1978 + 1979 Frank Zappa Mixed 3 Disc 1 - 73.55 1 Persona Non Grata 9.04 78-Oct-27 2nd show 2 Thirteen 19.52 " 3 Suicide Chump 9.08 " 4 Improvisations In Q 9.58 " 5 Treacherous Cretin 7.05 79-Feb-28 6 Easy Meat 7.35 " 7 Inca Roads 11.11 " 78-Oct-27: Palladium - New York, NY 79-Feb-28: Congress Centrum - Hamburg, Germany Notes on this material from the Frank Zappa Tape Reviewing Society (I only picked the parts of the reviews that actually apply to the tracks above): 78-Oct-27 (2nd show): The first tape from this show is pure magic - perhaps the finest 90 min anywhere in the FZ oevre. Three more or less unique performances, and a bunch of songs that are played in their more or less ultimate versions. The opening solo definitely falls into the "unique" category. Half of it has become world famous as the Theme From Sinister Footwear, 3rd Mvt, and the entire 7 min (!) epic is one of FZ's most inspired moments. Must be heard! After Ed's vibes solo in Pound For A Brown, things wouldn't be the the same again for quite a while. It's time for the world premiere of Thirteen. FZ's introduction, hand-clapping instructions and Shankar's solo can all be heard on YCDTOSA vol 6, and is one of my all-time favourites moments in FZ's vast output. The guitar solo on the CD comes from the 10/31 show, a wise choice in my opinion. It's an excellent solo, no question about that, but FZ would grow more comfortable with the environment over the next few days. It's also fascinating to hear the bass players struggle to keep the beat going, while Vinne does his best to tear it apart. The playing is very near total free-form at times, but the rhythm section has grown so tight by now, they manage to come up with new intriguing vamps out of what seems to be chaos. We get a little FZ/Shankar duel, pretty amusing, if not that musically great. At this point, when the jam slowly begins to lose focus, FZ cues the band back to the 13 vamp for a finishing round of keyboard solos. Truly great, and as things get more calm, O'Hearns seems more at ease, and delivers some really great lines. All in all, 20 min of incredible jamming, with almost no dead spots. Things get back to normal for a couple of minutes with Suicide Chump. FZ takes the vocals tonight, giving the lyrics an even more sarcastic tone. And this is another of those far-better-than-usual songs, due to some really good FZ/Walley playing at the end, where even the bass players join in. And I just love the minor/major-dualistic riff that the song ends up in! And it's here that we approach the most unique performance of the night. The "Improvisations In Q" is one of the most famous and beloved unreleased goodies from FZ's live career, and rightly so. This is what this band should have been doing most of the time - just pure improvisation, conducted by FZ. It begins with Tommy Mars solo, before the band joins in on a coool, dreary vamp. Tommy continues with some more pyrotechnics, and invites Shankar for some "dialogue". Magnificent, but Arthur actually manages to exceed this with his solo - a showcase of amazing technique as well as great melodic and rhythmic sense. FZ, realizing this was the climax of the jamming, decides to make an as-bizarre-as-possible turn here, and cues Patrick into playing a surf music/twist type bass line. The rest of the band catch up immediately, and Arthur starts harmonizing Patrick's line with major 3rds - so twisted, but oh so wonderful. Arthur's bass solo continues over this surf jam, and FZ tries to break in with a "OK, back to the real world", but no - the band is having too much fun now, and continue to play for an extra minute. 79-Feb-28: This is one of those '79 shows that it is a good idea to track down and own. It is an orgy of extended Frank guitar solos. From the get go, things are sounding good with my nomination for one of Frank's best opening selections ever, Treacherous Cretins. Once the ominous arpeggio quickly silences the ready-for-action crowd, Frank steps forward with a restrained yet forceful solo. With both Vinnie and Artie playing relatively reserved roles, Frank cautiously explores the Treacherous vamp, slowly escalating his solo to a controlled yet exhilarating peak. We get none of the "where the hell are we now?" frenzy of many of Frank's other '79 solos (see SUNPYG), but instead are treated to a reserved yet thorough exploration of one of Frank's darker themes. As the solo slowly builds in intensity, Frank and company flirt with the wilder regions of improv, but pull themselves back out of respect for the boundaries of the Treacherous theme. Truly, this is one of Frank's more accomplished solos. Easy Meat, the second of the expected '79 highlights- finds Frank's solo starting off rather weakly. Attempting to build his solo on an improvised theme, Frank toys with this theme for approximately a minute, failing to get anything interesting going. Fortunately, he realizes that he is going nowhere, takes a short breather, and then starts up again with a frenzy of metallic notes. Ugliness prevails, and the solo is redeemed. The third of the three expected highlights more than meets expectations, as Frank's Inca Roads solo is an 8 min tour-de-force. Forsaking any thought of slowly building a solo upon an improvised theme, Frank simply starts soloing the instant we enter solo territory, attacking the guitar with an abandon that is in complete contrast with the deliberateness of his opening solo. Vinnie and Artie manage to stay around for the ride, but it is obvious that they are playing catch-up through most of this. Frank has his blinders on, and amazingly enough, manages to keep focused for the duration of the ride. This is another amazing Inca Roads endeavor.