Frank Zappa - Halloween DVD-A?

Patrick Larkin · 02-20-2003, 04:56 PM

Does anyone have it? Comments?

Michael St. Clair · 02-20-2003, 05:26 PM

I have it.

Stereo PCM 24/48 that plays on all DVD-A players.

DTS 5.1 that plays on all DVD players.

MLP 24/48 5.1 that plays on all DVD-A players.

The mix is non-aggressive except for one track:.

Spoiler:

The rears are mostly used for ambience and broadening the soundstage.

The quality of the recording is excellent. The guitar solos are excellent.

Songs like Camarillo Brillo and Dinah Moe Humm are rushed, certainly not the best versions I have heard. I like the Baby Snakes band with Belew better than this band, and I like the 72-74 live bands more than any of them (except maybe 1988). But regardless the disc is excellent and is absolutely mandatory for anybody who likes Zappa.

$19.99 at Best Buy. Also at some Borders.

Justin Lane · 02-20-2003, 06:49 PM

I just picked up this disc at Best Buy this past weekend and have to agree with Michael. If you are a Zappa fan, or a fan of great guitar work, this is a must buy.

Quote:

MLP 24/48 5.1 that plays on all DVD-A players.

Slight correction. The 5.1 track is a 24/96 flavor while the stereo only track is 24/48.

The 5.1 mix is primarily front centered throughout, while the surrounds are very tastifully used. They contain a bit ambience as well as crowd noise to bridge the tracks (Note: though some songs are in the order the appeared in the shows originally, this album is a collection of songs from three different shows, still the transistions are pulled off flawlessly.) The only track which breaks out of this mold is Zeets which is now one of my 5.1 demos. The stereo track sounded very nice to me (though because this is a brand new release I have no reference to any other release).

I actually found nothing wrong on this disc at all. One of best live recordings I have heard to date (and in Hi-res to boot). Highly recommended

Michael St. Clair · 02-20-2003, 11:20 PM

Justin,

Yep, my bad on the 24/48, the MLP surround is definitely 24/96. A typo on my part.

CurtisC · 02-23-2003, 08:36 PM

Agreed,certainly one of the best live dvd a's I have heard.This is as mentioned a great 5.1 demo,zeets especially.This was recorded on 24 track master,Frank was into 6 channel long ago.I gotta say I get a very full sound from surround speekers.(compared to most 5.1)on dvd-a.If your a Zappa fan(who ain't) you love it,even if not its a great listen to hear your sytems full potential.It really made my day,kinda like back in the day when your favorite band came out with a great new album and you just installed a new cartridge.

**HTF Ads**

Mike Broadman · 02-23-2003, 08:54 PM

I have not listened to the surround track yet and can't until they fix my stupid water pipe and I can hook-up my left rear speaker again.

The musical gem on the album is the last track, featuring some of Zappa's most blistering guitar work. This alone makes me thrilled to own the disc.

Camarillo Brillo and Muffin Man are not as strong as on other live albums. My favorite Zappa is still the You Can't Do That On Stage series.

Trina · 02-24-2003, 09:59 AM

I'm more than pleased that my first post on this fine forum
is in regard to the super fine sounding FZ Halloween release.

At first I wasn't too thrilled about the setlist and what was left out in favor of what was included. However, I've come around and accepted the disc as is, and I'm loving it.

Ancient Armaments and Black Napkins/(Deathless Horsie) are worth the investment alone. However, there are some really nice guitar solos as well as some L. Shankar violin solos that should appeal to the hardcore FZ freaks who aren't thrilled about another version of Stink-Foot or Easy Meat. Zeets is a nice example of why Vinnie Colaiuta was one of Frank's favorite drummers.

It's by far the best sounding DVD-A I own. I can only hope the ZFT releases more from the Vaults in this format. It'd be really nice to have the rest of the show one day, but this is a good start.

T

Patrick Larkin · 02-24-2003, 04:10 PM

help. i can't find this DVDA anywhere! Where do you buy DVDA's? DVDEmpire is out of stock. Amazon doesn't list it. No one does! Best Buy...nobody.

Oh, and my local CD store (who stocks DVD-A's) looked at me like I was nuts when it didn't show up in their databases.

Michael St. Clair · 02-24-2003, 04:26 PM

Patrick,

Try CDUniverse.com and DVDEmpire.com.

Did you check carefully in the racks at Best Buy? You can't go by the online site...

Mike Broadman · 02-24-2003, 08:29 PM

Hi, Trina, great to see another FZ fan.

Quote:

It'd be really nice to have the rest of the show one day, but this is a good start.

Just for clarity, this DVD-A is a composite of a couple of shows. I wonder how much material there is from all of these performances? It could make a sweet box set.

It looks like the Zappa family is taking some tentative steps to release some vault material. I hope it leads to lots more material.

Patrick Larkin · 02-24-2003, 09:37 PM

USA used to show a live Zappa film many many years ago. I wish whatever it was would be released on DVD. The Zappa site talks about possible plans to release "laserdiscs" - I take it that is an old update.