Published on Jun 26, 1998
Today, we hit the halfway point of our year-long examination of
Frank Zappa’s monumental collection
You Can’t Do That On Stage Anymore, the ultimate live set /
best-of / box set that encompasses almost every aspect of Zappa’s
career.
You Can’t Do That On Stage Anymore Volume 3 (future
references:
YCDTOSA3) spends a good portion of time examining the 1984
edition of Zappa’s band, and it also is one of the loosest of the
collections, featuring moments that could never have been scripted
into live shows. From the outbreaks of spontaneous laughter to the
shock of hearing tear gas grenades being fired into audiences, this
particular volume covers almost the whole range of things that can
happen onstage.
Disc one of
YCDTOSA3 exclusively features the 1984 band, including the
first time Zappa appeared onstage with his son Dweezil
(“Sharleena”). The song selection of this disc includes many
numbers that even occasional fans will recognize, such as “Bobby
Brown Goes Down,” “Keep It Greasey” and “Joe’s Garage”.
It is during “Bobby Brown Goes Down” that the uncontrollable
laughter starts. Apparently triggered by Ray White’s goading of
Zappa with “Heigh-O Silver,” I don’t think there was a single band
member left by the end of “Keep It Greasey” that hadn’t been able
to keep singing because they were laughing so hard. And let’s face
it, only Zappa would put such a scene on disc, showing that even
the musicians were human, and weren’t immune from the “giggles”.
It’s a wonderful selection.
Of the songs on the first disc of
YCDTOSA3, cuts like “Advance Romance,” “In France” and
“Drowning Witch” prove themselves to be songs that are worth future
examination from those who are just becoming indoctrinated to
Zappa. The only “mistake” on this particular disc is the inclusion
of “Chana In De Bushwop,” a song I just can’t stand, no matter how
many chances I give it.
Disc two still pulls some material from the 1984 band (“Cosmik
Debris” is the end of the “laughter” songs, this time including
Lenny Bruce references to the
Thank You, Masked Man routine), but dares to dip back into
the infamous 1971 show where Zappa was pushed off the stage during
“King Kong” and nearly killed. (Zappa says in the liner notes that
had the tape not run out prior to the incident, he would have
included it in this volume.)
Many of the songs on this portion of
YCDTOSA3 prove themselves to be worthy of more
investigation. “Charlie’s Enormous Mouth” makes me want to go back
to the circa 1981 edition of Zappa to re-discover these tracks,
while older numbers like “Dickie’s Such An Asshole” and “Zoot
Allures” show me why they’ve become modern classics.
A scary moment in the set comes in the middle of “Cocaine
Decisions,” where Zappa edits to the start of a riot that happened
in Palermo during a 1982 concert. You can hear the tear gas
grenades being launched, and Zappa pleading with the crowd to
settle down so they could finish the show. (Apparently the band
started to be overcome by the tear gas as well, as Zappa states in
the liner notes.) If you’re not paying attention, the crack of the
grenades being fired will send a jolt through you.
Worthy of note on this volume is the appearance of drummer Terry
Bozzio, whose backstage dialogue leads into a powerful drum solo,
“Hands With A Hammer”. Bozzio demonstrates why he could well have
been the best drummer that Zappa ever featured in his band.
You Can’t Do That On Stage Anymore Volume 3 is made of such
high quality selections, just like the previous two volumes, that
one wonders where Zappa kept finding the great material. Instead of
wondering, we should be glad that they not only existed, but that
Zappa had the intelligence to put them out for us to enjoy.
The series would stumble a bit in the second half, but we’ll
talk about
Volume 4 in August.
1998 Christopher Thelen and “The Daily Vault”. All rights
reserved. Review or any portion may not be reproduced without
written permission. Cover art is the intellectual property of
Rykodisc Records and Zappa Family Trust, and is used for reference
purposes only.