Frank Zappa
Does Humor Belong In Music?

THE REVIEW

Today I present a live CD by Frank Zappa, which compared to earlier ones (at least by publication) is less known. It is called "Does Humor Belong in Music?": this title, which literally means "Does humor belong in music?", could be the summary of practically all the work that Zappa did in his (too short) life.

Every one of his CDs, whether instrumental or spoken, is imbued with that malicious and mocking humor that characterized the artist. Moreover, thanks to him, it is possible to answer the question posed by the title. Humor definitely belongs in music, and it is only thanks to Uncle Frank.

Let's proceed to the description of the album. It was recorded live in 1986 at the Pier in Manhattan and features a tracklist of 10 tracks: the first is the acclaimed "Zoot Allures", taken from the album of the same name, with a duration of 5:27. It proceeds with Tinsel Town Rebellion, which denotes the funny part of the album (and in this Frank is quite strong). It continues with Trouble Every Day (I don't remember exactly from which album, I recall MORE trouble every day) and Penguin in Bondage, a great track already presented in "Roxy & Elsewhere" (very funny). Hot Plate Heaven at the Green Hotel is the fifth track, while the sixth is What's New in Baltimore, another excellent piece.

The last part is the most lively and exciting. Two short tracks like Cock-suckers' Ball and a speeded-up version of WPLJ, which I personally enjoyed a lot ('Burnt Weeny Sandwich' is one of my favorites by Zappa). The penultimate track is the longest (15 min. and something), and it's Let's Move to Cleveland, with a crazy solo by the artist. Excellent finale with Whippin' Post, another 8 and a half minutes.

My invitation is, therefore, to rediscover this overlooked live (with the same title we find a DVD, but with different tracks from these), which proves to be really very enjoyable and, as always, super original. Although it does not reach the level of the historic "Zappa in New York", it certainly has nothing to envy compared to "Fillmore East", "Roxy & Elsewhere" and "Bongo Fury" (obviously all great albums, which I wholeheartedly recommend listening to).

Rating 8 and a half/9