Audience 8.7 - You are a little deeper in the audience for this show, but it’s a fun ride because the audience at this show is so into it, they know what they are seeing and hearing and the band responds to it by giving one hell of a performance. A touch thin in the bandwidth but it is clearly captured enough to where you will get drawn into it completely. Guitar sounds cool, the atmosphere lends itself well to Frank’s sound here. Not to be a spoiler, but the guitar work during Stevie’s Spanking…man! Frank Zappa 19-Mar 1988 Memorial Hall, Muhlenburg College Allentown, PA Line-up: fz-guitar/v ike willis-guitar/v mike keneally-guitar/synth/v bobby martin-keyboard/v ed mann-percussion walt fowler-trumpet bruce fowler-trombone paul carman-alto sax albert wing-tenor sax kurt mcgettrick-baritone sax scott thunes-bass chad wackerman-drums Setlist: Disc 1 00 Crowd Noise~Tuning 01 The Black Page 02 We're Turning Again 03 Alien Orifice 04 Find Her Finer 05 Sinister Footwear #2 06 Stevie's Spanking 07 Any Kind Of Pain 08 OCLT Medley Part 1 09 OCLT Medley Part 2 10 Theme From Lumpy Gravy 11 Synclavier Piece (begin intermission) 12 Irish Eyes Intro 13 When Irish Eyes Are Smiling vs.Theme From The Godfather 14 Packard Goose Medley 15 Zomby Woof Disc 2 16 King Kong 17 Mr.Green Genes 18 Florentine Pogen 19 Andy 20 Inca Roads 21 Stairway To Heaven 22 encore break 23 Texas Motel Medley 24 Theme From The Untouchables 24 Strictly Genteel Total Time 143.14 min

Soundboard 9.2 - There are a couple of cuts throughout but this is pretty darn good, and of course it’s with Steve Vai so there’s plenty of shred. Frank Zappa 1981.11.15 Baltimore, Md   The Performers: Frank Zappa - vocals, guitar Steve Vai - guitar, vocals Ray White - guitar, vocals Chad Wackerman - drums Ed Mann - percussion Scott Thunes - bass, vocals Tommy Mars - keyboards   Disc 1 (early show)

1. -Yo Mama
2. -Joe's Garage
3. -Bobby Brown
4. -Love of My Life

Start of Late Show

5. -Zoot Allures
6. -You Are What You Is
7. -Mudd Club
8. -The Meek Shall Inherit Nothing
9. -Dumb All Over
10. -Dumb All Over (cont'd) - Heavenly Bank Account
11. -Suicide Chump

Disc 2

1. -Jumbo Go Away
2. -Envelopes
3. -Ship Arriving Too Late To Save A Drowning Witch - What's New In Baltimore

Early Show Audience 8.8 - Not to be confused with another Chicago ’81, this is from the Uptown Theatre on November 27^th, and it’s relatively new to circulation. The sound quality is very good, with especially nice meatiness on drums, and a close, warm guitar tone and presence which makes this one to have in the collection.

Late Show Audience 8.8 - Very similar to the early show, maybe just a touch less defined due to being in a different spot, but at times it’s also just a touch clearer – so this leads me to believe it’s just a matter of where the microphone is at any given time. Must have been a good recorder though, because the sound is good on the low end and the mids, and highs are not excessive but rather kind of toned down in a good way.  It’s the kind of recording that you can turn up real loud.

Frank Zappa Chicago 1981

Disc 1 Uptown Theatre Chicago, IL. 11-27-1981 Early show 1. -Treacherous Cretins 2. -Cosmik Debris 3. -You Are What You Is 4. -Mudd Club 5. -The Meek Shall Inherit Nothing 6. -A Pound For A Brown 7. -The Dangerous Kitchen 8. -The Blue Light 9. -Sinister Footwear 10. -Stevie's Spanking 11. -Cocaine Decisions Disc 2 12. -Nig Biz 13. -Tinsel Town Rebellion 14. -Alien Orifice 15. -Teenage Prostitute 16. -Flakes 17. -Broken Hearts Are For Assholes 18. -Yo' Mama 19. -Joe's Garage 20. -Why Does It Hurt When I Pee? 21. -The Closer You Are 22. -City Of Tiny Lights Disc 3 Uptown Theatre Chicago, IL. 11-27-1981 Late show 1. -Zoot Allures 2. -Montana 3. -Easy Meat 4. -Fine Girl 5. -Teenage Wind 6. -Harder Than Your Husband 7. -Bamboozled By Love 8. -King Kong (q: Rite Of Spring) 9. -Sharleena (q: Little Drummer Boy) Disc 4 10. -Drowning Witch 11. -What's New In Baltimore? 12. -Moggio 13. -Dumb All Over 14. -Goblin Girl 15. -The Black Page (q: Fernando) 16. -Strictly Genteel

Audience 8.7 - Hard to believe recordings keep turning up so many decades after the fact. Here’s one from Pirates World in Dania, FL. And it sounds pretty good! Frank Zappa 1973 03 03 Pirates World, Dania FL Lineup: FZ, Jean-Luc Ponty, Ian Underwood, Bruce Fowler, Ruth Underwood, George Duke, Tom Fowler, Ralph Humphrey Disc 1 01 intros 02 RDNZL 03 preamble 04 Exercise Four Dog Meat 05 Fifty Fifty 06 Inca Roads 07 Cletus Awreetus-Awrightus 08 preamble 09 Cosmik Debris 10 preamble 11 Be Bop Tango Disc 2 12 preamble 13 Montana 14 Dupree’s Paradise 15 I’m The Slime 16 Don’t You Ever Wash That Thing 17 Mr. Green Genes King Kong Chunga’s Revenge

Los Angeles 1984 Soundboard 9.7 - A great one here! Crisp sounding and a beautiful mix especially how the drums sound and all the vocals even backing vocals are clearly audible. Worcester 1984 Audience 8.8 - This is not a bad tape, but it is not recorded close to the mains so it does sound somewhat distant. The music is clear and not muddy but lacks that depth your ears crave. What it does highlight is the vocals which really project, keyboards sound comparatively good too, and the recording does improve somewhat throughout the performance sounding a little fuller as it goes along. Again, not a bad one and worthy of your time but on this 2 show set (From One End To The Other) the LA show is the better by far. Frank Zappa From One End To The Other Disc 1 The Palace Theater Los Angeles, CA July 21st, 1984 1. -Treacherous Cretins 2. -Montana 3. -Easy Meat 4. -Carolina Hardcore Ecstasy 5. -Advance Romance 6. -He's So Gay 7. -Bobby Brown 8. -Keep It Greasey 9. -Honey Don't You Want A Man Like Me 10. -Carol You Fool Disc 2 11. -Chana In De Bushwop 12. -Let's Move To Cleveland 13. -Tinseltown Rebellion 14. -Oh No 15. -Son Of Orange County 16. -More Trouble Every Day 17. -Penguin In Bondage 18. -Hot Plate Heaven At The Green Hotel 19. -Jungle Boogie 20. -The Closer You Are - Johnny Darling 21. -No No Cherry Disc 3 E.M. Loew's Theatre Worcester, MA October 25, 1984 Early Show 01 Zoot Allures 02 Tinsel Town Rebellion 03 More Trouble Every Day 04 Penguin In Bondage 05 Hot Plate Heaven At The Green Hotel 06 Lucille Has Messed My Mind Up 07 Bamboozled By Love 08 Cocaine Decisions 09 Nig Biz 10 Outside Now Disc 4 11 Be In My Video 12 I’m The Slime 13 Montana 14 Easy Meat 15 Joe’s Garage 16 Why Does It Hurt When I Pee? 17 Little Girl Of Mine 18 The Closer You Are 19 No No Cherry 20 Cosmik Debris 21 The Illinois Enema Bandit Lineup: Frank Zappa, Ike Willis, Ray White, Scott Thunes, Chad Wackerman, Alan Zavod, Bobby Martin, Napoleon Murphy Brock  

Soundboard 9.1 - All of this material is soundboard but keep in mind these 60's Zappa boards all have a somewhat "dated" sound quality which is not a bad thing because it creates a sonic time capsule that allows you to feel the vibe of the times. I think some of his audience might have been a little bewildered by what they were seeing and hearing because the reactions are sometimes very telling.

Soundboard 9.5 - This is a compilation of unreleased guitar vehicles and exceptional solo excerpts for fans of the "Shut Up N' Play Yer Guitar" and "Guitar" albums. The sound quality is excellent soundboard. Yes, some of us are guilty of skipping over the “vamp” sections in order to get to the shred. This compilation delivers what I feel are some of Frank’s tastiest pieces, and all in superb quality. FRANK ZAPPA "Lost Guitars" 01 Persona Non Grata (1979-03-19 Brest) 02 Carlos Is Back (1980-11-18 St Paul) 03 The Deathless Horsie (1979-03-31 (E) Munich) 04 Ship Ahoy (1976-01-28 Perth) 05 Bavarian Roads (1979-03-31 (E) Munich) 06 Treacherous Cretins (1984-07-21 Los Angeles) 07 The Krieger Variations (1980-11-13 (L) Pittsburgh) 08 Indiscreet Manners (1979-03-19 Brest) 09 Sleeping Witch (1984-11-03 (E) Stony Brook) 10 After Five (1979-02-19 London) 11 Heavy Duty Judy (1980-12-11 (L) Santa Monica) 12 Semi-Catatonic State (1980-10-31 New York City) 13 The Rump Pump (1980-06-21 Geneva) INCLUDED BAND LINEUPS ===================== 1976: FZ — guitar solo André Lewis — keyboards Napoleon Murphy Brock — sax Roy Estrada — bass Terry Bozzio — drums 1979: FZ — guitar solo Ike Willis, Denny Walley, Warren Cuccurullo — guitar Tommy Mars, Peter Wolf — keyboards Ed Mann — percussion Arthur Barrow — bass Vinnie Colaiuta — drums 1980 EUROPE: FZ — guitar solo Ike Willis, Ray White — guitar Tommy Mars — keyboards Arthur Barrow — bass David Logeman — drums 1980 USA: FZ — guitar solo Ike Willis, Ray White, Steve Vai — guitar Tommy Mars — keyboards Bob Harris — keyboards, trumpet Arthur Barrow — bass Vinnie Colaiuta — drums 1984: FZ — guitar solo Ike Willis, Ray White — guitar Napoleon Murphy Brock — sax (Los Angeles only) Bobby Martin — keyboards, sax Allan Zavod — keyboards Scott Thunes — bass Chad Wackerman — drums  

Audience 8.8 - This is a well rounded recording that delivers most of what is required to ensure a show remains worthy of repeat listens. The only real limitations I could discern are a slight “noisiness” somewhere between the upper mid band and the high band frequencies that are more noticeable during cymbal crashes – and even then it’s minimal. Maybe another critical observation is the overall audio mix coming from the stage is not ideal, it’s not bad, but it’s not as guitar/vocal prominent as you might be used to, again even that is being overly critical because it’s also not that bad. This is a good tape that may not satisfy the perfectionists out there but will take care of the rest of us (me included!). Frank Zappa Chapiteau Mulhouse (France) July 1, 1980 Disc 1 01 -Watermelon In Easter Hay 02 -Keep It Greasey 03 -Pick Me, I'm Clean 04 -City Of Tiny Lights 05 -Pound For A Brown (Mo & Herb's Vacation, Sheik Yerbouti Tango Coda, Filthy Habits) 06 -Cosmik Debris 07 -You Didn't Try To Call Me 08 -I Ain't Got No Heart Disc 2 09 -Love Of My Life 10 -You Are What You Is 11 -Easy Meat 12 -Mudd Club 13 -The Meek Shall Inherit Nothing 14 -Joe's Garage 15 -Why Does It Hurt When I Pee? 16 -Dancin' Fool 17 -Bobby Brown 18 -Ms. Pinky 19 -In France (incl.La Marseillaise) 20 -In France - Luigi & The Wise Guys 21 -Stick It Out (incl.Looney Tunes) 22 -The Illinois Enema Bandit Line-up: Frank Zappa's Band, March - July 1980 FZ, Ike Willis, Ray White, Arthur Barrow, David Logeman, Tommy Mars