Man from Utopia

Man from Utopia

This is an album that actually shares a lot in common with another favorite Zappa album of mine Sheik Yerbouti: both feature live as well as studio numbers,both have a very strong share of pre-PMRC vulgarity in the lyrics and it's also among one of his more joke oriented releases. FZ has changed bands again and new arrival Steve Vai is more than a welcome addition. The majority of this album is an excellent album of brilliantly composed (if scatologically comically performed) jazz-funk/prog rock fusion music that Zappa and his different players had been playing with for years. "Cocaine Decisions","Sex","We Are Not Alone" and "Luigi & The Wise Guys" all play in that musical river and maybe a few other places too as this dizzying mixture of politics,sex and...a bunch of strange things I cannot describe without big spoilers for this album dart in and out from Zappa and every other singer here. Scott Thunes is definitely an underatted bassist. He's not a hugely showoffsky player but he really brings in the funk by slapping against and after the accents and keeping up more then well with such well oiled players as those Zappa always associated himself with. There are three very joke based songs on this album,ranging from the sublime to the ridiculous. "The Radio Is Broken" is bizzare but pretty funny actually."The Dangerous Kitchen" has a wittily graphic description of a refridgorator disaster (I imagine there might be some double meaning here knowing Zappa). "The Jazz Discharge Party Hats" has the bandmates jiving about.....what turns out to be a pretty disgusting scatological tale with some pretty course phrasing and language. Still wit saves the day as the vocal itself is really inventive for the tunes live setting. "The Man From Utopia Meets Mary Lou" and "Stick Together" bring back that darkly hued R&B/doo-wop aspect from the Cruising with Ruben & the Jets into the fold a little bit. "Tink Walks Amok" and the vibe drenched "Moggio" are two of the finest Zappa instrumentals since the mid 70's and give the newer musicians and excellent chance to showcase their good work. Being a lover of fusion,funk and all of that there are times-especially during this period that I wished Zappa had embraced just a little more implicitness in his lyrical approch. But since that just wasn't his style the very least I can say about this is he stuck to his guns on every front right up until the end.