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deal we had with it , because Fat Possum had one idea what that record should be , and I had another . Fat Possum , they thought it should be a solo record , and I had to tell ‘ em , “ It ’ s not a solo record – it ’ s a Cowboys in the Campfire record to me and Chip Roberts and I together made this record and that needs to be represented . And I don ’ t think they knew what to do with that , or knew what to with it , or any of the
above . And they said , “ Well if we can ’ t do that , what do you want to do ?” And I was like , “ Well , I guess I ’ ll look for another way to put it out .” So that ’ s kind of how that went down .
IE : “ Mr . Wrong ” sounds like a blanket apology to all your exes . TS : Ha ! There ’ s a lot of that going on in there , and lots of looking at things , looking at mistakes , things that I probably should ’ ve changed sooner rather than later , or just observation about things that maybe aren ’ t so great , and trying to put a spin on bad decision making .
IE : Regrets … I ’ ve had a few , too . If only I ’ d never wasted all that money on the latest T- shirts , Pumas , Adidas , Converse , and Vans . Holy crap – if I ’ d saved ? I ’ d have a mansion or two by now .
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TS : Yeah , but that was not part of the deal . Tha wasn ’ t what we were doing back then , right And you know , I didn ’ t necessarily pick roc and roll – it picked me . And I ’ ve kind of been willing participant ever since , no matter how look at it . And I ’ m pretty grateful . I ’ ve had pretty good run so far , and I ’ m nowhere nea done . You know , I ’ ve got a lot of inspiratio still left in me , and I like what I do , so I consid
er myself really lucky in that .
IE : What ’ s the surreal story behind “ Karma Bitch ”? TS : It ’ s a true story ! Told to me by Chip , abou this neighbor he had down in Maryland , and was a pretty dark tale . It ’ s about one of h neighbors – as we were driving by him on golf cart , he pointed him out to me and said “ See that guy right there ? He dropped h woman , started dating her daughter , and the she drank herself to death .” It was a troublin story , but I wrote a song about it with him .
IE : In “ Hey Man ” you sing “ Save your bullet for the range .” Do you own any guns and g out to a range to fire them ? TS : No , not at all . I ’ m not even a gun owne That ’ s more of an observation about how it ’ s
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records back on “ so people can dance and have a good time .”
The Mudd Club set contains liner notes from four Zappa confidants including Steve Vai . The guitarist ’ s guitarist was in the audience as a 19-year-old hopeful ( and on retainer as a transcriber of Zappa ’ s solos ). Vai would begin a three-year stint as “ stunt guitarist ” in Zappa ’ s band later that year .
The 21-song Munich setlist features nine unique songs , with six sides of vinyl to sprawl across as the band plays before a much larger crowd . These unrepeated songs include “ Pick Me I ’ m Clean ” from Zappa ’ s next album to be released , 1981 ’ s Tinsel Town Rebellion , and “ Ms . Pinky ” from Zoot Allures . The content of Munich amplifies what makes Mudd Club so compelling , with more songs and nearly two months of gigs under the band ’ s collective belt for an already tight band to become even tighter – while also stretching out . “ Chunga ’ s Revenge ” runs four minutes at Mudd Club but stretches past seven minutes in Germany with loads of Zappa ’ s psychedelic blues on guitar . Mothers of Invention chestnut “ Pound for a Brown ” evolves even more drastically , beginning as a compact piece under four minutes for the quick Mudd Club set and expanding to a 13-plus minute freak-out for the European crowd . Mars is highlighted with nimble jazzinflected solos on electric piano throughout the song at both gigs , while Barrow plays cartwheeling bass .
The band and European audience are well warmed up by the time Zappa kicks
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off “ Cosmik Debris ” from 1974 ’ s Apostrophe ('). Zappa cuts loose on guitar during the song ’ s loping blues “ Cosmik Debris ” while spinning a jive-talking yarn about turning the tables on a religious huckster . Sheik Yerbouti favorite “ City of Tiny Lites ” is a funky and euphoric workout during both sets but achieves full flight in Germany . The Munich show adds the 1979 album ’ s portraits of the socially-inept but enthusiastic “ Dancin ’ Fool ” and the depraved golden child in “ Bobby Brown Goes Down .” The skittering and funky “ Keep it Greasy ” is drawn from 1979 ’ s Joe ’ s Garage Act I . The Munich audience also receives the sci-fi raunch of “ Stick it Out .” The performance wraps with a demented doo-wop reinvention of Tony Allen & the Champs ’ s 1955 single “ Nite Owl ” and the twisted-but-true tale and loping blues of “ The Illinois Enema Bandit .”
Taken together , Mudd Club and Munich offer two hours and 45 minutes top-shelf performances drawn from an often-overlooked period in Zappa ’ s musical history . His creativity was as engaged as ever , and everyone in this less-heralded lineup delivers virtuosic and symbiotic ensemble performances .
– Jeff Elbel
8 MUDD CLUB
9 MUNICH
All-American Sale
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34 illinoisentertainer . com july 2023 |