2023-11-24 17:00:15
Guitarist Frank Zappa and part of his band in concert, during the North American tour, from February to May 1973. JEFFREY MAYER
Released in early September 1973, the album Over-Nite Sensation is probably one of the best known of Frank Zappa (1940-1993), one of his most accessible in a rock, funk and jazz fusion approach, regularly placed at the top of the rankings of the recordings of the guitarist, singer, author- American composer and conductor. With more than 500,000 copies sold, it is one of his rare commercial successes. The celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the release of the record gives rise to the publication of a box set of 4 CDs and 1 Blu-ray, with, in addition to the original album, several unreleased studio releases, two concerts and, for the Blu-ray part, ray, the original quadraphonic mix of the album made at the time and a new 5.1 surround mix.
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In Over-Nite SensationZappa, who has often addressed the theme of sexuality, goes there frankly: Dirty Love, with a perverted father and a mother who uses her poodle as a sexual object; Dinah-Moe Humm, where a young woman takes pleasure in watching her sister and a man make love, an opportunity for Zappa to launch into a spoken part, like an early rap. He attacks, in I’m the Slimeto the surge of stupidity broadcast by television (“rude and perverted”, “tool of government”), also tells some absurdities in Camarillo Brillowhere a cheap witch reigns over a world of toads and newts, Zomby Woof and his horror film character, Montana with his cowboy who wants to plant dental floss to harvest it and trade it (!)…
A team of top-flight musicians accompanies Zappa. Jazz violinist Jean-Luc Ponty, keyboardist George Duke, able to slip into many genres (jazz and funk in the lead) like his comrades, keyboardist, saxophonist, clarinetist and flautist Ian Underwood and, melodic and rhythmic percussion , Ruth Underwood, both occasionally leading to elements of so-called “art” music, trumpeter Sal Marquez, trombonist Bruce Fowler, bassist Tom Fowler and drummer Ralph Humphrey. And many choir parts are provided by the vocal trio The Ikettes, with Tina Turner, affirmation of Zappa’s soul and funk approach for this album. The tyrannical and violent Ike Turner having hated the result of this participation, he refused to allow them to be mentioned on the album cover.
Improvisation instrumentale
To the seven songs from the original album, which became, for the majority of them, classics of Zappa’s repertoire, played regularly during concerts in the following years, around twenty sound archives have been added. Different versions of the songs from the album, some with emphasis on instrumental parts (Fifty-Fifty), already very accomplished non-album compositions, which will be developed during concerts or re-recorded later (Inca Roads, RDNZL, X-Forts (Echidna’s Arf (of You))…).
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