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Does Humor Belong in Music? Frank Zappa Live

Does Humor Belong in Music? Frank Zappa Live

List Price: $19.98
Your Price: $17.98
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Do This Better!
Review: I'm happy that Zappa stuff is finally starting to get to DVD but disappointed by this one. Not only do they decide to put less than an hour of music from a "very long" show but then they cut into some of the songs and only have "snippets" of some of them. The cuts are done by going to two very short Zappa interview segments that would have been fabulous if presented in their entirety as bonus materials.

Don't the video masters of this show exist? Zappa was pretty good at saving things. Why not put the whole show on DVD or at least more than this sampling? My guess is that this video was meant, at the time, to be a "teaser" to get newer fans interested in Zappa's more accessible stuff and to promote the, very great, skills of his later live bands. Perhaps this is why that this is one of the first releases to DVD. If so, I was wrong to spend the money on it as I am a long LONG time fan of Zappa's who finds most of this material unchallenging and of limited interest.

It *is* great to see the band making the music and seeing Zappa being "into it" that night. I only got to attend one Zappa concert. It was the Zappa/Beefheart tour when it stopped in Cincinnati around 1976 (or about). He was just "phoning it in" that night and only played for 50 minutes.

The recording and video is well done for the time and the material is picked from songs that are MUCH better to see/hear performed live than to only listen to on CD. There is some good Zappa music on this however a main point that Zappa seems to want to get across is "musical chops are good" and he proves his point by having a number of tunes that have no real value other than the impressive skill that his band shows in performing them.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: a must
Review: It's spectacular, all titles are great, a good glimpse of 1984 band which played (as most zappa bands) in perfect synchronization, I would wait for the DVD edition because it's one of my favourites. Sounds and looks perfect. There are some interviews not very long, most of the video is pure zappa performance, and as title says quite funny. Enjoyable.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Decent show, solid DVD
Review: One of the best things about Zappa's 84 touring band was the fact that, for the most part, they appeared to have a good time on stage. Most of the band had worked with Frank for several years, which led to a more relaxed, free-form attitude on stage. This led to a lot of "secret word" shenanigans, with band members frequently changing the lyrics to (somewhat tired) songs to make the other band members laugh. For an excellent example of what I'm talking about, see the first disc of "You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore, Vol. 3".

Unfortunately, that humor is in short supply on this disc. The titular humor is only evident in the songs themselves which are, admittedly, juvenile, and widely available. The attraction of a Zappa live set is the element of surprise, of the spontaneous, not just run-throughs of songs you've already heard.

The master tapes of this must exist somewhere, and I was hoping for extra footage (two nights were actually filmed). A lot of material was left out of the final movie (we get the last few seconds of "The Deathless Horsie", but we get all of "The Dangerous Kitchen". Frank, why?). However, since this was released by Virgin/EMI and not by The Zappa Family Trust, the likelihood of those performances ever making it to DVD are very slim.

The sound and video on the disc are solid.

For the price, it's worth seeing the 84 band in action. Just don't expect to see anything you haven't already heard.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great man! Your are the best!
Review: Pretty good show. Frank at one of his best on stage with a lot of energy. Also a very special and funny interview is include. The worst thing is the show is a little bite short only 55 minutes, but BUY IT! So Gail, please let get out the vault all the show.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Z A P P A
Review: This DVD is great! The performances rock! I only recommend it 4 a BIG Zappa Fan. The Only thing about it that isn't good is the crowd pleasers (Dinah Moe-Humm, Keep It Greasy, Bobby Brown Goes Down)Even so, BUY IT!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Good stuff
Review: This DVD is very entertaining and it doesn't contain any dull moments, unlike Baby Snakes. It showcases one of FZ's greatest vocal groups. Ray White, Ike Willis and Bobby Martin are all dynamic, soulful and amazing singers who do a great job of singing these humorous classics with everything they got, beautiful harmonies too. Zappa's totally into the mood as well, much more so than in Baby Snakes where it seemed like he was just going through the motions on certain songs. The band here is VERY tight. The timbre of the band is particularly interesting too, it just sounds so electronic, bouncy, plinky and humorous, suiting the concept of the DVD beautifully.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great man! Your are the best!
Review: Very funny, Frank in good healt. Great guitar solo. Very good show and madness. Gail we need more of this, so let them get out the vault.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: No laser weapons, no fog and no-overdubs
Review: Wonderful addition to my already huge Zappa music collection. I wore out the VHS of this concert so having the DVD allows me to sleep better and stop worrying.
Frank with one of the most amazing bands I've ever heard is truly a wonder to see as well as hear. Do yourself and your senses a favor and GET THIS DVD NOW! great music and commentary, what else do you need?


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