YOU CAN'T DO THAT ON STAGE ANYMORE: LIVE COMPILATIONS #2
From 1987 onwards Zappa turned his attention more and more to the large tape vault at the cellars of his house in Los Angeles with all the live recordings and
unreleased studio tracks. He had the habit of changing his compositions a little and sometimes drastically for each tour and even during a tour. So the tape
vault contained a large collection of different versions or "covers" of his music. Some of it had already appeared in the first half of the eighties: a
third of "Tinsel town rebellion", "Baby snakes" and most of "Does humor belong in music" (1985) consisted of such recordings. Now he set off to compile
a six-double-CD series from the tapes called "You can't do that on stage anymore" (YCDTOSA), released during the period 1988-1992.
This series, as well as the bootleg albums, show that Zappa didn't write most of his
material with a specific album in mind. Some of the bootlegs were "officially" released in
limited supply as the "Beat the boots" series of 1991/2 to spoil the bootleg market (see the
left menu). The compositions were added to a pool of unreleased compositions, from which from time to time the albums were extracted. Many songs
were part of the concert program for some time, before they appeared on album.
The vault around 2005, still from "The present day composer refuses to die" (Frank Scheffer).
Below two more from the same corridor (posted on the net).
Most of these CDs contain quite some unreleased material. When you include the solos the "You can't do that on stage
anymore" series offers between 30 and 40 minutes of music that you can qualify as new per CD. Zappa always looked for
new approaches to his music, giving each release some specific characteristics of its own. The special treat of this massive
series here is that this time it is not chronological, but an arbitrary selection of music from all concerts from all periods.
It's looking at his entire career from another angle and, as far as I know, never been done this way before by
other artists. Next are a couple of examples of unreleased pieces from the series, plus two titles in much different versions.
VOL. I
Babette
"Babette" is a simple vocal-harmony love song from the fall of 1974. Zappa loved such pieces and normally included one or
two of them in the concert program. They could be either composed by himself or covers, as the series at the end of vol. IV.
Presented below is the main theme from "Babette".
Babette, theme (midi file).
Babette, theme (transcription).
- Pick-up bar: Napoleon Murphy Brock starts singing, ritardando.
- Bar 1: Phrase 1 of the main theme. Everybody starts in the tempo Napoleon originally began with, ignoring the ritardando.
The song is in C with the meter being 12/8. The band is playing in an improvised manner around the I and VI chords.
- Bars 2-4: Phrase 2 of the main theme in three variants. The chords in the subsequent bars are II-III/V-IV.
At various points you can see that duplets or quadruplets are used for the melody, thus the subdivision of the beats
into three gets repeatedly passed. On beat three of bar 4 a Db and Bb turn up as passing notes for everybody, a little chromatic element.
- Bars 5-6: Phrase 3 of the main theme played twice. The chord progression is II-V. The II-V-I progression, that Zappa claimed
to hate according to the Real Frank Zappa book, turns up in this song a couple of times, in full (bars 6-7) or partially. See also the Absolutely free section
at "America drinks at goes home". One might try to explain such examples away as parodies. Personally I think it's better to notice that
Zappa followed no rules whatsoever, even rules he sometimes suggested himself.
- Bars 7-8: Phrase 4 of the main theme. The band returns to I, moving to IV in bar 8, next to return to a repetition of the main theme.
Diseases of the band
"Diseases of the band" begins with playing four times a riff, that can also be heard as a transitional figure during "On the bus" from "Joe's garage".
Bars 1-2 contain the last two instances, where it is played as a series of triads. It's a rhythmically articulated figure, including quintuplets.
Diseases of the band, 0:02-0:17 (midi file).
Diseases of the band, 0:02-0:17 (transcription).
This riff is in C# Dorian. Next the band continues to improvise over an E pedal with Zappa explaining some of the diseases that spread out among band members.
The E is a pedal substitution with the key becoming E Lydian.
Other tracks from Vol. I
All titles from the "YCDTOSA" series also appear in other sections from this study. In this section I'm only mentioning the examples that have been
specifically transcribed from the version on "YCDTOSA". In case of volume I:
- "Once upon a time": this song belongs to the Sofa-suite or Divan series, that has
a subsection of its own in the Playground psychotics section.
- "Sofa": this title is part of the same series and is also included in the same Playground psychotics subsection.
- "The groupie routine": this one is a variation upon "Do you like my new car?"
Excerpts from both versions are included in the Fillmore East, June 1971 section.
- "The deathless horsie": the opening of this version is described
in the Shut up 'n play yer guitar section.
Images to the left: outtakes from titles from the YCDTOSA series. Alle six carry the same design by Jeff Fey in different colour combinations.
VOL. II
"You can't do that on stage anymore, vol. II" has a section of its own in this study.
This volume is entirely devoted to a single concert held at Helsinki, 1974. The following titles are represented in this study with examples from
the specific YCDTOSA, vol. II version:
- "Approximate".
- "Room service".
- "Pygmy Twylyte".
- "Village of the sun".
- "The idiot bastard son".
- "Dupree's paradise".
- "Inca roads".
VOL. III
Ride my face to Chicago
Tracks 10-12 from Vol. III are three unreleased songs from the 1984 tour in a row. The first is a rock song, called "Ride my face to Chicago", the title
being taken over from a 1965 piece of toilet graffiti Zappa could still remember in 1988.
Ride my face to Chicago, theme (midi file).
Ride my face to Chicago, theme (transcription).
- Bars 1-6: the song opens instrumentally in D Mixolydian with the chord progression I-V. The bass guitar is giving a D on beat, while the guitar
is playing a low riff. This riff combines a subdivision into two and into three and is using syncopes as well.
There's a slight difference between bars 1-2 in the sense that the V chords last an eighth note and a dotted quarter note respectively.
- Bars 7-8: the figures continue, while the bass goes up from D to D (an octave higher) following the entire scale.
- Bars 9-16: theme I. Like the previous guitar riff, the lead melody is using subdivision into two and into three. You now got
syncopes with triplets and syncopes going over a bar, so rhythmically it's a complicated figure. The accompanying chords are all played
off-beat. The progression turns up in two variants: I-VII and I-VII, followed by the F chord (thus with F# turning F natural). This last chord
implies a switch to D Dorian, but this doesn't get effectuated any further.
- Bars 17-24: theme II. The music modulates to B minor. Theme II knows two phrases. The first is sung over a broken I chord in triplet time,
the second over a broken VII chord. Other than theme I, this one is rather elementary going on beat with Zappa
commenting "sing ooh-weeh-ooh-weeh...you can do that".
The global set-up of this song is:
- 0:00 Opening themes from above, played twice.
- 0:51 Opening bars return as the intro to a guitar solo.
- 1:01 A guitar solo begins in D Mixolydian.
- 1:54 Continuing in D Dorian.
This is another example of mingling closely related scales. The bass vamp is using both F and F# in its figure, leaving it a bit
in the middle if this solo is in Dorian or Mixolydian. Zappa begins with playing an F# (e.g. at 1:31) but later on switches to F natural.
- 3:38 Sung themes return.
- 3:59 Outro.
- 4:22 End.
Carol, you fool
"Carol, you fool" is a doo-wop song from the 1984 tour. Halfway a keyboard solo is played. The booklet doesn't say if it's
Tommy Mars or Alan Zevod playing. My guess is that it's Alan, because of the type of playing. See the next song for his "volcano" solos,
but he liked ultrafast passages during his regular soloing as well.
Carol, you fool, 1:42-2:15 (midi file).
Carol, you fool, 1:42-2:15 (transcription).
The example begins with two bars from the sung part, the doo-wop part. It gets followed by the first eight bars from the keyboard solo.
Stylistically this solo is reggae with rhythm guitar and keyboard chords between the beats. The relationship with the sung part is kept
by the chorus singing "Carol" every two bars. It's in D with the downbeat
being avoided a couple of times by the bass. The bass part is a two-bars vamp.
Chana in de Bushwop - Nig biz
"Chana in de Bushwop" is standard blues in C Mixolydian. The lyrics are based upon a story Diva Zappa told her dad when she was 4-5 years old.
The example below are four bars from the instrumental interlude. In the liner notes Zappa explains how he pushed Alan Zevod aside to improvise
his own "stupid little amateur volcano solo". In the Real FZ book Alan's "volcano solos" get explained as: "he held the sustain pedal down and churned
and smashed away to get a big blur going, and then topped it off at the end with a big flourish. It worked everytime, but it got to be a band joke"
(All about music chapter, Road rats section).
Chana in de Bushwop, 2:28-2:40 (midi file).
Chana in de Bushwop, 2:28-2:40 (transcription).
Because everybody knows the blues scheme, anybody can readily follow its
structure. Regarding details, however, it's played in a rather rude way, almost chaotic:
- Tommy Mars is singing and playing a melody at the same time. Mostly it's the same notes, but at some points it's getting different and dissonant.
- I think Alan Zevod is playing the high dissonant chords.
- Scott Thunes is using syncopes for his bass line, as well as pauses on beat.
- Staff two from bars 3-4 are Zappa playing ultrafast in the highest registers of the keyboard.
Of course this isn't Zappa composing something on the spot, as he would describe his guitar soloing. It's just entertainment with him hitting arbitrary notes
and the audience laughing in the background about him taking in Alan's place. And of course this isn't material meant to be transcribed precisely.
It's an approximation and included here to show also things like this could happen on stage.
Nig biz, 3:23-3:35 (midi file).
Nig biz, 3:23-3:35 (transcription).
"Nig biz" is another blues song from the 1982 tour. I've taken four bars from the scheme, that correspond
with the four bars the "Chana in de Bushwop" example. On this occasion it's first Bobby Martin on sax,
next Zappa on guitar. It goes pretty different from the previous example. Bars 1-2 show a chromatic progression that goes upwards
and downwards again. It ends the blues cycle in a way that is also occurring during "What kind of girl do you think we are?".
Zappa's own playing during bars 3-4 is strictly following G minor pentatonic, but the total is yet another example of mingling minor pentatonic/Dorian
with Mixolydian for Scott Thunes is following the G Mixolydian scale. Specific for this blues song is that it starts with alternating I and IV every bar, instead
of playing a couple of bars with I first, before it moves over to IV. It was recorded at the notorious Palermo concert, that ended with a riot (see also the Man from Utopia section
for some more comment).
King Kong (1971/1982)
"King Kong" was part of about every tour program Zappa did, so it can be found in a number of studio and live versions. Five by Zappa himself, and a couple more
of them on ZFT releases and the "Beat the boots" series. Five are passing by in this study:
- Lumpy Gravy version: this is the first time Zappa recorded the "King Kong" theme. It's played over a jazz type vamp in a polyrhythmic manner,
combining a 4/4 meter for the vamp with 3/8 for the melody.
- Uncle Meat: here the melody of King Kong gets its definitive form. Zappa hardly changed the notes and the rhythm of this melody ever since, nor did he transpose
the song (all versions are in Eb Dorian). The differences therefore lie in the accompaniment. The Uncle Meat section shows that there's already a difference between
the sheet music and the album recording.
- Finer moments: for the 1969 live performances Zappa added a second theme to "King Kong". The Uncle Meat section contains an example plus a re-appearance
of the main theme in a weird combination with the "Uncle Meat" theme.
- Hammersmith Odeon: the example contains the final bars of the "King Kong" theme, followed by a guitar solo.
Here we continue with the version you can find on "YCDTOSA Vol. III". It's a compilation of four concert outtakes, one from 1971 and three from 1982. It lasts
over 24 minutes, thus with "Billy the mountain" the longest one-track recording in Zappa's official catalogue. Still unedited 1969 and 1971
performances of "King Kong" could last longer,
taking up half an hour, as you can find one on for instance "Carnegie hall". This is largely due to the fact that Zappa used the "King Kong" theme most of the time
as an introduction to at least one, but mostly a couple of solos. The theme itself is relatively short, lasting one and a half minute. This also applies to the "YCDTOSA Vol. III" version,
that with its different sources and improvised extravaganza, becomes a very interesting overview of what could happen to this song on stage.
It's made up of six blocks.
- Block I, 0:00-1:14. Theme from "King Kong". In this case you've got a minor rhythmic variant, in the sense that the three beats of the 3/8 meter now get played in the
form of triplets. So this notates more easily as 3 times 3/16 = 9/16. As on Lumpy Gravy the presentation is polyrhythmic. The vamp, that's accompanying the theme,
namely lasts 12/16. This vamp is a two-bar bass theme with free keyboard improvisation over it. As said it's largely this accompaniment, that's responsible
for the main theme sounding different on various occasions. The bass line forms a I-IV alternation in Eb Dorian. It gets
interrupted by bars 8-9, where the bass plays along with the melody. In order to get the two parts equal at the start of bar 8, you have to plan such things carefully
in advance. Only when the main melody begins on beat 4 of bar 4, you're getting the picture as in bar 8.
King Kong (1982), opening (midi file).
King Kong (1982), opening (transcription).
- Block II, 1:15-5:02. This block is using a vamp in Bb. The example begins with the final bar of the "King Kong" theme. As also shown in the Uncle Meat example,
at the end the meters get grouped as larger periods, so here two times 12/16 has become 24/16. The next vamp in Bb continues with this meter. It's a figure of one bar.
At first very faintly, you've got synthesizer notes coming up (bar 2, staff 3; staff 1 from bar 3 onwards). In bar 6 they come up explicitly as glissandos. In bar
7 the bass figure briefly gets a pause, while the keyboard improvisation continues in the background. After a while members of the band sing along with only "blow job"
as text.
King Kong (1982), section #1 (midi file).
King Kong (1982), section #1 (transcription).
- Block III, 5:02-12:12. Now we're getting at the part with solos from 1971:
a) 5:02-7:13. Sax solo by Ian Underwood in D Dorian.
b) 7:14-8:11. Intro for the guitar solo. I'm not sure if this is a keyboard part, sounding like a guitar, or the guitar itself playing softly.
c) 8:12-9:56. First part of the guitar solo. Zappa is here moving through notes from varying scales via chord progressions. There are no clear tonics, making it
as good as impossible to assign sections to keys. The solo is adrift through the diatonic world. Only at 9:11 the chords seem to settle for A Mixolydian. The meter is 4/4 with a number of different
subdivisions. It can be plain 4/4 with the beats subdivided into two. But the beats can also be subdivided into three, thus more like 12/8. These
beats, on their turn, can also get subdivided into three, leading to figures that look like the ones in bar 5.
The chords in the first example below are:
bars 1-2: Gm7-Am7-Bb.
bar 3: C add M9th.
bar 4: Gm7-Am7-Bbmaj7.
bar 5: playing along Amaj7 (beats 1-2) and Am7 (beats 3-4). Notes gets altered compared to the preceding bars, so it sounds as two modulations.
bar 6: Asus4-Am7.
bar 7: Gm7-Am7-Bb again, followed by two parallel fifths.
d) 9:56-12:12. Second part of the guitar solo with Zappa soloing in a way that's more common in his music, namely an improvised melody in A Mixolydian. The bass is doing
a little vamp, while the chords alternate VII and I per bar. The second example below is from this second half of this guitar solo.
King Kong (1971), section #1 (midi file).
King Kong (1971), section #2 (midi file).
King Kong (1971), section #1 (transcription).
King Kong (1971), section #2 (transcription).
- Block IV, 12:13-18:02. We return to 1982 with a number of routines the band did. Tommy Mars stands central with a keyboard solo. Sometimes solos from "King Kong"
refer to the "King Kong" lead melody. This happens in "Lonesome electric turkey" from the "Fillmore East" album during the 0:14-0:22 seconds period, or as in the next example from the keyboard solo on this occasion. It shows
Tommy Mars varying the "King Kong" melody in 2/4 during bars 1-9, before continuing with has own extravaganza (bars 10-17). These "King Kong" quotes happen
during 12:54 through 12:58 seconds and 15:00 through 15:17 seconds.
King Kong (1982), section #2 (midi file).
King Kong (1982), section #2 (transcription).
- Block V, 18:02-22:29. Guitar solo by Zappa himself. It's using the same vamp as in "It ain't necessarily the St. James infirmary". The key is Eb Dorian, the same
key as for the lead melody. The next example is from the opening of the solo, this time without the "It ain't necessarily so" and the "St. James infirmary blues"
music, written by George and Ira Gershwin, and by Jim Pimrose respectively. Thus as a composition attributable to Zappa himself only. The vamp follows a I-V-IV pattern, while
the rhythm during beats 1, 2 and 3-4 uses different figures.
King Kong (1982), section #3 (midi file).
King Kong (1982), section #3 (transcription).
- Block VI, 22:30-24:32. Reprise of the King Kong theme, as played at the beginning.
Other tracks from Vol. III
See below at vol. VI for an overview of "Honey, don't you want a man like me?" versions, including the one from vol. III.
"Dickie's such an asshole" stems from the Roxy concerts from 1973
and is included in the corresponding section.
VOL. IV
The black page (1984)
In the 1984 version of "The black page" the disco vamp from the Sheik Yerbouti section has been replaced by
a reggae type of vamp. A then popular fast kind of it, called (the eighties type of) ska. In the Zappa in New York section you'll find an overview of
"The black page" examples in this study at the "Black page #1" and "#2" tracks. Instead of playing around the pedal notes,
the bass is now playing a fifth upon the pedal note in a strict rhythm. The rhythm guitar fills in the harmony with triads, also
in a tight ska rhythm. The lead melody of "The black page" is full of irregular groupings. According to Zappa such rhythms function
the best when the accompaniment is kept easy and regular. In case of "The black page" the meter is consistently 4/4 and the accompaniment
follows pedal notes or a steady type of vamp.
The black page (1984), opening bars (midi file).
The black page (1984), opening bars (transcription).
The constant 4/4 meter, combined with the presence of pedal notes, make "The black page" fit for such adaptations. It shows how easy Zappa
could switch between styles. The Best band you've never heard before section contains the opening of yet another "The black page" arrangement.
This time for something you might call the jazz band version.
Little rubber girl
"Little rubber girl" stems from the 10-31-78 Halloween concert at the Palladium (miswritten in the booklet as 1979, there was no 1979 fall tour).
It begins with the intro as the band played it in 1966 for "Go crying on somebody else's shoulder". Next a vamp begins with Zappa and
Denny Walley improvising the lyrics.
Little rubber girl, vamp (midi file).
Little rubber girl, vamp (transcription).
The example above can be heard between 0:57 and 1:08. It's in D Dorian in a 12/8 meter, mingling two chord progressions:
- Bass and keyboard #2: I-IV or I-III-IV.
- Keyboard #1: VII-IV.
It's sort of a cadence, but the total harmonies can be wide because of chords and bass notes getting mixed.
Other tracks from Vol. IV
- The opening from the 1988 version of "Filthy habits" is included in the Sleep dirt section.
- The opening bars from the 1984 version of "Carolina hard-core ecstasy" are
described in the Bongo fury section.
- A section from "The torture never stops (original version)" is
included in the Bongo fury section too.
- A block from "You call that music?" is
included in the YCDTOSA V, disc I, section of this study.
- The opening from "Let's move to Cleveland solos (1984)" is
included in the Does humor belong in music section of this study.
- Two sections from "Pound for a brown solos (1978)" is
included in the Sheik Yerbouti section of this study.
- The opening of "Church chat" is
included in the You are what you is section of this study.
- Sections from "Tiny sick tears" and "Are you upset?"
are included in the section of this study dealing with "YCDTOSA V", disc I.
- Outtakes from "Smell my beard" and "The booger man"
are included in the YCDTOSA II section of this study.
VOL. V
Shall we take ourselves seriously
Next is a short jazz composition, called "Shall we take ourselves seriously", the jazz element being effected by the free
bass movement, syncopes and the shifting through keys. I've notated bar 1 in C, bar 2 in C Dorian and for the remainder I'm using an F#
in the presets only because the F is mostly sharp. One might just as well use no presets.
Shall we take ourselves seriously, opening (midi file).
Shall we take ourselves seriously, opening (transcription).
The meter of this piece remains 4/4,
but the subdivision keeps varying. It can be standard 4/4, but you also have a lot of beats with triplets (more like 12/8), as well
as triplets over two beats. During bars 13-16 you've got a chord that goes syncopically over a bar, using a triplet.
Other tracks from Vol. V
"YCDTOSA V", disc I, deals with the 1966-69 tours, having a section of its own in this study.
It was a catch-up after the royalty issue with some of the original members of the Mothers of Invention had been settled.
The following titles are specifically transcribed from Vol. V, disc I:
- "The downtown talent scount".
- "Chocalate Halvah".
- "The little march".
- "Proto-minimalism".
- "Meow".
- "Baked-bean boogie".
- "Where's our equipment".
- "FZ/JCB drum duet".
- "No waiting for the peanuts to dissolve".
- "Underground freak-out music".
Disc II deals with the 1982 Geneva concert. Next to the example from above, two more examples in this study are transcribed from this particular CD:
- The "What's new in Baltimore?" version from 1982 is included in the Frank
Zappa meets the mothers of invention section.
- The "Doreen" version from 1982 is included in the You are what you is section.
VOL. VI
Honey, don't you want a man like me? (1976-1988)
"Honey, don't you want a man like me?" is today available in at least five versions. I'll take the opening of four of them,
with two of the three main themes, to indicate the
changes upon this song, that Zappa made for the corresponding tours. There are each time four years between the sequent
shows in the examples below.
Honey, don't you want a man like me?, opening, 1976 (midi file).
Honey, don't you want a man like me?, opening, 1980 (midi file).
Honey, don't you want a man like me?, opening, 1984 (midi file).
Honey, don't you want a man like me?, opening, 1988 (midi file).
Honey, don't you want a man like me?, opening, 1976-1988 (transcriptions).
The premiere of this piece in Zappa's own catalogue took place on "Zappa in New York". For the 1980 tour he changed the opening riff such drastically,
that only when the lyrics begin you'll realize it's a "Honey, don't you want a man like me?" version. It's available on the
recent ZFT "Buffalo" CD, with Zappa surprising himself that he can't remember the words of one particular bar. For the 1984 gigs
he returned to the original riff with some variation upon it and a keyboard off beat counter-movement (YCDTOSA III). In 1988 a brass
section was present to add another little on beat figure. The 1988 version is otherwise basically the same, but here the
riff halts during the bars with lyrics except for the bass line (YCDTOSA VI). The scales used differ: A Dorian for the
original version, E minor for the 1980 version and C Lydian for the last two renditions. These changes
are made by moving the pedal note from A to E and next to C. Zappa keeps commencing the melody of this song on E.
All versions have pattern breaking bars as the ones with the 32nd notes. The drum pattern in these bars is strict. It's
followed by the others, but there may be an improvised element here as it comes to pitches.
Counting via 16th notes the rhythm of 1976 version goes as indicated: 3+3+3+3+4 and 3+3+3+4+3.
The 1984 en 1988 versions have 3+3+3+3+2+2.
Thirteen
The last example is a cooperation with L. Shankar on violin. It's from the 1978 Halloween concert, of which the ZFT would release more in 2002
as the "Halloween" audio DVD. On this DVD you can also hear Shankar playing during the "Black napkins/Deathless horsie" medley.
Thirteen, riff (midi file).
Thirteen, riff (transcription).
The vamp for the violin solo in "Thirteen" is in 13/8 with Zappa counting through it
at the beginning: "One two - One two three - ONE - TWO- THREE - FOUR". It's in C Lydian with the accompanying chord
progression I-II-I, while the bass keeps giving a C pedal note. More on Zappa working with Shankar in the Joe's garage and Documentaries sections.
White person
"White person" is an experimental track from the 1978 tour, recorded at the Hemmerleinhalle in Neunkirchen am Brand, a small town near Nürnberg, Germany.
It's a collage featuring synthesizers, voices talking, bass pedals, and ending with the band members singing "ahh" as various glissando notes.
This track is an edited version of one of the many large intermezzos from "King Kong", where the original is available on Youtube as a bootleg. The echoing of the voices was added
in the studio. It's the same concert as where the basic tracks from "Yo' mama" where recorded.
White person, 0:11-0:26 (transcription).
This isn't material meant to be transcribed, nor is it fit for creating a midi file based upon it. The fragment from above is only an approximation of some 15 seconds from this song, lasting 2:07 in total.
It has no meter and, as far as the term is applicable, it's atonal. Bars 1-3 are the human voives talking and whispering. Bars 4-6 are synthesizer
generated whistling sounds, most of the time as glissandos or irregularely vibrating. Bar 7 contains sustained regular synthesizer notes, bar 8
two bass pedal notes.
Tracy is a snob - Emperor of Ohio
"Tracy is a snob" is a track with improvisations with a tape with a woman moaning being played in the background.
It's from the 1980 tour, when Zappa used this tape for the soloing during "The torture never stops". After a short intro Zappa plays a guitar solo.
It begins with him playing a number of sustained chords in A Dorian.
Tracy is a snob, 0:52-1:17 (midi file).
Tracy is a snob, 0:52-1:17 (transcription).
The section from above are the final eight bars from this solo, where it's getting melodic. The figure from bar 1 gets varied upon in bars 3 and 5.
The bass vamp follows a stacked fifth (A-E-B). The remainder of this title are for the keyboard players.
Emperor of Ohio, 0:07-0:34 (midi file).
Emperor of Ohio, 0:07-0:34 (transcription).
"Emperor of Ohio" is another outtake with this tape running, taken from the same date when he played two concerts at Salt Lake City, 3 december 1980. This section begins with the band saluting
"Caesar, emperor of Ohio". It's a sequence of parallel fifths for keyboards over a bass figure in D Dorian. It's not clear what the meter
is, 3/4 is my notational choice. Next a couple of bars follow with Latin dance mucic, this time clearly in 4/4.
Other tracks from Vol. VI
- A fragment from "The Madison panty-sniffing festival"
is included in the Tinsel town rebellion section.
- An outtake from "Lonely person devices"
is included in the FZ:OZ section.
- Five bars from "Make a sex noise"
are present in the Make a jazz noise here section.
- Two examples from "Lonesome cowboy Nando"
are present in Make a jazz noise here section.
- A small sample from "Lobster girl"
is present in the Halloween section.
- Four bars from "Lisa's life story"
are included in the Drowning witch section.
- An example from the Sydney 1973 version of "Father O'blivion" is present in the Apostrophe (') section.
Former central sitting room of the vault, around 2015 (partly refurnished by Gail). When Gail Zappa died, the ZFT was left with a deficit. Ahmet solved this by selling the parental house,
auctioning personal belongings of Gail and releasing five CDs in 2016. According to Dweezil this deficit was among others caused by litigation against
Rykodisc.
TABLE WITH LIVE COMPILATIONS, AVAILABLE TODAY
Title Released Date of the tracks
- Baby snakes (DVD/CD) 1979/1983 1977
- The dub room special (DVD/CD) 1984 1974/1981
- Does humor belong
in music (CD/DVD) 1985 1984
- YCDTOSA, Vol. I 1988 1969-1984
- YCDTOSA, Vol. II 1988 1974
- YCDTOSA, Vol. III 1989
disc 1 1982-1984
disc 2 1971-1984
- YCDTOSA, Vol. IV 1991 1969-1988
- The best band you never heard
before in your life 1991 1988
- Make a jazz noise here 1991 1988
- YCDTOSA, Vol. V 1992
disc 1 1966-1969
disc 2 1982
- YCDTOSA, Vol. VI 1992 1970-1988
- Playground psychotics 1992 1971
- Ahead of their time 1993 1968
- ZFT: FZ:OZ 2002 1976
- ZFT: Halloween (audio DVD) 2003 1978
- ZFT: Imaginary diseases 2006 1972
- ZFT: Buffalo 2007 1980
- ZFT: Wazoo 2007 1972
- The torture never stops (DVD) 2008 1981
- ZFT: One shot deal 2008 1972-1981
- ZFT: Joe's menage 2008 1975
- ZFT: Philly '76 2009 1976
- ZFT: Hammersmith Odeon 2010 1978
- ZFT: Carnegie Hall 2011 1971
- ZFT: Finer moments 2012 1969-1971
- ZFT: Road tapes, venue #1 2012 1968
- A token of his extreme (DVD) 2013 1974
- ZFT: Road tapes, venue #2 2014 1973
- ZFT: Roxy by proxy 2014 1973
- ZFT: Roxy, the movie (DVD/CD) 2015 1973
- ZFT: Road tapes, venue #3 2016 1970
- ZFT: Chicago '78 2016 1978
- ZFT: Little dots 2016 1972
- ZFT: Halloween '77 2017 1977
- ZFT: The Roxy performances 2018 1973
- ZFT: Zappa in New York Deluxe 2019 1976
- ZFT: Orchestral favorites 40th anniversary 2019 1975
- ZFT: Halloween 73 2019 1973
- ZFT: The Mothers 1970 2020 1970
- ZFT: Halloween 81 2020 1981
- ZFT: Zappa '88: the last U.S. show 2021 1988
- ZFT: The Mothers 1971 2022 1971
- ZFT: Zappa/Erie 2022 1974/1976
- ZFT: Zappa '75 Zagreb/Ljubljana 2022 1975
- ZFT: Waka/Wazoo, discs 3-4 2022 1972
- ZFT: Zappa '80 Mudd Club/Munich 2023 1980
- ZFT: Overnite sensation 50th anniversary 2023 1973
- ZFT: Whisky a go go, 1968 2024 1968
- ZFT: Apostrophe (') 50th anniversary edition 2024 1974