Frank Zappa Halloween 77 on Qobuz

Hi-FiGuy

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Feb 23, 2015
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For the Zappa fans this is the $hit. All 6 shows for Halloween 1977, unedited, mixed to sound better. The taps run from beginning of show to end of show, all the between song banter, all of it uncut.
The band is off the hook here, these performances are mind blowing, the sound is fantastic for a 1977 club recording.
Pretty much the same set listings for all 6 shows but no two are even remotely the same sounding, it was his gift. These shows are not to be missed if you are a fan.
Yes its got all his weirdness in it but gosh darn this band is tight. Frank was a Gutiar playin fool and paired up with Adrian Belew its intoxicating. Over 150 songs in the set. Looks like they had to bake the masters.

This from the Zappa website;
“This box set was a very special experience for me to work on,” said Ahmet Zappa. “I wanted to make sure we honored these legendary shows, so it was important to me that this box set felt of the era. It was a blast working with our partners to create the late ‘70s-inspired Frank Zappa Mask and costume and the candy-shaped USB stick filled with tons of Zappa goodness. It was yet again a labor of love gathering up all the archival materials, reading notes by people who were there, and most importantly making sure the audio was up to par. All of us at Zappa Records are mighty pleased with it, and hope that fans of Frank Zappa and of Halloween will be too.”
Originally scheduled for four shows from October 28-31, Zappa added two more shows due to intense popular demand, with the final total tallying six shows in four days. The full residency is presented as it happened with no overdubs or additional tinkering. The audio was remixed from scratch using fresh transfers from the master multi-track tapes, which all had to be heat treated for transfer by Travers.
The 1977 lineup of the band featured Terry Bozzio on drums, Tommy Mars and Peter Wolf on keyboards, Adrian Belew on guitar and vocals, Ed Mann on percussion and Patrick O’Hearn on bass; this band could really burn. Over the six shows, the ensemble averaged 25 songs per night with exciting improvisations and audience participation from “New York’s Finest Crazy Persons” at every show, making each uniquely different. At these shows Zappa really got into the spirit with Halloween antics including bringing tech Thomas Nordegg on stage to perform some magic tricks and the band’s tour manager, the “Road Mangler,” Phil Kaufman, performing as the human trombone. Original Mothers’ bassist Roy Estrada also joined the festivities.
The songs performed at this musical marathon spanned Zappa’s then 11-year career with tracks from Hot Rats, Over-Nite Sensation, Bongo Fury, One Size Fits All, and his most recent album at the time, Zoot Allures. Many of the songs played were previously unreleased and would go on to be recorded for Zappa’s acclaimed 1979 album, Sheik Yerbouti, including “Flakes,” “Broken Hearts Are For Assholes,” “Jones Crusher,” “Bobby Brown Goes Down,” “City Of Tiny Lites,” “Tryin’ To Grow A Chin,” and “Wild Love.” The October 30th show notably featured the world premiere of the Grammy-nominated Disco satire “Dancin’ Fool,” and the one and only performance of Zappa’s infamous “Jewish Princess.” The basic tracks from this performance were used on Sheik Yerbouti’s controversial studio version which ultimately attracted attention from the Anti-Defamation League who asked the FCC to ban the
 
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spiritofmusic

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Jun 13, 2013
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We'll NEVER see his like again. Up there w the true greats.
 
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rob

Well-Known Member
Jul 11, 2012
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For the Zappa fans this is the $hit. All 6 shows for Halloween 1977, unedited, mixed to sound better. The taps run from beginning of show to end of show, all the between song banter, all of it uncut.
The band is off the hook here, these performances are mind blowing, the sound is fantastic for a 1977 club recording.
Pretty much the same set listings for all 6 shows but no two are even remotely the same sounding, it was his gift. These shows are not to be missed if you are a fan.
Yes its got all his weirdness in it but gosh darn this band is tight. Frank was a Gutiar playin fool and paired up with Adrian Belew its intoxicating. Over 150 songs in the set. Looks like they had to bake the masters.

This from the Zappa website;
“This box set was a very special experience for me to work on,” said Ahmet Zappa. “I wanted to make sure we honored these legendary shows, so it was important to me that this box set felt of the era. It was a blast working with our partners to create the late ‘70s-inspired Frank Zappa Mask and costume and the candy-shaped USB stick filled with tons of Zappa goodness. It was yet again a labor of love gathering up all the archival materials, reading notes by people who were there, and most importantly making sure the audio was up to par. All of us at Zappa Records are mighty pleased with it, and hope that fans of Frank Zappa and of Halloween will be too.”
Originally scheduled for four shows from October 28-31, Zappa added two more shows due to intense popular demand, with the final total tallying six shows in four days. The full residency is presented as it happened with no overdubs or additional tinkering. The audio was remixed from scratch using fresh transfers from the master multi-track tapes, which all had to be heat treated for transfer by Travers.
The 1977 lineup of the band featured Terry Bozzio on drums, Tommy Mars and Peter Wolf on keyboards, Adrian Belew on guitar and vocals, Ed Mann on percussion and Patrick O’Hearn on bass; this band could really burn. Over the six shows, the ensemble averaged 25 songs per night with exciting improvisations and audience participation from “New York’s Finest Crazy Persons” at every show, making each uniquely different. At these shows Zappa really got into the spirit with Halloween antics including bringing tech Thomas Nordegg on stage to perform some magic tricks and the band’s tour manager, the “Road Mangler,” Phil Kaufman, performing as the human trombone. Original Mothers’ bassist Roy Estrada also joined the festivities.
The songs performed at this musical marathon spanned Zappa’s then 11-year career with tracks from Hot Rats, Over-Nite Sensation, Bongo Fury, One Size Fits All, and his most recent album at the time, Zoot Allures. Many of the songs played were previously unreleased and would go on to be recorded for Zappa’s acclaimed 1979 album, Sheik Yerbouti, including “Flakes,” “Broken Hearts Are For Assholes,” “Jones Crusher,” “Bobby Brown Goes Down,” “City Of Tiny Lites,” “Tryin’ To Grow A Chin,” and “Wild Love.” The October 30th show notably featured the world premiere of the Grammy-nominated Disco satire “Dancin’ Fool,” and the one and only performance of Zappa’s infamous “Jewish Princess.” The basic tracks from this performance were used on Sheik Yerbouti’s controversial studio version which ultimately attracted attention from the Anti-Defamation League who asked the FCC to ban the
Thanks for the heads up.
 
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Hi-FiGuy

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Feb 23, 2015
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Guys, I just drove fro Phoenix to LA and let it play the whole way, made all the way through the first 5 shows and half way through the sixth.
This is the real deal guys, its amazing. This music transcends time, hard to believe this was 1977.
I find it interesting that more classical guys here dont like this stuff as Frank is a conductor and the band is more of an orchestra and the music is arranged and performed that way.
You can find interviews of previous musicians saying how intense and demanding it is to play for him and they have to focus on him the whole show because he is indeed conducting while performing.
 

Al M.

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Sep 10, 2013
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I find it interesting that more classical guys here dont like this stuff as Frank is a conductor and the band is more of an orchestra and the music is arranged and performed that way.
You can find interviews of previous musicians saying how intense and demanding it is to play for him and they have to focus on him the whole show because he is indeed conducting while performing.

I love Zappa precisely because I'm a classical guy, including modernist classical. The complexity and outrageousness is right up my alley. Zappa is also a great guitarist. If you ask me, in terms of combination of musicianship and technical ability, perhaps the greatest. The guy could really tell a complex yet coherent musical narrative in his solos, with always fresh inventiveness.

Thanks for starting this thread.
 
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