The Best Band You Never Heard In Your Life

Released: 1995

Tracklist

  1. Heavy Duty Judy
  2. Ring Of Fire
  3. Cosmik Debris
  4. Find Her Finer
  5. Who Needs The Peace Corps?
  6. I Left My Heart In San Francisco
  7. Zomby Woof
  8. Zoot Allures
  9. Mr. Green Genes
  10. Florentine Pogen
  11. Andy
  12. Inca Roads
  13. Sofa
  14. Purple Haze
  15. Sunshine Of Your Love
  16. Let’s Move To Cleveland
  17. When Irish Eyes Are Smiling
  18. “Godfather Part II” Theme
  19. A Few Moments With Brother A. West
  20. The Torture Never Stops Part One
  21. Theme From “Bonanza”
  22. Lonesome Cowboy Burt (Swaggart Version)
  23. The Torture Never Stops Part Two
  24. More Trouble Every Day (Swaggart Version)
  25. Penguin In Bondage (Swaggart Version)
  26. The Eric Dolphy Memorial Barbecue
  27. Stairway To Heaven

Line-up
Frank Zappa (lead guitar, computer-synth, vocal), Ike Willis (rhythm guitar, synth, vocal), Mike Keneally (rhythm guitar, synth, vocal), Bobby Martin (keyboards, vocal), Ed Mann (vibes, marimba, electronic percussion), Walt Fowler (trumpet, flugel horn, synth), Bruce Fowler (trombone), Paul Carman (alto sax, soprano sax, baritone sax), Albert Wing (tenor sax), Kurt McGettrick (baritone sax, bass sax, contrabass clarinet), Scott Thunes (electric bass, mini-moog), Chat Wackerman (drums, electronic percussion)

28 thoughts on “The Best Band You Never Heard In Your Life”

  1. Es necesario que las melodias de este album sean puestas a disposicion de los visitantes de esta pagina para que puedan ser bajados por la web.

  3. This second set from the 1988 tour had some great music on it, but the Jimmy Swaggart material, although topical at the time, dates it now. I love the big band arrangement of “Stairway To Heaven”.

  4. This album is deadly. It will hurt you. You will twitch and go into a series of convulsive spasms.
    Your mom will not recognise you. If your a musician, you will look at your musical equipment and wonder why you started to ever learn to play. Then you will become a plumber and give up music and die a very slow death, but never bored, because you have this record in your collection.

  6. La version de Purple Haze interpretada por el Genio de Frank Zappa es una epopeya del Rock.

    Saludos Tony Rios, por permitirme escuchar este maravilloso album.
    Te agradece tu amigo RAFAEL OPICO

  7. The title is saying enough – the best band you never heard…
    FZ and his musicians played these songs in live concerts at a top top level, full of enthusiasm and technical brilliance.
    I can’t see any better album than this one,
    LÄTHER, Jazz noise, and some early records (Hot Rats, etc.)
    If you want to buy, look out for the earlier release by BarkingPumpkin including the Ravel Bolero which was taken out in the new Rycodisc release.

  9. This is one of my preferred Zappa records. Thanks to Klaus, i realized just now what was the difference between one edition and the other: the Ravel’s Bolero. I always had that version, in fact, i love the arrangement, and it’s the only way i can hear the entire bolero :-). It always seemed to me he used parts of an old theme called The Baby Elefant Walk for the arrangement, has anyone perceived this ever?
    I give this record an *Excellent*!

  11. Excelente album …uno de los mejores en vivo, junto con Broadway the Hardway…

  12. One of FZ’s more accessible releases and great fun with some stonking solos. Check out the section which runs through Inca Roads, Andy and Florentine Pogen. Awesome.

  13. by far the cruxiest biscuit this side of joe’s garage splains why ,skuze me while i kiss dis guy is so funny!

  16. Cada Vez que escucho este Album, me impresiona mas la gran calidad interpretativa del mejor músico del siglo veinte.

  17. The real “Best Of Zappa”. Brillant versions of Zomby Woof, Flo Pogen, Inca Roads, Stairway to Heaven, Purple Haze, Bolero, etc. This is a must have.

  19. I envy musicians. Imagine being in a band that could do this. Frank is a saint.

  21. I have recently bought the Rykodisc version of this album, so no Bolero.
    Luckily I have a copy of the St. Paddy’s day concert boot by this band on Minidisc, and someone lent me the version of TBBYNHINY which incudes it, so I recorded Bolero on the end of that.
    All said this is a quite brilliant record by one of the best bands in rock history. If you haven’t got it get it today…what are you waiting for?

  22. The most extraordinary covers of “Purple Haze”, “Sunshine of your Life”, “Stairway to Heaven” and “Ring of Fire” I have ever heard and great live performances from the late 70s albums, although I preffer the band that he had than.

  23. Cuando este álbum salió lo escuché al poco tiempo, me pareció realmente extraordinaria la calidad de grabación. Los solos son verdaderamente tremendos y recomiendo su audición. En fin es una joya.

  24. El nombre es todo, viejas canciones, nuevo sonido. Versiones en vivo del mejor album de la historia (one size fits all) y de esos tiempos,al final, la mejor version de starway to heaven que nunca se haya escuchado. Zappa es el mejor, maestro, dios

  25. I gobbled up the original Barking Pumpkin release of this title, because I just missed out on seeing Frank at the Auditorium Theater in Chicago on the 1988 big band tour. I had heard so many great things about this band, and I was just excited that Frank decided to let Chad Wackerman play some REAL drums again. The fact that the 1988 band had that amazing horn section was just more icing on the cake.

    The repetoire of the 1988 band has to go down in Zappa history as being one of the most diverse in piece selection, as well as most far-reaching. It was a wonderfully majestic way to do Frank’s last live tour of his career. The whole “hate Scott Thunes” thing was a sad, pathetic footnote, but at least the whole band was rehearsed thoroughly and consistently played amazingly.

    Everything is gold here. The new flashy arrangements of old favorites, hearing the “Theme From Lumpy Gravy” flying out of nowhere, the 60’s cover tunes, everything. Just hearing the audience erupt in ecstasy at the end of Ravel’s “Bolero” makes the hair stand up on my head.

    Savor and revisit this band and the powerful music they played, both original tunes and covers. I painfully predict neither you nor I may ever hear such unique, creative and intelligent approaches to more different styles of music played in one place by one band ever again in such a masterful way. Zappa was already the first post-modernist in music from the moment he started in the 60’s. Frank Zappa is one of the most important singular artists of the entire 20th century. Keep listening, because music no longer exists in our society to be listened to anymore.

  26. Suddenly twenty years later this tour doesn’t work for me anymore. FZ’s plinky-planky guitar solos, Chad’s drumsound and -style, Scott’s flanger bass, the midi-mallets, the sample-gimmicks, Ike’s laughing, the over-rehearsed circus-band-style arrangements seem very outdated to me now. Or is it me?

  27. The sampling stuff is so outdated, I play with Kontakt and a few other programs and think “Would Frank bother with a band” Especially with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra and their ridiculously extensive sample libraries. I think it is a shame that this phase in concert sound was the last, a 90’s Zappa would’ve been fantastic. Les Claypool could’ve joined!!! Purple Haze rocks by the way.

  28. I can’t believe it’s been 20 years since this has been around. Well, I got it in the summer of ’93, in Italy, sixteen years ago. A Barking Pumpkin 2 cd set with only the frame on the cover, no picture of the band like on the other version. I had no idea there was any other cover and laughed the thought of the best band you never heard in your life, that wasn’t even on the marquee. Funny.
    No picture, just a frame.
    Big band Zappa with modern digital production, 100% LIVE with no overdubs of any kind. No sampling, no mimeograph, no picture. Blue and Yellow cd, social commentary, excellent musicians, excellent performances all edited up like Frank wanted, it seemed like he could still laugh.

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