FZ:OZ

This was the first of the "Vaulternative" series, where the ZFT began releasing less than pristine recordings for their historic value. And this one provides quite a bit to Frank Zappa's history.

In 1976, Zappa toured with one of his smallest bands (and I believe this may have been the last tour where he was the only guitarist). With only drums, bass, keyboards and sax, this two CD set provides pared down versions of many of Frank's seventies classics. And there's an added bonus. Original Mother Roy Estrada is back on bass. While he is not as polished on the instrument as most of the bassists since he left, and a few bad notes are apparent, he manages to keep up with Zappa's difficult compositions. Also, his distinctive falsetto, and the chance for Zappa to play him like an instrument, are always a treat.

While there is a fine array of Zappa's sixties and seventies music, the real gems are the early arrangements of then-unreleased songs. The Torture Never Stops is faster, not as eerie as the later versions, but has some cool harmonies that don't appear on other recordings. Wind Up Workin' In A Gas Station has some silly audience participation stuck in the middle. Keep It Greasy is much more sparse than later versions.

Canard Toujours is one of my favorites here. It actually is made up mostly of the original theme that eventually was reworked into Let's Move To Cleveland. Kaiser Rolls, a song that as far as I know only appears on this album (so far), is a fairly simple pop song.

The sound quality is very good, although in a couple of spots the master tape was deteriorated, and snippets from lesser recordings (bootlegs?) were expertly inserted to keep continuity. Luckily, these sections are short. Kaiser Rolls was one of the affected songs, and Gail insisted a complete rendition of the song should be on the album, so a better recording is tacked on at the end.

This is an excellent concert, with fine performances of material that cannot be found elsewhere.

And my wife & I are mentioned in the insert that came with the CD (that's not as impressive as it sounds).