Frank Zappa's 1981 Halloween concert at New York's The Palladium is finally here in all its glory on DVD. An Evening With Frank Zappa during which...The Torture Never Stops is a musical extravaganza that takes you through 24 FZ favorites from that time period, complete with plenty of jaw dropping virtuosity and twisted humor.
The band at the time was Zappa on guitar & vocals, Ray White on guitar & vocals, Steve Vai on guitar & vocals, drummer Chad Wackerman, bassist Scott Thunes, Ed Man on drums & percussion, Bobby Martin on keyboards, sax, and vocals, and Tommy Mars on keyboards & vocals. Following closely on the heels of the release of Zappa's You Are What You Is album, this set features material from that album, as well as classics like "Montana", "The Illinois Enema Bandit", and the complex "Black Napkins". Frank was big into mixing sexual humor and political satire in his songs at this time, evident in tracks like "Broken Hearts are for Assholes", "Heavenly Bank Account", "Charlie's Enormous Mouth", "Fine Girl", and the engaging "Jumbo Go Away". Great to see Vai early in his career, doing mostly rhythm & 'stunt' guitar acrobatics, but he does get his moment to shine on "Stevie's Spanking", showing much of the skills that would later evolve into him being one of the best guitar players on the planet. Zappa himself rips it up on many of the songs here, laying down bursts of molten Gibson Les Paul fire dripping with effects on his many solos.
The synergy of the band members, as was the case with just about every FZ line-up, is awe inspiring to say the least. This is demanding, complex music, that's certainly not for everyone, but if you 'get it', the rewards are plentiful.
Though the film does show it's age somewhat, the quality is quite good, as is the audio, and for Zappa fanatics this will be a must have DVD for your collection. Kudos once again to the fine folks at Eagle Rock in conjunction with the Frank Zappa Family Trust for getting this one released.
Track Listing
1) Black Napkins
2) Montana
3) Easy Meat
4) Beauty Knows No Pain
5) Charlie's Enormous Mouth
6) Fine Girl
7) Teen-Age Wind
8) Harder Than Your Husband
9) Bamboozled By Love
10) We're Turning Again
11) Alien Orifice
12) Flakes
13) Broken Hearts Are For Assholes
14) You Are What You Is
15) Mudd Club
16) The Meek Shall Inherit Nothing
17) Dumb All Over
18) Heavenly Bank Account
19) Suicide Chump
20) Jumbo Go Away
21) Stevie's Spanking
22) The Torture Never Stops
23) Strictly Genteel
24) The Illinois Enema Bandit
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