Frank Zappa’s fourth proper
live album is a treat, a dazzling return to form after the dismal Zoot Allures and the true debut of his
magnificent late ‘70s band. But it almost didn’t happen – at least, not in the
way we’ve come to know it. That’s why, in order to talk about Zappa in New York, one first needs to
talk about the great lost album known as Lather.
In 1977, Zappa was in the
throes of a legal battle with his former manager, Herb Cohen. Zappa had sued
Cohen for allegedly taking too much money from the coffers of DiscReet Records,
the label the two of them owned. In October of 1976, Zappa bypassed DiscReet
and released Zoot Allures on Warner
Bros., the company that had been distributing Zappa’s albums for years. Cohen
then sued Zappa for not complying with his DiscReet contract.
Despite this falling out,
Zappa was still signed to DiscReet (and hence to Warner Bros.), and still owed
four more albums. In an unprecedented move, Zappa delivered Lather, a four-record box set that he hoped
would cure his obligations all at once. This, naturally, did not sit well with
Warner, but since no one had ever tried this tactic before, there were no rules
in place to prevent it. The record company suits were further displeased by the
content of Lather – the complexities
of the present-day composer, submerged for most of the ‘70s, were finally on
full view again here.
Warner Bros. refused to
release Lather as a four-record set.
They also prevented Zappa from releasing it through Phonogram Records, claiming
ownership of the material despite their intention to mothball it. Zappa
responded by playing a test pressing of Lather
over the air on California radio station KROQ, which further angered Warner
Bros. In the end, Zappa was forced to cut Lather
into four separate albums, which Warner agreed to release, thus fulfilling
Zappa’s contract.
Though reluctant to do so,
Zappa made the cuts, and even actively participated in the preparation of the
first of those reconfigured albums, Zappa
in New York. This double-record set documents a series of shows performed
at the Palladium in New York in December of 1976, though much of the material
was heavily overdubbed, as it was intended to sit beside studio recordings on Lather.
But Warner Bros. did not stop
interfering. DiscReet issued Zappa in New
York with Zappa’s intended track listing in 1977, but Warner Bros. quickly
put a stop to it before it could be widely distributed. The problem was a track
called “Punky’s Whips,” which poked fun at drummer Terry Bozzio for his
infatuation with Punky Meadows, guitarist for a then-popular band called Angel.
The song is fairly graphic, and Warner objected, cutting it from the “official”
release of Zappa in New York in March
of 1978. They also edited a song called “Titties and Beer,” which is a lot
funnier than it sounds.
That was the last straw for
Zappa, who left the artwork and promotion of the other three Lather albums up to the record company
suits. When full rights to the material were returned to him, Zappa reissued Zappa in New York, restoring all the
originally intended content and adding four bonus tracks. This is the version
we know today, the one reissued by the Zappa family in 2012.
And it’s terrific. Zappa’s
late ‘70s band is in full force here, including guitarist and vocalist Ray
White, bassist Patrick O’Hearn, keyboardist Eddie Jobson, percussionists Dave
Samuels and Ruth Underwood, and a dream horn section including the Brecker
Brothers (Randy and Mike), saxophonist Donnie Cuber (who went on to join the J.
Geils Band), and saxophonist Lou Marini and trombonist Tom Malone, both members
of the Saturday Night Live band at
the time.
But the star is drummer Terry
Bozzio, breaking out of his deliberately constrained performance on Zoot Allures and emerging as a dynamic
live presence. Bozzio gets to shine as a lead vocalist on both “Titties and
Beer” and “Punky’s Whips,” and he grabs the spotlight on the impossible drum
solo “The Black Page #1.” With Bozzio providing the bedrock, this band jumps
nimbly from bluesy rock to jazzy funk to insanely complicated instrumental
pieces with ease.
Only two tracks (six on the
extended edition) are renditions of previously released songs. The rest is new
material developed for this band, and their sheer joy at performing this stuff
is palpable. The album opens with “Titties and Beer,” Zappa’s attempt to dumb
down Stravinsky’s L’Histoire du Soldat
(A Soldier’s Tale) for the masses. Over a raucous repetitive saxophone riff,
Zappa plays the part of a biker who faces off with the devil, played with gusto
by Bozzio. In concert, Bozzio would don an uncomfortable-looking devil mask for
this tune.
“Titties and Beer” is crass,
but it’s making a wider point – anything can be delivered to the masses in a
palpable way. As in the Stravinsky piece, a deal with the devil is made, but in
this case, the devil upsets Zappa’s single-minded character by eating his
“big-titted” girlfriend and his beer. The devil offers them back in exchange
for Zappa’s soul, and when he willingly agrees, it takes the devil by surprise,
leaving him open for a sucker punch. It’s presented in the most juvenile way
imaginable, but it’s fun.
“Titties and Beer” ably
displays the difference between this album and Zoot Allures. Where its predecessor was dark, claustrophobic and
ugly, Zappa in New York is vibrant, grinning
at you the entire time it plays. The lyrics here continue Zappa’s obsessions
with sex, much like his early ‘70s material, but performed the way they are
here, they seem more harmless than puerile. But make no mistake, there are some
lyrics on here that will turn away the squeamish. Even the prettiest of the
instrumentals is called “I Promise Not to Come in Your Mouth.”
The most egregious is “Honey,
Don’t You Want a Man Like Me,” which Warner Bros. apparently had no issue with.
It details a bad date between two shallow people, doling out disdain on both of
them – her favorite group is Helen Reddy, singer of “I Am Woman,” while he is
the type of guy who thinks substituting “puck” for a similar-sounding obscenity
is hilarious. At the end of the date, she refuses to kiss him, which provokes a
series of major obscenities and a slammed door. It ends with a dead car battery
and oral sex, and with Zappa’s patented derision, equally heaped on both
parties.
Similarly discomfiting is
“The Illinois Enema Bandit,” a lengthy blues piece that takes the true-life
story of serial sexual assaulter Michael Kenyon as its source. For roughly 10
years, Kenyon terrorized students at the University of Illinois, administering unwanted
enemas. There’s something funny here, but Zappa just goes straight for the
crass – Ray White sings “He just be pumpin’ every one of ‘em up with the bag
fulla Illinois Enema Bandit juice,” and “He’s looking for some rustic co-ed
rump that he just might wanna pump…” Zappa does play with blues conventions
near the end, and makes a grand reference to “It Can’t Happen Here,” off of
Freak Out. But unless you think forced enemas are inherently funny, this one
may not (ahem) sit well with you.
But what of “Punky’s Whips,”
the song Warner Bros. actually cut? Truth be told, it’s a funny and maddeningly
complex piece of work. Stretching to nearly 11 minutes, the song delves fully
into Bozzio’s infatuation with Meadows’ publicity photo, pausing to riff on a line
from Angel’s PR materials that called Meadows “more fluid than Jeff Beck.” The
song ends with Bozzio adamantly proclaiming that he is not gay, but is “just a
little fond of chiffon in a wrist array,” before hoping Punky can “yank my
crank all night long.”
Warner Bros. was concerned
about Meadows’ reaction, but he was a good sport, even appearing on stage with
Zappa in later years. And despite the finely crafted music, it’s clear from
Bozzio’s throaty delivery that this song is not serious. In fact, all these
songs are delivered this way – special guest Don Pardo, the voice of Saturday
Night Live, even drops by to introduce both “Punky’s Whips” and “The Illinois
Enema Bandit,” further encouragement not to take them as anything more than
larks.
Speaking of Pardo, he pops up
one final time, brilliantly hamming up the final verse of “I’m the Slime.” This
was one of Zappa’s bonus tracks (along with the awesome instrumental take on
“Cruising for Burgers” and the renditions of “Pound for a Brown” and “The Torture
Never Stops”), and now it seems integral to the record. Pardo clearly has such
fun shouting this out. “You will obey me while I lead you and eat the garbage
that I feed you!” The irony of using a man best known for his TV work to
criticize TV is not lost, either.
Most of the album’s second
disc is devoted to sheer musicianship. The band makes an unbelievably complex
piece like “Manx Needs Women” seem effortless, and they run through all three
versions of the inhuman “The Black Page” with grace. “The Black Page” got its
name when Bozzio saw the sheet music – there were so many notes, he said, that
it looked like a black page. Every note and every drum hit is written out and
very precise. It’s an extremely difficult piece to play.
And once again, Zappa shows
his equal commitment to precision and improvisation by giving the fourth side
of the album over to “The Purple Lagoon/Approximate,” a 17-minute jam with a
complex head and some wild solos. Zappa’s guitar solo was overdubbed in the
studio, but the fiery contributions of (in order) Mike Brecker, Ronnie Cuber,
Patrick O’Hearn and Randy Brecker were all captured live. It’s a testament to
the skill of this particular band.
Zappa in New York is an embarrassment of riches. (We haven’t even mentioned the superb
renditions of “Big Leg Emma” and “Sofa,” or the way “The Torture Never Stops”
comes alive here, easily surpassing the studio take.) Though most of this
material was included on Lather,
which itself saw release after Zappa’s death, hearing it in this context is a
treat. In its extended form, this is more than 100 minutes of terrific music played
by terrific musicians. What more could you ask for?
Rating:
Essential
Which version to buy: If you’re looking for a CD, it doesn’t matter. The
only version available is the extended one, with the four bonus tracks (which you
want), and this album was not remastered for its 2012 re-release. It sounds
great regardless.
Next week: More
Lather goods with Studio
Tan.
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