Frank Zappa - Shut Up 'N Play Yer Guitar (1981)

Definitely wound up with a fresh appreciation of Zappa's considerable guitar talents this year, so an hour and a half of guitar solos sounded like a worthwhile acquisition.  Originally a set of three individual mail-order records: Shut Up, Some More & Return Of The Son Of, then a 3-LP box set, then 2 CDs, this entirely instrumental patchwork was mostly recorded live between 1977 and 1980.  

 

Sometimes excerpted from known songs (eg the three title tracks come from Inca Roads performances), sometimes on-the-fly improvisations, Zappa deftly edited these solo highlights into an order that aimed to vary the textures and tempi.  He also "grouted" it all with little snippets of chatter which "just served as punctuation", "to hear another texture and then set you up for the next thing".

The results, which might have come across like the ultimate overindulgence in lesser hands, form a durable, enjoyable portrait of a guitarist who was really maturing as an individual stylist in this era.  Even when there's not much beyond a basic vamp going on behind him (Treacherous Cretins, Soup 'N Old Clothes), Zappa's playing is never less than scintillating.  The sequencing works really well too: rather than front-load all the best cuts, the three-volume album actually gets better as it goes on, so my personal highlights Pink Napkins and Stucco Homes sit on Disc 2 here.  Then, to finish with something completely different (or perhaps he didn't have quite enough material selected for six sides), Zappa lets the album play out on a violin/electric bouzouki duet with Jean-Luc Ponty from 1972.

Disc 1 link

Disc 2 link

pw: sgtg

For Zappa-CD-variation trainspotters: source is Japanese Ryko 2-CD from the 80s ("grouts" sit at the beginning of tracks rather than end of track prior).

Previously posted at SGTG:

Lumpy Gravy

Waka/Jawaka

The Grand Wazoo

Roxy & Elsewhere

One Size Fits All

You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore, Vol. 2: The Helsinki Concert

The Perfect Stranger (live 2018)