The Frank Zappa Review Page
The Lost Episodes
(1995)
Chronologically
speaking it's hard to know where to place this album, because the material
spans thirty years of Zappa's career. It is an interesting album and gives us a
brief glimpse of the many types of music produced. There is an absorbing
instrumental version of 'Take Your Clothes off...' and an interesting version
of 'Inca Roads'. In between there is much material some excellent some
ridiculous and bad. The first part of the album is nearly all weird sound
samplings reminiscent of the worst parts of his earliest albums, but the middle
section of the album has some great songs including a pre- Freakout version of
'Any Way The Wind Blows', which I think is far better than the version on their
debut album. There are also some good instrumentals such as 'Wedding Dress
Song'. The latter part of the album contains some of better songs from Zappa's
later albums. 'Wonderful Wino' is fantastic, it is so powerful and intense the
vocals are great.'RDNZL' is catchy and 'I Don't Wanna Get Drafted' Remains one
of my favourite Zappa tracks of all time!!!! The closing track 'Sharleena' is
an absorbing love ballad, but is unfortunately too long at ten minutes, it's a
super song nonetheless.
This is by no means an exceptional album, musically it is a mixed bag but it
has heaps more character and class than 'Sheik Yerbouti' or 'Tinseltown
Rebellion'. If I was to award this album a mark for the none Zappa enthusiast I
would give it a mark somewhere in the mid -fifties, but if you add it's
historical significance and it's unassuming charm then I'd bump the albums
score up a little bit. An interesting, if not great piece of archive material.
Rating – 67%
