THE STAGE SERIES:
Zappa's Parting Gift To The Fans
Up until the last few years of his life, Frank Zappa spent a part of each year touring with his current band. Since the tape recorders were nearly always rolling during these road trips, Zappa ended up with a huge stockpile of live recordings, all of which were carefully stored in the climate-controlled vault beneath his California home. In 1988, Zappa finally responded to the many requests from fans for legitimate release of this material by inaugurating the You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore series. Over the next four years, this grew to include six double-CD sets spanning the years 1965-1988.
The Stage series (which is usually abbreviated as YCDTOSA) quite naturally stands apart from the rest of Zappa's work. It neither summarizes nor significantly builds upon the achievements of his earlier recordings (although Zappa does use the occasion to compare and contrast the various bands that he worked with). Instead, these twelve CD's are both a fittingly monumental postscript to Zappa's career and an intriguing look at the luminous highs and abysmal lows that he attained on record.
You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore, Vol. 1
The series begins with this highly entertaining addition to Zappa's Universe. Although most of these songs have appeared in earlier incarnations, they stand up well in comparison to the originals. In fact, at least three of them are clearly superior: The Mammy Anthem, The Torture Never Stops and Dumb All Over. Of the six premiere performances, the only one of significance is Babbette, a beautiful doo-wop number marred by some rather nasty connotations in the lyric. Overall, the most fascinating thing about this album is the opportunity to compare the variety of bands that Zappa led from 1969 through 1984 (the time period covered here), both in terms of the uniqueness of each as well as in the common ground that performing Zappa's music provides.
You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore, Vol. 2
Let's be honest. Doesn't the consistent perfection of Zappa's live recordings make you suspicious? I mean, didn't the band ever have an off night? Was Frank ever less than hilarious on stage? Well, now it can be told! Volume 2 of the YCDTOSA series documents a single, complete concert, performed the night of September 22, 1974, in Helsinki, Finland. The band is a small six-piece unit that is rather thin-sounding in comparison to many of Zappa's touring groups. Furthermore, lead vocalist Napoleon Murphy Brock was struggling with pneumonia and having a hard time singing (does this also explain why his tenor sax sounds like a kazoo?). The album begins with—and periodically reverts to—juvenile noodling and strained humor. There is a false start and several ragged ensembles. Imperfection abounds, yet so does brilliance. Besides Brock, the band is comprised of percussionist Ruth Underwood, keyboard player George Duke, bassist Tom Fowler, drummer Chester Thompson and Zappa (in rare form) on guitar. When musicians of this caliber lock into a groove—as they do in many places here—it raises goosebumps. In fact this album may best represent the concept underlying the entire YCDTOSA series: real musicians, playing difficult music, under trying conditions. And doing a damn fine job of it.
You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore, Vol. 3
Damn you, Zappa! How's a person supposed to get comfortable with your music when it's always changing? And you don't help matters by misleading us. Take for example the YCDTOSA series. First you tell us that "any band can be (and often is) edited to the performance of any other band from any year...." Then you release an album like Volume 3 in which the entire first disc is made up of stuff by the same band from the same year. What gives? I mean the music on this album is mostly rock and roll, which I don't like that much anyway. But the band sounds so good—there's all these killer bass lines and great guitar solos and everything's recorded so well—that it's hard not to like it just a little bit. And then there's the lyrics. I thought you were obsessed with "conveying a message" or something, but what are we supposed to make of bullshit like Chana In De Bushwop or Ride My Face To Chicago? Then you turn around and include a bunch of songs from You Are What You Is that actually do make a statement of some kind. You see what I'm trying to say? Where's the consistency? It goes from one thing to another to something completely different. That 24 minute version of King Kong on disc two still burns my butt. Is it rock and roll or reggae or jazz or a poetry reading? I mean, what the fuck kind of music is this anyway?
You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore, Vol. 4
There are times when Zappa's music—like the tortured landscapes of Hieronymus Bosch—takes me to places I'd rather not go. This album is one of those times. Its operative themes appear to be cynicism, perversion, stupidity and decline. Even the instrumentals have a feverish air of madness about them. How was Zappa able to conjure up such disturbing stuff? Was he its master or its victim?
You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore, Vol. 5
This double CD may well be the apex of the entire YCDTOSA series. Disc one is comprised of primarily unreleased work from the early years, circa 1965-69, while disc two features the 1982 band. By means of such direct comparison, Zappa evidently hoped to discredit "the peculiar misconception that the only 'good' material was performed by the original Mothers of Invention." Initially, this seems like an open and shut case. There is nothing on the first disc that can match the sheer sustained virtuosity of the 1982 band. Still, I cannot dismiss the Mothers of Invention so easily. Although they were not technically brilliant, they were silly and irreverent: a ragtag band of musical miscreants, assaulting the conventions of both straight and hip society. Furthermore, band members such as Ian Underwood, Motorhead Sherwood and Lowell George personified the Mothers as much as Frank himself, a condition that changed dramatically in the later years when Zappa became more of an employer than a compadre. The thing to remember is that each of Zappa's musical eras has its strengths and weaknesses. It is because Volume 5 underscores this point at the same time that it tries to "prove" otherwise—and presents some wonderful music along the way—that it gets my vote as the best album in the YCDTOSA series.
You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore, Vol 6.
The final volume of the Stage series reminds us that while Zappa often tried to infuse his songs with a little sociology, the results were decidedly mixed. Volume 6 focuses on the theme of sex, the part of Zappa's recorded legacy that critics most often dismiss as musically shallow and lyrically puerile. By and large, these charges are accurate. Much of the music on this album—excepting some outstanding performances on disc two—is the quasi-heavy metal fare designed to appeal to Zappa's teenage audience. On an equally crude level, the lyrics portray sex in the basest of terms. What's most disturbing, however, is the perfunctory way in which he performs these songs. Dirty Love, I'm So Cute, Ms. Pinky, Dinah-Moe Humm and others have all received much better treatment elsewhere. Part of this may be due to the boredom of running down the same material night after night in acoustically dreadful venues like hockey rinks. But I also think that the pop song format imposed serious limitations on what Zappa wanted to say and that he easily lost interest in it. Consequently, it's essential to examine the spoken interludes bridging these songs. In so doing, we discover that Zappa had a keen grasp of the absurdity of human sexual practice in the late 20th century. The intro to Ms. Pinky, for example, conveys the foolishness of our sexual obsessions better than the song itself. Same with The M.O.I. Anti-Smut Loyalty Oath and Is That Guy Kidding Or What. These few minutes of talk provide a clearer idea of what this album is about than all the band material combined. While this album clearly does not deserve a spot on any Zappa best-of list, it is an important gauge of the frustration he felt in not having a better platform for his ideas. And whether you agree with these ideas or not, you have to admit that they offer a unique and refreshingly "frank" perspective on a subject which few people would dare to speak of in private let alone before an audience of thousands.
THE STAGE SERIES
1. FZ, You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore, Vol. 1 /1988/ Rykodisc RCD 10561-62 [2 discs]
2. FZ, You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore, Vol. 2 /1988/ Rykodisc RCD 10563-64 [2 discs]
3. FZ, You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore, Vol. 3 /1989/ Rykodisc RCD 10565-66 [2 discs]
4. FZ, You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore, Vol. 4 /1991/ Rykodisc RCD 10567-68 [2 discs]
5. FZ, You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore, Vol. 5 /1992/ Rykodisc RCD 10569-70 [2 discs]
6. FZ, You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore, Vol. 6 /1992/ Rykodisc RCD 10571-72 [2 discs]