FRANK ZAPPA

Zappa In New York Zappa/UMC

Epic five-disc reissue for Frank’s ’76 NYC residency.

Whether you fancy watching Frank Zappa in hologram form or not, this five-disc 40th anniversary edition of one of the late, great maverick’s finest live albums is an irresistible indulgence. With vast quantities of previously unheard material bolstering what is an already iconic first act, this is a typically generous redux from the Zappa organisation, but it’s the sheer, spinetingling clarity and sparkle of the remastering that lifts this into realms of the spectacular. Captured in late

1976 during a four-show run at New York’s Palladium, it’s a snapshot of one of Zappa’s finest ever bands hitting an exquisite level of shared chemistry, replete with setlists that leap from early Mothers classics right through to the then-fresh Zoot Allures.

The main album remains one of the most exuberant of Zappa’s countless live releases. Peppered with all the usual skewed banter, the lyrically mischievous likes of I Promise Not To Come In Your Mouth and Honey, Don’t You Want A Man Like Me? crackle with

invention and joy, but as ever, it’s the lengthier jams that truly showcase the sublime interplay between Zappa and a stellar cast, with drummer Terry Bozzio, percussion virtuoso

Ruth Underwood and trumpeter Randy Brecker making particularly telling but graceful contributions throughout, even as their leader spirals off on another mellifluous instrumental tangent. The final, sprawling The

Purple Lagoon is simply stunning and one of those perfect Zappa moments that shines the spotlight on his compositional skills, rather than his propensity for (admittedly quite funny) jokes about blowjobs.

The remaining three discs are full of similarly breathtaking ensemble performances, from a magical Peaches En Regalia to a lurching, muscular

The Torture Never Stops, via an extraordinary, Eddie Jobson-starring 28-minute version of Black Napkins. Above all, this is glorious, lifeaffirming, heartily three-dimensional music. Frank lives.