Frank Zappa - You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 2

Frank Zappa released six collections of live music under the title You Can’t Do That On Stage Anymore. Five the six volumes feature bands from different eras of Frank Zappa’s career. Of the six volumes, Volume 2 is unique because it features only one band. Volume 2 is presented as a single concert from Helsinki, Finland. It’s subtitled “The Helsinki Concert,” but I’ve read in places on the internet that this collection was the compilation of the best performances of two (maybe three) concerts recorded in September 1974. Whether it’s one show or cherry pickings from three, it’s all edited together so well I can’t tell the difference, except maybe in one place (where Chester Thompson’s drum solo at the end of Don't You Ever Wash That Thing? abruptly ends and Pygmy Twylyte starts). Not that it matters one way or the other – it sounds great. One thing that stands out is how tight the band is. This particular group of people played together for a couple of years, and it sounds like it they played together every night over those two years. These musicians play like they’re linked together telepathically.

Of the twenty songs that appear on this album, five were unreleased at the time the show was recorded. Five appeared on the live Roxy & Elsewhere (recorded in December 1973 and was released less than 2 weeks before these Helsinki performances). When one compares the performances on Roxy & Elsewhere and YCDTOSA Vol 2 one can easily tell the band benefitted from much touring. The music is instrumentally complex. The band navigates the many twists and turns of Frank Zappa’s music effortlessly. What is missing from YCDTOSA Vol 2 are the funny spoken-word introductions to the songs that you hear on Roxy & Elsewhere [like Cheepnis or Village of the Sun]. But that is a minor complaint because there was a language barrier in Finland not present in Los Angeles.

For one evening only, Frank and Company played a request, Satumaa (Finnish Tango). Napoleon Murphy Brock tried his best to sing in phonetic Finnish, but he butchered it anyway. One gets the impression the band was sight-reading the whole time, but pictures exist of them rehearsing the song beforehand. One funny moment came toward the end of the show. When FZ asked the crowd what they wanted to hear, one brave soul yelled out “Whipping Post.” Apparently he had been listening to The Allman Brothers At Fillmore East. Amazingly, neither FZ nor anybody in the band knew the Allman Brothers tune. FZ asked the guy to hum a few bars. You don’t hear anything from the guy so FZ tells the band to launch into Montana. There are a couple of false starts and apparently someone complained (I think it was Ruth Underwood and Chester Thompson) the band played it too fast. After they third time they played real slow, prompting FZ to comment they were playing at the tempo of a ballad (FZ didn’t do ballads – ever). To top things off, FZ improvised his own lyrics and tried to fit a “Whipping Post” theme into it. Years later, Frank Zappa and his band learned “Whipping Post” and played it in Finland. According to a Finnish guy who reviewed this album for Amazon, he claimed to have been at the later show, he attributed the following to FZ: "guess what - we now know the song you requested back in '74", and performed it.

As for my, some of my favorite moments come on some of the older stuff, like the The Dog Breath Variations/Uncle Meat combination. I also likes the Village of the Sun/Echidna's Arf combination as well. I think it sounds much better than what was released on Roxy & Elsewhere. Pygmy Twylyte is much longer in Helsinki [it's a monster!]. Of note, the guitar solo on Inca Roads was lifted from this performance and became part of the recording on One Size Fits All. FZ must have really liked the solos he played for Inca Roads because I've got five versions of it between his Shut Up & Play Yer Guitar, Guitar, and Trance-Fusion collections.

Many reviews I’ve read about this volume say of the six volumes, this one is the best because of its single-concert format, and because the greatness of the band playing challenging music. It’s the only volume I have in the series. Someday I hope to get other volumes, but until then I’ll be content to list to this nugget from FZ’s vault. If you have to start anywhere in the series, Volume 2 is the place to start.

Disc 1A Token of My Extreme/Stinkfoot/Inca Roads/RDNZL/Village of the Sun/Echidna's Arf (Of You)/ Don't You Ever Wash That Thing?/Pygmy Twylyte/Room Service/The Idiot Bastard Son/Cheepnis
Disc 2Approximate/Dupree's Paradise/Satumaa (Finnish Tango)/ T'Mershi Duween/The Dog Breath Variations/Uncle Meat/Building a Girl/Montana (Whipping Floss)/Big Swifty
The PlayersFZ – lead guitar, vocals/Napoleon Murphy Brock – sax, flute, vocals/George Duke – keyboards, vocals/Ruth Underwood – percussion/Tom Fowler – bass guitar/Chester Thompson - drums