Guitar, You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore Volume I
By Peter Mengaziol
FRANK ZAPPA
Guitar
Rykodisc
You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore
Volume I
Rykodisc
LEGEND HAS IT that Frank Zappa has every live Mothers Of Invention and Frank Zappa solo concert on tape in one form or another. This vast library of audio "footage" is the basis for the two double-CD sets Guitar and You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore Volume I.
If you liked the Shut Up And Play Yer Guitar set, you'll love Guitar. It features more of the same playing that demonstrates, why (in the ancient days before Eddie), Zappa was considered a guitar hero, often even mentioned in the same breath as "Page, Beck and Clapton." With the exception of "Things That Look Like Meat" (first heard on our own Guitar World According To Frank Zappa cassette), this two-CD set (almost 70 minutes) consists entirely of previously unreleased material, spanning the years 1979 to 1984.
The two major strains in Zappa's soloing are demonstrated here: the blues, and the experimental polytonalities and modalities that FZ introduced into the rock world before the flourishing of the fusion scene of the seventies. Some of the selections, in fact, are quite close to the blues. "Sexual Harassment In The Workplace" finds Zappa and Steve Vai trading vicious solos. "For Duane" is a tribute jam to the late, great guitarist on a traditional blues riff. "Do Not Pass Go" hovers around the blues and features that clean, guttural Zappa Strat sound. Frank is still a master at the idiom.
The outside stuff is well-represented on Guitar, notably by "Republicans," "Variations On Sinister #3" and "Move It Or Else" (nice Vai effects here). "One More, Without The Net" and "GOA," are synth-laden middle-eastern jams. My favorite, for its implicit sense of humor, is " In A Gadda Stravinski,"which is just what it says: a superimposition of the dread proto-bombastic heavy metal Iron Butterfly bass riff with excerpts from the "Rites Of Spring!" Real cool! It segues into "That's Not Really Reggae," where FZ again brings up those famous altered minor tonalities.
"Winos Do Not March" and "System Of Edges," (with wah-wah inflections) are the closest FZ comes to melodic jams, with the exception of "Watermelon In Easter Hay." The latter is a crowd favorite for its easily remembered theme, countryish flavor and highly conventional-sounding solo. A really nice touch is "It Ain't Necessarily The Saint James Infirmary," a medley of two American standards arranged seamlessly by FZ, who solos in a blues, and then in far more abstract fashion. It's also interesting (and made historically apparent by these recordings) how much Zappa and Steve Vai have been influenced by each other; it seems Frank learned a few "stunt guitar" tricks from his young sideman, while simultaneously encouraging in Vai his own mighty sense of the bizarre.
You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore Volume I consists of concert excerpts from 1969 to 1984, and encompasses both the Mothers Of Invention and Zappa's solo repertoire throughout. The focus here is on songs rather than solos. While the players and recording techniques differ from track to track, Zappa has cleverly segued them into a cohesive "concert" that spans fifteen years.
The twisted metal fanfare "The Mammy Anthem" could just as well have been on the Guitar set, as it features both FZ and Steve Vai (on "stunt guitar"). High points include the guitar ensemble work on the "Harry You're A Beast" medley and "The Big Swifty" and the wah-wah solo on "I'm The Slime." "The Torture Never Stops'' is another fine FZ guitar vehicle, complete with trademark altered scalar tonalities and Adrian Belew on second guitar and effects. "Zomby Woof" features some "Black Page" guitar parts and Strat abuse from Vai before Frank's solo enters, complete with vibrato bar and modal effects.
Another version of "The Deathless Horsie" (first heard on Shut Up) appears here, featuring Zappa's most outside playing on the set, while "Suicide Chump" finds him digging into his extensive blues bag for a highly sincere solo. And besides containing the melodic motif that later appeared on the great "St. Elmo's Fire," the anthemic "Sofa #2" features some very precise ensemble guitar by Stevie Vai.
These sets prove Zappa to be a master of studio magic as well as the guitar. After hearing the great sound and seamless editing of You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore Volume I, I can't help but wonder how all the Beatles' CD re-issues would have sounded had Frank gotten a hold of them first.