Monday, June 9, 2008

America Drinks & Goes Home


Album: Absolutely Free
This is the kind of song you would hear at a lounge bar, maybe on the Reno strip. While he sings, his vocals constantly "sway" between the left and right channels. It's got your typical lounge piano sound and bass. The piano is panned hard right and the bass is panned hard left. In the background you constantly hear cash registers ringing and people having an all-around good time. By the end of the song the people sound a little crazy and in pain. Oh, I just heard a saxophone, sounded like a soprano...naturally. After the short song he makes small-talk with the crowd then does some ridiculous sounding scat. "Caravan with a drum solo? Right. Yeah. We'll do that. Wonderful."

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

I Promise Not To Come In Your Mouth


Album: Zappa In New York
Described as a "sensitive instrumental ballad for late-nite easy listening". This song was recorded live (as was the whole album) in December, 1976. Appears to be in 6/8 the whole way through. It starts out with this great syncopated horn part. Zappa's guitar sounds so clean with just the slightest bit of...flange maybe? It's subtle enough that only the back of your head notices it. After he kind of noodles around we get this great Moog solo by Eddie Jobson. It's the typical "flying through space" Moog solo but hell, I've yet to tire of those. The whole song sounds so clean for being a live recording. I like it.