Tinsel Town Rebellion

Last updated
Tinsel Town Rebellion
Zappa Tinseltown Rebellion.jpg
Live album with studio elementsby
ReleasedMay 17, 1981
RecordedOctober 1978 – December 1980
VenueBerkeley Community Theatre; in Carbondale, Illinois; at the NYC Palladium; Santa Monica Civic Auditorium and Odeon Hammersmith, London
Genre
Length70:52
Label Barking Pumpkin
Producer Frank Zappa
Frank Zappa chronology
Joe's Garage
(1979)
Tinsel Town Rebellion
(1981)
Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar
(1981)
Singles from Tinsel Town Rebellion
  1. "Love of My Life"
    Released: 1981

Tinsel Town Rebellion is a double live album released by Frank Zappa in May 1981. The album was conceived by Zappa after he scrapped the planned albums Warts and All and Crush All Boxes, and contains tracks that were intended for those albums.

Contents

Overview

The lyrical themes varyingly focus on human sexuality, popular culture and other topics. The title track is a satire of the punk rock scene, describing a band that adopts the punk style to get a record deal. The album also contains reworked recordings of older Zappa songs, including "Love of My Life", "I Ain't Got No Heart", "Tell Me You Love Me", "Brown Shoes Don't Make It" and the third release of "Peaches en Regalia" (appropriately titled "Peaches III").

Production

Tinsel Town Rebellion was formed out of two albums - Warts and All and Crush All Boxes - that Zappa originally planned to release following the establishment of his home studio, the Utility Muffin Research Kitchen. Warts and All was intended to be a triple disc live album, while Crush All Boxes would have been a single disc part live/part studio album. [1] As Warts and All reached completion, Zappa found the project to be "unwieldy" due to its length, and scrapped it. He then conceived and began to assemble Crush All Boxes. [2] During the final stages of Crush All Boxes, Zappa decided to abandon that album as well. He then reconfigured the materiel from both scrapped albums into three album projects: Tinsel Town Rebellion, Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar and You Are What You Is . All the tracks intended for Crush All Boxes were released across these albums, as were several of the Warts and All tracks, with others appearing later in the You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore series. [1]

The opening track, "Fine Girl", is a studio recording intended for Crush All Boxes, as was an early mix of the live track "Easy Meat". [1] The Tinsel Town Rebellion version of "Easy Meat" featured much heavier studio overdubs than the version prepared for Crush All Boxes. Zappa wrote "Easy Meat" in 1970 and the song was a concert staple of the early 1970s Mothers of Invention line-up featuring ex-members of The Turtles: Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan on lead vocals.

The front cover art for Tinsel Town Rebellion retains the Crush All Boxes title, with the new album title spray painted over it. The sleeve and interior was designed by Cal Schenkel, and contains a collage of still images from various 1920s, 1930s and 1940s Hollywood films, including Freaks , directed by Tod Browning. [3]

The majority of Tinsel Town Rebellion consists of overdub-free live recordings from the 1979 and late-1980 concert tours. This album marks the first appearance of three new band members from the 1980 tours: drummer David Logeman, who appeared on the spring and summer tours, and guitarist Steve Vai and vocalist/keyboardist/trumpet player Bob Harris (not to be confused with the musician of the same name who appeared on Fillmore East – June 1971 ), who joined for the fall tour.

Release history

The album was reissued on a single CD by Rykodisc in 1990. (An unauthorized CD had been previously issued by EMI in the UK in 1987). Complaints regarding the significantly inferior sound quality (the album was mastered by Bob Stone) led to a remaster by Spencer Chrislu in 1998. Universal Music Group released a new remaster in 2012.

The 1990 release omitted the applause that Zappa had edited onto the endings of "For The Young Sophisticate" and "Pick Me I'm Clean" to end the album sides. The 1998 release restored the applause and included crossfades from the concluding songs of each side to the songs beginning the following side. The 2012 CD release includes the full applause endings with fadeouts as they had occurred on the original vinyl LP.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [4]

Allmusic writer Steve Huey praised the album's instrumental work and the reworked versions of older songs, but described the sexually-themed lyrics as "problematic". [4]

Track listing

All songs written, composed and arranged by Frank Zappa. [5]

Side A
No.TitleRecording location and dateLength
1."Fine Girl" UMRK, July-September, 19803:31
2."Easy Meat" Tower Theater, April 29, 1980 (1st half)
Royce Hall, September 18, 1975 (Orchestra)
Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, December 11, 1980 (Guitar solo and out-chorus)
9:19
3."For the Young Sophisticate" Hammersmith Odeon, February 18, 19792:48
Total length:16:36
Side B
No.TitleRecording location and dateLength
4."Love of My Life" Berkeley Community Theater, December 5, 19802:15
5."I Ain't Got No Heart"Berkeley Community Theater, December 5, 19801:59
6."Panty Rap"Berkeley Community Theater, December 5, 19804:35
7."Tell Me You Love Me"Berkeley Community Theater, December 5, 19802:07
8."Now You See It - Now You Don't" Southern Illinois University, November 15, 19804:54
Total length:16:33
Side C
No.TitleRecording location and dateLength
9."Dance Contest" Palladium, October 27, 19782:58
10."The Blue Light"Berkeley Community Theater, December 5, 1980
Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, December 11, 1980
5:27
11."Tinsel Town Rebellion"Berkeley Community Theater, December 5, 19804:35
12."Pick Me, I'm Clean"Berkeley Community Theater, December 5, 1980
Dallas Convention Center, October 17, 1980
5:07
Total length:16:33
Side D
No.TitleRecording location and dateLength
13."Bamboozled by Love"Hammersmith Odeon, February 19, 19795:46
14."Brown Shoes Don't Make It"Hammersmith Odeon, February 17-19, 19797:14
15."Peaches III"Hammersmith Odeon, February 17-19, 19795:01
Total length:18:28

Personnel

Musicians

Production staff

Charts

Album - Billboard (United States)

YearChartPosition
1981 Billboard 200 66 [6]

Related Research Articles

<i>Sheik Yerbouti</i> 1979 live album with studio elements by Frank Zappa

Sheik Yerbouti is a double album by American musician Frank Zappa, released in March 1979 as the first release on Zappa Records, distributed by Phonogram Inc. in the United States and Canada. The album was released in other countries by CBS Records. It is mostly made up of live material recorded in 1977 and 1978, with extensive overdubs added in the studio. In an October 1978 interview, Zappa gave the working album title as Martian Love Secrets. It was later released on a single CD.

<i>Uncle Meat</i> 1969 studio album with live elements by the Mothers of Invention

Uncle Meat is the sixth album by the Mothers of Invention, and seventh overall by Frank Zappa, released as a double album in 1969. Uncle Meat was originally developed as a part of No Commercial Potential, a project which spawned three other albums sharing a conceptual connection: We're Only in It for the Money, Lumpy Gravy and Cruising with Ruben & the Jets.

<i>Hot Rats</i> American rock album

Hot Rats is the second solo album by Frank Zappa, released in October 1969. It was Zappa's first recording project after the dissolution of the original lineup of the Mothers of Invention. Five of the six songs are instrumental, while "Willie the Pimp" features vocals by Captain Beefheart. In his original sleeve notes, Zappa described the album as "a movie for your ears".

<i>Waka/Jawaka</i> 1972 studio album by Frank Zappa

Waka/Jawaka is the fourth solo album, fifteenth album counting the work of his band the Mothers of Invention, by Frank Zappa, released in July 1972. The album is the jazz-influenced precursor to The Grand Wazoo, and as the front cover indicates, a sequel of sorts to 1969's Hot Rats. According to Zappa, the title "is something that showed up on a ouija board at one time."

<i>Chungas Revenge</i> Album by Frank Zappa

Chunga's Revenge is the third solo album, and eleventh album counting the work of his band The Mothers of Invention, by Frank Zappa, released on October 23, 1970. Zappa's first effort of the 1970s marks the first appearance of former Turtles members Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan - nicknamed Flo & Eddie - on a Zappa record, and signals the dawn of a controversial epoch in Zappa's history. Chunga's Revenge represents a shift from both the satirical political commentary of his 1960s work with The Mothers of Invention, and the jazz fusion of Hot Rats.

<i>The Best Band You Never Heard in Your Life</i> 1991 live album by Frank Zappa

The Best Band You Never Heard in Your Life is a double-disc live album by American musician Frank Zappa, released in 1991. The album was one of four that were recorded during the 1988 world tour; the other three were Broadway the Hard Way, Make a Jazz Noise Here, and Zappa '88: The Last U.S. Show.

<i>Apostrophe ()</i> Album by Frank Zappa

Apostrophe (') is the sixth solo album and eighteenth in total by Frank Zappa, released in March 1974 in both stereo and quadraphonic formats. An edited version of its lead-off track, "Don't Eat the Yellow Snow", was the first of Zappa's three Billboard Top 100 hits, ultimately peaking at number 86. The album itself became the biggest commercial success of Zappa's career, reaching number 10 on the US Billboard 200.

<i>Cruising with Ruben & the Jets</i> 1968 studio album by the Mothers of Invention

Cruising with Ruben & the Jets is the fourth album by the Mothers of Invention, and fifth overall by Frank Zappa, released under the alias Ruben and the Jets. Released on December 2, 1968 on Bizarre and Verve Records with distribution by MGM Records, it is a concept album, influenced by 1950s doo-wop and rock and roll. The album's concept deals with a fictitious Chicano doo-wop band called Ruben & the Jets, represented by the cover illustration by Cal Schenkel, which depicts the Mothers of Invention as anthropomorphic dogs. It was conceived as part of a project called No Commercial Potential, which produced three other albums: Lumpy Gravy, We're Only in It for the Money and Uncle Meat.

<i>Ship Arriving Too Late to Save a Drowning Witch</i> 1982 studio album / Live album by Frank Zappa

Ship Arriving Too Late to Save a Drowning Witch is an album by American musician Frank Zappa, released in May 1982 and digitally remastered in 1991. It features five tracks composed by Zappa, and one song, "Valley Girl", co-written with his then-14 year old daughter Moon Zappa, who provided the spoken monologue mocking Valley girls, including phrases like "Gag me with a spoon!".

<i>Shut Up n Play Yer Guitar</i> 1981 triple album by Frank Zappa

Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar is a series of three albums - Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar, Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar Some More, and Return of the Son of Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar - released by Frank Zappa in 1981. The albums consist solely of electric guitar instrumentals and improvised solos (mostly) played live by Zappa and featuring a wide variety of backing musicians.

<i>Roxy & Elsewhere</i> 1974 live album by Frank Zappa / The Mothers

Roxy & Elsewhere is a double live album by Frank Zappa and The Mothers, released on September 10, 1974. Most of the songs were recorded on December 8, 9 and 10, 1973 at The Roxy Theatre in Hollywood, California.

<i>Zoot Allures</i> 1976 studio album by Frank Zappa

Zoot Allures is the 22nd album by the American rock musician Frank Zappa, released in October 1976 and his only release on the Warner Bros. Records label. Due to a lawsuit with his former manager Herb Cohen, Zappa's recording contract was temporarily reassigned from DiscReet Records to Warner Bros.

Tinsel town, Tinseltown, Tinsel Town or Tinsel-Town may refer to:

<i>Läther</i> 1996 studio album by Frank Zappa

Läther is the sixty-fifth official album by Frank Zappa. It was released posthumously as a three-CD set on Rykodisc in 1996. The album's title is derived from bits of comic dialog that link the songs. Zappa also explained that the name is a joke, based on "common bastardized pronunciation of Germanic syllables by the Swiss."

<i>Does Humor Belong in Music?</i> (album) Live album

Does Humor Belong in Music? is a live album by Frank Zappa.

<i>The Lost Episodes</i> 1996 compilation album by Frank Zappa

The Lost Episodes is a 1996 posthumous album by Frank Zappa which compiles previously unreleased material. Much of the material covered dates from early in his career, and as early as 1958, into the mid-1970s. Zappa had been working on these tracks in the years before his death in 1993.

<i>Buffalo</i> (Frank Zappa album) 2007 live album by Frank Zappa

Buffalo is a live album by Frank Zappa, posthumously released in April 2007 as a two-CD set, consisting of the complete concert given on October 25, 1980 at the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium in Buffalo, New York with a band that has previously been heard on Tinsel Town Rebellion (1981) and Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar (1981). It is the second installment on the Vaulternative Records label that is dedicated to the posthumous release of complete Zappa concerts, the first release being FZ:OZ, the concert on January 20, 1976 at the Hordern Pavilion in Sydney.

<i>Son of Cheep Thrills</i> 1999 compilation album by Frank Zappa

Son of Cheep Thrills is a compilation album by Frank Zappa, with material from previously released albums.

<i>You Are What You Is</i> 1981 studio album by Frank Zappa

You Are What You Is is a 1981 double album by American musician Frank Zappa. His 34th album, it consists of three musical suites which encompass pop, doo-wop, jazz, hard rock, reggae, soul, blues, new wave and country. The album's lyrics satirize a number of topics, including hippies, socialites, fashion, narcotics use, cultural appropriation, religion, televangelists and the military draft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Don't Wanna Get Drafted</span> 1980 single by Frank Zappa

"I Don't Wanna Get Drafted" is a 1980 single by American musician Frank Zappa. The song peaked at #103 US Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 and #68 on the Cash Box charts, but more successfully reached #3 in Sweden. The original single version has never been reissued on LP or CD.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Neil Slaven (2009). Electric Don Quixote: The Definitive Story Of Frank Zappa. Music Sales Group. p. 294. ISBN   9780857120434 . Retrieved 2015-08-22.
  2. Lowe, K.F. (2007). The Words and Music of Frank Zappa. University of Nebraska Press. p. 161. ISBN   9780803260054 . Retrieved 2015-08-22.
  3. https://www.donlope.net/fz/notes/Tinsel_Town_Rebellion.html
  4. 1 2 Huey, S. (2011). "Tinseltown Rebellion - Frank Zappa | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved 2011-07-21.
  5. "Frank Zappa Official Discography, Tinsel Town Rebellion". Zappa.com.
  6. "Charts and Awards for Tinseltown Rebellion". Allmusic . Retrieved 2008-08-22.