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Winter 1977 Reviews
page one
This is one of the better-circulated FZ audience tapes, which is a bit of a waste since
it's little more than a typical tour opener, with a few errors and a general air of
tentativeness.
FZ's intros include Frenchy the Poodle, who he brought along "because he enjoyed
Copenhagen so much" even though Stinkfoot is absent on this tour. The Torture solo
has FZ using his semi-acoustic tone as well as a harmonizer (which also turns up in most
other solos tonight) and echoplex in the first half, although he's barely audible over the
orgasm effects. There is a rare cold stop after Big Leg Emma, and I'm The Slime has the
spot in the set which City Of Tiny Lites would later occupy - decent version. Pound has a
good solo, with FZ hitting some obvious clams in the middle and trying to justify them
(along with O'Hearn) and a nice, chromatically ascending climax.
As far as we know, this tape has the debuts of Jones Crusher, Broken Hearts and Dong Work
For Yuda. Jones Crusher (personal favorite from this tour) sounds great but lacks the
guitar coda which evolved later, while Broken Hearts is slow and rudimentary and
unfortunately cuts during the closing chorus. On Dong Work FZ goes off-key in his solo
vocals in the first verse and stops the song so Jobson can re-orient him with some
keyboard chords.
Titties & Beer has few deviations, but Black Napkins has FZ soloing at length both
before and after Jobson's violin solo, sounding very much like Pink Napkins at the start
of the second solo. Encores are Montana (with Jobson playing the post-solo melody,
contrary to Foggy G's webpage entry on this song, and a cut during the coda) and Dinah Moe
Humm.
--PB
This tape sounded quite fresh to my ears, despite rather muddy and distorted sound. It
probably has something to with how rarely I listen to shows from this tour, but also with
this particular combination of sounds (Jobson's keyboards, Ray's voice and the guitar
sounds), which distinguishes this band from the other mid-late-70s combos. Many of the
songs are rather new and played at a slower and looser pace than they would on later
tours.
My tape starts in Jones Crusher, one of the newcomers, and I like the way it's being
played this tour, although it doesn't lead into any jams yet. My Guitar Wants To Kill Your
Mama has a nice, loose feel to it and a pretty good solo by FZ. Tryin' To Grow A Chin is
getting more and more aggressive, but still less frenetic than it would eventually become,
which is also true for Broken Hearts. The "poop chute" part is hilariously long,
and Frank takes a little poll whether the audience understands what they're singing. The a
cappella Dong Work For Yuda is always nice to hear, and the audience puts the band to a
test, by clapping steadily at a too slow pace. Manx Needs Women is tight, and leads us
into Titties & Beer, where "turkey" becomes a temporary secret word, for
some reason. And the highlight on this short tape is – unsurprisingly – Black
Napkins. Ray gets to play the first solo (must be a rare treat, no?), and it's a pretty
good one, especially the part where he sings along. But it pales in comparison with the
following two: Jobson's is simply great (a guy who was there told me this was his
strongest memory of the concert), and so is Frank's – starting off in soft "Pink
Napkins" style, then the distortion comes on and the solo ends up unusually dirty.
The encores are not exactly original: Dinah-Moe Humm and Camarillo/Muffin. Eddie's
yodeling spices up DH, and Franks plays a good solo in MM. Not a great tape, but it has
its moments, and it provides some nice insight into how the new songs were developing at
this stage.
--JN
New tour, and not one really talked about a lot in FZ circles. It's not in the top 5
lists... but it's not actively disliked. It's just in the middle. We have the last of
Frank's very small bands, a tight little selection of tunes
that, with a few exceptions, stayed the same, and no real monster songs to speak of.
This is a fairly good representation of an early concert on the tour. We have an
absolutely scorching Torture solo, with Frank pulling no punches until the very end
(Frank's solos on this tour tended to have no climax but simply stop, one complaint I do
have). Indeed, Frank screws up the words to Torture... and keeps going as if nothing
happened, just flipping the words as if to say 'i meant to do that'. One of the smoothest
screwups I've ever seen. ^_^
After Emma (always nice to hear), we get a rare segue into I'm the Slime, with a short but
snappy solo. Then Pound, where Frank takes a slightly meandering solo (all his solos
tonight featured heavy use of his echo/effects box, I think he was working out the kinks),
and Terry does... well, Terry does his solo. Which always sounds good, but familiar. I
also note that Pound, like many other Fall 76/Winter 77 songs, sounds very different from
other version because of Eddie's keyboards. Eddie Jobson had a sound that, while not
gorgeous and inspiring, was unique and always interesting to hear.
Jones Crusher has a minor cut, which isn't enough to take away from just how WEIRD this
proto-version is. Compared to Adrian's smooth talking, rock version, this is just odd,
with Ray using a voice he hasn't used on anything else. There is no coda to this song yet,
that would come in about two more weeks. Instead, we get a neat, slow My Guitar, with an
excellent little solo, and a rare Cruising for Burgers, with a cut solo that made me whine
and curse the 'this tape must be 90 minutes' tapers. ^^;;
Broken Hearts also debuts this tour, and the slow, 'we're still learning this' pace makes
it quite interesting. It's also perhaps the best vehicle for showing off the really odd
vocal stylings of this band, with Ray's dulcet tones and Frank's bass harmony contrasting
with Patrick and Terry's more 'inspired' style of singing.
There are always two highlights I look for in a Winter 77 tape, and one of them is coming
up: Black Napkins has never been better than it is this tour, and yes, I will defend that
position with my life. Frank decides to go first this time, and goes into a 6-minute long,
wonderfully angry solo that had me grinning from ear to ear. Then he stops... and we
realize we aren't done. There are boos from the crowd as Eddie gets out his violin, but
these quickly vanish as Eddie delivers a wonderful, squiggly, lightning fast solo starting
off loud and ending trailing off into beautiful silence. It shows Frank up, which I'm sure
he noticed, as he'd start following Eddie in the solo order soon. Magical.
Camarillo follows, seeming oddly out of place in the main setlist, and then comes the
other 'has never been played better before or since' song: Muffin Man. These are not your
perfunctory, give them 30 seconds of metal guitar type solos. No, these MM solos are
mini-compositions, starting off with the guitar fury and then venturing who knows where?
Tonight Frank ends up delivering a soft (relatively speaking), plucked solo that reminded
me of the Pink Napkins one he'd deliver in a month in London. I take back my criticism of
the taper - they had the sense to leave these two uncut.
After that, Montana's somewhat of an anticlimax, even with a solo. ^^;; And my Dinah-Moe
Humm runs precisely 7 seconds before getting cut. Nevertheless, I enjoyed this concert a
great deal more than I thought I would. The last of the minimalist bands, getting down
with Frank's music. Recommended.
--SG
Approximately half of this show is captured on tape, taking us from the closing
strains of Frank’s “Pound for a Brown” solo to the final chaotic screeches
of the show ending “Muffin Man”, with, unfortunately, quite a lot edited out in
between.
For the most part, this tape is nothing but frustrating. As mentioned above,
“Pound” is joined already in progress, and just as we figure out what Frank is
doing, his solo ends and Bozzio takes over. A drum solo within the first minute of the
tape....ho-hum. “Jones Crusher” follows, minus the guitar bridge that would
eventually carry us into “My Guitar”. Frank has a nice little solo in the latter
song, but nothing special. “Tryin’ to Grow A Chin” includes all the correct
lyrics (a rarity on almost any given night), and the beginnings of a closing guitar jam
which is cut short by a tape cut (#1), with another tape cut (#2) interrupting the closing
vocal jam of “Broken Hearts”. Auugh!
This brings us to “Black Napkins”, which, thanks to two horrible tape cuts
(#3 and #4), is pretty worthless. Both Frank’s and Eddie’s solos are cut short,
leaving us with nothing more than the opening and closing themes, plus a couple minutes of
soloing that builds and builds only to be......cut off abruptly. Ouch.
“Cruising for Burgers” is joined already in progress, but early enough in the
song to include the build-up to Frank’s solo, and (get this) all of Frank’s
solo. Frank seems to be treading water for the first minute plus, but O’Hearn and
Bozzio are quick to step up and propel this solo to more frenzied heights. Not the longest
or most adventurous solo, but thanks to the burst of energy from the rhythm section, a
healthy guitar snack on an otherwise malnourished tape.
The remainder of the tape is standard encore stuff- “Dinah Brillo Man”- and
all it really has going for it is.....no more tape cuts. Other than that, typical.
Even though tapes from this tour are scarce, and high-quality ones even scarcer, this
tape is completely unnecessary no matter how good the quality. Skip it.
--JG
This show took me completely by surprise. Not one of my favorite tours, the
Winter ‘77 excursion has only ever appealed to me because of the interesting
arrangements of a couple of songs (“Jones Crusher”, “My Guitar”), and
the typically epic “Black Napkins”. I have never found Frank’s guitar
playing to be consistently rewarding (or abundant) on this tour, and this, coupled with
the lack of any outrageous improvisations, and further coupled with the lack of any high
quality tapes, has made this a tour that I listen to very infrequently. Thus, I was quite
surprised to discover some highly rewarding music in this late January show.
The first aspect of the tape I must comment on is the clean and crisp quality of the
sound which highlights the unique instrumentation of this band. As other reviewers have
pointed out, Jobson has a wonderfully quirky keyboard sound, making “The Purple
Lagoon”, “Peaches en Regalia”, “I’m the Slime”, “Pound
for a Brown”, and many other tunes sound fresh and engaging. Patrick
O’Hearn’s bass playing sounds as funky as ever, and the tape manages to capture
all the nuances of his playing. Vocally, this band experimented quite a bit, and the
enormous range required for these tunes (and of Ray White) is cleanly exhibited in
“Jones Crusher”, “My Guitar”, “Broken Hearts”, and
“Dong Work for Yuda”. After so enjoying the arrangements and instrumentation on
this tape, I am bewildered as to why this tour is not better documented in the official
Frank catalog.
The show starts off with the standard “Purple Peaches Torture”, with the band
sounding especially tight and inspired. Frank’s first solo of the night proves that
indeed, something magical is in the air, whipping out a “Torture” solo that
sounds more like a Winter ‘78 outing than one of the typically less descript Winter
‘77 solos. From the get go, Frank attacks the solo low and dirty, stumbling upon
several early motifs that he is able to quickly push to interesting and melodic
territories. O’Hearn and Bozzio are right behind Frank the whole way, and as they
escalate the intensity, Frank creates some dynamic tension and release with some very
deliberate and meticulous picking, reminiscent of his more carefully thought out solos
from Fall ‘74. While ‘75 and ‘76 saw Frank’s solos lean more towards
the ferocious and dirty side, this tour finds Frank balancing that intensity with the
careful melodicism of the ‘73 and ‘74 tours (a trend that would eventually reach
amazing fruition in ‘78 and ‘79).
After a perfunctory “Big Leg Emma”, “I’m the Slime” ups the
funk quotient (but fails to produce an interesting solo), and leads into “Pound for a
Brown”. Frank once again whips out a satisfying guitar solo, bringing things to a
peak around 1:30 in, before slowing down and letting the rhythm section slowly build
things up to another peak. Frank finally lets loose at around the 3:00 mark, punctuating
the final two-and-half-minutes of the solo with a variety of bends and screeches.
After a standard Bozzio drum solo , we enter the “song oriented” part of the
show, with a run of songs with interesting arrangements played as well as they ever are.
“Jones Crusher” is all about Ray’s voice (no ending jam yet), “My
Guitar” has some amazing interaction between Frank’s guitar and Patrick’s
bass, “Trying to Grow A Chin” finds Bozzio getting all the lyrics right again,
while “Broken Hearts” and “Dong Work” highlight the vocal strengths of
the band. “Manx Needs Women” provides a short (and extremely weird) instrumental
break, before “Titties ‘n’ Beer” closes out this section of the show
with some Jazz Devil madness.
“Black Napkins” closes out the main set of the show with a typical Zappa
“Napkins” solo, and an always good Jobson solo. Neither Frank nor Eddie really
push the boundaries tonight, but thanks to the always inspired support of O’Hearn and
Bozzio, neither solo disappoints. The encores finish the night in standard fashion, with
an aggressive but unimpressive “Cruisin’ for Burgers” failing to push the
show to greater heights.
This is a pretty good tape. Not the greatest show of the year (or tour), but a damn
fine one, captured in some pretty clear sound. I recommend it.
--JG
An early gem from this tour. The band sounds confident and inspired, and Frank is in a
great mood, deviating a bit more than we're used to - many of the songs are stretched out
at his whim. Also, it's one of the better sounding tapes from this rather poorly
documented (quality-wise) tour.
The show opens as usual with the Purple Lagoon vamp, and Frank plays one of his occasional
solos over it, unfortunately very short. Next, Peaches, and this is one of the better
tours for this classic number, if you ask me (I prefer Eddie's synth sounds over Tommy's).
Frank's solo in Torture Never Stops is great, giving some early hints on the amazing
evolution this song would undergo during the coming year. City Of Tiny Lights is also at a
rather early stage of development, but this version is actually one of my favorites. Ray's
solo sounds pretty much the same every night (but is cool anyway), while Patrick's are
more inventive – really good solo here. The song leads – just like we want it -
into Pound For A Brown, although there's not really a segue yet. This may be the only tour
where Pound doesn't really reach monster status, but it rarely fails to spawn good solos.
At first, I had difficulties telling what instrument(s) the solos were coming from, but
I'm fairly sure it's all Frank, switching sounds and effects and using a number of styles.
He eventually decides to go with a nasty sound, and starts moving into different modes. An
overall excellent solo, followed by Terry's.
Time for the R&R section of the concert, starting with a superb Jones Crusher, tonight
segued with a short but good guitar jam into My Guitar. In Tryin' To Grow A Chin, Terry
pulls a Denny Walley, i.e. forgetting the lyrics to a verse, and FZ closes the song with
some extended Hippie- Riffing. Broken Hearts once again sees the band stretching the Poop
Chute into absurdness, Dong Work For Yuda sounds better and better for every show, and
Manx Needs Women shows how technically competent this band really was.
Frank's good mood shows in Titties 'n Beer, where he not only does the usual "Titten
und Bier", but also calls Terry "The Teufel", much to the German crowd's
amusement. Like so many other songs tonight, we get an extended, jam-type ending, with Ray
and Terry singing "I swear I do declare, how did she get back there" for over a
minute, before FZ takes over, singing a song I can't identify ("Rub it on my
belly…" something).
A very good show so far, but with the following Black Napkins, it reaches
"excellent" status. I'm part of the camp that maintains that this band did the
best Napkins of all Frank's teenage combos, and here's a
prime example. The first solo is FZ at his eclectic best, switching between aggressive and
mellow, between different styles and techniques, but never losing that beautiful
Napkins-feeling. Then Eddie's violin solo, and well…how to describe this. I will
admit that mr. Jobson's workouts with the bow are among the few things in the Zappa oeuvre
that still give me goose bumps. Sure, many of his pyrotechnic effects are the same every
night, but I don't care when the outcome is so friggin' beautiful! Together with Terry,
Patrick and Ray, he builds two astonishing climaxes, and the whole thing ends with a
beautiful violin/bass flageolet duet. The response from the audience is overwhelming, and
Frank chooses to return to the head rather than trying to top Eddie's solo off.
Encore time, or "Zugabe" as they always yell at German concerts. Patrick spices
up Dinah-Moe Humm with some really cool licks in Frank's spoken parts. It's followed by
one of the too-rare Cruising For Burgers. The solo takes an unusual turn here, with a long
blues-rock solo, and Terry even starts chanting "All Nite Long" – very
cool! Camarillo/Muffin ends the festivities, with a rather short solo.
The sound has deteriorated a little over the last part of the show, but still a good
recording of a really good show.
--JN
This is another of the easier-to-find tapes from this tour, sometimes mislabelled as an
FM tape because of its clarity (although there are some cuts and glitches). It's a
standard set, but benefits from a rowdy crowd which seems to spur FZ on to some rocking
performances.
Tonight's Torture solo is aggressive, unlike the mellow versions common on this tour.
After Big Leg Emma, FZ notes that the Brussels crowd is much more awake than those in
Germany. This is one of the few sets that includes both I'm The Slime and City Of Tiny
Lites, with a false start into Pound from Jobson after the first of those. Bozzio offers a
good, non-routine solo after Pound.
In the second half of the set the coda of Broken Hearts stretches out into a vocal jam
(very Phish-like), and Dong Work has some unique Smothers lines from Bozzio, but T & B
doesn't offer much. Black Napkins has another long, hard-edged solo from FZ before
Jobson's violin, with only a short second solo. Encores include some more soloing on
Willie The Pimp and Muffin Man.
--PB
The Winter ‘77 tour continues to surprise me with this guitar solo treat of a
show. From the get-go, when Frank whips out a tasty little solo during the opening
“Purple Lagoon”, the message is clear that Frank is ready to play tonight, and
though he does not solo as often as we would like him to, the handful of solos he creates
are all keepers.
After the strong “Purple Peaches” opener, “The Torture Never Stops”
ushers in a surprisingly strong solo for Frank’s first real outing of the night.
Under and around the tape recorded sounds of the screaming/moaning female, Frank begins
his solo on tiptoes, a six-string voyeur careful not to be noticed by the moaning woman. I
imagine this solo as a soundtrack to some ‘70’s porn flick, with Frank as the
peeping tom masturbating at the window while the porn vixen slowly brings herself to
orgasm. Bozzio and O’Hearn provide the slow funk soundtrack, while Frank’s
slowly building solo interprets the heated feelings of both the watcher and the watched.
Unfortunately, premature ejaculation comes unexpectedly, as Frank pulls the plug on the
solo before a thoroughly satisfying climax can be achieved. Nonetheless, this experience
is an engaging one, and the end result is one of Frank’s more sexually charged guitar
solos.
“Big Leg Emma” is the cigarette after the lovemaking, with “City
of Tiny Lites” re-igniting the passion. Unfortunately, the healthy head of steam
built up by the raucous verses and Ray’s blistering solo fades away during
O’Hearn’s interesting but out of place bass solo. Frank does not solo here per
se, but during the closing vocals, he adds flourishes of guitar behind Ray’s soaring
vocals and inserts some passion back into the performance. The “Pound for a
Brown” that follows takes advantage of this to the fullest, resulting in a seven and
a half minute Frank tour-de-force, complete with puzzling sound effects and some excellent
tension and release in Frank’s playing. O’Hearn even drops in some serious bass
lines, bringing things to a healthy climax with that bass line we all know and love from
the “Pound solos” on Stage IV.
“Jones Crusher” and “My Guitar” proceed as usual, but thanks to the
particular sound qualities of this tape, Frank’s guitar playing and all its nuances
continue to engage the listener. The next couple songs serve merely as foreplay leading up
to the set closing “Black Napkins”. Jobson’s solo impresses as always, and
includes a nice Ponty-esque build-up that leads to an even nicer anti-Pontyesque meltdown.
Frank steps forward out of Jobson’s debris and wraps things up with a four and half
minute blues mediation that ranks up there with “Pink Napkins” as one of
Frank’s more meditative and reflective solos. It is not until four minutes in that
Bozzio begins kicking the solo into high gear, and unfortunately, Frank does not know what
to do when this happens, and quickly concludes things. Kind of disappointing, but almost
inevitable considering the intensity of everything that came before.
The encores wind things up as usual, with “I’m the Slime” making a rare
and welcome ‘77 encore appearance.
For the most part, this is your typical Winter ‘77 show, with Frank stepping up
and making the important parts (“Torture”, “Pound”, and
“Black”) really count. Thanks to the good sound quality, this show is well worth
getting.
--JG
The tape I reviewed cuts in during the Purple Lagoon intro and unfortunately we can
only hear a few seconds of FZ soloing/soundchecking over the vamp. Intros and Peaches
follow, I really enjoy this bands version of Peaches. Very rockin - very tight.
The Torture Never Stops is an early highlite, Frank's solo is very relaxed, well voiced
and the perfect length, he comes back to the verse before he runs out of ideas. I like
this solo alot. Next the crowd really responds to the straight time featured in Big Leg
Emma.
City Of Tiny Lites is the first mini monster of the evening, the big surprise here is Ray,
he gets a nifty scat solo as was usual for this tour, but then actually lets rip with a
solo! Good one too. Patrick takes a cool solo as only he could do - and no FZ solo.
Strange? I'll have to read other reviews for other shows, but I'd have to think so.
Pound For a Brown segues and Frank really stretches out here for the first time this
evening, he begins with an effects laden solo that makes much of it hard to hear on this
tape (punching in the effects he used for Pink Napkins - but at high volume accompaniment)
then drops the effects and lets it rip. Terry takes a solo that doesn't seem predictable
for him (bonus!) and FZ seems to want to do a little call and response with Terry but
Terry
doesn't seem up to it so..segues Jones Crusher ala 1976 which has those funky elements
dropped with the Belew band. I like this version better. My Guitar Wants to Kill Your Mama
is presented with the slow bluesy arrangement, Frank takes another nice solo.
Nothing special about Tryin to Grow a Chin, we get the "Little Poop Chute"
refrain ala the Beach Boys "Little Deuce Coupe" as Broken Hearts Are for Asshole
ends. Dong Work For Yuda is tight and funny and the too short Manx Needs Women is amazing
everytime I hear it, this is no exception. A joke during the devil banter of Titties n
Beer about Terry getting "pissed on" gets squashed by Bozzio as he leaps into
the "No Don't Sign It..give me
time to think" before Frank can really get a major razzing going. Folklore.
And the major highlite of the evening is Black Napkins. Frank takes 2 solos, one short at
the beginning, and one huge one after Eddie's extended solo. I never tire of hearing this
band jam Black Napkins. The Dinah-Moe Humm encore is rendered rather useless by my tape,
but does feature what sounds like a pretty funny dance contest before my tape cuts
altogether.
--BL
Here we have the longest winter '77 show, and one of the best (though it's too bad that
the previous night with Sugar Blue escaped documentation). FZ has gotten into the carnival
barker mode which is one of the odd hallmarks of this tour.
Torture features another one of those musing early FZ solos on this song over a fairly
straight, unvarying rhythm section. City of Tiny Lites rocks out with great Ray and
Patrick solos and a short but cool FZ guitar coda. Pound For A Brown has a long solo, with
FZ trying yet another effect, and my tape unfortunately flips just as Bozzio gets cooking
in his solo.
After Jones Crusher, FZ throws in Honey Don't You Want A Man Like Me, which sounds fine,
and The Illinois Enema Bandit, which stretches out with solos from Ray and Eddie (on
mini-moog - quite nice) as well as FZ, sounding unusually introspective at first but
getting revved up later. Then it's back to the typical setlist with nothing too unusual
until Titties & Beer, where the dialogue section almost ends early but gets a fresh
wind of inspiration when FZ comments on Bozzio's "jazz" fill, leading to the two
of them riffing on the idea of a "jazz devil." The set closes with a typical
Black Napkins, which FZ intro's as La Serviette Noir.
The encores start with Willie The Pimp, which starts with FZ playing the riff at the slow
early-70's tempo and, just as the audience starts clapping, suddenly speeding up to a
near-'84 tempo. This one also threatens to turn out perfunctory, but ends spectacularly
with a Johnny Guitar Watson style rap from Ray and a doubletime blues coda featuring FZ.
Dinah Camarillo Muffin closes the show, with FZ goading the crowd to sing along loud
enough to be heard at the nearby Chicago concert.
BTW, Disco Boy appears on my tape and Jon's setlist after Dinah Moe (with sound quality
different from the rest of the show - there is also an odd splice at the end of T &
B), but it has percussion which ID's it as the fall 77/winter 78 band.
Well, the sound on this tape is nothing to write home about. Listenable, but not great
AUD tape. And Torture's solo is only adequate. So why should you look for it?Well, for
starters there's Tiny Lites. This song doesn't have the sheer guitar power of later
versions, but the band put so much energy into it that it commands your attention. Ray and
Patrick remind you in their solos that this is still a fairly new song, and they still
enjoy playing it every night. Worth hearing for the excitement factor, even if you're a
jaded Tiny Lites listener.
Pound for a Brown is always interesting this tour, not because Frank's solos are hot, but
because of their experimental quality. Frank lets this one go on a little longer than
usual, creating a mini-coposition on stage (something he perfected in the 77 and 78
tours). Intriguing stuff.
Jones Crusher still lacks a coda, and the sound isn't great. And Titties 'n Beer has the
usual "Frank improvs up a storm while Terry tries to keep up with him" schtick.
Luckily, here's Black Napkins. Always a treasure this tour. Eddie's violin solo is a
breathtaking sequence, as he builds more and more tension and the solo gets into a higher
and higher pitch until finally he hits his highest notes and trails into Frank. Frank
really goes to town tonight as well, with a nearly 9 minute solo going through everything,
from Pink Napkins style quiet plucking to full band rocking and back. I'd rate both solos
as equal tonight.
And then... well, this is a Zappa concert. Some idiot throws a bottle, right as FZ is
about to do the outros. So no encores tonight, just a curt 'go fuck yourself' from Frank
and out. Ah well.
Not an essential tape, but one worth hearing.
--SG
Although he chooses not to solo over the opening Purple Lagoon, this is a very fine
night for Frank and his guitar. It's obvious already in Torture that he's "on"
tonight - one year and 8 days from here, at this
venue, FZ would produce his probably most famous TNS solo, and though he doesn't reach Rat
Tomago-heights tonight, it's an excellent, well-crafted solo. In City Of Tiny Lights, we
get a good example of how well-developed the Terry/Patrick interplay is – a typically
O'Hearn-ish solo over great Bozzio percussion comp. Pound For A Brown strengthens its
position as one of the strongest solo vehicles of the tour with a long, superb solo by
Frank.
Between Jones Crusher and My Guitar, we get a 2 minute "a cappella" solo,
similar in style to the beginning of Leather Goods, and nearly as good. (Although these
solos are generally considered as codas to JC, I must say this one feels more like an
intro to MGWTKYM.) Terry once again forgets the lyrics in Tryin' To Grow A Chin (what is
it with the words to this song?), while Broken Hearts, Dong Work and Manx Needs Women flow
by smoothly. In Titten & Bier, Bozzio uses a different, weaker voice than usual (sore
throat?), which FZ makes fun of, suggesting that the Devil should pursue a career in rock
music. Black Napkins continues to impress, this time with Frank's solo after Eddie's. Both
solos are just as excellent as we've come to expect, with the usual overwhelming audience
response to Jobson's.
Nothing special to report from the encores – just the usual
The-Hits-Keep-Coming-At'cha, including some nice string-bending in Muffin Man. All in all
a good concert, especially the solos, preserved on a
decent tape.
--JN
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