The Tickle Test Dos: Frank Zappa - You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore Vol. 2: The Helsinki Concert (2CD) (1988) {Rykodisc}

Wednesday, September 9, 2020

Frank Zappa - You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore Vol. 2: The Helsinki Concert (2CD) (1988) {Rykodisc}

Frank Zappa - You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore Vol. 2: The Helsinki Concert (2CD) (1988) {Rykodisc}
EAC Rip | FLAC with CUE and LOG | scans | 729 mb
MP3 CBR 320 kbps | RAR | 272 mb
Genre: rock, jazz rock

You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore Vol. 2: The Helsinki Concert is a 1988 2CD live recording compilation by American singer and guitarist Frank Zappa, recorded in 1974. This was released by Rykodisc.

Disc 1
1. Tush Tush Tush (A Token Of My Extreme)
2. Stinkfoot
3. Inca Roads
4. RDNZL
5. Village Of The Sun
6. Echidna's Arf (Of You)
7. Don't You Ever Wash That Thing?
8. Pygmy Twylyte
9. Room Service
10. Idiot Bastard Son
11. Cheepnis

Disc 2
1. Approximate
2. Dupree's Paradise
3. Satumaa [Finnish Tango]
4. T'Mershi Duween
5. Dog Breath Variations
6. Uncle Meat
7. Building A Girl
8. Montana (Whipping Floss)
9. Big Swifty

date: 22 September, 1974
location: Helsinki, Finland
original recording medium: 16 track analog
remote facility: studio in basement of venue
remix engineer: Bob Stone
remix facility: Utility Muffin Research Kitchen

musicians:
F.Z.-(lead guitar/vocal)
Napoleon Murphy Brock-(sax/vocals)
George Duke-(keyboard/vocal)
Ruth Underwood-(percussion)
Tom Fowler-(bass)
Chester Thompson-(drums)
–-
Out of the six volumes Frank Zappa came out with in this series, Vol. 2 is the only one which features a complete concert. It is a great performance where Zappa and the band are in good spirits.

This is sourced from the original 1988 release. Some reports on the web state that Zappa did three shows in Helsinki, and that the CD may have been assembled from two.

An unofficial libretto may be found here:
http://globalia.net/donlope/fz/lyrics/You_Can't_Do_That_On_Stage_Anymore_Vol_2.html

Volume two features a complete performance by the lineup of FZ, Napoleon Murphy Brock, George Duke, Ruth Underwood, Tom Fowler and Chester Thompson. The liner notes claim that the whole album was recorded on Sept. 22, 1974 in Helsinki, Finland. While the whole thing comes from that location, fans who compared the official album with boot tapes have found that the CDs are a mix and match of multiple shows from around that date. Still, it sounds like one continuous concert, and in the end that's all that really matters. Another rumor that floated around about this album was that the bass drum was, for reasons unknown, re-recorded at the time the CDs were being put together. This has been the subject of much debate on alt.fan.frank-zappa, with even the "insiders" who worked with Zappa giving conflicting reports - one recording engineer swore that the bass drum was not re-recorded, while another one detailed the exact equipment and methodology they used to do it. To my ear, the kick drum sounds very out-of-place, so I'd believe that it was re-recorded. With that bit of useless trivia out of the way…

By the time this band got to Helsinki, they had been playing together for quite a while, so they were able to blow through these songs with amazing speed and precision. Some of the songs are the same titles found on Roxy And Elsewhere, but here they're played much faster and with a sense that the band has "perfected" these songs.

The first disc opens with Tush Tush Tush - the melody of this song would eventually become A Token Of My Extreme on the Joe's Garage album, but here the lyrics are mostly improvised, based on recent events in the band. Inca Roads has a crushingly good guitar solo, an intense bass and keyboard part towards the end, and beautiful flute playing throughout. Crank it up loud, and your jaw will hit the floor. RDNZL is also impressive, with Zappa counting it off by shouting a quick "One! One! One! One!". This version of Village of the Sun is good, but the quick tempo kills some of the emotional impact. Room Service is an improvised piece with the band reenacting their difficulties getting decent room service and female companionship at the hotel. The rest of disc one is impressive as well, with the band whipping through some complex tunes like they were a piece of cake.

Disc two begins with Approximate, a piece where the rhythms were strictly enforced, but the musicians could improvise whatever melody they wanted. Several versions of the song are performed, including a capella and tap dance (!). The rest of the disc is dominated by the massive, 24 minute version of Dupree's Paradise, that comes next, complete with lots of improv and percussion solos. To be honest, this has never been one of my favorite songs, but some fans love it (I just saw a guy on rec.music.progressive list it as one of his top-10 all time favorite songs). At the end, it segues into a traditional Finnish tango, Satumaa ("Leave the lights on on stage, we have to read this music. We've never played it before"). After that there's a flurry of short pieces, including a Dog Breath / Uncle Meat medley that's interesting to compare with the version on The Yellow Shark. The final full song is Montana, and what a song it is. It starts with a guy in the audience shouting out "Whipping Post!". Frank consults with the band, but they don't know Whipping Post. So instead they play Montana, with Frank altering the lyrics to include as many references to a whipping post as he could work in. Very funny. The disc ends with Big Swifty, but it's really only a snippet of that song tacked onto the end of Montana, followed by band introductions and the end of the album.

Volume two seems to be most fans' favorite of the series, getting much praise from folks on the Zappa newsgroup and always being recommended to people who ask which volume to begin with. Personally, it took me a long while to warm up to this album (although now I think it's fantastic). It helps a lot if you're familiar with Roxy And Elsewhere before hearing this one. Otherwise, I'd start with volume one and then take the rest in order.