Following the busy release year of 1981, Frank offers his fans a half studio, half live LP. The band now consists of Ike Willis on vocals, Steve Vai on guitar, Chad Wackerman on drums, Scott Thunes on bass, Ray White on rhythm, Ed Mann on percussion, Robert Martin on sax, piano, synth, and backing vocals, and Frank. This record is known for scoring Frank his first hit single, “Valley Girl”, ‘sung’ by his daughter Moon Unit, only 14 at the time. The song immortalized Valley Speak in the country - contrary to what Frank had hoped the satire would achieve. If I could sum up this track in one word: Bleah! Having said this, I’m glad it worked out for Frank, and earned him a great sum of money. “No Not Now” is a pop song drenched in 80s production ethos, and it doesn’t do much for me as such. Steve Vai is fresh in his stint with the band (having debuted on You Are…). Steve is Frank’s second ‘‘stunt” guitarist, brought in to play the challenging licks even Frank could not handle. The two duo guitar licks on side two, that make for an out of this world experience!
“I Come From Nowhere” is another satire, targeting stupid looking and big-mouthed men, who actually sound like they come from nowhere. This ‘song’ is just a silly spoken piece, courtesy of whoever it is in the band (I’m not sure, actually). Filler. Side 2 is where the magic starts to happen. The title track is a 12-plus minute dual guitar workout, that is nothing short of extraordinary! The impenetrable synths also play a large role (hence, why they are impenetrable). Only the first few minutes are taken up by Frank telling a humorous and fictitious story about a living witch that drowns in America’s spew-infested waterways. A ship arrives too late to save her, and so the story goes…
“Envelopes” and “Teenage Prostitute” almost work as a medley, though they aren’t actually listed as such. The former just carries on the dynamic of the long epic, with a more nuanced melody, played on the guitar. For 3 minutes and such, the track packs a lot of punch. The latter is another satire - this time, sung in high operatic Vox by Lisa Popeil, a guest artist. The subject matter is self-explanatory.
All in all, a worthy and varied listen, making for an interesting journey. There seems to be an equal ratio of 80s production to experimentalism. A record to consider checking out, if new, and essential keeping if you’re a Zappa fan! This is not a record I typically reach for, but is something of an outlier in my view, making it a necessary pull for a change of pace, if this is the sort of thing I want to listen to.
A