Audio CD review:
Frank Zappa - You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore - Vol. 5

Frank Zappa - You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore - Vol. 5

Band: Frank Zappa Title: You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore - Vol. 5 Rating: Release Date: 30 May, 1995 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: The Downtown Talent Scout 2: Charles Ives 3: Here Lies Love 4: Piano/Drum Duet 5: Mozart Ballet 6: Chocolate Halvah 7: JCB & Kansas On The Bus #1 8: Run Home Slow: Main Title Theme 9: The Little March 10: Right There 11: Where Is Johnny Velvet? 12: Return Of The Hunch-Back Duke 13: Trouble Every Day 14: Proto-Minimalism 15: JCB & Kansas On The Bus #2 16: My Head? 17: Meow 18: Baked-Bean Boogie 19: Where's Our Equipment 20: FZ/JCB Drum Duet 21: No Waiting For The Peanuts To Dissolve 22: A Game OF Cards 23: Underground Freak-Out Music 24: German Lunch 25: My Guitar Wants To Kill Your Mama 26: Easy Meat 27: Dead Girls Of London 28: Shall We Take Ourselves Seriously? 29: What's New In Baltimore? 30: Moggio 31: Dancin' Fool 32: RDNZL 33: Anvance Romance 34: City Of Time Lites 35: A Pound For A Brown (On The Bus) 36: Doreen 37: The Black Page #2 38: Geneva Farewell

Customer Reviews People just don't get it. This is glaringly wrong. One thing I see all the time, is when people review volume 5 of "You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore," (or any, for that matter), and think that Zappa's comment in the sleeve notes in the series about the original Mothers' talent, compared to later bands, is supposed to show a lack of ability and talent on the part of the original band. To parse this quote: 'Great care has been taken throughout to ensure the best audio quality, however early selections of historical interest performed by the original Mothers Of Invention, though not exactly "hi-fi," have been included for the amusement of those fetishists who still believe the only "good" material was performed by that particular group. ' This is his gift to fans of the original band. He was aware of a segment of his fan base that still prefers the early material. "Hopefully, comparisons to recordings by the later ensembles will put an end to that particular misconception. " This only means that one of his favorite ensembles, the 1982 touring band, is a good contrast to the old material. If he didn't like any of it, there would be as little of it included here as possible. Disc one is a cross section of the early players, not just the performances, but the attitude of that particular band. Jim Black singing on the tour bus like some drunk ready to be thrown out of a bar, is an anthropological recording, a statement of how the guys carried on in those days. Not a spotlight of "talent," but more, what they were about. And FZ's disparaging comments about the original Mothers notwithstanding, they were one of the best bands to perform, in a studio, or on stage. Disc Two, is a cross section of performances by the 1982 band, which, he has said numerous times, played "beautifully. " Hearing this disc, is almost like attending a single live performance by this particular band. Pretty representative of a typical early 80's show. Some commercial material ("Dancin' Fool"), extended jams ("A Pound For A Brown"), displays of the bands individual chops ("RDNZL"), and my particular favorite part of the disc, "Geneva Farewell. " Some idiot threw something onto the stage, and if you follow Frank Zappa's live performances, even casually, you'll notice he always stressed, "Don't throw stuff onto the stage," this was a common announcement he made from the stage at his shows. So, at this point, he says, "Okay, if you throw anything else onto the stage, the concert's over. " You then hear a translator plead to the audience what Zappa said. Then the moron in the audience doesn't take him seriously, and throws something at him anyway. The response? "Houselights! The concert's over. " And I hope the people in the audience taught this guy a lesson. I'll review the other volumes of this series as time and circumstance will allow, but I chose this one first, mostly because of what I saw in reviews about the Mothers on Disc 5, and misconceptions about the comments about misconceptions concerning the early band. If this makes any sense. :-) Also: A reference to FZ's solos on "Underground Freak Out. . . ". The guitar solos in question, are Lowell George's. Zappa conducted the band here, like an orchestra. Half great, half not. For the most part I agree with him: there is not much energy to most live performances from the original line-up, which is shown through the entire first disc, however, I feel that We're only in it for the money is a masterpiece and represents the orginal line-up in the best light. Frank Zappa often complained about how bad the original Mothers line-up was compared to some of Frank's later arrangements. The second disc is one of Frank's 'later' bands that Zappa said were so much better than the original Mothers. This particular band is the 1981-1982 band and they are incredible. The music on this disc was recorded in the summer of 1982. The musicianship is the best Zappa has ever had: Chad Wackerman on drums, who is Zappa's best an most underated drummer, yes even better than Terry Bozzio and Vinnie C. who are gods themselves, just listen to Chad's bass drum work. Also, Steve Vai is an excellent guitar player and has pulled off some of Zappa's most challenging works. And then of course theres the rest of the band: on back-up vocals and keyboard are the dynamic Bobbie Martin and Tommy Mars who would sadly be replaced by the obnoxious but talented Allan Zavod on the 1984 tour. Also, Ray White helps with the vocals and background guitar. Ed Mann on percussion is equal if not better than Ruth Underwood. And finally theres Zappa himself right in the middle. Just listen to the guitar solo at the end of What's new in Baltimore, easily the best performance of the song on the tour. Zappa-The Best Songwriter of the 20th Century We all know Zappa is the man- any doubts? Listen to What's New in Baltimore. . You can see a complete list of all Frank Zappa discography, or go back to the Frank Zappa tabs