Just leaving this right here...

Coming soon: Previously unreleased live Zappa from 1980

There’s a real art to beginning a guitar solo. Today, the already extensive canon of outrageously creative Frank Zappa opening salvos increased by several, with the release of two tracks from the upcoming Zappa 80: Mudd Club/Munich. Check out “City of Tiny Lights” from an arena show in Munich; cuepoint is around 2:30, and after several measures of clear, nothing-fancy groove, Zappa enters with a declaration that seems to go forward and backward at once. It’s a head swiveling lurch, a jank gearshift that’s followed by fistfuls of snarly asymetrical invention. The second track, from the 240-capacity Mudd Club in New York, catches Zappa in an even more visceral temperament: His first guitar “moment” on “Outside Now” is a chromatic line blurred almost beyond recognition by distortion. It lasts just 8 measures and is savagely captivating, even if you consider yourself immune to shredder tactics. Can’t wait to hear these shows in full.