Frank Zappa isn’t a name you’d ordinarily associate with hit-making, but this esoteric artist did occasionally flirt with commercial success, most notably on 1974’s Apostrophe (’). The album climbed to No. 10 – his best showing ever – and spent 43 weeks on the Billboard charts. It also earned Gold certification and yielded Zappa’s first chart single, “Don’t Eat the Yellow Snow,” which made it to No. 86.
Just why this album provided somewhat of a commercial breakthrough isn’t clear. As the single’s title may suggest, Zappa hasn’t abandoned puerile humor in his lyrics here (and that might be a deal-breaker for some listeners, though the satire is a bit sharper and more understated than on earlier releases). Nor does he make any musical compromises to the mainstream; like his previous albums, Apostrophe (’) offers a complex and challenging sonic brew that incorporates jazz, rock, avant-garde, and other influences. Perhaps more people were simply discovering the impressive songwriting and musicianship that he and his cohorts had been offering all along.
Now, the fan base could grow a bit larger, because, like such Zappa albums as 200 Motels and Over-Nite Sensation, Apostrophe (‘) has been vastly expanded from its original 32-minute length to mark the 50th anniversary of its release. While the original LP contains nine numbers and clocks in at 32 minutes, the new five-CD-plus-Blu-ray edition makes room for 66 tracks and has a playing time of well over five hours. (Vinyl and digital versions with varying contents are also available.) A copiously illustrated 52-page booklet offers discographic information, lyrics, and extensive notes by UK-based writer Simon Prentis.
In addition to nine outtakes and other bonus tracks, Disc One offers a new remaster of the original LP, whose instrumental title cut features Derek and the Dominos drummer Jim Gordon and Cream bassist Jack Bruce. (Also on the album are such jazz greats as keyboardist George Duke and violinist Jean-Luc Ponty.) Other highlights include “Cosmik Debris,” which incorporates background vocals by Tina Turner and the Ikettes, and the bluesy “Stink-Foot,” which was inspired by a Dr. Scholls foot-spray advertisement.
Discs Two and Three add a contemporaneous concert from Colorado Springs, Colorado, that repeats only one number from Apostrophe (‘). Instead of featuring material from the current LP, Zappa serves up such earlier creations as “Uncle Meat” and “The Idiot Bastard Son” and unveils new material, including “Is There Anything Good Inside of You?” and “Florentine Pogen.”
A 1974 show from Dayton, Ohio, dominates the last two CDs; again, Zappa mostly eschews compositions from the then-current album, though “Don’t Eat the Yellow Snow” and one other track from the LP make an appearance. Bonus numbers include the single version of “Yellow Snow,” which unlike most singles is longer than the album rendition, and a TV ad for Apostrophe (’). The Blu-ray delivers several high-resolution versions of the original record, among them Dolby Atmos, Dolby TrueHD surround sound, and a 1974 quad mix.
Also Noteworthy
Mike Montrey Band, Love, Time & Mortality. Every track exudes emotion on this soulful Americana release from New Jersey’s Mike Montrey Band, which ends, appropriately enough, with an affecting acoustic cover of Bob Dylan’s “Emotionally Yours.”
Nine originals by the group’s namesake fill out the harmony-rich, melodic program and, as the album’s title suggests, Montrey doesn’t shy away from big topics. Among the best cuts are “Stained Glass Window Pane,” a fond remembrance of the singer’s late mother, and “Fortune Teller,” which lyrically recalls John Mellencamp’s “Longest Days.” (The Mellencamp number happens to come from an album with a title similar to the one here: Life, Death, Love, and Freedom.)
Montrey, who plays acoustic guitar and adds piano on one track, possesses a gruff baritone that makes him sound like a folkier version of Bob Seger. His vocals fit beautifully alongside the contributions of singer Jen Augustine and violinist Nicole Scorsone. Other players on the set, which Montrey produced, include pedal steel and upright bass players, a keyboardist, and a percussionist. Together, they make some of the best music you’ll hear this year from an up-and-coming artist.
Kevin Gordon, The In Between. This is the first full-length album from Nashville-based Kevin Gordon since 2018’s terrific Tilt & Shine, and it was worth the wait. Gordon’s story songs have been covered by artists ranging from Keith Richards to Southside Johnny and he was even the subject of a tribute album by Julie Christensen (11 from Kevin—Songs of Kevin Gordon). He is his own best interpreter, however, and this album underscores that fact.
Like Tilt & Shine’s rockers and ballads, the ones on the new CD deliver tightly written, poetic vignettes that will keep you coming back for more. Highlights include the beautifully sung “You Can’t Hurt Me No More”; the album-opening “Simple Things,” which features the ubiquitous Fats Kaplin on pedal steel and seems to describe life during Covid lockdowns; and the hard-rocking “Coming Up,” which appears to recall Gordon’s early days in the music business.
His novelistic eye for detail and swampy rock may remind you a bit of fellow Louisiana native Lucinda Williams, with whom he once recorded. Rolling Stone has called him a “juke joint professor,” which sounds about right.
Rebecca Frazier, Boarding Windows in Paradise. Bluegrass singer, songwriter, and guitarist Rebecca Frazier shines on this predominantly upbeat album, her first in over a decade. Grammy-winner Bill Wolf (Tony Rice, Grateful Dead) produced the record, which benefits from superlative backup by such acclaimed musicians as Sam Bush (mandolin) and Bela Fleck (banjo).
Frazier says the program is “thematically based on our symbiotic relationships with nature and with each other.” She wrote or co-wrote the lion’s share of the material, but fits in renditions of “Borderline,” the 1984 Madonna hit, and “It’s Over,” the 1964 Roy Orbison classic. Like Silver Bullet Bluegrass, a collection of Bob Seger covers, and albums by Iron Horse, those two numbers show that music from practically any genre can be successfully reinvented as bluegrass.
Guy Davis, The Legend of Sugarbelly. Ten originals by longtime folk/blues musician Guy Davis – some drawn from a play he’s developing – dominate his latest album, the follow-up to 2021’s Grammy-nominated Be Ready When I Call You. The new record, which recalls the work of artists such as Taj Mahal, also features Blind Lemon Jefferson’s “Black Snake Moan” and the traditional “Little David Play Your Harp” and “12 Gates to the City.”
Though backed by several accompanists, Davis plays many of the instruments, including guitars, mandolin, harmonica, and banjos. When it comes to keeping traditional folk/blues alive, nobody does it better than him. And he’s never sounded better than on the sweet, soulful The Legend of Sugarbelly.
Mac Leaphart, Motel Breakfast. It’s been three years since Mac Leaphart’s last album, Music City Joke, on which he sang about how difficult it is to make it in the music business. But the Nashville-based singer/songwriter seems to be doing just that, in the wake of the prior CD’s strong reception.
The mostly self-penned new one – which, like its predecessor, sounds redolent of Jerry Jeff Walker and Guy Clark – should further widen his audience, thanks largely to sprightly full-band performances and Leaphart’s folksy vocals. Another plus is his witty songwriting, which is exemplified by this couplet in the title track: “They got waffles in the lobby shaped just like Texas / Life is good, let’s go get some breakfast.”
Jeff Burger’s website, byjeffburger.com, contains five decades’ worth of music reviews, interviews, and commentary. His books include Dylan on Dylan: Interviews and Encounters, Lennon on Lennon: Conversations with John Lennon, Leonard Cohen on Leonard Cohen: Interviews and Encounters, and Springsteen on Springsteen: Interviews, Speeches, and Encounters.
