Record Reviews

FRANK ZAPPA ~ CARNEGIE HALL VAULTERNATIVE 20111B (Barcode: 824302010181) ~ USA ~ Jazz-Rock Fusion Recorded: 1971 Released: 2020 This is an archival album of live recordings by iconic American guitarist / composer / bandleader / visionary Frank ZappaFind albums by this artist, recorded on October 11, 1971 at NY Carnegie Hall, the only concert played by Zappa and his Mothers Of InventionFind albums by this artist at this prestigious venue. The 3CD album includes all the music played during the two shows that night, lasting together for over three hours, all of which was previously unreleased. The album was released in 2011 as one of the series of complete live concerts, which also includes “FZ:OZFind albums with this title”, “BuffaloFind albums with this title”, “WazooFind albums with this title”, “Philly `76Find albums with this title” and “Hammersmith OdeonFind albums with this title”. This is the 2020 version of the album, which omits the support act (The PersuasionsFind albums by this artist) CD from the original 4CD 2011 version. All the music (except for two tracks which were co-composed) was composed by Zappa. The lineup of the musicians playing in the band, which played these concerts consists, in addition to Zappa on guitar and vocals of course, of vocalist / percussionist Mark VolmanFind albums by this artist, vocalist Howard KaylanFind albums by this artist (both ex-TurtlesFind albums by this artist collectively known as Flo & EddieFind albums by this artist), keyboardist / saxophonist Ian UnderwoodFind albums by this artist, keyboardist Don PrestonFind albums by this artist, bassist Jim PonsFind albums by this artist and British drummer Aynsley DunbarFind albums by this artist. The repertoire covers past favorites going as far back as the debut album “Freak Out!Find albums with this title” and up to “King KongFind albums with this title” (which gets an improvised 30 minutes long treatment), “Hot RatsFind albums with this title”, “Chunga`s RevengeFind albums with this title” and “200 MotelsFind albums with this title”. The music, as I have already stated repeatedly, is beyond categorization, being first and foremost the idiosyncratic creation of Zappa’s musical Genius. Of course every new piece of reissued vault material by Zappa expands the portrait of one of the paramount musical Geniuses of the 20th Century. I still label it as Jazz-Rock Fusion, as it embraces the wide perspective of these two genres. After all it is no less than three hours of the best music money can buy, brilliantly recorded and carefully put together for you listening pleasure. Overall, this a superb and highly detailed document of the way Zappa created his masterpieces, and of course a testimony to his musical out of the box thinking and creativity. As far as concert recordings, this is an extraordinary example of Zappa’s ability to run a tight ship, perhaps tighter than any other. Despite the complexity of the material, Swiss watchmakers are using this music to synchronize their watches by.

Updated: 11/08/2022Posted: 29/10/2021

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