YOU CAN'T DO THAT ON STAGE ANYMORE, VOL. 3

The third installment of Frank Zappa's massive "You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore" focuses mainly on the 1984 touring band. There are tracks, and sections of tracks with other lineups, but this one (one of the best lineups) dominates the two CDs.

The album is heavy on eyebrows, a lot of them centering around the group's fixation on Lenny Bruce's "Thank You Masked Man" routine (look it up). While many are funny, the best comes from extraordinary bass player Scott Thunes, turning a verse of Keep It Greasy into The William Tell Overture.

Other highlights include: Frank's son Dweezil's debut with the band, soloing with his dad on Sharleena, a fantastic version of Drowning Witch, spliced together from two performances from different tours, Chana In De Bushwop, where Frank gets behind Alan Zavod's keyboards to play a "volcano" solo, a long-awaited recording (from 1973) of Dickie's Such An A**hole (the only other non-bootleg recording was on "Broadway The Hard Way", with very different lyrics), another segment of the 1981 MTV concert, and the band playing amid teargas grenades when the crowd rioted in Palermo, Italy (see the cover of "The Man From Utopia").

But the best piece is a twenty-four minute version of King Kong, bouncing back and forth between a 1982 recording and a 1971 recording (the same concert where some a**hole knocked Zappa from the stage, changing his voice by crushing his larynx, and injuring his spine). Considering the complete difference in every aspect of the band, the splices flow remarkably smoothly.

All in all, this set offeres many treats for the Zappaphile, but should also entertain the casual fan as well.