The Clock That Went Backwards Again

Frank Zappa
May 18, 1973
Great McGonigle's Seaside Park
Annapolis, MD




01 Introduction
02 RDNZL
03 Preamble To Dog Meat
04 Dog Meat
05 Fifty-Fifty
06 Montana
07 Improvisations
08 Dupree's Paradise
09 Eat That Question
10 Preamble To Yellow Snow Suite
11 Yellow Snow Suite
12 Farther O'Blivion

Frank Zappa
May 18, 1973
Nassau Coliseum
Uniondale, NY



01 band introductions and tuning
02 Dog Meat
03 Fifty Fifty
04 Montana preamble
05 Montana
06 Dupree's Paradise Pt.1 - George Duke Improvisation
07 Dupree's Paradise Pt.2 - Theme & Solos
08 Inca Roads preamble & tuning
09 Inca Roads
10 Cosmik Debris
11 Yellow Snow preamble
12 Yellow Snow Suite
13 Farther O'Blivion
14 encore break & preamble
13 King Kong
14 Chunga's Revenge
15 Son Of Mr.Green Genes

Frank Zappa
May 16, 1973
Auditorium Theatre
Chicago, IL




01 Intro~Tuning
02 Dog Meat
- missing: Fifty-Fifty
03 Down Beat Award Ceremony Ballet
04 RDNZL
05 Yellow Snow Suite
06 Farther O'Blivion
07 Montana
08 Dupree's Paradise
09 The Demise of Catherine The Great
10 Eat That Question
11 King Kong / Chunga's Revenge / Mr.Green Genes

Frank Zappa
May 13, 1973
Music Hall
Cincinnatti, OH






01 EmCee Intro
02 FZ & Band Intro, Soundcheck
03 Dog Meat
04 Yellow Snow Suite Part 1 (Yellow Snow, Nanook Rubs It)
05 Yellow Snow Suite Part 2 (St.Alphonzo's, Father O'Blivion, Mar-Juh-Rene)
06 Farther O'Blivion (incl. Join The March And Eat My Starch)
07 Cosmik Debris
08 Improvisations in G
09 Son Of Mr.Green Genes / King Kong / Chunga's Revenge
10 Mr.Green Genes Reprise

Frank Zappa
1973-05-09
Capitol Theater
Passaic NJ






01 Soundcheck & Band introductions
02 RDNZL
03 Willie The Pimp
04 Montana
05 Dupree's Paradise pt.1
06 Dupree's Paradise pt.2
07 Camarillo preamble
08 Camarillo Brillo
09 Yellow Snow Suite
10 Farther O'Blivion
11 Cosmik preamble & tuning
12 Cosmik Debris
13 Dog Meat preamble & tuning
14 Dog Meat
15 Fifty-Fifty
16 Encore Break
17 Big Swifty
18 Eat That Question
19 encore break#2
20 Zomby Woof
21 Mr.Green Genes Medley


Frank Zappa
Jean Luc Ponty
Tom Fowler
Ralph Humphrey
Ruth Underwood
Ian Underwood
George Duke
Bruce Fowler
Sal Marquez

Frank Zappa
May 8, 1973
Boston Music Hall
Boston, MA



01 'Questionnaire' and Band Intro
02 Montana
03 Dupree's Paradise
04 Cosmik Debris
05 Yellow Snow Suite
06 Farther Oblivion
07 Merely A Blues In E
08 Dog Meat
09 Don't You Ever Wash That Thing?
10 King Kong

Frank Zappa
May 6, 1973
Syria Mosque
Pittsburgh, PA




01 Intro
02 Montana
03 Yellow Snow Suite
04 Farther Oblivion
05 jam
06 Inca Roads
07 Three Signals
08 RDNZL
09 Zomby Woof
10 Camarillo Brillo
11 Improvisations
12 Eat That Question
13 Cosmik Debris

There's a lot of great things that would inspire a trader to get this tape. Frank is on throughout, giving us inspired solos in Montana, Zomby Woof, and Cosmik Debris. Ralph continues to amaze me every show I hear, and delivers a kickass Farther O'Blivion coda. Jean-Luc, when not playing a solo by numbers,
shows some honest to god flare and verve (more on that later). Yellow Snow makes its post-Kin debut, and has managed to rock out even more now that Sal's picked up the vocal reins (though it's still Mar-juh-reneless). And Frank's setlist choice is very good, including several fairly new song choices.

However, there is one major reason why this tape should be a must in any serious Zappa collection, despite having only B/B- sound. About 35 minutes into the show, Frank lets Jean-Luc, for the first time since Phoenix, do whatever he wants. What follows is over half an hour of some of the most amazing improv I've seen this band do. Unlike the more structured improvs we see throughout the tour, with audience participation and normal soloing (and we get one of those too, later in the show), this is a totally unpredictable monster, with double violin, echoplex effects, Jean-Luc plucking his violin like a guitar, and comes in with about 6 mini-soloettes throuhgout. When Jean-Luc *isn't* front and center, we have Frank giving some intriguing, double-time Sleep Dirt chords, a chaotic few minutes where everyone seems to be soloing at once, Bruce on trombone, and Sal with a tour de force trumpet solo with mariachi stylings and "Fascination" thrown in to boot. Then (then!), we get George doing a very Dupree's intro, with lounge chords moving into Space Invaders synth noises. Then... finally... we segue into Inca Roads (lounge version, with Sinatra).

Even without the improv, this would be a very good show. Everyone's on form, very few boring solos, and lots of very new songs or rarities (the only 73 Eat That Question that doesn't emerge from a Big Swifty, I believe). But this improv is one of the top 5 highlights of this band, and needs to be heard. Seek the tape out for this.

Frank Zappa
May 5, 1973
War Memorial Auditorium
Rochester, NY



01 soudcheck snippet
02 Montana
03 Inca Roads
04 Farther Oblivion
05 Exercise #4 - Dog Breath - Uncle Meat
06 Cosmik Debris
07 Eat That Question
08 RDNZL
09 Chunga's Revenge - Mr Green Genes

Frank Zappa
May 4, 1973
Maple Leaf Gardens
Toronto, Ontario
Canada



00 Soundcheck and Tuning
01 Dog Meat
02 Fifty-Fifty
03 Cosmik Debris
04 RDNZL
05 Montana
06 Dupree's Paradise
07 Farther O'Blivion
08 King Kong / Chunga's Revenge / Mr.Green Genes

Frank Zappa
May 2, 1973
The Coliseum
Indianapolis, IN



01 intro~soundchecks
02 Dog Meat
03 Fifty-Fifty
04 tune up to
05 Cosmik Debris
06 tune up to
07 Farther Oblivion
08 Montana
09 george duke impro
10 Dupree's Paradise
11 almost encore intro
12 King Kong
13 Chunga's Revenge
14 Son Of Mr Green Genes

 

Frank Zappa
May 1, 1973
Memorial Gymnasium
Kent State University
Kent, OH




01 intros and soundcheck
02 Don't Eat The Yellow Snow
03 Nanook Rubs It
04 St Alfonzo's Pancake Breakfast
05 Father O'blivion
06 St Alfonzo's reprise
07 Mar-juh-rene
08 Father O'blivion reprise
09 Farther Oblivion
10 Montana
11 Dog Meat
12 Cosmik Debris
13 Pygmy Twylyte
14 Inca Roads
15 Dupree's Paradise
16 Big Swifty
17 Son Of Mr Green Genes medley


Holy smoke! I had forgotten what a terrific concert this is. While some of the shows of the past two months have felt a little sleepy, this is one adrenaline-laden evening. All the guys seem highly inspired, and play the songs with an energy and confidence we haven't heard before. Add to this a fine audience recording with a nice spacey ambience, and you get one of the most essential tapes of the tour.

The Yellow Snow Suite feels a little unusual in the opening spot, but works as a kick-start! Kin still has problems with the lyrics and the rhythm, but delivers the words with such passion and dynamics tonight, that he's easily forgiven (apparently FZ disagreed, since this became Kin's last show). Frank deviates a lot in Nanook Rubs It, much to the audience's - and my - amusement. Still no real Mar-juh-rene rap, but a funny "Give me an M! Give me an A..." game with the audience. And for the first time, we get the "Join the march and eat my starch" (yelled by Kin) segue into Farther Oblivion and the fast flurry of notes that precedes the Steno Pool section. FO is breathtaking, with the rhythm section going wild in the solo sections. In Cucamonga, someone (I assume Kin) is singing along with the melody, quite well.

It seems Kin is supposed to sing quite a bit in Montana too, as you can hear him try a couple of times, for example a few words in the "I'm plucking the ol' dental floss..." part. Frank delivers a mighty fine solo, with an intense climax at the end (Ralph rules!). Feels weird to hear the song stop cold without leading into Dupree's, just like Dog Meat feels strange without 50/50. Cosmik Debris is played on request, with just an FZ solo, and a rather lame one at that. It's followed by Pygmy Twylyte, since Frank has noticed that the audience digs the funky stuff. "Let's get a groove going, just like the big rock groups", he says, and boy do they get a groove going! They just jam around a little with the riff for a while before Kin enters with his iron tonsils. Then some more jamming, and it starts sounding more like the heavy fall '74 version. Great stuff - Pygmy Twylyte was probably the biggest loss about Kin's departure.

Just the look at the following threesome is enough to make an FZ-listener drool: Inca Roads, Dupree's Paradise and Big Swifty. Inca Roads has yet to become a real masterpiece, but with Sal's Sinatra intro, it has reached a new level. George does his best Dupree's intro of the tour so far, switching between exciting chord soundscapes and funky outbursts, spiced up with variations on the Inca Roads theme. This seems to inspire the whole band, and we get a really hot solo section, where Ralph, Tom and George force Ponty and Zappa to excel themselves, with some high energy accompaniment. Big Swifty seems to become a bigger monster. Sal begins his solo with the BeBop Tango theme, and goes on with a long, good solo, over a straight jazz comp. When it's Ian's turn, it's off into more adventurous land, and it soon evolves into full band improvisations. Unfortunately, Frank decides to keep it rather short, and ends the song too soon. The high energy is maintained into the encores, which unsurprisingly consist of Green Genes/Kong/Chunga. Ponty's and Duke's solos are unusually good for this spot, much because of the intense comp. Frank concludes the soloing for tonight with a long and powerful solo.

If you don't have this show already - get it!

Frank Zappa
April 28, 1973
Spectrum Theater
Philadelphia, PA





01 Intros - Soundcheck
02 Jam
03 RDNZL
04 Tuning - Banter
05 Exercise Four
06 Dog/Meat
07 50/50
08 Preamble
09 Don't Eat The Yellow Snow
10 Nanook Rubs It
11 Montana
12 Dupree's Paradise
13 Inca Roads
14 Farther Oblivion
15 Don't You Ever Wash That Thing
16 King Kong
17 Chunga's Revenge
18 Mr. Green Genes



The tape starts with a jam emerging from the usual mic/monitor-check, which has a cool groove but goes nowhere, finally petering out before the start of RDNZL. FZ uses the McLaughlin-esque effects immortalized on the Son Of Orange County solo from R & E, for the first time that I've noticed.

After another wonderful Exercise 4/Dog-Meat/50-50, it's time for Vassy's most prominent appearance with the Yellow Snow Suite. I see that my fellow reviewers have praised his contributions, but to me it's just amusing to hear his David Clayton Thomas-esque style applied to lines like "I turned around and said 'ho'." Unfortunately, the mic problems flare up here and the tape cuts during Nanook Rubs It, returning in the middle of FZ's Montana solo. Dupree's is also damaged, with the sound quality interfering with George's intro and solos from Jean-Luc and Tom (another feature I didn't hear in the previous leg), and the rest of the song lost without a trace.

The tape returns to its opening quality after this, and it's nice to have new versions of Inca Roads and Farther Oblivion (unusually prominent FZ rhythm guitar during Bruce's Be-Bop Tango solo). The set closes with the only appearance on this touring leg of the early Don't You Wash That Thing, with an endless round of one-chord solos including a good one from FZ. The encore medley starts with King Kong rather than Mr. Green Genes at this show.

Frank Zappa
April 27, 1973
Dillon Gymnasium
Princeton University
Princeton, NJ




01 Soundcheck
02 Intros
03 RDNZL
04 Preamble
05 Exercise Four - Dog Breath - Uncle Meat
06 50-50
07 Preamble
08 Pygmy Twylyte
09 Preamble
10 Don't Eat The Yellow Snow
11 Nanook Rubs It
12 St. Alphonzo's Pancake Breakfast
13 Father O'Blivion - St. Alphonzo's Reprise
14 Improv
15 Inca Roads
16 Preamble
17 Montana
18 Dupree's Paradise
19 Preamble
20 Cosmik Debris
21 Preamble To Encores
22 Farther Oblivion
23 Mr. Green Genes
24 King Kong
25 Chunga's Revenge
26 Mr. Green Genes Reprise

This is a special show in many regards. At 2h 43 min, it's FZ's longest show to this date, as far as we know (although this record would be broken a fortnight later), it's the first show with Kin Vassey, and it features the world premieres of some soon-to-become-classic Zappa tunes. It's also one of the very few early-70s shows from which there are two different sources, both of which have their ups & downs. The old, well-circulated version sounds quite fine (at least low-gen copies do), but is cut up badly, and has speed problems, while the new, complete version sounds overall slightly worse, and has some annoying mic glitches.

What about the music then? Well, the thing starts out with a public soundcheck/rehearsal, where the band tries out RDNZL and some parts of the Yellow Snow suite. RDNZL also opens the show, and as everyone has pointed out already, this song would evolve a lot over the following year and a half. The feel and instrumentation makes this a very different song than the final rendition, but already at this early stage, it's a nice listen, though it would rarely spawn any great solos. The Dog Meat medley is as beautiful as always - well played, and the setting is perfect for this music. It still leads inevitably to Fifty-Fifty, one of the most characteristic songs of this tour. The solos tend to resemble each other from show to show, but are good, and the groove is always irresistible.

Yes, groove is one of the things that defines this band for me, and over the following tours, it would be transformed into funk. Pygmy Twylyte, which probably is given its world premiere at this show, is an example - later, this would be one of the funkier numbers in FZ's oeuvre, but here it's heavily based on groove. Kin Vassey does his first vocal contributions of the evening, and he does it good. It works its way into a vocal improvisation phase, which becomes quite long, as FZ tells us an amusing story, based on the PT lyrics. The song clocks at nearly 15 min, but never gets boring, much because of the contagious groove.

Next, another world premiere: The Yellow Snow suite. It's obvious from the start that Vassey has problems with the fast 7/8 vamp here, and the whole thing sounds quite unstable, until FZ joins in halfway through Nanook Rubs It. Kin makes a strong return in Father O'Blivion, and after St. Alphonzo comes a surprise - we get the vamp for the bluesy FO reprise, but instead of the words, we get solos, and solos, and solos, and...the band don't stop until after 16 min of jamming. Frank, Jean-Luc and George all play nice solos over the blues vamp, before things gradually start to flip out. First some conducted Ponty/Ruth madness, then the horns take over, with Bruce and Ian toying around with effects over FZ-conducted backdrops. Great stuff! Enter Sal Marquez, with some cool trumpet stuff. After a while, Frank cues in a comp, which turns the whole thing into mariachi - hilarious, and the audience loves it! Unfortunately, this is were the jamming stops.

A new phase in the history of Inca Roads starts here, with the world premiere of the cocktail version, the first one with words. I really like this version, and the solos over the swinging vamp are nice. Montana feels a little sleepy, and Kin doesn't start singing until the very end of the song, but Frank saves the song with a powerful solo. George does a long intro to Dupree's Paradise, where FZ joins in at a point, sounding like he would launch Big Swifty. After Ponty's usual, pyramidal solo, Frank makes a glorious return with a long, great solo.

Cosmik Debris is another little solo-feast, with nice and harmless little solos by Jean-Luc, George, Ian and Frank. This is where the regular show ends, and already at this point, it's an unusually long show. But it's the encores that make this show HUGE. First, Farther Oblivion. This song is one of the reasons why I love this tour so much - one of Frank's finest compositions if you ask me, and I've never heard a less-than-excellent version by this band. Ponty's Steno Pool solo sounds pretty identical from time 'til time, but I like it! Bruce's BeBop Tango solo is awesome, and the comp is so great, Frank can't resist to join in on the guitar. Next goes Ralph, and shows us that he was one of the best drum soloists FZ ever hired. The intricate notes of Cucamonga closes the first encore set, but Frank and the boys enters the stage once again, to finish the whole thing with Green Genes/King Kong/Chunga. Good solos, but the best part is Frank's creative rhythm playing during George's synth solo.

Frank Zappa
March 11, 1973
Texas Hall Auditorium
Arlington, TX



01 Soundcheck / Intros
02 RDNZL
03 Dog Meat
04 Fifty-Fifty
05 Deviations
06 Inca Roads
07 Montana
08 Improvisations
09 Mr Green Genes
10 King Kong
11 Chunga's Revenge
12 Mr Green Genes

First off, this is easily the best-sounding show of the entire Spring 73 tour. Crystal-clear A- soundboard, with the only problem being Frank's spoken chat, which tends to be very poorly miked. Other than that, everything's great. We start off as per usual, after a "Are the horns balanced" band intro, with
RDNZL/Dog Meat/Fifty. Highlights include a longer-than-usual solo from Frank on RDNZL, a very slow and methodical E4 Dog Meat - the show was being taped, and I'm guessing Frank wanted all the right notes in there - and the usual funky Fifty.

The highlight of this tape is the Improvizations section, with audience participation. After Frank asks whether they want it straight ahead or deviate (naturally the audience goes for the latter), we get the long explanation of how to clap in stereo, and added bonuses of a Sssssss, a high-pitched laugh, and a WHOOP!. Frank decides to let Ralph deviate first, and he gives a nice start, with Tom and the horns joining in shortly. There's a small cut in the tape during Jean-Luc's solo, but it only seems to be a few seconds, and we do get the entirety of the "Imaginary Diseases" lecture, a classic Frank would use
on several tours. It all ends with a frenzied chaotic jam in 5/8. Classic Spring 73 improv at its finest.

The rest of the show manages to keep the high quality going. Dupree's actually suffers from being the least exciting of the major solo outlets, though George proves to be an exception, and Ralph's drum solos are always interesting to hear. The other major surprise is King Kong, which usually on this tour
doesn't inspire much more than a boring Ponty solo. And indeed we do get a boring Ponty solo. But we then get a rare Fowler solo, which is marvelous, and mutates into a bass-trombone duet! Then as Bruce keeps going the band slowly creeps back in, trading quick licks of solo between Frank, George and Tom. After building to an orgasmic frenzy, Ian takes a sax solo, sounding like he's using some sort of effects pedal. And as always with KK these tours, it segues into Chunga's Revenge for Frank's solo, which is wonderfully slow-moving and subtle, building and calming in great crashing waves.

Get this tape for the sound, yes, but it's also got some killer solo spots, emphasizing this band's sheer talent.

Frank Zappa
March 9, 1973
Civic Center
Oklahoma City, OK




01 Intro
02 RDNZL
03 Intro Dog Meat
04 Exercise #4
05 Dog Breath
06 Uncle Meat
07 Fifty-Fifty
08 soundproblems
09 Inca Roads
10 Intro Cosmik Debris
11 Cosmik Debris
12 Intro Montana
13 Montana
14 George Duke's Elaborated Intro
15 Dupree's Paradise
16 I'm The Slime
17 Don't You Ever Wash That Thing?
18 Encore Intro
19 Son Of Mr Green Genes
20 King Kong
21 Chunga's Revenge
22 Mr Green Genes reprise
 

George Duke - keyboards, vocals
Bruce Fowler - trombone
Tom Fowler - bass
Ralph Humphrey - drums
Jean Luc Ponty - violin
Ruth Underwood - percussion
Ian Underwood - alto saxophone, synthesizer
Frank Zappa - guitar, vocals

I was completely taken by surprise by how much I enjoyed this show.

First off, the sound quality is nowhere near as bad as most sources report. Either I have a better sounding copy, or most traders who have this (including the one I got it from) simply use the same grade as the Master himself [that's you Naurin (though I have been recently informed that Naurin's next page update will revise this grade to a B)] without rating the tape for themselves. Whichever, the sound quality wavers throughout the show, and is at worst a high B-, and at best, a solid B+. This is a very manageable listen for the typical FZ trader.

The second thing I want to mention about this show is the excellent set list structure. Take "RDNZL", for example. Now I am not a big fan of this song, or at least the versions of this song that appear prior to Fall 1974. Having the damn near perfect Fall 1974/Studio Tan version to compare it to, this early '73 version is way to hurried and way to half-baked to thoroughly satisfy me. BUT, put the song at the beginning of the show, immediately following some quick and to the point band introductions, and you have an exhilarating start to the show. "And George Duke on keyboards!", wait a second, and then BAM!, straight into "RDNZL". That is the way this show begins, and it’s the equivalent of a musical rollercoaster ride. Wait, wait, wait, ZOOM! And no looking back, either. This is the first time that "RDNZL" really worked for me. (Plus, Frank delivers a short but filling solo that is quite good.)

The rest of the show builds nicely from this point. "Dog Meat" leads into the always funky "50-50", while "Inca Roads" follows with the first lengthy solos of the night (Fowler(?) and Zappa). "Cosmik Debris" and "Montana" deliver the guitar solo goods, with Frank's latter effort suffering due to poor choice in guitar tones. The thin sound he chooses for "Montana" gets lost in the mix and all we hear for most of the solo is Humphrey pounding away.

"Dupree's Paradise" starts with your typical Duke weirdness, staying spacey and calm for most of its duration. Ponty delivers the first solo, and thanks to some engaging rhythmic support (I found myself listening more closely to Ruth and Ralph than I did Jean), this is the best single solo of the night. Frank's effort is somewhat calm and laid-back, and while quite good, does not really go anywhere.

The highlight of this show (and, for me, the highlight of the early part of this tour) is the "I'm the Slime-> Don't You Ever Wash That Thing?" combo. "Slime" is funky and deliciously arranged, and "Don't You Ever?" is a hectic version of the Roxy classic, complete with a parade of inspired solos from the whole group. Fowler sounds majestic, Ian funky, Ponty primordal, Humphrey inspired, and Frank sounds like Frank.

This is not a great show by any means. But the performances are solid, and there are a couple truly inspired performances that make the listen well worth it.

Frank Zappa
March 7, 1973
Veterans Memorial Auditorium
Columbus, OH



01 Intro & soundcheck
02 RDNZL
03 preamble
04 Cosmik Debris
05 Preamble
06 Dog Meat
07 Fifty Fifty
08 Inca Roads
09 preamble
10 Improvisations
11 preamble
12 Montana
13 George Duke improvisation
14 Uncle Remus
15 Dupree's Paradise
16 encore preamble
17 Son Of Mr.Green Genes / King Kong / Chunga's Revenge


Musically, this is a standard tape with very short FZ solos, even on Dupree's, although the band sounds good and I could listen to this setlist (especially Exercise Four [which FZ intros by telling the audience to imagine themselves "in the conservatory of a great Midwestern university"]/Dog Meat/50-50/Inca Roads) any day. One deviation is a rare Ruth solo in the group improv portion. The other, and probably enough to make this tape a must for many, is the insertion of a complete Uncle Remus into the Dupree's intro, with FZ sounding good on vocals, though he mixes up the words once or twice ("before I get up, they'll be gone - no - before they get up, I'll be gone").

Frank Zappa
March 4, 1973
Peabody Auditorium
Daytona Beach, FL




01 Intro
02 Mr Green Genes
03 King Kong
04 Chunga's Revenge
05 Mr Green Genes (reprise)
06 tune up intro to
07 Montana
08 george duke~bruce fowler impro
09 Dupree's Paradise
10 I'm The Slime
11 Don't You Ever Wash That Thing 
12 intro to
13 Cosmik Debris

Frank Zappa
March 2, 1973
Curtis Hixon Hall
Tampa, FL



01 Band intros
02 RDNZL
03 Dog Breath
04 Dog Breath Variations
05 Uncle Meat
06 Fifty-Fifty
07 Inca Roads
08 Cosmik Debris
09 Big Swifty
10 Montana
11 Dupree's Paradise
12 I'm The Slime
13 radio spot


This is a very audience oriented tape - they are clear, loud, and talkative. We here chatter about the songs, chatter about the taping, chatter about previous albums... just a lot of chatter. Next up is Dog Meat Fifty, sounding assured and competent, except at one point where we lose a melody line for 8 bars in DB - mic loss, or screw up? With this B-sounding aud tape, who knows? Whatever, Fifty-Fifty is always a highlight, even if it's the shortish instrumental version. Funky intro, then George does a bizarre synths solo, using his 'keyboard toys' - sounds like a video game at times. Ponty next, with a better solo effort this time, segueing gradually into Frank.

Inca Roads is the short version here (notice a pattern?) with Bruce on trombone and Ian on flute. Both deliver excellent eforts, both too short. This song needed to extend. Cosmik Debris is next, and it's only Frank, which is just fine. Fabulous FZ solo here, even if it sounds too similar to a violing. Dammit, Frank's guitar and Jean-Luc's violing were too similar this tour...

Big Swifty next, "from the worst selling album I ever put out!". This one's hard to describe, with solos from Bruce, George, and Jean-Luc over a background of conducted madness from the others. The staccato chords we're used to from this era, with the soloists getting in licks over it. The only thing it lacks is a FZ solo to finish, and later in the tour Frank would come to realize this...

Montana has a good if sortish solo. Then Dupree's, another solo bonanza. George starts off with a little bit of ETQ-quoting, and we get more band improved staccato chords with Duke running in between. After the theme, Jean-Luc delivers an excellent solo, managing to go almost 2 minutes before doing his fast little 'spoo' type thing. :-D Frank stretches out into a very relaxed, jazz lounge solo (how appropriate for the Dupree's), and George finishes with another loungey solo, nice and mellow. Back into the theme, then a quick segue into I'm the Slime - which just as quickly cuts. Rats.

Not a classic, but sweet enough to please any Spring 73 band, provided they don't mind an audience that's very much in on the show and the tape.

Frank Zappa
February 24, 1973
Duke University
Durham, NC



01 RDNZL
02 Dog Meat
03 Fifty-Fifty
04 Inca Roads
05 Warts & Mice
06 Montana
07 Dupree's Paradise
08 I'm The Slime
09 Don't You Ever Wash That Thing?
10 Cosmik Debris

Welcome to the '73 tour.  This second show of the year, made disproportionately famous by a vinyl boot, is like many shows from early in FZ tours, which is to say that it's the same as usual but just not as good.  However, this tape does have its selling points.
It is amusing to note the audience responses to FZ's band intros on some tours.  This time out, it is clear that Ian, Jean-Luc and George (in descending order) are the popular members of the group.  Some songs would get tweaked later in the tour - here, there's no Exercise Four, and so Dog Breath emerges sheepishly from the end of RDNZL.  The band stumbles a bit during the odd meter section of Dog Breath Variations, but I could listen to the Dog/Meat/50-50 medley happily once a week for the rest of my life, and the overall performance is good.  George and Jean-Luc have good solos in 50-50, while FZ offers dull, twangy solos in that song and RDNZL.  As for 50-50, it may just be me, but I love the wrenching effect when the upbeat solos yield to the return of the grim theme.
Next is the slow arrangement of Inca Roads, with a nice chord under the part of the melody that later featured the words "was it something different" that got a bit lost when FZ sped it up.  The dull 4/4 vamp supports a sour solo from Bruce and a sweet one from Ian on flute.  Next is a group improv, which becomes the highlight of the tape.  It starts out in a standard way, with free noise leading to a funk jam with Jean-Luc soloing, but gets better with a bizarre exchange between Ralph on drums and Ruth (or is it FZ?) on bongos, leading to some weird conducted improv, again featuring Ruth, which sounds like a proto-Mo's Vacation at one point.
FZ stops the band after his first countoff into Montana, and most of his solo gets cut.  This leads into an odd medley : Dupree's/I'm The Slime/Don't You Ever Wash That Thing.  Dupree's features no pre-theme improv and a surprisingly tepid Jean-Luc solo, but George gets one over the turnaround changes from the theme, which is cool.  Don't You Ever Wash on this tour is just a quick head leading to a long, meandering jam, with fairly entertaining solos from everyone except Tom and Ruth.  Cosmik Debris, with a more biting FZ guitar tone, closes the set.

The Rolling Stones
2013-05-15
The Honda Center
Anaheim, CA



01. Intro
02. Get Off of My Cloud
03. It's Only Rock 'n' Roll (But I Like It)
04. Paint It Black
05. Gimme Shelter
06. Rocks Off
07. Waiting on a Friend
08. Champaign and Reefer*
09. Emotional Rescue
10. Doom and Gloom
11. One More Shot
12. Honky Tonk Women
13. Band introductions
14. Before They Make Me Run
15. Happy
16. Midnight Rambler**
17. Miss You
18. Start Me Up
19. Tumbling Dice
20. Brown Sugar
21. Sympathy for the Devil
22. Crowd
22. You Can't Always Get What You Want***
24. Jumpin' Jack Flash
25. Satisfaction** 


Personnel:

Mick Jagger, Vocals, Guitar
Keith Richards, Vocals, Guitar
Ron Wood, Vocals, Guitar
Charlie Watts, Drums

Darryl Jones, Bass
Lisa Fisher, Vocals,Percussion
Bernard Fowler, Vocals, Percussion
Chuck Leavel, Keyboards
Tim Reese,  Alton Sax
Bobby Keys, Tenor Sax

John Mayer, Guitar*
Mick Taylor, Guitar**

Matt Clifford, French Horn***
USC Chamber Singers, Vocals***