack for making music that you can both ponder and have a good time too, no matter how strange each song is. However I find this is best exemplified with not his studio albums, nor his classical works, but his live performances. Before hearing this I heard Bongo Fury, and it was a grand old time, but it felt like it needed something extra. Some more of that Zappa zest. And so that is where Roxy & Elsewhere came in, and good lord did it have that zest in heaps.

When I first heard this album, I kinda shocked me in a certain way. I heard live albums before to where it felt like the band and the audience were having so much fun together, but those had a certain kink to where it still felt like there was a divide between both the band and the audience. However this album addressed this issue in heaps upon heaps. I think this is best shown with the star hitting track, Be-Bop Tango, to where the audience participated in the dance and be on stage with mr. Zappa himself. The divide has been broken apart, and I absolutely adore this. It feels like the audience are also band members themselves. I also love how jazzy the music is and how upbeat everything feels. It feels like a grand old time to be had here.

Normally I'd do some critique but for some reason I cannot find anything bad on this album. Maybe the songs are a bit unaccessible for new comers to Frank Zappa's sound, but other than that I literally have no problems with this record. I think this album is dare I say, the most perfect Zappa record to date. It fully showcases Zappa's unique sound and how he can make a live show so much better and so much grander in scale.

Frank Zappa is without a doubt a legend, and I believe this album showcases this fact ten folds. His weird jazzy sound mixed with the fun lively aspects to his sound and performances is truly what makes him special for me. I do not think we will ever have another Zappa, and while that's sad, it's still ok because the one that lived on will still hold a place in both old and new fans alike.