The Frank
Zappa Review Page
Roxy and Elsewhere (1974)
I first heard
this album about a year ago and I did not immediately take to it, I did not
dislike it, it just did not strike an immediate cord within me!
I was recently sent this CD to review by my new sponsor at Rykodisc,
don't worry I shall remain impartial even though I
am sponsored! It is a live album with twelve songs, it is a mixture of rock and
jazz music,and like many Zappa albums it
contains some short pop songs and some long instrumentals. My favourite part of
the disc is the first part and the latter part is
not quite so engaging. Roxy starts with 'Penguin In Bondage', and I must admit
that it is not one of my favourite tracks, I
find it quite average and uninteresting. 'Pygmy Twlyte' is next this is a super
little song, there is plenty of saxophone
and a great tune , it is really catchy and instantly likeable. 'Dummy Up' is a
great upbeat 'summer' kind of song it is
uplifting and fun and gets the pendulum rolling nicely. 'Village Of The
Sun' is preceded by an explanation of the song by Frank, who gets quite upset
because someone has not turned his microphone up enough! The song is about a
Turkey farm in California where apparently yes you
guessed it ,Turkeys were raised and consequently the whole area smelt really
bad! This song sums up for me a lot of the interesting points of Zappa's music,
the title and lyrics of the song are silly but the way the song is structured
is serious in the way that it is another really enjoyable track with genuine
feeling. The theme may seem ridiculous but the song works so well. 'Echidna's
Arf' follows on from the previous song, it is a pleasant instrumental and then
comes a memorable song 'Don't You Ever Wash That Thing?', it is a very long
instrumental dominated by the saxophone along with a wonderful keyboard solo
thrown into the middle of it. The main sax riff is awesome and it's a truly
enjoyable number. But surely the whole album cannot be good can it? No there
are some low points. 'Cheepnis' is seriously overated it is not a very good
song and More Trouble Every Day' is a relatively poor reworking of the
excellent original from Freak Out!. 'The Be-Bop Tango' plays the album out on a
relative low. Like a game of soccer this is album is a story of two halves the
first is very good, the second part is average by Zappa's standards. Though all
in all it is a worthwhile acquisition and i would say that it is quite easy
listening generally, compared to some of Zappa's other works.
Rating - 72%