The woman with her hand down Zappa’s pants is named Joan, we learnīefore I saw Roxy, my favorite Zappa concert video was A Token of His Extreme, the 1974 special taped for public TV that features many of the same personnel: keyboardist and singer George Duke (a great artist in his own right), percussionist Ruth Underwood, bassist Tom Fowler, drummer Chester Thompson, and Brock-the One Size Fits All band, whose praises I sing. Their on-stage badinage, which both celebrated and satirised black consciousness, contrasted with Frank’s own studied bizarre humour and there were moments when one sensed that he was happy and relieved to become a sideman in his own group. He had a distinctive and flexible voice and struck up an immediate and overtly warm rapport with George Duke, sharing the broad and quick sense of humour that Frank had drawn out of the keyboard player. Biographer Neil Slaven attributes the light mood and spirit of camaraderie prevailing at the Roxy shows to the recent addition of Napoleon Murphy Brock, the outstanding tenor saxophonist and singer who belts “Cheepnis”:īrock’s arrival brought important changes to the context of the group. The songs are celebratory, the performances are exuberant, the musicianship is virtuosic but not stiff or fussy, the sound is totally bitchen, and Zappa himself seems more relaxed and cheerful than (or at least not as sour as) he appeared at other points in his career. The Roxy shows, represented on disc by 1974’s Roxy & Elsewhere and last year’s Roxy by Proxy, are among the most joyful presentations of Zappa’s music. As I type this, some twenty-four hours later, my face is still ruined. I’m one of the lucky ducks who saw its world premiere at Hollywood’s Egyptian Theatre on Wednesday, and I am here to tell you that it is good.Ībout halfway through the screening, I noticed that my face hurt because my mouth had twisted up and frozen in the stupidest grin of which it is capable-the kind of grin that could destroy a family, or end a career. This movie rocks so hard, I think both old and new fans will agree.Frank Zappa fans have clamored for the release of Roxy: The Movie for about 40 years now. So much love, time, energy and attention to detail went into its resurrection. “It took a herculean effort to bring it to life. “I’m beyond thrilled that Roxy: The Movie is finally going to be available,” Zappa’s son Ahmet said in a statement. Over the years, the Zappa estate has released film clips and snippets from the performances, but never a feature-length film. Some of the material appeared on Zappa’s 1974 release Roxy & Elsewhere, while other tracks eventually came out on the first and third volumes of his You Can’t Do That on Stage Anymore series. The concerts took place in December 1973 with the Mothers lineup featuring George Duke on keyboards and Ruth Underwood on percussion. The movie is set to come out on DVD and Blu-ray on October 30th. A trailer for the film shows the mustachioed bandleader coaxing polyrhythms, paradiddles and plenty of puns, as he shreds furiously on his guitar. More than four decades after Frank Zappa and the Mothers filmed their three-night residency at Hollywood’s 500-person-capacity Roxy Theatre, Roxy: The Movie will finally be released.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |