Frank Zappa - Broadway the Hard Way
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Artist: Frank ZappaBrand: Broadway
Edition: Music CD
Format: Original recording remastered
CD Release Date: 1995-05-02
Music Label: Zappa Records
Soundtracks:
- Elvis Has Just Left The Building
- Planet Of The Baritone Women
- Any Kind Of Pain
- Dickie's Such An Asshole
- When The Lie's So Big
- Rhymin' Man
- Promiscuous
- The Untouchables
- Why Don't You Like Me?
- Bacon Fat
- Stolen Moments
- Murder By Numbers
- Jezebel Boy
- Outside Now
- Hot Plate Heaven At The Green Hotel
- What Kind Of Girl?
- Jesus Thinks You're A Jerk
Music reviews of Broadway the Hard Way
Music Review: FZ Journal #33
Rating: 5 Stars
Zappa's taste for juxtaposition might be satisfied by my recent interest in this album. Although recent study has pushed my listening towards the earlier studio recordings in his career, I have had an interest in re-listening to this (mostly) live album from 1988. The majority of his rock-styled work from this period was recorded live, and in some ways it is the ultimate realization of his vision in that format.
The 1988 band was his most virtuosic and exhaustively rehearsed. Rumor has it that by the time they hit the stage, they were well-versed in over 160 songs. This band was able to take the jarring changes in style and tempo that epitomized Zappa's studio work and render them in a live setting, as well as react to Zappa's instinctual whim flawlessly. In the end, the live performances of this group rivaled the best studio productions of any of Zappa's previous bands. This is one of the few recordings containing material that can be attributed to that line up as "original". The later Best Band and Make A Jazz Noise Here albums concentrated on re-arrangements of classic Zappa and cover material with relatively little "new" material.
Broadway the Hard Way generally gets its lyric and conceptual inspiration from the political and cultural climate of the late `80's. Some examples of the subject matter are televangelism, supermodels, homosexuality, rap music, Jesse Jackson, Michael Jackson, tabloids, blue-collar workers, and prostitution. Again, Zappa's ability to take snapshots of American life (sometimes with red-eye intact) is disturbingly direct. However, one gets the feeling that Zappa is tempering his message a little to increase its accessibility.
To accentuate this message, Broadway the Hard Way is bursting at the seams with musical quotes for the dedicated listener. To cite all of the bursts of melodic material on the album could be an exhaustive endeavor. Themes from Dragnet, Devo, the Beatles, Star Trek, Michael Jackson (again), Frank Zappa ("Dickie's Such an A**h*le"), and a wide range of traditional American patriotic music all pops out at Zappa's request with mind-boggling precision. As an example, trying to cite all of the quotes on "Rhymin' Man" may well result in a scramble for the "pause" and "rewind" button.
Of personal interest, I have been curious about the evolution of Zappa's guitar playing after using xenochronus guitar solos in the studio in the years leading up to his formation of the 1988 band. If you consider his work on Hot Rats as a benchmark, the changes in his soloing style show this self-influence. His soloing on Broadway seems both harmonically and rhythmically freer than his `70's work. Especially on "Outside Now" he only seems to take a passing interest in the already loose harmonic environment. However, unlike his xenochronus studio solos, he proves that he is actually interacting with the rhythm section by popping into a more interactive "live" mode periodically. His ability to switch between the two mindsets is effective and impressive. "Hot Plate Heaven" is also a very impressive example of the influence on xenochrony on his live arrangements and his soloing within that arrangement.
Description of Broadway the Hard Way
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