Frank Zappa
Imaginary Diseases

I applied for adoption to the Zappa family. As a motivation, I extorted a false confession from my mother in which the Maestro supposedly seduced her with his "mischia tanta" after a concert here in Italy. I know, it's unlikely they'll take me because I'm blonde, have blue eyes, and not a hair on the rest of my body. But if the dearly departed lends a hand, it might happen that the miracle occurs, and then I would ask Mrs. Gail to place me in Cucamonga's studio to organize Frank's old tapes still buried in the crypt.

Yes, I understand your concerns, it's an immense and exhausting job. Maybe I won't even be able to go out to eat and will have to have pizza delivered to the studio, perhaps I won't have time to go out in the evening to flirt, so I'll be forced to call for some company directly at home. Clearly, I wouldn't even have time to write reviews for DeBaser, but I think that's the lesser evil.

If I had been invested with this onerous task earlier, I certainly wouldn't have waited until 2006 to recover the tapes of a series of concerts that the Maestro held between October and December 1972 with the so-called Petit Wazoo Band, being a smaller version of the big band assembled for the creation of "Grand Wazoo".

Our hero had partly mastered the tapes from those nights but then set them aside to gather dust on the shelf because he was caught up with other matters. It's a completely instrumental album and for the first time on a live Zappa album (correct me if I'm wrong) there are no keyboards, the seven tracks are semi-improvisations never published before and never published after (in fact, some of the titles are borrowed from the name of the city - Kansas City, Montreal, Washington D.C. - where the concert was held) but in some cases they will form the groundwork for some future albums.

What can I say, I'm ecstatic about the quality and variety of the proposal and the superb arrangements by Zappa (not to mention his mastery on the solo). Certainly, the coordinates are those of jazz blues fusion with the difference being that it's the Maestro's guitar at the forefront and not the sax or keyboards of the moment. After the minute of dadaist introduction of "Oddients" the album warms up with "Rollo", a brief orchestral composition that contains hints of what will later be incorporated into the suites Zappa will perform from "Apostrophe" onwards.

"Been to Kansas City in A-minor" is a long blues introduced by the brass and made of solos passing the baton. First Malcom McNab's trumpet, then FZ's clear solo, and lastly Bruce Fowler's trombone counterpointed again by the Maestro's blues guitar at the end... I'm already in seventh heaven and the best is yet to come!
In fact "Farther O'Blivion" (nothing to do with "Father O'Blivion" on Apostrophe) is the most complex composition and requires attentive listening. It's mainly led by the winds and is divided into three parts: the first part with a great solo by Tom Malone on the tuba will build the structure of "The Adventures Of Greggery Peccary" on Studio Tan, the second part with Malcom McNab's trumpet solo, and finally the third part with Bruce Fowler's trombone followed by an exhausting and pyrotechnical drum solo by Jim Gordon.

"DC Boogie" is possibly (...but maybe) my favorite, starting with Tony Duran's slide, and then the Maestro takes off acidly with the fuzz of his guitar in a long hypnotic raga that incorporates Allman Brothers, Grateful Dead, and the Quicksilver Messenger Service! Suddenly... a swerve reminiscent of "Montana" and Zappa asks the audience how they want the track to end, the options are boogie, ballad, march, polka, dog food jingle. By vote and popular acclaim, the boogie wins, and the Maestro executes it brilliantly with a scorching solo.

"Imaginary diseases" starts with a rhythm reminiscent of "Whole lotta love" of Zeppelin memory and on the wind instrument carpet the soloist once again spins an endless and torrid solo, the kind that will later go on Apostrophe.
"Montreal "follows the previous pattern and gives the impression of an instrumental "Montana" renamed after the Canadian city where it was performed on October 27, 1972. Again, our guitar hero's solo is counterpointed by the funky arrangement of the wind instruments and the encouragement of the audience. If they were sitting on chairs, it must have been torture to stay seated.

And now let's move on to the F.A.Q.

1) Q: I own a plethora of Zappa records, what should I do with this one too?

A: It's an unreleased Zappa, these tracks are not found in any other album, but in some cases, they form the groundwork of future albums, so it's fun to play "I've heard this on this album". Besides, it's superbly executed.

2) Q. I don't have any Zappa records, should I start with this one?

A: Yes, because it's a non-"cerebral" Zappa but even in its complexity it flows wonderfully and with excitement. After a track like "DC Boogie" you'll want to know more about the mustachioed figure.

3) Q: Are all Zappa's albums five-star?

A; Obviously not, even in his immeasurable genius, the Maestro has made missteps, but I won't tell you the titles, I can't bite the hand that feeds me (should the adoption go through).

If you happen to be in Cugamonga, drop by and see me, the intercom says Mr.Supersoul Zappa!