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What are other peoples favourite volumes or performances from the series and what are your thoughts on the qualities of the albums compared with other albums in Zappa's body of work?

Sorry not really a massively interesting topic but I wanted to say how much I have been enjoying all the You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore CDs. I was quite a casual Zappa fan, I enjoyed One Size Fits All and the funky George Duke edition of the band and liked the odd track like My Guitar Wants to Kill Your Mama but it was only after downloading the entire set of YCDTOSA that I got really hooked. So many of his songs really come alive in concert and you can really appreciate the intricate arrangements and tightness of the bands with the turn on a dime dynamics. I know that a few of the CDs are collages of several different bands from various eras but I actually like this aspect of them, the variety gives you a great overview of the amazing musicians and his scope as a composer.

I think a lot of his tunes are very theatrical and many of the others meanings and layers of the lyrics only become apparent in concert. The mix of buffoonery and serious playing also seems to blend together better live than on his albums (just my opinion). Zappa is a much looser guitarist in concert and there is a real sense of danger and risk taking with his playing than on the more structured studio recordings. He tone is so raw and vicious!

My fav tracks are:

- "Don't Eat the Yellow Snow/Nanook Rubs It/St. Alphonzo's Pancake Breakfast/Father O'Blivion/Rollo" and "The Torture Never Stops" from the first volume.

- All of volume 2 with George Duke

- Disc 2 of vol 4 opened my eyes to his later 80's band and is often very amusing lyricaly.

- City of Tiny Lights and Advanced Romance from disc 2 of vol 5

- Disc 1 vol 6 for stoopid laughs!

Favorite: Vol 5.

Least Favorite: Not much. Some songs here and there.

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Glad you like it babaluma. I'm a long time fan - heard it all and then some - and the YCDTOA series are probably my favorite things to listen to. A lot of fans like Vol. II, Helsinki the best but it is probably my least favorite. I like the others best because of the the editing/compiling that FZ did to put these things together. It's like a collection of mix tapes from your favorite artist. They are really a great overview of his whole career and also demonstrate his idea of "conceptual continuity".

Good thread topic.


I also dig the extreme range and variations included in YCDTOSA, Vols. 1-6. If you love FZ's music live and haven't dove head-first into the circulated live shows yet (or possibly even if you have), this collection is a fantastic start! Favourites include...


Vol. 1:

The Mammy Anthem
Don't Eat The Yellow Snow
The Torture Never Stops

Vol. 2:

Inca Roads
RDNZL

Vol. 3:

Drowning Witch
King Kong

Vol. 4:

Brown Moses
The Evil Prince

Vol. 5:

What's New In Baltimore?
Moggio

Vol. 6:

Thirteen
Black Napkins
We're Turning Again
Alien Orifice
Catholic Girls
Crew Slut


IMO, most of these live tracks are MUCH better than the album versions. As for an absolute favourite, it would probably be ...Vol. 6...


Btw, welcome to the forum!

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I was a casual on and off FZ fan since I was 10 years old, but I really got sucked in once I bought Vol 1. around the age of 20. I bought one after the other and hearing the diversity, different arrangements, improvisation and musicianship represented changed my life. Been a total geek about FZ now for the past 20 years!

That being said, Vol. 2 is my all-time favorite album, period. I want to be buried with it playing on my iPod.

The only thing I don't like about the series are some of the xenochrony pieces. I don't understand the edit in Vol. 4's Montana, for example. The Roxy era band was doing a damn fine job and all of a sudden we're in the 80's for the last minute of the song. Not sure what that did for the song, but what the hell I guess. Shows if you're paying attention or not if nothing else.

Cool thanks for the responses. I am interested why KUIII does not like vol 2? Any reason as most people love this concert:)

Each time I play Vol. 4 I have to skip the original 'The Torture Never Stops'. Like Weird Al says, "I'd rather have a pitchfork in my brain."

These albums were essential on getting me hooked on Zappa back in '92. I hadn't "discovered" the bootleg scene yet, so this was as close as I was gonna get. The record stores in my area only carried the newest and most popular Zappa stuff, so when volumes 5 & 6 came out they were easy to find, and after reading the song titles on the back, I couldn't resist. I liked them so much, I special ordered the other four, and I remember waiting for over a month for volume 1 to arrive. It felt like an eternity!

I also remember wondering at the time why "Shove It Right In" sounded so much better than the Fillmore East album. Little did I know that Frank had drenched the Fillmore CD in reverb and even some stereo delay effects(!!!). I just assumed the album was supposed to sound that shitty...a lot of people are just discovering now that this isn't true.

i know a lot of people here like to listen to it the way Zappa intended, but i like to add all 6 volumes into a playlist and shuffle the sucker, if your home all day it's the best 13 hour concert you will ever go to...

wish there was another couple of volumes though, six is not enough..

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Don't get me wrong. I think vol. II just fine but it is the only one that isn't a compilation of performances. That's what I happen to like about the other volumes in the series, the variety of performances mixed together makes for a real fun listen to me. Just a personal listening preference I suppose.