#Frank zappa mothers roxy and elsewhere movie
#Frank zappa mothers roxy and elsewhere free

#Frank zappa mothers roxy and elsewhere free

Its more than 15 minutes are more representative of the side of Frank Zappa lots of people point at when they say they don’t like his music, and they’re sort of the same people that point at Free Jazz when they say they don’t like Jazz (without ever having given either of them a real try). This is not just a hard one to play, it was a hard one to grow on me. It has a tritonus and an augmented fifth, but no natural fifth.” I’m sure you noticed that as well, right? By western standards this scale sounds awkward. Here’s what one of them has to say: “During this solo various instances can be noticed where Zappa is applying the whole-tone scale. Or that moment right before the band starts into “Be-Bop Tango (Of The Old Jazzmen’s Church)” when he finishes his introductory words by saying: “And this is a hard one to play.” If you look at what scholars have written about this particular piece you get an idea of just how hard it is. It just smells funny.” A sentence that belongs on the really very short list of timeless truths. It clearly is part of the greatness.Īfter all, this album includes one of his most epic sentences: “Jazz is not dead. Regarding the theatrical element: some critics of the time spoke of lots of wasted vinyl time on any Zappa record, but this album clearly wouldn’t be half as great if Zappa’s comments, stories and general stage fun had been cut out. At least of the guitar solos on this album was even combined from different concerts on that tour. Regarding the sound this album is a huge improvement compared to the two preceding live albums – largely thanks to a lot of work being spent in the studio to mix, edit and overdub. It was their third live album and the two albums before this one had not really been received all too well – both because of suboptimal sound quality and a perceived imbalance of theatrical bits and music being played. It was an entertaining evening and I was totally happy to be there – but it wasn’t as magnificent as what we can hear on “Roxy & Elsewhere”. Thanks to the wonders of the World Wide Web, I can now look at the set list of that concert and even listen to it again in its entirety on YouTube. I remember how surprised I was to see fireplaces in the entrance to the men’s room.

#Frank zappa mothers roxy and elsewhere movie

Might make sense if you watch a movie but seems weird when you go to see the Mothers play. The (truly) Fabulous Fox is a totally posh former movie palace designed in a mix of Islamic and Egyptian architectural styles and was laid out like an amphitheater with everyone sitting. The whole thing happened at a venue that wasn’t exactly fitting the purpose. Not without adult company of course, but we did find someone that was happy to flee the narrow confines of rural life for a day in Atlanta. It was a little bizarre living in Bluegrass country listening to the Mothers.īut at least no one really objected when I said that I would love to go to one of their concerts. Not exactly the kind of place that would appreciate the kind of thinking Zappa and the Mothers were representing, much less the lifestyle they were known for. It was during my year as exchange student and luck (good and bad) had it that I was spending it all the way in the north of Georgia, right on the Tennessee border. That’s the first time I went to a Frank Zappa concert. April 20th, 1980, Atlanta, GA, The Fabulous Fox.