Bongo Fury
This live Zappa album, featuring the added talents of avant-garde/psychedelic jazz/beat poet guru Captain Beefheart, is indescribably excellent. Zappa's band lay a lush bluesy backdrop to his and the Captain's abstract lyricism, and the performances as a whole are absolutely gorgeous. "Carolina Hardcore Ecstasy" will sweep you off your feet, while one of my faves "Poofter Froth Wyoming Plans Ahead" will have you in fits of laughter and amazement over the ingenious rhyming and intonation of the Captain. This joint effort is a mammoth merging of Zappa's raging musical hormones with Beefhearts outerworldly illogic, culminating in THE perfect encore - "Muffin Man", which has to be heard to believed. Who else but Zappa would stop in the middle of a song's prologue, claiming to have gotten a phrase wrong, and try it again, with the results sounding as professional as ever? This is the kind of offbeat stuff that makes die-hard Zappa maniac-pe! rsons like myself treasure the antics contained within Bongo Fury ever more. Highly recommended.
Zappa and Beefheart seem to bring out the best in each other. The performance captured here is better than anything I've heard from Zappa (except for maybe "Freak Out!" and "Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar"). And it's up there with the best of Beefheart's records, though I admit to being a big fan of the Captain's later work such as "Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller)" and "Ice Cream for Crow." Although this live performance was a sort of "celebration" of America's bicentennial, it still holds up...things really haven't changed all that much. This is great in-your-face stuff. There are no losers on this CD, with "Sam With The Showing Scalp Flat Top" and "Poofter's Froth Wyoming Plans Ahead" being my favorites. Captain Beefheart-weirdness and straight-on rock and roll highlight this mostly live album original released in 1975. Best when showcasing his evolving guitar skills and Terry Bozzio's thundering drums, Bongo Fury contains some of Zappa's more enduring songs, such as "Advanced Romance and "Carolina Hardcore Ecstasy." The endless riff and blistering guitar solo of "Muffin Man" is one of the high points of Zappa's onstage career. "Goodnight Austin, Texas, wherever you are!
Zappa and Beefheart seem to bring out the best in each other. The performance captured here is better than anything I've heard from Zappa (except for maybe "Freak Out!" and "Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar"). And it's up there with the best of Beefheart's records, though I admit to being a big fan of the Captain's later work such as "Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller)" and "Ice Cream for Crow." Although this live performance was a sort of "celebration" of America's bicentennial, it still holds up...things really haven't changed all that much. This is great in-your-face stuff. There are no losers on this CD, with "Sam With The Showing Scalp Flat Top" and "Poofter's Froth Wyoming Plans Ahead" being my favorites. Captain Beefheart-weirdness and straight-on rock and roll highlight this mostly live album original released in 1975. Best when showcasing his evolving guitar skills and Terry Bozzio's thundering drums, Bongo Fury contains some of Zappa's more enduring songs, such as "Advanced Romance and "Carolina Hardcore Ecstasy." The endless riff and blistering guitar solo of "Muffin Man" is one of the high points of Zappa's onstage career. "Goodnight Austin, Texas, wherever you are!
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