THE ROXY PERFORMANCES

Frank Zappa

•

RIO/Avant-Prog

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Frank Zappa The Roxy Performances album cover

4.25 | 29 ratings | 2 reviews | 72% 5 stars

Essential: a masterpiece of
progressive rock music

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Live, released in 2018

Songs / Tracks Listing

CD 1 (77:51)
- 12/9/73 Show 1:
1. Sunday Show 1 Start (4:59)
2. Cosmik Debris (11:53)
3. We're Makin' a Movie (3:16)
4. Pygmy Twylyte (9:09)
5. The Idiot Bastard Son (2:20)
6. Cheepnis (3:45)
7. Hollywood Perverts (1:07)
8. Penguin in Bondage (5:54)
9. T'Mershi Duween (1:57)
10. The Dog Breath Variations (1:45)
11. Uncle Meat (2:30)
12. RDNZL (5:14)
13. Montana (7:50)
14. Dupree's Paradise (16:12)

CD 2 (58:24)
1. Dickie's Such an Asshole (10:29)
- 12/9/73 Show 2:
2. Sunday Show 2 Start (4:08)
3. Inca Roads (8:28)
4. Village of the Sun (4:20)
5. Echidna's Arf (Of You) (4:01)
6. Don't You Ever Wash That Thing? (13:23)
7. Slime (intro) (0:59)
8. I'm the Slime (3:34)
9. Big Swifty (9:02)

CD 3 (75:22)
1. Tango No. 1 (intro) (4:15)
2. Be-Bop Tango (Of the Old Jazzmen's Church) (18:13)
3. Medley: King Kong / Chunga's Revenge / Son of Mr. Green Genes (9:47)
- 12/10/73 Show 1:
4. Monday Show 1 Start (5:32)
5. Montana (6:58)
6. Dupree's Paradise (21:26)
7. Cosmik (intro) (1:06)
8. Cosmik Debris (8:05)

CD 4 (67:50)
1. Bondage (intro) (1:46)
2. Penguin in Bondage (6:55)
3. T'Mershi Duween (1:53)
4. The Dog Breath Variations (1:48)
5. Uncle Meat (2:30)
6. RDNZL (5:00)
7. Audience Participation - RDNZL (3:08)
8. Pygmy Twylyte (4:05)
9. The Idiot Bastard Son (2:21)
10. Cheepnis (4:49)
11. Dickie's Such an Asshole (10:22)
- 12/10/73 Show 2:
12. Monday Show 2 Start (5:14)
13. Penguin in Bondage (6:33)
14. T'Mershi Duween (1:52)
15. The Dog Breath Variations (1:47)
16. Uncle Meat (2:29)
17. RDNZL (5:18)

CD 5 (63:04)
1. Village of the Sun (4:00)
2. Echidna's Arf (Of You) (3:54)
3. Don't You Ever Wash That Thing? (6:56)
4. Cheepnis: Percussion (4:08)
5. I Love Monster Movies (2:11)
6. Cheepnis (3:36)
7. "Turn the Light Off" / Pamela's Intro (4:00)
8. Pygmy Twylyte (7:24)
9. The Idiot Bastard Son (2:23)
10. Tango No. 2 (intro) (2:01)
11. Be-Bop Tango (Of the Old Jazzmen's Church) (22:31)

CD 6 (70:23)
1. Dickie's Such an Asshole (15:31)
- 12/10/73 Roxy Rehearsal:
2. Big Swifty - In Rehearsal (2:51)
3. Village of the Sun (3:13)
4. Father O'Blivion - In Rehearsal (5:34)
5. Pygmy Twylyte (6:17)
6. That Arrogant Dick Nixon (unreleased track) (2:19)
- 12/12/73 Bolic Studios Recording Session:
7. Kung-Fu - In Session (4:51)
8. Kung-Fu - With Guitar Overdub (1:18)
9. Tuning and Studio Chatter (3:39)
10. Echidna's Arf (Of You) - In Session (1:23)
11. Don't Eat the Yellow Snow - In Session (9:50)
12. Nanook Rubs It - In Session (5:42)
13. St. Alfonzo's Pancake Breakfast - In Session (2:46)
14. Father O'Blivion - In Session (2:32)
15. Rollo (Be-Bop version) (2:37)

CD 7 (64:46)
1. Saturday Show Start (2:21)
2. Pygmy Twylyte / Dummy Up (20:25)
3. Pygmy Twylyte - Part II (14:25)
4. Echidna's Arf (Of You) (3:43)
5. Don't You Ever Wash That Thing? (6:02)
6. Orgy, Orgy (3:39)
7. Penguin in Bondage (6:30)
8. T'Mershi Duween (1:54)
9. The Dog Breath Variations (1:46)
10. Uncle Meat / Show End (4:01)

Total Time 477:40

Line-up / Musicians

- Frank Zappa / lead guitar, vocals
- George Duke / keyboards, synthesizer, vocals
- Tom Fowler / bass
- Ruth Underwood / percussion
- Bruce Fowler / trombone, dancing (?)
- Napoleon Murphy Brock / tenor saxophone, flute, lead vocals
- Ralph Humphrey / drums & percussion
- Chester Thompson / drums & percussion

Releases information

Zappa Records ZR20028

Released February 2, 2018

Thanks to obscenemachine for the addition
and to projeKct for the last updates
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FRANK ZAPPA The Roxy Performances ratings distribution

4.25
(29 ratings)

Essential: a masterpiece of progressive rock music(72%)
Excellent addition to any prog rock music collection(17%)
Good, but non-essential (7%)
Collectors/fans only (3%)
Poor. Only for completionists (0%)

FRANK ZAPPA The Roxy Performances reviews

Showing all collaborators reviews and last reviews preview | Show all reviews/ratings

Collaborators/Experts Reviews

Review by DangHeck
PROG REVIEWER

For fans of the near-inimitable Frank Vincent ZAPPA, truly but of course naturally speaking as a fan, an excellent addition to any Prog collection. This has always, and therefore immediately had, struck me as the ultimate (traditional) lineup of not only The MOTHERS OF INVENTION, but of any band headed by FZ throughout: the nearest contender is the '88 Band, but that should be disqualified for being purposefully capable of handling literally any and all of his material (it's cheating! haha). The (properly, not officially speaking) third and final Mothers lineup consists of the following performers: Napoleon MURPHY BROCK (sax, flute, lead/backing vox), George DUKE (keyboards/synths, lead/backing vox), Bruce FOWLER (trombone), Tom FOWLER (bass), Ruth UNDERWOOD (percussion), Ralph HUMPHREY (drums, aux. percussion) and Chester THOMPSON (drums). It can not be beat in my opinion, and especially Napoleon sticks out to me as the latest addition and as a co-frontman. He effectively filled the shoes, in part, of not only Sal MARQUEZ of the Wazoo era, but also the incredible and intrinsic Ian UNDERWOOD! Also joining the band along with Brock was Chester as the second (though technically now primary) drummer beside Ralph. Really telling about specifically their contributions and abilities as musicians--can you imagine performing this level of music with just ~3 months of preparation under your belt?

Material on this massive 7-disc boxset covers--and I think I must be missing something here--three nights in a row (Dec. 8-10, 1973), live at LA's Roxy Theatre, as well as recording sessions two days following that third performance at Bolic Sound (Dec. 12). The former live performances, of course, appeared partially and most notably on the excellent Roxy & Elsewhere a year later (in 1974) as well as Roxy By Proxy (2014). These latter studio recordings would contribute in part to Apostrophe (') (1974) and eventually compilation albums The Lost Episodes (1996) and The Crux of the Biscuit (2016).

Aside from the entertaining and enlightening "Show Start[s]" and song intros, personal standout tracks, previously and substantially not available elsewhere before, are as follows: "Inca Roads (12-9-73)", the before spliced-out guitar solo and half of the ending on "Don't You Ever Wash That Thing? (12-9-73)", "Montana (12-10-73)" [The version on YCDTOSA4 is a combination of the performances from nights 2 and 3], the very funky and experimental "Dupree's Paradise (12-10-73)" [and when the theme comes in, I'm not sure I've heard it sound still so fresh], in a relative surprise "Cosmik Debris (12-10-73)" [great sax solo followed by a keys solo], "Uncle Meat" [there's something in the way Ruth plays the marimba on Show 2 that's so crisp], "RDNZL (12-10-73 / Show 1)" [a surprising new favorite version?], and the rehearsal for "Big Swifty".

A real treat, for sure, especially for fans, but of course very very dense. Plenty of repeats, to be expected, so it became difficult to remember and then differentiate between different nights.

Review by fuxi
PROG REVIEWER

Drum roll please, Maestro... For my money, this - and nothing else - is the Holy Grail of 1970s progressive rock. I'll gladly admit I've cherished YESSONGS, GENESIS LIVE, BURSTING OUT, King Crimson's USA and even WELCOME BACK MY FRIENDS TO THE SHOW THAT NEVER ENDS for many and many a year, but this glorious set tops them all. After all those decades I still don't understand why proggers tend to call HOT RATS their favourite Zappa album when the band you'll hear on THE ROXY PERFORMANCES (featuring George Duke, Bruce Fowler, Napoleon Murphy Brock, Tom Fowler, Ruth Underwood, Chester Thompson, Ralph Humphrey and FZ) easily accomplish far greater miracles. For what have we got? Classic Zappa tunes such as 'Penguin in Bondage', 'Cheepnis', 'Inca Roads', Village of the Sun' and 'Montana' receive pristine performances here. The players' enthusiasm is palpable and their virtuosity is second to none, especially on breath-taking instrumentals like 'Echidna's Arf', 'RDNZL' and 'Big Swifty'. Should you worry about duplication? Well, if you're NOT a massive Zappa fan, you can do without this box set; you'll probably be very happy with the one-disc ROXY BY PROXY, which features some of the best bits from these gigs, as well as superb (highly detailed and illuminating) liner notes by percussionist Ruth Underwood. But if you've got some money to spare, or you can take the time to listen to all this music on streaming platforms, just don't hesitate - give the music a go and ENJOY!!! Why, the 21 minute performance of 'Dupree's Paradise' from December 10th's first show ALONE is worth your money and/or attention! That particular performance (not included in ROXY BY PROXY, by the way) showcases George Duke as one of prog's keyboard supremos. I simply don't understand why he's not more appreciated, since he's obviously in the same league as Patrick Moraz or Tony Banks... Just one caveat, perhaps: I could do without THREE separate performances of the annoying 'Dickie's Such an Asshole' and I'm sure many Zappa fans will agree. But let's not stare ourselves blind on a minor defect; let's just be grateful for all the riches.

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