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Last Name 1
28 August 2020
Title: Frank Zappa – Barcelona 1988
““The easiest way to sum up the aesthetic would be: Anything, anytime, anyplace for no
reason at all.” - Frank Zappa,
There once existed a man without category in American Music, a rebel in every way
imaginable. Highly intellectual, he was unpopularly popular, and popularly unpopular, an early
advocate of digital synthesizers, recorder of strange sounds, a composer of humorous and
sometimes overtly sexual rock music that was socially conscious and scathing in its criticism of
censorship, herd mentalities, politics, and religion as an institution (rockhall.com). He was a
shrewd taskmaster who led some of the most diverse bands of the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s, he
composed rock, jazz, doo-wop, and classical music. He is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall
of Fame, considered one of the greatest guitarist who ever lived, a supreme judge of musical
talent, who has a urinary tract bacterium and numerous other things named after him, and was
named a special Ambassador to the Czech Republic by their first President in 1990. The list of
Last Name 2
people who are influenced by him includes the Beatles, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Phish. He is
Frank Zappa. This is an analysis of his Barcelona concert in 1988, on what would be his last tour
before his death in 1993 due to prostate cancer. (Wikipedia)
The band in the concert is a 12-piece band (with a reported repertoire of over 100 songs
learned for shows which Frank could reference and call up to play live as the show was going
on) including Zappa, based in a typical 1970’s style rock band of guitarist, bassist, drummer, and
keyboard player this is augmented by a brass section of three saxophones, trombone, trumpet,
xylophone, clarinet, flugel horn, synclavier, and numerous other percussion instrument. During
the performance four members of the band sing lead vocals varying by song (killuglyradio.com).
The concert took place in Barcelona on May 17, 1988 at the Palau Dels Esports and was a live
broadcast on television (killuglyradio.com) to an audience whose numbers are were not
