TINSEL TOWN REBELLION

How does one distinguish a live album from Frank Zappa in the 1980s? Most of his recordings around this time were based on live tracks, and then edited and overdubbed until they sounded like studio recordings. On this album, only one track, Fine Girl was recorded in his studio. The rest are edited and spliced, but the overdubs are minimal, and the audience interaction in left in, so it still feels like a live album.

The material is a mixed bag, and there are none of the spectacular, weird compositions Zappa was known for, but there's plenty of good music to make this worth owning. First of all, keyboardist Tommy Mars steals the show. His keyboard break in Easy Meat (a song based on a riff the the Mothers would jam on - heard on some of the "Beat The Boots" albums), is just amazing. And it's his playing that make some of the older songs, especially Brown Shoes Don't Make It and Peaches En Regalia, here called Peaches III, a treat to hear.

Other standout tracks are For the Young Sophisticate, not terribly prog, but a nice tune with funny lyrics, a blazing rendition of Tell Me You Love Me, and an early version of Tinseltown Rebellion, here played without all the eyebrows that really enhanced the song.

My CD of this is an early EMI release (before the Rykodisk deal), where they mislabelled Panty Rap on the cover, booklet and disk itself as Party Rap.

Not an essential album, but not bad either.