Halloween - Frank Zappa

Live at The Palladium, NYC, NY - October 27-31, 1978

Halloween

1 NYC audience

2 Ancient armaments

3 Dancin’ fool

4 Easy meat

5 Magic Fingers

6 Don’t eat the yellow snow

7 Conehead

8 “Zeets” [Vinnie Colaiuta]

9 Stink-foot

10 Dinah-moe humm

11 Camarillo Brillo

12 Muffin man

13 Black napkins (The deathless horsie)

All compositions by Frank Zappa, except as noted above.

Album notes by Molly Stein - October 2002

“FRANK’S BACK”

As are all things Zappa, this one can only be tiled under “weird”.

I had been dreaming a lot about Frank at the time - my usual FZ sort of dream - in which something strange or funny or tragic is happening, and he’s always just sitting there smoking… very matter of fact… bored… just watching the human condition as it plays out before him.

Early one morning after I’d had one of my FZ dreams, I was driving to a photo shoot and still only barely awake, when out of the corner of my eye I saw a sign that said: “FRANK IS BACK”. I almost drove off of the road. I managed to pull the car over, and noticed that there was this little ghost situated under the sign with an American flag hanging right beside it. I had to laugh. Then, I took this picture.

At the time, I thought if Frank ever did come back that this would probably be how he’d do it.

Album notes by Carl Baugher - October 2002

A 5.1 HALLOWEEN WITH FRANK ZAPPA

When DTS approached the Zappa Family to propose what became the release you are now greedily fondling, synchronicity was surely in the air. Consider, for instance, that the source material eventually settled on by Vaultmeister Joe Travers and Dweezil Zappa was originally recorded live to 24 track analog tape by engineer Joe Ciccarelli in 1978. Guess who DTS proposed as the person to mix the 5.1 version of whatever the Zappas came up with? You guessed it, the very same Joe C. And what about the fact that FZ himself was way ahead of the techno-curve (as usual) back in the seventies (quad), through to digital and into the early nineties with his multi-channel (6!) playback system at home? It’s quite clear that Frank envisioned his multi-track recordings in a multi-channel format. Sounds like a lot of stuff that’s somehow supposed to happen, right? FZ masters and a DTS 5.1 mix. What could be more natural? Well, as it turns out, that’s exactly what it is. And you’re holding the rather spectacular proof.

OK, so what we have here is a brand new 5.1 mix from the 24 track analog originals. After the 1978 Halloween shows (of which there were five, culminating with an approximately four-hour show on Halloween night), FZ went into the studio and physically excised masters from the original tapes with a razor blade. The stuff he liked best he compiled together on master reels. The rest of the stuff is scattered across dozens of reels. When it came time to put together this disc, the issue of sequencing, pacing and continuity became the order of the day. In other words, Joe and Dweezil needed to come up with about 70 minutes that played like a show, with all the ebb and flow and peaks and valleys of a continuous performance.

The only answer was to go back to the vault, find all the original material, listen to it and decide what should go on the finished program. It was a long, tedious task, to say the least. The starting point, of course, were FZ’s preferred performances. The result is that about half of the tunes you hear were FZ’s personal choices and the other half were laboriously (and intelligently, I might add) compiled by Joe and Dweezil from the vault tapes. So what they ended up with was a sort of super Halloween show from 1978 that sounds and feels like a single performance.

The 5.1 mix allows you to hear considerably more detail from the original multi-track tapes than was ever possible before. Details like the rear-hall, slap-back echo of Frank’s guitar. Or the same type of ambient trail on the dynamic rack toms. Or the subtle differences between the two electric basses. I could go on and on but you’ll hear it all. Of course, there’s also the use of audience ambiance. This mix really places you in the middle of the hall. Close your eyes and you’re damned near transported to The Palladium on that date. I swear it’s that convincing.

But exciting as this multi-channel mix most certainly is, the most important thing with any FZ release is the music and performances. A little background is in order. Frank Zappa had a special fondness for Halloween, his Favorite Holiday. And there was something about that annual concert series in New York City that seemed to always conjure up memorable, and in some instances, magical performances. The 1978 shows were full of many such moments. These shows also happen to feature one of the most technically adept and interestingly configured bands of FZ’s career. Consider that the ‘78 Halloween band featured two of everything: basses, guitars, keyboards and percussion. A double quartet, so to speak.

And what players! Has there ever been a better drummer than Vinnie Colaiuta? Add to Vinnie’s seemingly impossible mastery of meter the tuned percussion of Ed Mann and there’s not much in the rhythm department left unattended. And what about the amazing tandem basses of fretless Patrick O’Hearn and fretted Arthur Barrow? These guys not only stayed out of each other’s way but they provided fascinating counterpoint to each other. When not playing perfect unison lines together, that is. Denny Walley’s guitar playing and vocal support were key elements and the two keyboardists (Tommy Mars and Peter Wolf) provided the kind of harmonic underpinning to Zappa’s complex arrangements that often bordered on orchestral. And for a little spice on top, how about the electric violin soloing of special guest L. Shankar? Whew.

It bears repeating: this really is a time capsule experience thanks to the realism of the mix and the intensity of the performances. But one thing is certain: you will be returned to the present when this disc is finished playing.

That’s why I’m going back to Halloween 1978 with Frank Zappa right now.

In DTS 5.1.

Again and again. Any time I feel like it.

1. NYC audience

[Instrumental]

2. Ancient armaments

[Album notes by Carl Baugher] “Ancient armaments” was previously available, albeit briefly, as a B side to “I don’t wanna get drafted”. The opener here (as it was at the Halloween show) features FZ’s probing, virtuosic guitar solo. Of particular note is the way Vinnie’s drums suspend and comment on the rhythmic pulse while the basses keep everything moving forward. The dialog between the drums and lead guitar offers a fascinating glimpse at FZ’s concept within the context of the composition. To call it a brilliant tour de force would not be overstating the case.

[Instrumental]

[FZ] Awright. This is it, this is The Big One!

Happy Halloween everybody!

(Hi, Debbie)

[Guy in the audience] THIS IS FRANK ZAPPA ON HALLOWEEN, HE’S LIKE GUY LOMBARDO ON NEW YEARS!

[FZ] Awright. Let me tell you what I’m gonna do tonight. Tonight, since this is The Big One, we’re going to play a very long show. I hope… I hope you people aren’t in a hurry to get home. (Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute. Keep it. OK. What am I supposed to do with this? Write on it? Alright. Look, look. Here, here. I’ll tell ya… Whose was this? Hey! Don’t mash each other, move back). Now look (Hi!) what we’re going to do, for those of you who have been here before… (Stop! Stop! Stop! Silence! Listen! Here). An important announcement: for those of you who have been here before John. We are going to play a whole… We’re gonna play a whole collection of stuff that we don’t normally do. But before we do that… we are going to play our normal show for those of you who haven’t seen any of the other shows. So, if you already know the songs to the normal show, sing along. And if you don’t, hope you enjoy it. Let me… Let me introduce ya to the members of our rocking teen-age combo:

This is Vince Colaiuta on drums

Arthur Barrow on bass

Patrick O’Hearn on bass

Tommy Mars on keyboards

Denny Walley on guitar

Peter Wolf on keyboards

Ed Mann on percussion

And a little bit later on, L. Shankar on violin

OK. The name of this song is “Dancin’ fool”.

3. Dancin’ fool

[Album notes by Carl Baugher] “Dancing fool” picks up the tempo (second of the two tunes in their original sequence from the Halloween show) with a level of ensemble precision that is downright dazzling. The depth of the new mix is especially impressive. Listen to the background vocals and keyboards. Frank has fun with the audience and seems to be enjoying himself immensely.

[FZ] One, two, three, four

I don’t know much about dancin’, that’s why I got this song

One of my legs is shorter than the other ▶ an’ both my feet’s too long

‘Course now right along with ‘em, I got no natural rhythm

But I go dancin’ every night, hopin’ one day I might get it right

I’m a… dancin’ fool

I hear that beat, I jump outta my seat, but I can’t compete

‘Cause I’m a… dancin’ fool

I’m a… dancin’ fool

The disco folks all dressed up like they’s fit to kill

I walk on in an’ see ‘em there gonna give them all a thrill

When they see me comin’ they all steps aside

They has a fit while I commit my social suicide

I’m a… dancin’ fool