Audio CD review:
Frank Zappa - You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore - Vol. 3

Frank Zappa - You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore - Vol. 3

Band: Frank Zappa Title: You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore - Vol. 3 Rating: Release Date: 30 May, 1995 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: Sharleena 2: Bamboozled By Love 3: Lucille Has Messed My Mind up 4: Advance Romance 5: Bobby Brown Goes Down 6: Keep It Greasey 7: Honey, Don't You Want A Man Like Me? 8: In France 9: Drowning Witch 10: Ride My Face To Chicago 11: Carol, You Fool 12: Chana In De Bushwop 13: Joe's Garage 14: Why Does It Hurt When I Pee? 15: Dickie's Such An Asshole 16: Hands With A Hammer 17: Zoot Allures 18: Society Pages 19: I'm A Beautiful Guy 20: Beauty Knows No Pain 21: Charlie's Enormous Mouth 22: Cocaine Decisions 23: Nig Biz 24: King Kong 25: Cosmik Debris

Customer Reviews Big emphasis on 1982 and 1984 The sound quality of the songs from 1984 isn't as good as on the live album "Does humor belong in music?" from the same band and tour. This emphasizes on the 1984 band (Disc 1), but the 1982 band also gets a fair representation. Here the drums are muddier. The 1982 sound quality's fine. Most of the songs are edited together from different concerts, but most of the liner notes don't tell that. There are many more cuts than you think. Here are the songs: Sharleena - This is from the last show of the 1984 tour and features Dweezil playing a solo. It's an okay version, but nothing special. Bamboozled by Love - This is the 1984 new wave version with the "Owner of a lonely heart" by Yes riff being the guitar solo vamp. It's quite different from the original version recorded in 1979 on the 1981 "Tinseltown Rebellion" live album. It sounds okay but the mix could be better. Lucille has messed my mind up - 1984, pretty much like the album version, just much shorter, which is good. Except here it's not just Ike Willis singing. Better than the original for that, and also for the guitar fills. Advance Romance - 1984, very not-taking-it-seriously version with inside joke laughs. Bobby Brown Goes down - 1984, full of laughs because of the "Hi-yo silver" jokes again, and the last verse isn't even sung. Keep it greasy - 1984, the laughs continue. I guess these were put here just to show Zappa did take things very lightly every now and then or just for fun. After all Zappa did put this whole compilation together and was completely in charge. Honey, don't you want a man like me? - 1984, they stop for the Twisted Sister part (you know it if you saw the "Does humor belong in music?" video). Other than that, it is what it is. In france - 1984, judging from what's on here so far, this band has a lot of fun on stage. The guitar solo was edited out. Still more enjoyable than the album version. Drowning witch - Mostly 1984, with parts recorded in 1982. A lot of the aforementioned cuts happen in this song. It's a pretty good version, probably as good as the album version. Ride my face to chicago - 1984, one of the five previously unreleased songs on this archival record, though one is just a drum solo (more about it later). An intentionally cheesy song, which is simple, short, but with a solo which lasts longer than the actual song. Carol, you fool - 1984, another new song. It's a standard slow doo-wop R'n'B song with comedy lyrics. Has nice harmony vocals from Ike Willis, Ray White, Bobby Martin, and FZ. Chana in de bushwop - 1984, another one of the new songs. This one's co-written by Diva Zappa. It's a standard boogie woogie song, with a long piano solo, which apparantly was interesting to watch. Joe's Garage - 1984, Very standard version, nothing special here. Why does it hurt when I pee? - 1984, same as above. Has an intentionally over-dramatized ending. These songs are comic relief to previous songs, but which were also comic relief to something that hasn't happened yet, which needs so much comic relief in the first place (confusing?). Dickie's such an a__hole - 1973, a Roxy outtake, later re-done in 1988 for "Broadway the hard way". This version is kind of stale and boring compared to the one 15 years later. At the end it has the "Baby Snakes" movie scene in audio where Bozzio jokingly complains. Interesting fact: That road manager actually did commit suicide after a night of gambling and drinking on the first night of the tour. I'm surprised they take it so lightly, and that FZ released it twice. Hands with a hammer - 1976, a Terry Bozzio drum solo lifted from a performance of "Chunga's Revenge". Partly included here for a great drum sound, according to FZ. Zoot allures - 1976, 1982. The actual part of this is played in early 1976, but then edits into a solo from 1982. The solo is pretty good, but there's plenty of 1982 stuff already on the fifth volume of these series, and the "Guitar" album. I'd much rather have a complete 10-15 guitar extravaganza from that tour instead of this. If you want to hear that 1976 guitar stuff, get FZ:OZ or Frank Zappa plays the music of Frank Zappa. It's from the same tour. Society Pages, I'm a beautiful guy, Beauty knows no pain, Charlie's enormous mouth - All from the 1981 Halloween show. The songs are played nicely and without mistakes. Better than the album versions, because the originals were ruined on the CD version, though fixed later. But if you have the crappy version, then just for audio reasons, this is better. Cocaine decisions - 1984, 1982. Nothing special here, except you can hear the 1982 riot. Nig Biz - 1982, The fifth new song. Could be better, because the version here is played during the riot, so they're under pressure here. The song itself is a simple blues about being signed to a major record company and how it sucks. King Kong - 1982, 1971. Plenty of cuts on this 24 and a half minute version. The 1982 stuff has a nice solo, some toilet humor, conceptual continuity concerning spontaneous poetry from 1979, and a keyboard solo. The 1971 part is a gentle guitar solo with a quote of "Big Swifty", and an Ian Underwood sax solo. Overall it's too much of a mash and a mess. Why not just release a single show complete performance of this song? Cosmik debris - 1984, standard version, except the guitar solo is surprisingly great for a song like this. That was a long review and the conclusion is that you should buy this if you're into Zappa, but not for beginners. Also this is for those interested in the 1982 and 1984 bands. FZ Journal # 7 I have never listened to this volume in the series, but my conception of Zappa's work is heavily influenced by the Best Band recordings. Although I know and understand the premise of this series of discs, and have heard a couple of them, I am generally not familiar with the details of the performances. In some ways, YCDTOSA 3 feels like home. These recordings have also been a source of interest in they way that they are structured. Zappa himself states that the live material contains "ABSOLUTELY NO OVER-DUBS", but there is some editing together of separate performances. In some instances, like Zoot Allures and King Kong on disc 2, a single "performance" contains entirely different bands. Now on one hand, it is a testament to both the consistency of Zappa's preparations and his deft hand in the studio. In these cases, one must listen very closely for the seams. The casual listener would probably not even notice them. In the end, Zappa can look at his best performances and create what he might consider a live show that most closely captures his intention. On the other hand, it begs the question of "ABSOLUTELY NO OVER DUBS. . . . ". Technically, there are no overdubs, but there is definitely some studio trickery going on. However, we have stated that Zappa conceived of the studio as an instrument in and of itself, and these recordings most definitely show his mastery of the medium. In the liner notes, Zappa also gives eight criteria for the selecting songs for this series, and number six is whether a given recording has "Conceptual Continuity Clues". I have had an interest in familiarizing myself with this feature of Zappa's repertoire, but as I am becoming more familiar with them, it is getting more difficult to tease out the threads. This recording just about made my brain hurt as I tried to figure out where I heard what from where, and there were so many of them that I could hardly find pen and paper fast enough. As Zappa hit the `80's, his repertoire of mindless rock licks expanded beyond "Louie Louie", and here he adds "Owner of a Lonely Heart" to the list as a vamp for the solo on "Bamboozled By Love". His choice and presentation of "cover" songs is of interest, as they represent a satirical view of the state of rock and roll and the music industry. Of course, the audience is just happy to hear their faves cranked out through Zappa's outfreakage. I was really happy to hear a live version of "Drowning Witch", which is one of my favorite Zappa compositions. In the liner notes, he admitted how hard the song was to perform, and here he had to splice a couple of performances together to just get one that was close. I also enjoyed getting to hear an entire performance of "Dickie's Such an A**h*le". I really only know that song by the lick that Ed Mann "f****d up" on the Make A Jazz Noise Here recording. Dweezil and Frank sound great together on "Sharleena" as well. There's also a nice post-modern moment when he starts referring to back-up doo-wops as lyrics, encouraging the performers to get the lyrics right. Something else I have been thinking about is how Zappa chose people for his band that were sort of the charismatic "drama" figures. As we were watching Napolean Murphy Brock in class today, I was thinking about Ike Willis and the place that he held in the `80's lineup, and about how the late `70's group had very charismatic players in the group (Bozzio, O'Hearn) and about how much these members were necessary to Franks live performances as people who could command the attention of the spotlight in musically technical sections. This problem of keeping audience attention in technically demanding rock music was what caused Peter Gabriel to start wearing makeup and outlandish costumes. . The Spots are so great that the lag aint that much... Dweezil ROcks Sharleena. . Witch, RMFTC, all of disc one is dank. Zoot, Charleys Suite, Kong, Depris. . . this is worth more than it costs. a few lags, make is 4. 5 for me, but a great 4. 5. . You can see a complete list of all Frank Zappa discography, or go back to the Frank Zappa tabs