[Review] Frank Zappa: Zappa in New York (1978)

A handful of performances in New York City during the holidays from the central scroogenizer.

Kronomyth 22.0: In the night of the iron sausage.

Frank Zappa’s entire life was a work in progress. He was constantly creating, composing, revising, refining, ad infinitum until the ad nauseum of cancer provided the final punctuation mark to the twentieth century’s longest and most articulate argument against normalcy and the status quo. Zappa in New York finds the man in mid-argument with a band that now included Terry Bozzio on drums, Ray White on rhythm guitar and vocals, Patrick O’Hearn on bass, Eddie Jobson on keyboards, and a returning Ruth Underwood on anything within a two-foot radius. Oh, and a new horn section because Frank was nothing if not horny.

Most musical acts used a double live album as a curriculum vitae. In the world of Frank Zappa, they were snapshots; parts of a broader portfolio that was always in a state of expansion. And so you get a few familiar tunes (Big Leg Emma, Sofa, The Torture Never Stops) mixed in with brilliant new material such as Titties & Beer, The Illinois Enema Bandit, and The Purple Lagoon (my favorite number of the evening). Zappa in New York strikes a nice balance between Zappa the Jester and Zappa the Kapellmeister. It’s by turns funny, offensive, intellectual, and strikingly original.

I wouldn’t tell you that Zappa in New York is the first or even second live double album from Frank Zappa you need to own. Roxy & Elsewhere had better material. Tinseltown Rebellion had better production. But I’m also not telling you that two double live albums from Frank Zappa are enough to battle the complacency of modern life in these United States. You really need a continuous stream of Frank Zappa being filtered into one ear to counter the absolute garbage that the prince of the air is pouring into your other ear. See the country built on immigration launch an all-out attack on immigrants, and blot it out with Black Page #2. Hear the privileged rich and shameless sycophants extol the merit of a meritocracy, and quiet their cakeholes with a rousing chorus of I Promise Not to Come in Your Mouth. There is, I fear, no other way you’ll make it through the hard months ahead…

Original 2LP version

A1. Titties & Beer (5:31)
A2. I Promise Not to Come in Your Mouth (3:31)
A3. Big Leg Emma (2:09)
B1. Sofa (3:15)
B2. Manx Needs Women (1:39)
B3. The Black Page Drum Solo/Black Page #1 (4:06)
B4. Black Page #2 (5:25)
C1. Honey, Don’t You Want a Man Like Me? (4:18)
C2. The Illinois Enema Bandit (11:59)
D1. The Purple Lagoon (16:20)

All selections composed by Frank Zappa.

Bonus elpee from 40^th anniversary edition
E1. Black Napkins (10:56)
E2. Cruisin’ for Burgers (1977 mix) (9:08)
F1. The Black Page #2 (piano version) (3:14)
F2. I Promise Not to Come in Your Mouth (alternate version) (3:56)
F3. Punky’s Whips (unused version) (10:55)
F4. The Black Page #1 (piano version) (2:13)

Original 8-track version
A1. Titties & Beer
A2. I Promise Not to Come in Your Mouth
A3. Big Leg Emma
A4. The Purple Lagoon (beginning)
B1. The Purple Lagoon (conclusion)
B2. Honey, Don’t You Want a Man Like Me? (beginning)
C1. Honey, Don’t You Want a Man Like Me? (conclusion)
C2. The Illinois Enema Bandit
D1. Sofa
D2. Manx Needs Women
D3. The Black Page Drum Solo/Black Page #1
D4. Black Page #2

Expanded 2CD reissue version (1991, 1997)
A1. Titties & Beer (7:36)
A2. Cruisin’ for Burgers (9:12)
A3. I Promise Not to Come in Your Mouth (3:32)
A4. Punky’s Whips (10:50)
A5. Honey, Don’t You Want a Man Like Me? (4:12)
A6. The Illinois Enema Bandit (12:41)
B1. I’m the Slime (4:23)
B2. Pound for a Brown (3:42)
B3. Manx Needs Women (1:50)
B4. The Black Page Drum Solo/Black Page #1 (3:51)
B5. Big Leg Emma (2:17)
B6. Sofa (2:56)
B7. Black Page #2 (5:36)
B8. The Torture Never Stops (12:35)
B9. The Purple Lagoon/Approximate (16:20)

Expanded 2CD reissue version (1995) & cassette version (1988)
A1. Titties & Beer
A2. I Promise Not to Come in Your Mouth
A4. Punky’s Whips
A5. Sofa
A6. Manx Needs Women
A7. The Black Page Drum Solo/Black Page #1
A8. Big Leg Emma
A9. Black Page #2
A5. Honey, Don’t You Want a Man Like Me?
A6. The Illinois Enema Bandit
B9. The Purple Lagoon

The Players

Frank Zappa (conductor, lead guitar, vocals), Terry Bozzio (drums, vocals), Mike Brecker (tenor sax, flute), Randy Brecker (trumpet), Ronnie Cuber (baritone sax, clarinet), Eddie Jobson (keyboards, violin, vocals), Tom Malone (trombone, trumpet, piccolo), Lou Marini (alto sax, flute), Patrick O’Hearn (bass, vocals), David Samuels (timpani, vibes), Ruth Underwood (percussion, synthesizer, and various humanly impossible over-dubs), Ray White (rhythm guitar, vocals) with John Bergamo (percussion over-dubs), Louanne Neil (osmotic harp over-dub), Ed Mann (percussion over-dubs), Don Pardo (sophisticated narration). Produced by Frank Zappa; live remote engineering by Bob Liftin; NYC live concert mix by Davey Moire; re-mix engineered by Frank Zappa; studio over-dubs engineered by Rick Smith and Davey Moire.

The Pictures

Package design by John Williams. Cover photo by Dweezil Zappa. Other photos by Gail Zappa.

The Plastic

Released on 2LP and 8-track on March 3, 1978 in the US (Discreet, 2D/J8A 2290) with gatefold cover. Reached #57 on the US charts.

1. Re-issued on cassette in 1988 in the US (Barking Pumpkin, D4 74240) with one bonus track.
2. Re-issued on expanded 2CD in 1991 in the US (Barking Pumpkin, D2 74240) with four bonus tracks.
3. Re-issued on expanded 2CD in 1995 in the US (Rykodisc, VACK-1223) with one bonus track.
4. Re-issued on expanded 2CD on June 27, 1997 in Japan (Rykodisc, VACK 5218/9) with four bonus tracks.
5. Re-issued on 3LP in 2019 in EU (Zappa, ZR3856-1).