Frank Zappa

Just over a decade after Frank Zappa's premature death (December 4, 1993) comes the long-awaited release of Baby Snakes on DVD. "A film about people who do stuff that is not normal" mostly refers to the rabid New York audience, although the bandmembers themselves and special deranged guest Roy Estrada also have their fun. The film itself is a mix of concert and backstage footage, along with some rehearsals and lots of disturbing, surreal, and brilliant clay animation courtesy of Bruce Bickford. This is the very young and very talented Sheik Yerbouti band, consisting of Patrick O'Hearn (bass), Adrian Belew (guitar), Tommy Mars (keyboards), Terry Bozzio (drums), Peter Wolf (more keyboards), and Ed Mann (percussion) in addition to Zappa on guitar and vocals. Baby Snakes does a great job of portraying the mixture of tightly rehearsed music, structured improvisation, and inspired spontaneity that made Zappa live shows such fun (and why many fans saw night after night of shows). The DVD adds only a few items to the full-length version of the film (running time over two and a half hours): the original film trailer, two television commercials that were prepared, and a tantalizing trailer for The Roxy Performances (curiously dated 1999). There are also extensive credits both for the original release of the film as well as for the DVD, and some artifacts like the Motion Picture Association of America's certificate of an "R" rating. The packaging also contains a "secret dossier"-looking folder that has many of the credits, stills from the movie, and press clippings, as well as some copy that Zappa provided about the original release. There are some minor flaws in the film stock, but the sound is spectacular on this overdue re-release. Zappa fans rejoice! Let's hope this paves the way for many more Zappa DVD releases. ~ Sean Westergaard, All Music Guide