FRANK ZAPPA

Zappa ’75: Zagreb/Ljubljana ZAPPA RECORDS/UME

Iron Curtain excursion that brought the curtain down on the Mothers Of Invention.

Frank Zappa’s links to the former Czechoslovakia have been well documented, although his visit to Communist neighbours Yugoslavia in 1975 has largely gone under the radar until now. Zappa fielded a makeshift band for two shows in Zagreb and Ljubljana. The Mothers’ Roy Estrada was coming to the end of his time as regular stalwart bassist, while drummer Terry Bozzio was just beginning, and saxophonist Norma Bell lasted just four months.

Recorded between Bongo Fury and Zoot Allures, Zappalogists will no doubt be thrilled that this missing link between eras has been unearthed, though how essential ’75: Zagreb/ Ljubljana is in a world where more than 50 live Zappa albums already exist is open to conjecture. The Baltimoreborn musician always had exacting standards, though a highly competent Honey, Don’t You Want A Man Like Me? is knocked into a cocked hat by the version on Zappa In New York recorded a year later. That’s not to say there aren’t moments of interest: an extended 20-minute Chunga’s Revenge provides plenty, and the jazzy vocalese and improvised brass on Black Napkins finds this transitional band in full flow; the sax playing of Napoleon Murphy Brock and the aforementioned Bell are what elevates the group beyond a good blues rock outfit. Fascinating, too, is a stumbling, early outing for Filthy Habits, later recorded on 1979 prog fusion masterpiece Sleep Dirt.

As for playing the former Yugoslavia, it was a country more relaxed at the time than many might assume, having broken away from the Soviet sphere of influence. Santana, Nazareth and Jethro Tull were just some of the other western bands invited as well as Zappa in 1975, though none of those other groups performed songs about having sex with poodles or Illinois ne’er-do-wells forcing enemas on young women. His unswerving commitment to vulgarity irrespective of his audience was admirable, though it would have taken more than some juvenile filth to upset General Tito’s arbiters of decency.