Frank Zappa & Captain Beefheart - Bongo Fury

DARK AND BITCHIN'

This was the first Zappa album I ever bought.
I first heard it when I was 15 and became a fan ever since!

This is simply the best live album ever. (even with the supplemental
studio additions) The whole overall disc has a dark magic to it.
And a charm that no other album has. Cucamonga is a wonderful studio
track amid the live stuff! All the solos are AWESOME! And
Debra Kedabra is the most terrifying song EVER! Spine chilling in it's
feverishness!

Turn this disc up and listen to it with some volume and it will
explode from the speakers! You'll get the "live feel"
and it will all sound so "immediate."

Some have said this album sounds too uneven. What do they mean by that!!? All Zappa albums are "all-over-the-map" full of "dada"
variety!! Those people haven't heard much Zappa. GET this cd and
have a great aural adventure!!!

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!
November 25, 2008

A must-have for the Zappa and Beefheart collector

Muffin Man is certainly a Zappa classic. Though it is not as well-known as some of Zappa's other works, it certainly embodies many Zappa themes of mad scientists, conceptual continuity, and general absurdity. It also features some of Zappa's best guitar solos, and not to mention Captain Beefheart's vocals, harmonica solos and occasional saxophone and madness. This is one of the few albums (along with Hot Rats) that have both Zappa and Beefheart playing at the same time. March 27, 2008

Make Me Kiss Your Turquoise Jewelry!

Fantastic lyrics and recitation by Captain Beefheart and lots of music reminiscent of One Size Fits All - both were release around the same time. I had this on 8 track tape back in the day! I also had the Lp. I don't recall what happened to them. This CD is worth the price just for the 3 pieces where Beefheart does his wonderfully bizarre poetry readings. Roll skreek! Roll skreek! Sam was a basket case! I just love this stuff. Sadly, this is right around where Zappa's career to a turn that I didn't care for... I think Zoot Allures was the next release. I own every single Zappa release up to Bongo Fury except for Overnight Sensation - I never really cared much for that one for some reason. I'm also a musician and have been playing for about 40 years, seriously for 20. With respect to the actual music (lyrics are very subjective by nature, aren't they?) and the performance of that music, I would not call this Zappa's best release (as one reviewer called it). I don't think it even comes close to being his best (that distinction probably belongs to The Grand Wazoo & Waka Jawaka and there are many others I find more... exciting as far as the music goes) but it is very, very good and very, very entertaining. If you like Zappa's mid 70's catalog (Roxy and Elsewhere, One Size Fits All, Apostrophe (') to name a few) you definitely want to purchase this.

Anyway, this is a great CD. If you aren't familiar with Beefheart, think of Tom Waits rough voice and poetry reading a piece like Ninth and Hennipen (from Rain Dogs) and Zappa array of great guitar licks, impossible lines played in unison by the band, and an assortment of hilarious sounds made by the players on their instruments. Yes, of course Louie Louie is in here too! Bongo Fury! November 7, 2007

The Mothers live in Texas

This is one of the final Mothers' lineups, mostly live, in Austin, 1975. As usual, the musicianship is excellent, althought not as intricate as a lot of what you hear on "Roxy & Elsewhere," or "Live In New York." It opens with the raw, gritty "Debra Kadabra," a showcase for the bizarre vocal delivery of Captain Beefheart, the band playing coordinated multiple rhythms to compliment the seemingly rambling subject matter presented, although anyone in the know can tell you, there's never any rambling in a Zappa performance. It's all been rehearsed to sound the way it is. The sound smooths over with "Carolina Hardcore Ecstasy," the usual weird-story telling put to music, the voices of George Duke, Napoleon Murphy Brock, and FZ chiming together in a tight mini chorale, and the obligatory mid-70's Zappa fuzz-tone guitar solo.

"Sam With The Showing Scalp Flat Top" is a Don Vliet original, Beefheart's poetic recital fronting The Mothers' imitation of Beefheart's "Magic Band," but somehow sounding better than Beefheart's usual band. "Poofter's Froth Wyoming Plans Ahead" is about the upcoming (at the time) 200th birthday of the United States and all the hoopla and marketing of said event; call it social anthropology. Beefheart was an ideal voice for a lot of this band's music, too bad there isn't much more.

"200 Years Old" is a studio cut same band as the live tracks, except for the drumming. Terry Bozzio is replaced with Chester Thompson, later of Genesis fame. Once again, it's about the Bicentennial, and other things.
"Cucamonga" is from the same sessions, typical Zappa-Brock-Duke vocals and the usual smooth production, really great sounding. "The listener is then transported back to the stage in Austin for "Advance Romance," a longtime live staple performed by every live band after, up to, and including, the 1988 Self-Destruct band... too bad Ed Mann decided to convince the whole band they hated Scott Thunes. The seedy atmosphere of this live staple is set by the first line: "No more credit from the liquor store!" It drags along, too long for some tastes, but live recordings are supposed to have extended jams, and, myself, I don't mind it.


We then re-enter Beefheart's world with "The Man With The Woman Head," a throw-back to the beatnick days, imagine this being delivered in some smoky coffeehouse, "...as a straw fell out of the coat, and cartwheeled into the gutter; so this was a drive-in restaurant in Hollywood, so this was a drive-in restaurant in Hollywood...so this was a drive-in restaurant in Hollywood..."

Seque into some studio chatter about Zappa's studio, The Utility Muffin Research Kitchen, and the vamp which became known as "Muffin Man," the Austin show's finale, and a showpiece for many fans' favorite Zappa solo. I can't pick a favorite, but he was running on all cylinders here.

For the most part, this is a fun record to listen to (stuck in the '70s here, terms like "record") and if nothing else, one gets to hear what was going on with their favorite icon from the heyday of good music from almost everybody in the business. October 16, 2007

two big egos of the music era together

It's fun to have a bit more material with the voice of the beloved Captain Beefheart on it.
He and Zappa were childhood friends who in time grew to be more like a tired married couple.
There's a good video out there from the 90's that tells the tale of Zappa giving Beefheart this gig out of the kindness of his heart, the flipside of course is that Beefheart also gave Zappa a vocalist Par excellence.

It's a quirky mix of music and prose, but definitely more on the Zappa side of theatrical composition with electric instruments.


May 5, 2007

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