Zappa - Halloween @ The Palladium, NYC '77

[hiram.k.hackenbacker]

I am a Zappa completist. There aren't many albums I have a bad word to say about (ahem, Civilization Phaze III anyone?). There are albums I prefer above others obviously, but I relish anything new being released.

I have the '77 gigs in bootleg form already, but all six '77 Halloween shows are being released in full by the ZFT. I know, they're milking Frank's legacy for all it's worth, but I just love this stuff.

The 3CD from the final night is already available on CD and the rest is available on download. A special [url="http://www.zappa.com/news/halloween-77-box-set-celebrates-historic-concert-runs-40th-anniversary-october-20"]Halloween memory stick set[/url] will be released with all the shows on it.

Love Patrick O'Hearn's work on this tour. The rest of the band were Adrian Belew, Terry Bozzio, Ed Mann, Tommy Mars & Peter Wolf.

Have a Happy Safe Halloween.

Music is The Best.

[mike f]

Awreety awrighty!

[hiram.k.hackenbacker]

Amidst my excitement of seeing this release I notice that seem to have overlooked a 2016 release - 'ZAPPAtite: Frank Zappa's Tastiest Tracks'.

This is the sort of pap that gets the ZFT bad press. Who in their right mind would buy this? There is nothing original on it. In fact, they are all standard versions, apart from Yellow Snow, which is the single edit.

I do not think Frank would have approved 😬

[super al]

I wonder what Frank would make of the current family feud between his kids?

I'm not a Zappa completest but a fan who does own nearly all the 2012 reissues. Some of the older CDs have mixes that sound terrible so I was glad they remixed the whole back catalogue!

[SpondonBassed]

Dweezle and Moon Unit have fallen out? Oh no! How I wished I had been there during the name-calling phase of the argument.

Edited October 29, 2017 by SpondonBassed

[super al]

[quote name='SpondonBassed' timestamp='1509270682' post='3397645']
Dweezle and Moon Unit have fallen out? Oh no! How I wished I had been there during the name-calling phase of the argument.
[/quote]

Lol, no. Dweezil and Moon Unit have fallen out with their moderately named brother, Ahmet. I'm sure I read a top 10 of worse celeb kids' names and Dweezil only came 7th!

[hiram.k.hackenbacker]

[quote name='super al' timestamp='1509267843' post='3397607']
I wonder what Frank would make of the current family feud between his kids?
I'm not a Zappa completest but a fan who does own nearly all the 2012 reissues. Some of the older CDs have mixes that sound terrible so I was glad they remixed the whole back catalogue!
[/quote]

Yes, quite. This is a very informative web site for deciding which versions of the many albums to look for....

http://www.lukpac.org/~handmade/patio/vinylvscds/index.html

[hiram.k.hackenbacker]

Just having my first proper listen the triple CD from the final show of '77 Halloween residency and it really is a cracker. The band is super tight.

Adrian Belew wrote the liner notes and gives a great snapshot of what it was like to be part of Frank's touring band.

He remarks that remembers seeing very little of New York when playing the NYC Palladium at Halloween. If they weren't eating or sleeping, they were rehearsing (for 2 to 3 hours which were actually thinly veiled recording sessions) or playing one of the two three hour shows per day.

That's hardcore.

[JellyKnees]

I love [font="helvetica, arial, sans-serif"][color="#282828"]Civilization Phaze III... it's not an easy listen but I think it has some amazing stuff on it. I'd rank it along side the Yellow Shark as Zappa's last great work, following some fairly duff albums in the 80s. I won't be buying any more Zappa stuff though. Ahmet's recent behaviour seems fairly reprehensible from what I've read and I'm not giving him any of my money. Also, there is so much stuff online already, I don't feel the need to buy any more tbh... Glad your enjoying it though! [/color][/font]

[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Arf![/font][/color]

[hiram.k.hackenbacker]

[quote name='JellyKnees' timestamp='1510047974' post='3403417']
I love [font="helvetica, arial, sans-serif"][color="#282828"]Civilization Phaze III... it's not an easy listen but I think it has some amazing stuff on it. I'd rank it along side the Yellow Shark as Zappa's last great work, following some fairly duff albums in the 80s. I won't be buying any more Zappa stuff though. Ahmet's recent behaviour seems fairly reprehensible from what I've read and I'm not giving him any of my money. Also, there is so much stuff online already, I don't feel the need to buy any more tbh... Glad your enjoying it though! [/color][/font]
[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Arf![/font][/color]
[/quote]

Civilization Phaze III is fine, but as you say it's not an easy listen. I certainly can't put than on when there's anyone else in the house without getting complaints and it wouldn't be in my top ten Zappa albums.

The Yellow Shark is fantastic though. I absolutely love that album.

You're right, there's a lot of Zappa stuff on-line. I have a whole hard drive chock full of bootlegs, more than I could probably listen to in a year, but I just can't help myself. If they were sloppily produced and massively overpriced, I would probably steer clear, but they're not IMHO. As far as I am aware, Joe Travers is still the Vaultmeister and as well as being a great drummer, he has helped put together a lot of great releases. I console myself that whatever the misgivings of the persons at the helm of the ZFT, I'm helping to keep Joe in a job 😀

[MoonBassAlpha]

I'm out of the loop here, in what way has Ahmet transgressed?

[hiram.k.hackenbacker]

[quote name='MoonBassAlpha' timestamp='1510091191' post='3403994']
I'm out of the loop here, in what way has Ahmet transgressed?
[/quote]

Ha. That's a can of worms if ever there was one. Let's just say things deteriorated to the point where Dweezil was prevented from touring under the name "Zappa Plays Zappa".

From Wikipedia....

Following the death of Zappa's mother, Gail, in October 2015, it was revealed that his siblings Ahmet and Diva were given control of the Zappa Family Trust with shares of 30% each, while Dweezil and his sister Moon were given smaller shares of 20% each. As beneficiaries only, Moon and Dweezil will not see any money from the trust until it is profitable—in 2016, it was "millions of dollars in debt" —and must seek permission from Ahmet, the trustee, to make money off of their father's music or merchandise bearing his name. Zappa received a cease-and-desist letter from the trust after he announced that he was being forced to perform his upcoming tour as “Dweezil Zappa Plays Frank Zappa” instead of using “Zappa Plays Zappa.” In response to the trust’s action, he renamed his performance series “50 Years of Frank: Dweezil Zappa Plays Whatever the F@%k He Wants — the Cease and Desist Tour.”