/ release date: 12 Jul 2010 // label: Ear Music
reviewer: Claudia Andrei
reviewer: Claudia Andrei
In 2005, Dweezil Zappa brought the Zappa Plays Zappa project into life and has been touring with his band to give a younger generation the chance to appreciate the music of his late dad. To quote Dweezil, “In order for me to play my father's music correctly, I needed to understand the fundamentals of his music more thoroughly, which meant a lot of studying”.
The hard studying has paid of, for make no mistake: Zappa Plays Zappa is no tribute band but a band that accurately represents the musical genius that was Frank Zappa. More to the point, this is an album containing live performances that mainly were recorded during a 3-night residency at the Morse Theater, Chicago, in 2008. Fortunately, the audio quality here has turned out superb and both discs really bring the vibe of a live performance across, not to mention the sheer skill of the nine-piece outfit. By the way, Ray White, who played with Frank in the 70’s and 80’s, is a special guest vocalist on the album. The time range also goes for the varied repertoire on offer.
To dissect Zappa’s music is akin to mission impossible due to the complexity and uniqueness of the compositions. It can perhaps best be described as a fusion of progressive rock, experimental, jazz and classical. Fused together in a way that sees every track contain each of the aforementioned styles, it’s Dweezil’s fierce and fearless guitar solos that dominate the album. He states that lengthy guitar solos, love ‘em or hate ‘em, is the place where he connects most with his father.
He’s not just saying it either, for Disc 1 opening track ‘The Deathless Horse’ kicks off with one hell of guitar solo. Homage to Frank aside, one can hear that technically speaking, Dweezil feels influenced by musicians like Steve Vai (who actually toured with the Zappa Plays Zappa project in the early days). The first half of the track is instrumental and there is a cool 70’s West coast feel to it.
Great riff work and a great guitar solo combined with a fitting backing-chorus continue on ‘Magic Fingers’, while ‘Broken Hearts Are For Assholes’ has a fast intro, only to continue with a constantly changing speed.
‘Bamboozled By Love’ contains some spunky anarcho lyrics typical of Zappa (“Oh Lord, the s**t done hit the fan / I came home the other day and she was sucking off some other man”) while the purely instrumental ‘King Kong’ is the perfect vehicle to showcase the multi-talents of Dweezil’s band members, for each one plays a solo stint on the track.
Disc 2 offers ‘Torture Never Stops’ as the opener, a number that’s rather mellow and which sounds more straightforward, though the actual arrangement probably isn’t. This one is very lyric-dominated and has, of course, yet another long guitar solo.
‘Dirty Love’ has a groovy jazz-funk beat to it that’s combined with hard rock riffs and no, I’m not going to mention yet another long…
One of the most accessible (and also one of the most successful) Zappa songs on the second disc is ‘Camarillo Brillo’ and – dare I say it – played by Zappa Plays Zappa it sounds almost more brilliant then the original, and the original is brilliant by any standards!
However, the absolute piece de resistance has got to be ‘Billy The Mountain’, a surreal and avantgarde mini-rock-opera (to put it simplified). Not only is the track a challenge to listen to, it must be an absolute challenge to perform. Personally, I would like to know whether this one was composed while under the influence of mind-enhancing substances or while sober. In which case, it makes it even more awesome. Think Bertolt Brecht meets Alejandro Jodorowsky meets David Lynch meets the Wizard Of Oz, pour the mix through the Zappa music blender and well, you might get the idea. Though you probably won’t.
Return Of The Son Of… contains 14 tracks in total and quite Frankly, it’s a must-have for any Zappa fan – senior or junior.
source : http://www.music-news.com/showreview.asp?H=Dweezil-Zappa&nReviewID=6096
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