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May 09, 2023 Web Exclusive By Hays Davis

When a significant amount of tape labeled as “Mudd Club” and “Munich 80” was discovered in Frank Zappa’s vault, it was determined that these work tapes with multiple backups were likely recorded with plans to ultimately release those concerts. Decades later, Zappa ’80: Mudd Club/Munich spotlights Zappa’s brief 1980 lineup with two full concerts that feature nearly three hours of unreleased music.

“Now, listen. This is gonna be a little bit difficult because of the amount of people and material crammed into this area here,” Zappa announces to the 240-capacity crowd gathered at New York City’s Mudd Club in May of 1980. “We’re going to see what we can do to actually make music in this situation. So, the first thing we’re gonna play is called ‘Chunga’s Revenge.’” The crowd is ecstatic.

With the ensuing “Chunga’s” guitar showcase, Zappa leads Ike Willis (vocals, guitar), Ray White (vocals, guitar), Tommy Mars (keyboards), Arthur Barrow (bass, keyboards, vocals), and David Logeman (drums) into a hot club show. You can practically feel the tiny venue’s swelter during a frantic “Keep It Greasy” and under the dive-bomb guitar on “Outside Now.” Zappa’s appreciation of the place even led to his writing of “Mudd Club,” which they perform here. “If you never tried it/Lemme straighten you out/It’s the best kinda place/To unfasten yourself.”

“I would be delighted to see some people dancing to this song,” Zappa tells the NYC crowd. “This is a new song called ‘You Are What You Is,’” and it’s likely that David Logeman’s drums got some feet moving while the vocals turned to the topic of cultural assimilation. Not surprisingly, when Zappa asks if the music is too loud, he hears no complaints.

For the first-ever digital live recording of Zappa, he and the same lineup took the stage at Munich’s 12,000-seat Olympiahalle roughly two months after the Mudd Club performance, starting with a fiery “Chunga’s Revenge.” While some of the NYC material finds its way into the Munich setlist, including “Pound for a Brown,” “Easy Meat,” and “The Meek Shall Inherit Nothing,” the Olympiahalle’s longer set also features a tight “Cosmik Debris,” Dancin’ Fool,” “Bobby Brown Goes Down,” and a joyously-received “The Illinois Enema Bandit” that offers a scorching Zappa solo. For this last concert of the tour, the band is at the height of their powers after three months on the road. Unquestionably, Zappa knew these shows were keepers. (www.zappa.com)

Author rating: 8/10