Frank Zappa & Elsewhere
Before you vote comment on the Ben Thomas rendition of Inca Roads with ZPZ, I suggest you watch these two clips: the first has Mike Keneally performing Inca Roads in Swindon, UK, in October of 2008; the second clip is an acoustic cover of Inca Roads (with Brian Beller) performed at Guitar Center, Seattle, Washington, October 7th, 2002.
In keeping with the general Beefheartian theme of recent posts, I recently found this video of the Mats/Morgan Band performing Captain Beefheart’s “Lick My Decals Off, Baby”.
Line Up:
Freddie Wadling – lead vocals
Morgan Ågren – drums
Denny Walley – guitar, vocals
Jimmy Ågren – guitar
Rolf Hedquist – bass
Mats Öberg – keyboards, harmonica, vocals
This is largely the same line-up that appears on Denny Walley’s album, Spare Parts (a blues album with backing by the Mats/Morgan band).
Click here for more information on the Mats/Morgan Band’s new CD and DVD release from Cuneiform Records, “Heat Beats Live/Tourbook 1991-2007“.
Grammy Award aside, Peaches en Regalia is a fantastic song regardless of when it is performed and by whom. These videos show Zappa Play Zappa performing the song from their live DVD; FZ and his 1988 Best Band performing the song live in Stadthalle, Wien, Austria on May 8th; the original version from Baby Snakes VHS; and students from The Paul Green School of Rock performing the track at the Baby Grande, respectively.
The following three field recordings of Peaches reveal how FZ and his bands never performed the song exactly the same way from show to show (it’s excellent fun for a Zappa freak, like myself, to listen for the similarities and differences):
Palladium, NYC, 28 Dec 1976
[audio:http://www.killuglyradio.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/d1-01-peaches-en-regalia.mp3]
Montreux Casino, Montreux, Switzerland, 4 Dec 1971
[audio:http://www.killuglyradio.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/102-peaches-en-regalia.mp3]
Hammersmith Odeon, London, UK, 28 Feb 1978
[audio:http://www.killuglyradio.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/03-peaches-en-regalia.mp3]
I was going through my Zappa collection the other day, and I noticed I had quite a few versions of Pygmy Twylyte. The first four are covers by Tribute/Cover Bands, and the fifth is one of my favorite proto-versions from 1973, Texas:
Ed Palermo Big Band (Sonar, Baltimore, MD, 21 Sep 2006)
[audio:http://www.killuglyradio.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/16-pygmy-twylyte.mp3]
Quintette Gaucher (Quintette Gaucher Plays the Music of Frank Zappa)
[audio:http://www.killuglyradio.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/07-pygmy-twylyte.mp3]
Project/Object (Visualite Theatre, Charlotte, NC, 5 Jan 2002)
[audio:http://www.killuglyradio.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/06-pygmy-twylyte.mp3]
Great Googly Moogly (Fasching, Stockholm, 15 Mar 2007)
[audio:http://www.killuglyradio.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/12-pygmy-twylyte.mp3]
Frank Zappa (Armadillo World Headquarters, Austin, TX, 26 Oct 1973)
[audio:http://www.killuglyradio.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/04-pygmy-twylyte.mp3]
How do you think these later versions match up to the earlier version performed by FZ’s own band?