1977, 1979 + 1982

Frank Zappa		Mixed 14


Disc 1  -  79.34
1	Stinkfoot			6.12	77-Nov-11
2	Black Napkins			5.49	"
3	Deathless Horsie		9.28	79-Mar-5
4	Easy Meat			5.23	"
5	Inca Roads			8.28	"
6	Treacherous Cretins		9.02	"
7	Zoot Allures			9.35	82-May-21
8	Easy Meat			3.46	"
9	What's New In Baltimore?	5.19	"
10	Moggio				2.08	"
11	Drowning Witch			9.42	"
12	Sharleena			4.35	"



77-Nov-11:	Uptown Theater - Kansas City, MO  (2nd gen)

79-Mar-5:	Falkoner Teatret - Copenhagen, Denmark  (1st gen)

82-May-21:	Sporthalle - Köln, Germany


Notes on this material from the Frank Zappa Tape Reviewing Society 
(I sometimes only pick parts of the reviews that actually apply to 
the tracks above):


77-Nov-11:

This was my first Fall 1977 concert, and was one of the reasons they 
became a favorite band of mine. Heck, the main reason. After hearing 
THIS band tonight, Spring 1980 and the like will never seem as 
satisfying.

The opener is a surprise, harkening back to the 74-76 concerts. 
But fear not, Stinkfoot is ON tonight, as Frank delivers a fabulous 
solo, with echo effects, building to a climax just like his best 
solos do. Sadly, the presence of Stinkfoot means we also get a 
Poodle Lecture, and despite being slightly more interesting than it 
used to be, it's still a major letdown.

The encores are only Disco Boy and Black Napkins, but the latter 
doesn't lose any of the energy of the show, quoting Zoot some more.

An amazing show. You *need* to hear this.



79-Mar-5:

This tour refuses to be categorized. One moment Frank can put out 
a boring, totally uninspired show, such as the 2/24 concert I 
reviewed previously. Then he turns around and gives us a show like 
this, filled with energy, flair, and loooong guitar solos that 
easily match the ones at the Odeon.

To start off with, we get The Deathless Horsie, an excellent guitar 
vehicle for Frank. He gives us a long, drawn-out solo, experimenting 
with several styles while getting his guitar in gear.

Easy Meat is the second biggie of the night, and boy is it tasty, 
with Frank for once using the top half of his guitar as well. Andy 
always sounds good with this band, and then...Inca Roads. As has 
been mentioned, there was no in between for this song in 1979. It 
was either short and pointless, or long, beautiful and majestic. 
This is one of the latter, with Frank content to play around the 
vamp for almost 10 minutes.

Then we get the final song of the night, Treacherous Cretins. 
After Black Napkins, this is my favorite FZ guitar vehicle, always 
sounding very dark and creepy. Tonight is no exception, with Frank 
using all the low notes he never got to in Easy Meat. And you gotta 
love that 11/4 vamp!

It frustrates me sometimes that 79 was so inconsistent, that all 
the shows couldn't be as good as this. Still, we can be grateful 
for the shows we have. Definitely a keeper, one of the top five 
1979 tapes.



82-May-21:

No folks, FZ does *not* play it safe tonight - fact is, he does 
things with his axe tonight that make Charles Manson look like a 
little school-girl in comparison. I hadn't listened to this show 
for quite a while, and though I remembered it was one of the better 
1982 shows, I didn't expect it to be this astounding. This is Zappa's 
night - 10 solos, while we only get one solo from another bandmember.

The show kick-starts with Zoot Allures, which gives a strong hint 
that Frank is having one of *those* nights tonight. The first part 
of the solo is "When No One Was No One", but the mix on Guitar doesn't 
do it justice, in this reporter's opinion. On this tape, where Frank's 
Strat is crisp and cutting, the solo becomes much more touching. For 
the first three minutes, he keeps playing creative and beautiful 
melodies (including two nice "Squirm" teases), then he seems to be 
planning where to go next for a minute. The direction he chooses, 
is one he would follow for much of the evening: loop madness! 
For 3 minutes, Frank mangles out chords and noises, from which he 
makes loops, tries out various combinations and plays melodies on top 
(some of this can be heard on Guitar). Quite cool, and only the 
beginning.

Easy Meat. The first lines in Frank's solo are so beautiful, we begin 
to believe he's about to compose a new Sinister Footwear. Then, 
abruptly, he kicks off one of his thunder-like loops, adds another one, 
and on top of this chaos, he reprises the great first melody. The rest 
of this great solo continues like this - a big variety of loops, mixed 
with neat melodies. The beauty and the beast in one!

What's New In Baltimore?, a song that would rarely disappoint on 
this tour, comes with another great guitar solo, which deviates into 
a boogie jam. Moggio is just as tight as we've come to expect from 
these guys, and leads us right into the next highlight of the show.

Drowning Witch brings us two awesome solos. Frank squeals out some 
typical Eastern-European-influenced melodies on the first one, 
utilizing his "Bulgarian Bagpipe" and feedback techniques to great 
effect. The second one is even better, much because some brilliant 
support from Thunes. Frank used half of it on Guitar as "But Who Was 
Fulcanelli?", but he should have used it in its entirety. And once 
again, I prefer the sound on this tape.

Frank is back in gear for Sharleena, though. This time he chooses a 
straighter R&R-approach, though he skillfully avoids becoming predictable. 
On the contrary, he uses the old blues scale in very creative ways, 
over Scott's bouncy bass.