Philly '76
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''Philly '76'' is a live album by
Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American guitarist, composer, and bandleader. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa composed Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, jazz fusion, orchestra ...
, recorded on October 29, 1976 at the
Spectrum A spectrum (: spectra or spectrums) is a set of related ideas, objects, or properties whose features overlap such that they blend to form a continuum. The word ''spectrum'' was first used scientifically in optics to describe the rainbow of co ...
in
Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
,
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
, and released by the Zappa Family Trust on December 21, 2009 to commemorate Frank Zappa's 69th birthday. It is the fourth installment on the Vaulternative Records label that is dedicated to the posthumous release of complete Zappa concerts, following the releases of '' FZ:OZ'' (2002), ''
Buffalo Buffalo most commonly refers to: * True buffalo or Bubalina, a subtribe of wild cattle, including most "Old World" buffalo, such as water buffalo * Bison, a genus of wild cattle, including the American buffalo * Buffalo, New York, a city in the n ...
'' (2007) and '' Wazoo'' (2007).


History

The live band featured on the recording included Bianca Odin on vocals and keyboards, who only toured with Zappa's band for a few weeks in the fall of 1976. One cut from this concert (" Wind Up Workin' in a Gas Station") was released on ''
You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 6 ''You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 6'' is the last of six double-compact disc, disc collection volumes of live performances by Frank Zappa recorded between 1970 and 1988. All of the material on disc one has a sexual theme. Zappa used th ...
'' in 1992. Prior to the release of ''Philly '76'', no other recordings featuring Bianca Odin had been officially released. Also appearing for the first time on the album are a performance of "
Stranded in the Jungle "Stranded in the Jungle" is a song originally recorded by the American doo-wop group the Jay Hawks. It was written by Ernestine Smith and the band's first tenor, James Johnson. The Jay Hawks' version of the song peaked at No. 18 on the ''Billboard ...
" (originally recorded in 1956 by
The Jay Hawks The Vibrations were an American soul vocal group from Los Angeles, California, active from the mid-1950s to 1976. Most notable among the group's hit singles were " My Girl Sloopy" (1964) and "Love in Them There Hills" (1968). They also had a hi ...
, later covered by The Cadets,
Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen were an American country rock band founded in 1967. The group's leader and co-founder was pianist and vocalist George Frayne IV, alias Commander Cody (born July 19, 1944, in Boise, Idaho; died September ...
and the
New York Dolls New York Dolls were an American rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1971. Along with the Velvet Underground, the MC5, and the Stooges, they were one of the first bands of the early punk rock scenes. Although the band never achieved ...
, and included in the non-Zappa Family Trust release ''Frank Zappa's Jukebox'') and a verse of lyrics in "Titties 'n Beer" not included in previously released versions of the song, which illuminates Zappa's original title for the song, "Chrissy Puked Twice".


Critical reception

Critics regard ''Philly '76'' as a unique entry in the Zappa discography, largely due to Lady Bianca. Michael Schell wrote "It's hard to overstate just how significant her presence is in mitigating the most troublesome effects of Zappa's lyrics. Simply having a woman singing the lead on a track like Dirty Love dramatically softens its impression compared to Zappa's own snide and rather sinister-sounding delivery on other albums…Black Napkins is special thanks to Bianca's wordless voice solo, distinguished by her rapid shifts from chest to head voice, and even a few multiphonics. It's the only Zappa track I can think of with this kind of prominent jazz-style solo from a female singer." Progarchives.com concluded "Bianca's gospel tinged vocals add much to songs like Dirty Love…The set is weighted toward Zappa's pop side, with the only true prog moments being The Purple Lagoon. While I wouldn't recommend this as a Zappa starting point, it is an excellent addition to a collection."


Track listing


Musicians

*
Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American guitarist, composer, and bandleader. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa composed Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, jazz fusion, orchestra ...
– lead guitar, vocals * Bianca Odin – vocals, keyboards *
Ray White Ray Shirley White Sr. is an African Americans, African American soul music, soul vocalist and rock and blues guitarist, best known as a member of Frank Zappa's touring ensembles. He was drafted into Zappa's band in late 1976, being feature ...
– rhythm guitar, vocals *
Eddie Jobson Edwin Jobson (born 28 April 1955) is an English musician who has been a member of several progressive rock bands, including Curved Air, Roxy Music, U.K. and Jethro Tull. He was also part of Frank Zappa's band in 1976–77. Noted for his key ...
– keyboards, violin *
Patrick O'Hearn Patrick John O'Hearn (born September 6, 1954) is an American multi-instrumentalist, composer, and recording artist. Known primarily as a bass guitarist and keyboardist, O'Hearn came to prominence with Frank Zappa and co-founded the early 1980s ...
– bass, vocals *
Terry Bozzio Terry John Bozzio (born December 27, 1950) is an American drummer best known for his work with Missing Persons, U.K., and Frank Zappa. He has been featured on nine solo or collaborative albums, 26 albums with Zappa and seven albums with Missi ...
– drums, vocals


References

{{Authority control Frank Zappa live albums 2009 live albums