b o b

This is an album that I have sadly underappreciated. For some reason, it's just one that I never get the urge to pull out and listen to. I have no idea why - it's a great CD of prime Zappa instrumentals, sandwiched in between two catchy doo-wop tunes. "WPLJ" stands for White Port and Lemon Juice, a fact that the song's chorus makes perfectly clear. Originally by the Four Deuces, this cover version is repetitive but catchy - you'll find yourself singing the chorus long after the song is over. At the other end of the disc is "Valarie", a track that the Mothers often played in concert, and another cover song (originally by Jackie & the Starlites, although my CD's liner notes don't mention that). Any rumors that I named my daughter after the song Valarie are entirely false (my wife picked the name, and spelled it differently - I just approved of it because it was the name of a Zappa song ;-). In between these two "pop" tracks is some serious instrumental music. The Igor who is boogying is Stravinsky, the inspiration for these brief, angular tunes. "Holiday In Berlin" is a great piece, with a main theme that is used on several Zappa albums. My favorite version is one with lyrics that describe the events that inspired the title - it appears on one of the Beat the Boots discs somewhere. "Aybe Sea" is a nice little solo piano piece by Ian Underwood. I'm guessing on the original vinyl it was the last track on side one, but on the CD it acts as a perfect prelude to the lengthy instrumental work out of "Little House I Used to Live In". Another song that the Mothers perfected on the road, this studio version is just fantastic, mixing composed sections with extended solos and improvisation. It would later be given some fairly obscene lyrics when the Flo and Eddie era band performed it; I agree with one poster on alt.fan.frank-zappa who said he wished he had never heard the Fillmore album, so that he could listen to this version of "Little House" and not hear Flo and Eddie singing "my dick is a monster!" in his head. Anyway, this track also features smoking violin work by Sugar Cane Harris (who is also not credited in the CD liner notes - somebody really dropped the ball there). At the end of "Little House" Zappa makes some quick replies to a heckler in the crowd. The guy shouts something like "Take off that f*cking uniform before it's too late!" (possibly talking to a security guard that can be heard trying to get people to get back in their seats), and Frank replies "Everybody in this room is wearing a uniform, don't kid yourself". The heckler continues shouting, and eventually Zappa just says "You'll hurt your throat. Stop it." In summary - a worthwhile album for people who like Frank's serious, instrumental, proggy/jazzy side. And an album that I really should spend more time listening to myself. review by Bob Eichler — 3-2-05 —

j o e

Starting off with a title like that, there's no place to go but up. Thankfully, Uncle Frank and his mothers do just that in this 1970 potpourri of musical fixtures that defined Zappa's music up to that point. Generally, I'm not fond at all of the doo-wop excursions that Zappa indulged in at length during his career, but "WPLJ" is an exception, generally succeeding by the sheer infectiousness of the song, Zappa's confident vocal delivery, and the subtle touches like the brass arrangement. Of the grease-free music, the "Igor's Boogie" segments are spastic, neoclassical exercises played tightly down to-the-sixteenth-note neoclassicism. "Overture to a Holiday in Berlin," the jam of the title theme, and the quite lovely "Abye Sea" reflect the eccentric, almost psychedelic (yes, I know we're talking Zappa) whimsy of early Mothers' albums such as Absolutely Free and We're Only in It for the Money, in part due to their use of harpsichord and/or instruments that are noticeably out of tune. "Holiday in Berlin, Full-Blown" and "The Little House I Used to Live In" (listen for the buried reprise of "Aybe Sea") also have their fair share of playful moments, though overall belong to the more restrained style of jazz-rock that Zappa broke through with on Hot Rats. Kudos again should be distributed among the talented pool of musicians that Zappa surrounded himself with to execute his ideas, particularly Ian Underwood. A hodgepodge all right, but a hodgepodge of strong material and performances. review by Joe McGlinchey — 4-15-05 —

m a t t

There are precious few bands with enough spare material lying around to make a great album, but Zappa was able to do this twice from just one era of his band's existence (the 1967-1969 incarnation of the Mothers of Invention). Cobbled together from various live and studio dates, the bulk of the album is made up of instrumentals that Zappa, for whatever reason, chose not to integrate into any of his larger projects. The music ranges from shorter, tightly-composed pieces reminiscent of modern classical music to longer, more improvisational bits. There is an overall feel that the music was made in or around the time that Uncle Meat was recorded. Whether it was intended or not, much of Frank Zappa's instrumental music from the late sixties lacks the cynicism and parody that would be in evidence later. Quite often, in fact, I find it to be breezily melodic and optimistic. Perhaps the man was more idealistic in his youth. Idealism would certainly be a reasonable impetus for what Zappa attempts on this album, which is nothing less than an integration of classical music and rock. But not an integration of the "textured" variety (lots of mellotron and organs) that would come to characterize much symphonic prog, nor of the window-dressing sort that was the usual outcome when rock bands of that era felt compelled to bring classical ensembles into the recording studio with them. The integration here is purely compositional, and I think that it is a great success. Zappa wrote a seemingly bottomless well of engaging melodic themes during this era and he produces some of his most memorable ones here ("Holiday in Berlin"; "Aybe Sea"). The development of these themes, such as the blossoming of "Holiday in Berlin" from the overture to the "full blown" segment, is something truly special. Not content to rest on these laurels, much of the music on this album is packed with numerous additional sounds to digest. The unorthodox use of percussion (for the era) in particular is very interesting, as something of a "percussive harmony" is often achieved — a likely by-product of Zappa's Varese influences. The long track, "The Little House I Used To Live In," is more improvisational than the previous music and flouts convention by inverting the roles of classical and rock instruments: it is the violin (albeit of the electric variety), not the guitar, that is chosen as the instrument to perform the bluesy soloing. This is prime Zappa, and proof positive to refute the absurd (but often-heard) notion that he was all about jokes and parody. Not that there isn't some of that here either - the album is bookended by two short doo-wop tunes that could have fit onto the Reuben and the Jets album. They are, however, quite good ones so rather than mar the album, they add to the experience in a kind of bizarre way. Frankly, if there's a better odd n' ends album out there by another artist, I really need to hear it. review by Matt P. — 2-3-05 —