DVD Review-Overnite Sensation/Apostrophe

Throughout his career, Frank Zappa thumbed his nose at commercialism. He never let the marketplace dictate his direction, and his instincts (and taste) almost always ran contrary to whatever was `popular'. In fact, if Frank liked what you were doing, it was a sure sign that you would suffer commercially; just ask Captain Beefheart, or Wild Man Fisher, John Lennon and Yoko Ono, or Alice Cooper in his early days. The name `Frank Zappa' may now be copyrighted and a household name, but few people really ever knew his music. His albums were tailored to appeal to those who were outside of society, so what went wrong with "Apostrophe (`)" and "Over-Nite Sensation" that allowed them to become hugely famous?

For a short period of time in the early seventies, Frank Zappa and the counterculture experienced something akin to acceptance by the media. Perhaps this was due to the huge success of FM radio, or maybe it was the zeitgeist that enveloped the globe after the late-sixties meltdown of hippie culture. Either way, Zappa's music was at a creative peak, and the world was willing to pay attention. "Apostrophe" and "Over-Nite Sensation" followed one another within a year's time, and each of them featured pretty much the same line-up of musicians. They represent his most accessible work, and this `album documentary' tells the story of how they got made.

If you are familiar with Frank Zappa's work, then I highly recommend this DVD. If you are not familiar with Zappa's work, buy each of these albums and then buy this DVD. The information contained herein is invaluable to any fan. I've seen many, many of these `album documentaries', but none come close to the authoritative entertainment of this package. The fun facts alone are outstanding. Did you know that Zappa rehearsed his band six hours a day, five days a week? Show me another band with that type of work ethic. Did you know that the backup vocals were by the Ikettes (with Tina Turner)? Did you know that Zappa has a library of recordings that could rival the Grateful Dead in its breadth?

The editing between live performance (including a killer version of "Montana") and studio analysis is brilliant. Son Dweezil takes us deep into recording analysis, sitting at a mixing board and moving the faders while making insightful observations. The documentary is relatively short - only one hour - but there's another hour of extras that convey just as much information, while focusing on all aspects of Zappa's music, including its topicality, its technique, and its humor. Frank Zappa was a thoroughly unique character, incapable of being categorized or lumped into a box. If you know these albums, you may think you already understand how his mind worked. See this documentary and you'll understand why. In a word, it's astounding.

Apostrophe'

Apostrophe'

Zappa took a compositional turn with this album. It's in the genre of "Over-Nite Sensation," but further developed towards whatever it is musicians think of when they hear "Zappa," and there was more like this and even further developed material to come. This album has a definitive main thread, even though it features four different drummers and four different bass players, because it's very bluesy. Even if the songs aren't played with typical blues progressions --with the exception of "Cosmik Debris"-- there's a bluesy feeling pretty much throughout, which mainly the guitar solos lend. But there's more than a feeling of blues to this album; the songs are complex to an unusual (yet not extreme) degree, but make sense, and are very well performed. "Apostrophe (')" is, in a way, an album in a genre of it's own - mainly for the highly individual compositions "St. Alfonzo" and "Father O'Blivion," but also much because of "Uncle Remus" with its feeling of soul and gospel that isn't much heard anywhere else in Zappa's discography. Many think that "Stink-Foot" is not a highlight, and while I understand that point of view (since it fills a fifth of this 32-minute album and doesn't have a compositional quality like the other songs) I still find it highly entertaining and needed because of its groove. Don't let the length of the album scare you, btw - the material on it is worth the money. 4 1/2 stars.