Zappa '88: The Last U.S. Show is a live album released June 18, 2021, by Frank Zappa. It contains mostly previously unreleased recordings of the last concert he would ever play in the US at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York.
Content The album was released as a double CD and a quadruple LP. Besides Zappa originals it includes covers such as "Stairway to Heaven", "Whipping Post", and a medley of Beatles songs consisting of "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)", "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds", and "Strawberry Fields Forever" with changed lyrics to reflect a recent sex scandal involving Televangelist Jimmy Swaggart as well as a standalone cover of "I Am the Walrus". There were also two new songs written and recorded for the tour, "Jesus Thinks You’re A Jerk" and "When The Lie’s So Big", as well as pieces by Bartók and Stravinsky. In the opening track "We Are Doing Voter Registration Here" Zappa is heard encouraging audience members to register to vote in the forthcoming US election, and someone is heard registering on stage. The tracks "When The Lie's So Big" and the cover of "America The Beautiful" from this concert were previously released in the 2016 compilation album "Frank Zappa for President". While the majority of the album features the Nassau concert, "Stairway to Heaven" was taken from a performance in Towson, Maryland on March 23, 1988, while "Whipping Post" was recorded in Providence, Rhode Island on March 16, 1988.
Track listing
Personnel
Frank Zappa - lead guitar, Synclavier, vocals Mike Keneally - guitar, synth, vocals Scott Thunes - electric bass, Minimoog Ike Willis - rhythm guitar, synth, vocals Chad Wackerman - drums, electronic percussion Ed Mann - Vibraphone, Marimba, electronic percussion Robert Martin - keyboards, vocals Walt Fowler - Trumpet, Flugelhorn, synth Bruce Fowler - Trombone Paul Carman - Alto, Soprano, Baritone Albert Wing - Tenor saxophone Kurt McGettrick - Baritone, Bass saxophone
Charts + Chart performance for Zappa '88: The Last U.S. Show Chart (2021) Peakposition
References