Shut up 'N Play Yer Guitar - Zappa, Frank (CD 1995)

I haven't yet heard all eight albums from Zappa's guitar-driven band period (1979-1985), but I've heard most of them as well as live performances by the various bands as compiled on the You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore series. Based on what I've heard so far, this album, Shut Up And Play Your Guitar, is the best of what Zappa had to offer during that time period. Its closest competitor from that era is the album most like it, Guitar, released in 1988. Moreover, the present album also deserves to be on the short list of candidates for best Zappa album of all. One caveat, however. Since this album places emphasis squarely on the shoulders of the guitarists, you have to have an appreciation for electric guitar solos and ensembles (backed up much of the time by drums, keyboards and percussion) to truly enjoy this masterful album. Many of the internet reviews that are written for this album are written by guitar players, amateur or professional, but I don't believe that playing the guitar is an absolute requirement for appreciating this music, since I am not myself a guitarist. All you really need is a love for great jam sessions.

The personnel represented on this album include five guitarists: Frank Zappa, Steve Vai, Denny Walley, Ike Willis, and Ray White. Zappa, of course, is in the forefront throughout. How good a guitarist was Zappa? Well, like most types of musicianship, there's more than one standard of evaluation in comparing great guitarists. One standard is technical virtuosity and another is depth of musical sensitivity and range of inventiveness. Zappa was first and foremost a composer and only secondarily a performer. Like most classical composers (Rachmaninoff and Paganini are among the rare exceptions) who were also concert soloists, Zappa was not among the top half dozen guitarists of his generation in technical virtuosity, partly because his time was divided between playing and composing. Nevertheless, his genius as a composer gave him an edge over his performance competitors when it came to creative and idiosyncratic improvisation, sensitivity to the nuances of a piece, and inventiveness. Zappa's guitar solos, after the early seventies, were increasingly revered by the likes of Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, and other great guitarists of his generation. I personally prefer Zappa's kind of virtuosity to the technical kind. I imagine that the likes of Jimmy Hendricks, Eddie Van Halen, and Eric Clayton will someday sit at the feet of the master in music heaven for lessons. In his own manner, Zappa was one of the greatest guitar players ever, and this set will convince you that I ain't just whistlin' Dixie.

The pieces on these albums are not merely guitar solos, as some people suppose. Zappa extracted these tracks from live performances around 1980-81. Some of the tracks likely came from the same concerts that provided the more pedestrian material for the album Tinsel Town Rebellion. The guitar improvisations heard here are backed by Zappa's full band of the time, including Jean-Luc Ponty (baritone violin), Tommy Mars, Peter Wolf, Eddie Jobson, Bob Harris, and Andre Lewis (keyboards), Arthur Barrow, Patrick O'Hearn, and Roy Estrada (bass), Ed Mann (percussion), and Vinnie Coliauta and Terry Bozzio (drums). In Coliauta, Zappa had one of the best drummers who ever lived. The sound quality for this album is excellent, providing brilliant clarity throughout.

Track Listing:

Disc One:

1. Five-Five-Five 2:35
2. Hog Heaven 2:49
3. Shut Up 'N Play Yer Guitar 5:38
4. While You Were Out 6:00
5. Treacherous Cretins 5:35
6. Heavy Duty Judy 4:42
7. Soup 'N Old Clothes 7:53

Disc Two:

1. Variations On The Carlos Santana Secret Chord Progression 3:58
2. Gee, I Like Your Pants 2:35
3. Canarsie 6:05
4. Ship Ahoy 5:20
5. The Deathless Horsie 6:20
6. Shut Up 'N Play Yer Guitar Some More 6:53
7. Pink Napkins 4:38

Disc Three:

1. Beat It With Your Fist 1:58
82. Return Of The Son Of Shut Up 'N Play Yer Guitar 8:30
3. Pinocchio's Furniture 2:05
4. Why Johnny Can't Read 4:15
5. Stucco Homes 9:08
6. Canard Du Jour 9:56

Track Analysis: There are no weak tracks on this album and there are so many great ones that it's difficult to single out one or two for special praise. I'll limit myself to a brief comment on each track.

Five-Five-Five: An intense opening number. Note the dazzling rhythmic complexity.
Hog Heaven: A caustic heavy-metal number.
Shut Up 'N Play Yer Guitar: Swirling waves of brilliant improvisation.
While You Were Out: A spirited train of staccato guitar riffs and drum beats.
Treacherous Cretins: Zappa's guitar providing beautiful saxophone-like improvisation over a reggae rhythm.
Heavy Duty Judy: Funky guitar work backed by synthesizer and drums.
Soup 'N Old Clothes: A grand piece in the tradition of Ravel's Bolero, with brilliant improvisation over a relentless backing. This track is my personal favorite.

Variations On The Carlos Santana Secret Chord Progression: Great Latin percussive rhythm and witty guitar work.
Gee, I Like Your Pants: Sparkling ginger ale bubbles.
Canarsie: Listen for Warren Cucurullo's sitar and Patrick O'Hearn's bass providing bizarre rhythms behind Zappa's snake-like guitar work.
Ship Ahoy: A funky number with a shuffling kind of gait. A daring voyage.
The Deathless Horsie: Rhythmic scales on the keyboards and soft drum bursts provide the background for Zappa's idiosyncratic improvisational overlay.
Shut Up 'N Play Yer Guitar Some More: A buxom guitar solo formed out of the familiar "Orange County Lumber Truck" motif.
Pink Napkins: This solo extracted from "Black Napkins" is gently reflective.

Beat It With Your Fist: High-energy whining guitar solo over a lazy drum beat.
Return Of The Son Of Shut Up 'N Play Yer Guitar: Brilliant trumpet-like virtuoso solo from Zappa.
Pinocchio's Furniture: Another brilliant improvisation by Zappa.
Why Johnny Can't Read: Screeching feedback, a middle-eastern quality, and a bluesy finale highlight this piece.
Stucco Homes: Zappa plays a special Acoustic Black Widow guitar with EMG pick-ups and is nicely backed by Cucurullo's rhythm guitar and Colaiuta's drums.
Canard Du Jour: Listen for Zappa's guitar interacting with Jean-Luc Ponty's electric baritone violin. The musical influences are eclectic, ranging from raga, to bluegrass and musique concrete.

Conclusion: Zappa understood that some of his fans came to his concerts to be entertained by naughty ideas and his spirited interactions with his audience but that others were mainly interested in his great music. Zappa couldn't please all his fans at once but he could please various ones with different albums. Shut Up was for fans like me who found his song lyrics too frequently detracting from the enjoyment of his music, rather than enhancing it. Want to hear Zappa's music without the smutty lyrics and other antics? Here's your chance! This is a ten-star album. No kidding!

How good is this album? I've written a lot of reviews (film and music) and the only time that I feel intimidated while doing a review is when the product is so exceptionally good that I have doubts about my ability to do it justice. The guitar music on this trio of CD's is difficult to describe in any way that adequately conveys the full beauty of the material. If you enjoy guitar music, I predict you'll treasure this album and store it among your favorites when it's not in the player. Some folks say they get tired of listening to nothing but guitar solos, but there's an infinite potential for inventiveness with the instrument and the instrumental backings are exquisite as well. I find these pieces downright exhilarating. I could listen to this album all day long and never tire of it. My nephew is a professional guitarist and this album will be his Christmas present from my wife and me this year. Please don't tell!

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You can quickly link to my other Zappa CD reviews at:

A Frank Zappa Categorical Discography & Top Choice Lists

You can check out my reviews of Zappa-related books at:

The Real Frank Zappa Book
Ben Watson: Frank Zappa the Complete Guide to his Music
Barry Miles: Zappa A Biography