The Frank
Zappa Review Page
The Best Band
You Never Heard In Your Life (1988)
This was the second of the three albums
released in 1988 it is a double Cd set with well over 90 minutes
of live music, interesting uh? Yes it is actually. It's not the best band i've
ever heard in my life, but it's very good. This album has much more of a live
feel about it than 'Broadway The Hardway' and there is not too much remixing
which is a relief to me. The structure of the album is not dissimiliar to
'Joe's Garage' , I do not mean in terms of music but the order of the album;
Disc 1 is filled with many of Zappa's crowd pleasing songs whilst Disc 2 is
more instrumental with long guitar solo's and less lyrics. Side 1 is my
favourite of the two. 'Heavy Duty Judy' opens the set, it is a perfect tune to
start the proceedings as it allows Zappa to introduce the band and the 'secret
word' for the evening which is 'Ring Of Fire'. I must say that I find the
secret word theme a little tiresome because this phrase is repeated in several
of the songs when they would be better not tampering with them. 'Cosmik Debris'
is a good live version, 'find her finer' is fun, especially live, but I do not
like what they did to 'Who Needs The Peace Corps' this is a butchered version
of the classic original because it is slowed down all but ruined. 'Zomby Woof'
is very good because it is true to the original recording. 'Mr Green Genes' is
brilliant i love this song (from Uncle Meat). It is the first time that I have
heard it and it is done superbly well. Next come four songs in a row from 'One
Size Fits All', not one of my favourite albums. 'Florentine Pogen' is good, I
prefer it live to the studio recording, 'Andy' seems more fluid than the
original and 'Inca Roads' is catchy in places but loses the thread to
often. Side 1 ends with a stunning saxophone dominated 'Sofa No1' which leaves
you buzzing nicely.
Disc 2 starts with a fair take on 'Purple Haze' and a passable 'Sunshine Of
Your Love'. 'The Torture Never Stops' breaks up disc 2 with instrumental
solo's. 'More Trouble Everyday' is a interesting spin on the Freakout! track,
it is done well especially with the strong saxophone playing. 'Penguin In Bondage'
is okay but has never really captured my imagination. The closing track of the
set is 'Stairway To Heaven'. Surprisingly Zappa covers it extremely well, the
emphasis is taken away from guitars and placed more on horns, yet it still
stays true to the original. You will enjoy this track! The album ends with
Zappa traditionally thanking all his musicians and then it's over. Well its
another of those hard to assess albums, it has moments of magic but also some
mediocre portions. I do get frustrated when Zappa tampers too much with beats
and music, because with his talent he does not need to. I nkow many Zappa fans
love the way Zappa cuts songs up but sometimes it gets to me! It's a good album
though, because the band is strong and the live sound is at times great. I
think it's worth buying.
Rating : 71 %
