Frank Zappa
The Best Band You Never Heard In Your Life

THE REVIEW

When we avidly browse the shelves of music stores, we always try to find the album of the best band ever to impress our acquaintances: but what do we choose? Led Zeppelin? Cream? Jimi Hendrix? Pink Floyd? Area? So many bands, so many titles. Then, they are all so enigmatic. Why not write something indicative on the cover?

No, I’m not the Mastrota of rock records, if that’s what you’re thinking. 

I’m just pointing you to the album you’re looking for: look, it says on the cover “The Best Band You Never Heard In Your Life”! That’s how Zappa can save you in this awkward situation. At least for once, because when you return to the store you’ll need to find something else.

 It's better to talk about the album.

 Well, it’s played by the best band you never heard. Not enough for you? There are 28 tracks, and inside there’s also "Stairway to Heaven", "Purple Haze", "Sunshine Of Your Love", so you don’t find just Zappa, indeed there’s also the theme from "The Godfather", what more do you want?

Alright, let me tell you a bit about the album.

The album is a live recording by Frank Zappa, whose recordings come from the famous 1988 tour that left our hero impoverished; the audio quality of these two discs (yes, it’s a double with twenty-eight tracks, not a cassette with 7 songs)  is very high, the mixing is excellent, the sound is crystal clear and dynamic, the listening is orgasmic. The first disc mostly covers Zappa’s repertoire (except for the famous "Bolero" and "I Left My Heart In San Francisco" - George C. Cory, Jr., Douglas Cross), with various medleys that leave you satisfied and exhausted. In the second disc, there is more room for other tracks, some of which have been mentioned earlier, but Zappa is not lacking: there’s the epic performance of "The Torture Never Stops", with a reference to "Theme From Bonanza". Ah, Stairway To Heaven is not the usual Stairway To Heaven...  I can already see obtuse detractors in the back row complaining: get out, because I don’t feel like offending you or trying to explain it to you.  One day maybe you will listen to it and reject it with good reason.

In any case, I won’t talk to you about the best-performed songs, the ones with the best output, or the ones I like the most, but not out of spite: for the simple fact that these two discs have no imperfections, nothing out of place. Everything fits perfectly into the design of the ultimate Moustache, without smudges or shaving cuts. It’s no coincidence that Zappa had it written on the cover, in all his honesty.

Enjoy listening.