This is 1988. At the time Frank was suffering from something but it went undetected for years. Not until 1990 or 91 did he find out he had prostrate cancer. A similar thing happened during the European leg of the tour. He met Johnny Cash at the hotel and he agreed to come to the show and sing. Johnny was a no show as his wife June Carter was sick. They learned Ring of Fire that afternoon. When Johnny didn’t show up they played it anyways. In fact during the show they played it three times each one more deranged than the previous. One of these was released on The Best Band You Never Heard In Your Life. You should check it out.
Very special just for your eyes: In '87 to '91 I was a member of ROUGH TRADE RECORDS here in Germany. We took over the FZ-Distribution for all over Europe. And I was one of the guys who heard at first time of his desease. That was no good!
@@Aqualong53 , yes, I know but what I did not know is that they played it more than once in the same show, so in view of the introduction I guess the CD version must be the first of the three performances. It sounds pretty deranged to me, so i wonder what the other two were like.
For those who don't know, Stolen Moments is a jazz standard by Oliver Nelson. Murder By Numbers is just a blues form, and Sting has a jazz bass background, so I wouldn't be surprised if it was not rehearsed at all.
Exactly. I can imagine the conversation backstage. The horns know Stolen Moments exactly because it’s a jazz standard and Sting gives them the chords for Murder by Numbers and Zappa’s like “Oh same progression as Stolen Moments. We’ll play that. After the horn solo, Mr. Sting you segue into Murder by Numbers. Two verses then I take a solo and lead back to close of Stolen Moments. Got it?”
@@dago87able my understanding is that the band had been playing stolen moments as part of the set anyway. but yeah, even if they hadn't the horns would know it and it's a fairly standard chord progression that these guys would have absolutely no problem remembering in a half a second, and could vamp over easily.
"a different side of Zappa..." chuckle. Ummmmm there's about 50.000.000 SIDES TO ZAPPA!!!!! And the comment about Donny Osmond... is quite a coincidence, because even though Zappa made fun of Donny and Marie in 2 or 3 songs. (It was light fun, not very offensive) when Warner Brothers blocked Ozzy Ozbourne from singing on the "Staying Alive" cover by Dweezil Zappa, (yes... that's right , you read correctly... ANOTHER singer that was on WB and therefore NOT allowed to appear on an album with the name Zappa on it... even if it's the son.) it was Frank who hooked his son up with Donny Osmond, and Donny Osmond actually does a DAMN GOOD job on the song. And one other thing you should understand about Zappa... he had a phrase called AAAFNRAA which stands for Anything Anytime Anywhere For No Reason At All. And under that umbrella... you will find examples of Zappa pulling people up on stage who have ABSOLUTELY NO MUSICAL TALENT... and have them do something. LOL...so... YES he WOULD ask ANYONE on stage... and HAS DONE IT. Nonetheless, I'm sure Sting had a blast being on stage with the Zaps.
This was also on Frank's final 1988 tour. Broadway The Hardway, Make A Jazz Noise Here, and The Best Band You Never Heard in Your Life albums are all from the 1988 tour. The title of the last one comes from how the band imploded before the West Coast part of the tour.
Cool, I was there as well. I remember that Mats & Morgan was invited to play on stage. I didn´t know who they were at the time. They could play tons of Zappas music and I think they only were about 18-20 years old.
@Zolar Czakl It was a case of Zappa overload and life getting in the way. I bought every album up through Joe's Garage, and then one or two more after that. I just had so many Zappa albums and enjoyed listening to what was on those that I didn't pick up his new music after my son was born in 1980. Now that I am in my twilight years :-) I will have to pick up some of his later stuff.Thanks for the recommendation.
@Zolar Czakl Please Zolar...chill out, i´m 75 and have´nt got all his stuff, i´m happy you are such a big fan, and you must be ecstatic owning the CD, as you surely do, but please don´t assume you are a bigger fan than everyone else, the level of ego in your comment is astounding, are you levitating above everyone else, just imagine Franks reaction if someone commented about someone else, as you have here............ I now raise a glass to the biggest Zappa fan in the world.
Like others have pointed out, "Stolen Moments" is a jazz standard written by the late, great Oliver Nelson and that record was big influence on FZ, especially the flute solo played Eric Dolphy who was another jazz legend that Frank loved.Great reaction - Sting CRUSHED it
The entire album is fantastic; extremely entertaining with a lot of "news items", plus great guitar solos as in Outside Now. The whole thing never gets boring
@@andrewreisinger6860 One of the best guitar solos ever. It’s got a bit of everything, even some of those guitar notes that would irritate an executive kind of guy. Love your taste👍
Oliver Nelson recorded several albums with Eric Dolphy and Frank was a fan. Stolen Moments is from his most famous album, The Blues And The Abstract Truth.
This is one of my favorite Zappa albums. To this day, 30+ years later, I still greet patients in my clinic as “Mr. so and so” (Mr. Sting) as a humorous greeting for the patient, but really as a tribute to Frank. The horns on this album are the best!
I actually sold a pair of shoes to the Tenor Sax player, Albert Wing, in Sherman Oaks, California in 1994. I didn't know what he looked like, just knew his name. So when he gave me his credit card and I saw his name I went all "fan-boy" on him. I told him how I loved his solos from when he was playing in Frank's band (the '88 band line-up). He was very nice and gracious. He even invited me to come to one of his upcoming gigs (I am also a sax player).
Hi, I saw Frank Zappa on the Broadway The Hardway tour. A concert I'll never forget. I didn't see Mr. Sting but a phenomenal and unforgettable experience.
Oliver Nelson's "Stolen Moments" is a great jazz melody. I think they would have to have done some rehearsal so that the middle Sting part had the right chord progression and key for him to sing in. A couple of pleasant jazzy songs of Zappa are "Blessed Relief" and "20 Small Cigars". Speaking of Sting occasions, check out Robert Downey Jr. singing the Police song "Driven To Tears" at Sting's 65th birthday celebration. He did a great job.
Frank would absolutely and without hesitation bring Donny Osmond onstage with the band, At one show I went to he brought out Ed Bombar, a local furniture store owner who everyone in L.A. knew from his ubiquitous TV commercials. Frank said the audience wants two things, they want to hear stuff that they are familiar with, and they want to be surprised. Donny did record, Stayin’ Alive with Dweezil. That’s well worth listing to. I have to say though, one of the coolest things about being a long time Zappa fan has been watching the two of you find his music for the first time. Good stuff.
@Michael OConnor - You forgot one: Frank said his audience always wants 3 things; to hear something they know, to hear something new and they would also like a surprise. He always delivered!
You guys know that the main jazz part of the song is a cover version of a famous jazz standard…..? Stolen Moments was made famous by Oliver Nelson on his album Blues and the Abstract Truth from 1961
Three albums came from the 88 tour: BroadwayTHW , the Best Band You Never Heard, and Make a Jazz noise Here. I always figured one reason he did that was to recoup the losses he took when that band flamed out and an aborted tour ended his road career. As great as he was as an artist and intellectual, he was a pretty savvy business man too.
@@Frunobulax74 the three I mentioned were put out by Frank not long after the tour. I know more from that band came out since then, but my point was those three were released to help offset financial losses from the canceled tour dates. IMHO of course.
@@Frunobulax74 so if stage 4 and 6 were released not long after the 88 debacle it supports my premise that he released a lot from that tour to offset what it cost him to end it prematurely! Thanks R! I admit, I have not kept up with all the posthumous stuff, picking and choosing what I invest in, but I have scooped up all the 'Wazoo' era recordings!
@@Frunobulax74 he didn't name the instigator, but I have heard it was Bobby Martin... I read that somewhere before, it really soured him on having to deal with talented but petty people. As technically good as this band was, I still think his early to mid seventies bands had the most personality along with the talent, you could tell they were having a ball on stage with him. Thanks R!
@@Frunobulax74 And yet there were Ed & Scott, happy as anything, apparently, at the Zappa Hologram show in London two years back. Time, or money, heals. But we lost a load of shows as a result of the spat that we can't ever get back.
@@Peter-K It was definitely not me that instigated the demise of the '88 band. That was an amazing and special band. I will not throw around incriminations about ancient history, beyond observing that the friction was primarily between the more jazz oriented guys and the more rock oriented guys. Beyond that, I recently reunited two guys from that tour that had not spoken, or played together since '88, when I put together the line up of Banned From Utopia that headlined Zappanale last summer (2023). Zappa fans were ecstatic to see and hear the reunion, which is still intact and still keeping Zappa music alive. Music heals.
This is the reason Zappa is in a league of his own. Listen to these guys! What's he got here. 10 or 11 players. All amongst the best in the business too.
The band did never rehearsh the song "Murder By Numbers"! That song just fitted in "Stolen Moments", they just talked about the chords before performing it. That band was capable of doing such things! (Sorry for my bad English...)
I think this is the same late tour that the version of Cruisin' For Burgers you did is from. Jimmy Swaggart (and his ilk) were nightly targets for Frank at this stage.
It’s a good example of what happens when Zappa invites someone to play and they brush him off. (Or maybe Johnny’s wife really was sick. They were kind of old by then.)
Absolutely Not planned out. One night during a early 1980s NYC Palladium (Halloween shows) Frank found a street performer that played spoons. Yup, you guessed it. Frank brought him up on stage that night to do a solo. That was Frank. A incredible musician caught his ear/eye.....
Mr. Zappa and his Mothers also played onstage in '71 at the Filmore East with John Lennon & Yoko. The Yoko bits aren't so hot but the Lennon stuff is definitely worth a listen.
Listen to the title track on "Dream of the Blue Turtles". You can clearly hear some Zappaesque inspiration there. And also be aware that Stings drummer, Vinnie Colaiuta started hes career playing for Zappa.
1. They were in the same Hotel - if coincidensed or what ever. And a man like STING asked himself for planning his evening and sees, that there Frank Zappa is performing this evening and enjoy it LIKE A NORMAL GUEST! (I would have done also, as if I where Sting on my own. But I don't... :o( whoooowhoooowhooo *crying announcement) 2. I'm sure that Frank Zappa didn't know ("Mister") Sting once before! He was, my oppinion, just deep in his own work (or in his own universe, maybe), that he didn't notice other music, like POLICE and STING was. 3. Someone should have been told Frank Zappa WHO this (Mister) Sting is already this evening (after elevator). 4. And so: Listen!
Best version of the song "Murder by numbers". (It would have been a great deal if Frank would had produced Stings live album "Bring on the night”, there were some jazz influences.
According to Mike Keneally 's tour diary (1988 Was A Million years ago) Sting was supposed to come out & do some scatting. Instead he went into 'Murder By Numbers' .
I don't have the best ear, but Stolen Moments and Murder by Numbers likely have similar chord changes. With Frank's genius and his band's talents, this could have easily been a spontaneous collaboration. The feel and Sting's delivery are way different than the Police version. I like this better!
I was fortunate to have attended this concert. It was at The Auditorium in Chicago. Last tour Zappa ever did in the USA. Great all around show that night.
Actually, if Frank had met Donny Osmond in the elevator he absolutely would’ve invited him and Marie and his entire family to to come on stage with him. One of the greatest things about Frank Zappa is that he would play with anyone whether he approved their music or not, and he was always looking to,mix things up.
Sting’s record company allowed it to be included on the album provided Zappa never “made a thing of it.” Meaning: don’t publicise it. Record companies, eh? Great version.
I worked in a german music-company, named ROUGH TRADE RECORDS (Deutschland = RTD) and the Mother-Company ROUGH TRADE (GB) was bought by a millionaire named GEOFF TRAVIS. I didn't know before this day today, that he was the FOUNDER of the idea of Rough Trade Records. However, he bought it BACK again then, and he was in personal contact to Frank Zappa in California, because Frank Zappa was looking for a new way in distribution for Europe. Our german team had a "welcome-dinner" with the new owner, OK. Fine. Geoff Travis told the story, how he met Frank Zappa in California, Frank Zappa was on the way to tell him his newest projects - and Travis said to him (original citation - I sat just in front of Travis): "I don't want to know, what you are planning in the future, I want to sell your records!" --->
Frank may not have invited Donny O up to his suite (although actually who knows), but Dweezil would. Donny did some vocals on a Dweezil album in '91. The Zappas know a lot of people.
Definitely showcases the Zappa band's versatility and impeccable musicianship. I enjoyed the spoken semi-tirade 2nd intro/preface as much as Sting's performance lol. Not sure this is Frank on guitar, still a great player, no question, well, DUH!! One more search of discovery, hmmm. 8>D
Actually, I believe Frank was very friendly with musicians of all sorts. There's a great clip to be found of him and Mike Nesmith of the Monkees doing a skit together. And, fun fact, he did a cameo in the very weird Monkees movie _Head._
FYI it was 1988 in Chicago. I was there. There’s a lot of Zappa lore about that band. Not all of it good. Frank ended the tour with a lot of dates canceled. The guys in the band were not getting along and Frank finally just tore it down. He lost a lot of money. He apparently was starting to get sick and was less tolerant of the band’s behavior. You can’t tell this on the album; it rocked.
Actually, in the root of this is the Sting's attitude twards Jimmy Swagger, just as Frank's. you should also check Sting's rendition of Zappa's Idiot Bastard Son... which will be a nice greeting to you - Happy 2022 :)
I love this song as well, it may be one of my favorite covers that I've heard Zappa do... with the possible exception of when they performed Ravel's Bolero. Funny that you mentioned Donny Osmond. It was actually Dweezil Zappa (one of Frank's sons) who did a song with Donny Osmond and it was freaking amazing. Check out Dweezeil and Donny Osmond doing a cover of the Bee Gees "Stayin' Alive": ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-F4CMGbs1-rI.html
If you think this was good, check out the original "Stolen Moments" os the LP "Oliver Nelson Blues and the abstract truth". Even more beautiful harmonic clusters on the horns, and the "solos" are next-level.
@brianbatie6650 - All star band! Freddie Hubbard - trumpet Eric Dolphy - alto saxophone; flute Oliver Nelson - tenor saxophone George Barrow - baritone saxophone Bill Evans - piano Paul Chambers - bass Roy Haynes - drums Order of solos: Hubbard, Dolphy, Nelson, Evans Zappa was a major fan of Eric Dolphy.
As Sting said, "I wrote the fucking song". Now while you have the album in hand, go to Jesus Thinks You're a Jerk. See how far ahead of his time he actually was.
One more (of the 3) last tour albums & maybe my least favorite Zappa album... I believe this was the last (in store) vinyl release & the only one I don't have! Zappa moved his releases to (that new fangled) CD format after this...
Just a side note for you, Dweezil Zappa has had Donny Osmond sing on one of his songs (and Ozzy before that). ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-F4CMGbs1-rI.html
It is amazing though how meticulous a man is because Stolen Moments when it was done if you notice you can listen to it again and you'll see the music right before the trumpet does the solo you'll notice you know it's doing that ascending chord progression you know and you noticed that the tempo speeds up right before the solo well guess what? That's just how it's done by the original performers original players of this song back in the day I remember that hearing the song many times cuz of my folks were so into jazz and when it came to that part before the solo the tempo goes up in speed and that's exactly what's happened did I mean he's just so OnPoint you know it's hilarious Murder By Numbers when the record came out you know it was right before CDs so most of the records were on Final and they didn't put the record they didn't put Murder By Numbers On synchronicity they released it as a single actually I think it was the B side of a like synchronicity to that sort of thing and when I finally heard it I was just floored I don't know if you've ever heard the original police version of it but Andy Summers he just kills it with the guitar chords on that one and of course Andy or I mean Stewart Copeland does this genius drum bit I mean it's so funny the way it comes in off of its drums it is uncanny and I'm telling you man. Trumpet player is just not only is he so technically perfect but he's doing the most beautiful on point solo let's just say it checks all the boxes alright you crazy kids someday I'll tell you about the time I saw sting you know that was fun song this band I was in we did shadows in the rain that was fun playing drums and singing at the same time there's a trick I think in the song the drummer fucks up and they just leave it in the song it's hilarious
