Zappa '80: Mudd Club/Munich[3 CD]

Zappa. The best. If you don't have it, buy it.

This is the 125th album by iconic American guitarist / composer / bandleader / visionary Frank Zappa, released posthumously in 2023. The album presents two complete concerts recorded during the 1980 spring / summer tour. The album includes 3 CDs.The music was recorded by the following lineup: Zappa on guitar and vocals, guitarists / vocalists Ike Willis and Ray White, keyboardist Tommy Mars, bassist Arthur Barrow and drummer David Logeman.CD1 presents fifteen tracks recorded on May 8, 1980 at the Mudd Clun in NY.CD2 and CD3 present eleven tracks each, recorded on July 3, 1980 at the Olympiahalle, Munich, Germany.The music is a selection of tracks spanning many Zappa albums, as always perfectly performed by Zappa and his team and featuring some blood-curdling Zappa guitar solos. The quality of the recording and sound are perfect and absolutely nothing stands between the music and the listener to enjoy a fury and orgy of the Zappa phenomenon. As usual, every note played by Zappa and his ensemble is perfectly unique and are an integral part of his heritage.Overall, this is an absolutely essential piece of the Frank Zappa legacy and a fitting tribute to his brilliance. The intricacy and multi-layered arrangements, brilliantly executed by his ensembles, are amongst the most interesting American recordings ever and considering that all this happened over forty years ago clearly proves that Zappa was a visionary / prophetic Genius.

This is only live release (so far) to feature drummer David Logeman, who played on the studio album You Are What You Is. It's worth having for disc one alone - Zappa playing a gig in a small New York City nightclub. Frank apparently loved the place because it's where all the freaks in New York hung out. In addition to some mean guitar work from FZ, the show has an intimate feel - you can even hear some woman in the crowd yelling that the music is too loud. The only drawback is that a chunk of the song "City of Tiny Lites" is missing - they tried to cover it with an edit, but it's pretty obvious.The second and third disc document a stadium show in Munich, Germany. By that point the band had mastered the material, raised the tempos and added more back-catalog songs. It's a decent show, but for me the real draw here is the Mudd Club show on disc one.Definitely worth picking up if you're a fan of late 70s/early 80s Zappa.

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Thanks to Amazon I have been able t enjoy many of Frank's post releases.Living in Cape Town can be a bit isolated when it comes to music releases on cd.I cannot wait for for the local releases of Amazon here.This is Frank raw and ready for war.Some of his guitar work just sounds so angry and explosive like he was getting some frustrations out.Zappa at his most deadly.

I love the 1976-1982 Era of Zappa, so this was a great pick up for me. I love that it’s two shows and the music is killer.This is a nice 3 disc set that was originally a bit overpriced considering the packaging but I bought it for a great sale price and it was absolutely worth getting.The liner notes are good and the photos are a great touch.The seller sent it out right away and it arrived in great shape.

Fun couple live shows from 1980, in the middle of an incredibly prolific period of releases, even by Frank's standards. First one at the Mudd Club had a 19 yr old Steve Vai in attendance, shortly before he joined FZ. Also featuring in both shows - You Are What You Is, not too long before it was released. Both shows kick off with Chunga's Revenge, which is a fantastic opener. Liner notes include a ton of great photos and notes from Zappa associates/bandmates.

This is a great music release without all the fluffy extra packaging. You are only paying for music here. If this is the approach UMe music is going to take after buying the rights to the Frank Zappa catalog, I'm all for it. Count me in. Deliver me 2 or 3 quality releases like this a year at this price point? Yes please.