Zoot Allures [Original recording remastered]

From the Label
FZ's version of a basic stripped-down rock record; uncomplicated and completely compelling. Alongside sharp satirical tracks like "Disco Boy" and "Wind Up Workin' in a Gas Station" (which launched the onstage chant "Show me your thumb if you're really dumb") come between-the-eyes instrumentals like "Black Napkins," "Friendly Little Finger" and the title track. This disc is also the home of "The Torture Never Stops," a doomsaying blues unlike anything else in the Zappa catalogue.

Zoot Allures,Frank Zappa,Rykodisc,Pop,Rock,Rock/Pop

Zoot Allures [Original recording remastered]

Average customer rating:

Straight ahead rocking CD from the master of muffins
Must have at least for three titles
Great Album, Excellent Tour
great
Awesome!

Zoot Allures
Frank Zappa
Manufacturer: Zappa Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B0000009SQ
Release Date: 1995-05-02

Tracks:

Wind Up Workin' In A Gas Station
Black Napkins
The Torture Never Stops
Ms. Pinky
Find Her Finer
Friendly Little Finger
Wonderful Wino
Zoot Allures
Disco Boy

Customer Reviews:

Straight ahead rocking CD from the master of muffins.......2006-12-12

How do you steer someone curious about Frank Zappa to a good place to start exploring his amazing career? Possibly the most prolific modern artist of all time, Zappa wore so many shoes it boggles the imagination.
Unlike some other classic Zappa albums that truly take getting used to, like "Weasels Ripped My Flesh" or "One Size Fits All", this CD rocks more than most anything else he did, with a minimal (in number, not ability) band to back him up. And, befitting his underappreciated guitar mastery, which easily is on a par with Jeff Beck and Jimi Hendrix for originality and overall excellence, "Zoot Allures" features plenty of Zappa guitar work, erasing any doubt to his brilliance.
Like all his material except for his instrumental works, Zappa was sarcastic, misanthropic and sometimes downright juvenile in his attacks on society in general. That acidic commentary is present here, but the real gem is the title track, "Zoot Allures", without question one of the most breathtakingly beautiful guitar instrumentals ever. It is indeed shocking to hear such elegance and sublety from a man not known for his restraint.
After this CD, one can leap virtually anywhere in the immense Zappa catalogue, but this reviewer recommends "Hot Rats" as his next stop and then perhaps "Shiek Yerbouti" or the "Joe's Garage" series. Zappa was a genius, and deserves more attention.

Must have at least for three titles.......2006-02-09

Three songs contained here entered the Frank Zappa alltime favourites hall of fame. "Black napkins", "Zoot allures" and "The torture never stops". These three tunes are gems. Apart form these tunes, the album is really a basic rock kind of album not so special. A tribute to heavy metal? I don't know, I love heavy metal of the period and I don't find this album close to the true metal spirit. It's something different, it is Zappa in a basic form. It is alot less dramatic than metal and more grotesque and ironic. That's it. I think this is even not one of the best works in Zappa's discography because to me he expressed his potentials the most when he played the director's role with large ensembles (think Wazoo, Waka, Jazz noise here, In NY etc). Some songs here (disco boy or wind up .. for example) are even irritating. But the three that I talked about are absolutly stellar Zappa's music examples, so they alone justify the price ticket. If you are a newcomer in the Zappa's Universe go for Wazoo, Waka, Hot rats, or better than anything else probably, the exceptional big apple live concert, "Zappa in NY".

Great Album, Excellent Tour.......2005-10-18

This one brings back loads of memories. I was one of the many that was waiting for this record to hit the shelves. We were part of the cult, the mass of regulars that made as many concerts as we could and knew all of Frank's inside jokes. We thought we were cool, but of course we weren't. This disc caused descent in the ranks. For some of the old school FZ fans, this was the last straw and they walked away muttering about how it was all downhill after the original Mothers were gone.

I was pretty much old school, having started out on Freak Out and progressing album by album, thanks to an old burnout that got me started into Frank's music at the bright young age of 12. But I didn't cling to the old school rant - new was OK and this, when it was new, sounded VERY good to me! The live show of this album tour that we saw was excellent too. For perspective, I was alcohol legal by the time of Zoot Allures... Some of the tunes hit me right in the face. I was working at a gas station while in college and took that minimum wage paycheck to pay for this disc. I worked at the gas station with a reject named Jerry that was a thief. He'd steal money out of the register and we'd all have to make up the shortage out of our paychecks, so nobody wanted to work with Jerry. So I remember hearing "Wind Up Workin' In A Gas Station" and thinking I should go play it for Jerry. I also wanted to go play "The Torture Never Stops" for one of my literature profs, because it reminded me of his class.

To get more to the review, just consider this: the album is a work of synergy in that the whole is much stronger than any individual portion. One could point out Black Naspkins, The Torture or the title track as being particularly strong, but it is the flow of the album that takes over once you get to know it. As usual, Frank was writing from his Amateur Anthropologist point of view (he should have been given an honorary degree in the field) in many of the songs, such as Gas Station, Ms. Pinky, Find Her Finer, Wonderful Wino and Disco Boy. It all weaves together perfectly and the playing and singing are outstanding.

great.......2005-10-11

This album is stripped-down zappa. His tribute for heavy metal. Released in 1976, most of this album is done by Terry Bozzio on drums, and Zappa singing on most of the songs, playing guitar and drums. There's some appearances by Roy Estrada, George Duke, Ruth Underwood, and more. There was a lot of songs played live from this album. But I think that "The Torture Never Stops" is kind of too long. The rest of the album is really good. It has stripped-down tracks like "Wonderful Wino", "Ms. Pinky", "Find Her Finer", and "Wind Up Workin' In A Gas Station". It has guitar solo tracks "Black Napkins" and "Friendly Little Finger". "Zoot Allures" is difficult to play. And there's an anti-disco song "Disco Boy". This is really a great and underrated album, and I really recommend it.

Awesome!.......2005-09-30

Frank Zappa is one of the greatest guitar players of all time and space! "Black Napkins" IS superb!

Average customer rating:

Excellent Buy it!
A Brilliant Baroque Ensemble Whipping It Out
Love it or hate it - choose only one
Wondrous And Exotic
Not for Zappa Fans

Ensemble Ambrosius: The Zappa Album
Frank Zappa , and Ensemble Ambrosius
Manufacturer: Northern Lights
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B0000508S2
Release Date: 2000-10-17

Tracks:

Night School
Sofa
Black Page #2
Uncle Meat
Igor's Boogie
Zoot Allures
Big Swifty
T'Mershi Duween
Alien Orifice
Idiot Bastard Son
RDNZL
Orange County Lumber Truck
Echidna's Arf (Of You)
Inca Roads
G-Spot Tornado

Amazon.com

Since his death, Frank Zappa has enjoyed several translations of his extremely original and quirky material onto discs performed by jazz ensembles and major European orchestras with such eminent conductors as Pierre Boulez. Not too shabby. This disc by the Finnish Ensemble Ambrosius takes some of Zappa's more tuneful pieces and reworks them for Baroque instruments. This is actually a brilliant maneuver, since much of Zappa's writing translates well for such instruments as oboe, harpsichord, and mandolin (or lute). Highlights here include the catchy theme from Uncle Meat, the short but goofy "Igor's Boogie," and "Idiot Bastard Son," sung with the solemnity of a monk's chant. The performances are above average, but there is some blurring of textures and some lack of clarity in the recorded sound. Overall, though, it's a worthy effort that advances the cause of Zappa's music. --Paul Cook

Customer Reviews:

Excellent Buy it!.......2005-06-30

This is one of my favorite non FZ produced cds of FZ music. Heck it may even be my favorite. This is FZ music stripped of all artifice except melody / harmony (i'm aware of the over-simpflication, but roll with me here). FZ dinner music this is. I play it for people who "normally don't like FZ " and they like it. Gorgeous melodies. Performed and arranged lovingly. When you want to put the pedal to the metal: pull out the FZ produced canon. When you want to bliss out on his melodic sense and ability to craft the finest of tunes and variations on a theme: this is the place.

A Brilliant Baroque Ensemble Whipping It Out.......2005-02-17

Firstly I need to address the validity of this album as many have questioned its validity as a Zappa tribute - and be clear that I believe it's an amazing tribute.

Frank Zappa was the greatest composer of the 20th century in terms of the stunning spectrum of elements he was able to incorporate in his works without being consumed by them. He wasn't just a rock and roll guitarist a la Carolina Hard Core Ecstasy. He had fun doing that but he was so much more than that. As an improviser, Frank Zappa was unique but then again so is anyone who's good at it, and many of his guitar solos still thrill me today. That part of Frank Zappa will never be seen again but there is so much more to the man that can still be brought to life - in his own words "My main interest is composition - getting an idea and manifesting it in a way that people can listen to". He was a person who listened to Edgar Varese for entertainment as a teenager. "I didn't write rock and roll until I was in my twenties, but I started writing other kinds of music. I couldn't play it, I could only write it. I liked the way music looked on paper. It was fascinating to me that you could see the notes and somebody who knew what they were doing would look at them and music would come out. I thought it was a miracle". How many rock musicians does that apply to?

Throughout his musical career he produced music in many different styles and many different formats and those two points are distinct - for example he would have rock and roll type themes played in a symphonic format or neo classical type themes played in a jazz/rock big band format. The formats he chose were not always purely dictated by his own whim, he lived in the real world and worked with the resources available to him at any given time and projects some times collapsed as with his original aims with the combination of the early Mothers and 14 members of the BBC orchestra on 28th October 1968 in the Royal Festival Hall, London. The album that was originally intended never materialised.

When Zappa was approached by the Ensemble Modern he was initially sceptical about what could be achieved but he warmed to the idea and The Yellow Shark album is a testament to what was possible. I believe if he was still alive and was approached by Ensemble Ambrosius he wouldn't turn them away and Olli Vertaperko might have been saved one or two years of his life. None the less, Olli's work on transcribing Zappa's compositions is nothing short of incredible. Those close to Frank have commented about how long it took him to complete some of his pieces and his attention to detail and I think that Olli's arrangements have captured that element of Frank's work. Zappa may or may not have suggested a different choice of pieces had he collaborated with Ensemble Ambrosius but he surely would not have knocked back their choice of instruments. One of them plays the harpsichord - so naturally it appears a great deal in the arrangements.

As I've said elsewhere, we need brave new productions of Zappa's music. The Zappa Album by Ensemble Ambrosius is brave, new, unique and brilliant and just as there is no Carolina Hard Core Ecstasy on Yellow Shark there isn't one here either and so what? We should leave it to rock bands perhaps to attempt to capture that aspect of Zappa's work, note that there are no members of the BBC orchestra, or any other classical ensemble for that matter on the Bong Fury version of Carolina Hard Core Ecstasy. Let's not forget that a significant motivation for Zappa's rock music participation was to make a living, it wasn't his prime directive. In his own words when asked during the last year of his life if he missed the rock and roll life - "No". And his attitude to the guitar at that time - "Every once in a while, I feel like playing the guitar, but I stop and think what I'd have to go through in order to do it. The urge goes away". He was a composer to the end and was working on the completion of Civilisation Phase lll, which by the way, also has no Carolina Hard Core Ecstasy.

My favourite piece on The Zappa Album is RDNZL, and I mean the arrangement and performance on this album. All the other tracks are just as amazing in my opinion. It's made pretty clear that this album is performed on baroque instruments so don't be surprised if you buy it and find its performed on baroque instruments. Many baroque instruments aren't very loud and to amplify them would compromise their baroque character. Hence the production is often very subtle and might take some time to grow on you, it only took me two listens to figure it out. Play it really loud at least once. I can't see how anyone who appreciates the entire spectrum of Zappa could not at least respect this album. It is an honourable tribute to him and I'm sure he would have appreciated it. If I could have got my copy for 99 cents it would be one of the best deals I've ever had.

Love it or hate it - choose only one.......2004-08-10

I have been listening to Frank Zappa on LPs, CDs and at concerts since FREAK OUT! was released in 1966. I own a copy of most of his material including two obscure interview CDs.

Prior to buying ENSEMBLE AMBROSIUS, I noticed a wide diversity of opinion among the Amazon reviewers. In fact, based on these reviews, it appears that a person is either going to love or hate ENSEMBLE AMBROSIUS. There seems be no middle ground of appreciation for this work. Because of the negative reviews, I purchased it with a great deal of hesitation.

The question becomes, why do so many people hate it? and conversely, how can so many others love it? I've been reading and rereading the other reviews and thinking about their comments for several days and have come to one conclusion. Those who liked it, were expecting something unusual and their expectations were fulfilled. Those who hated ENSEMBLE AMBROSIUS, I believe were expecting to find Zappa's soul or imprint on this CD. Zappa is not on this CD. Ensemble Ambrosius didn't miss notes, didn't hit the wrong pitch, they didn't get "it" wrong. It is not a rotten tribute. It is their interpretation of Zappa and, most importantly, you may not like it.

In the end, you're either going to love ENSEMBLE AMBROSIUS or hate it. There will be no middle ground. The problem: Amazon, as with so many other CDs, does NOT offer (at the time of this writing) its potential customers an opportunity to listen to sound bites prior to purchase. The negative reviews nearly stopped me from buying this CD. I suspect that others who would like this CD will not buy it because of the reviews, but, in fact, would enjoy owning it if they had an opportunity to listening to bites of the CD on Amazon's web page.

Wondrous And Exotic.......2003-11-17

This is an excellent album.

When I first heard it, I had two criticisms. The fast lick near the end of "The Black Page #2" seemed sloppy to me. But it's just phrased differently.

And the vocalist on "Idiot Bastard Son" sounds a little strange on some low notes, but I've gotten used to it. The treatment of the tune is beautiful.

The great music on this album makes up for any minor weaknesses.

Highlights include : "RDNZL", "Inca Roads",
"Uncles Meat", "Alien Orifice", "Echidna's Arf",
"Night School", "G-Spot Tornado" and "Igor's Boogie".

The harpsichord doing the incredibly fast melody that Ruth Underwood used to play toward the end of "Inca Roads" is something to hear.

Not for Zappa Fans.......2003-06-25

Do not look for Carolina's Hardcore Esctacy on this CD (lalalalalaa la). I don't think its that FZ's music doesn't mix with baroque instruments, I think these musicians have gotten it all wrong. They try (and fail) to 'be creative' with the rhythmn, hit a few totally errant notes (which can sometimes be excused), and show a lame ability to rework Frank'z music and get it right. If there was a 99 cent bin in my town, it would be there. Since there's not, I think Mom will cotten to this "Frank Zappa lite" album - slow, simple and inoffensive - it that a rotten tribute or what?!