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 Frank Zappa - Baby Snakes :: 1878257021
Description
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| Touted as "a movie about people who do stuff that is not normal," Frank Zappa's Baby Snakes chronicles a late-'70s Halloween stand in New York City (a zany enough proceeding in its own right) with digressions throughout the first half for backstage antics, band interviews, and some outlandish clay animation from Bruce Bickford, with whose work Zappa was obviously smitten. Onstage, Zappa is a live wire, the audience is appropriately rambunctious, and the band--an especially potent incarnation of the famous Mothers of Invention--is tight as could be. The film amounts to a three-hour musical carnival whose participants lack any trace of artistic or personal inhibition. Zappa, who died in 1993, always worked with consummate musicians, and Baby Snakes showcases the cream of the crop: Terry Bozzio (one of the greatest drummers ever to command a kit), bassist Patrick O'Hearn, keyboard wizard Tommy Mars, and even pop chameleon Adrian Belew. The DVD packaging, with its deluxe miniature dossier on Zappa and the film, is fabulous, and the sound and picture seem about as good as they could be, under the influence--that is, the circumstances. Undeniable are Zappa's intelligence and charisma, which flicker and blaze every second he's on screen. The progressive-leaning rock and jazz music is frequently interrupted for meandering spoken interludes and is certainly not for all tastes. But Frank Zappa was a force to behold, and Baby Snakes offers a unique cultural education for anyone bold enough to give it a spin. "Without deviation," Zappa wrote, "progress is not possible." Baby Snakes is one of Frank's most fervent contributions to progress. --Michael Mikesell Editorial Descriptions are usually submitted by the manufacturers, publishers and authors. Contact us if you are one of them, and wish to change the above description. |
Reviews
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Author: Guest
DIG IT, DIG IT, DIG IT, A MUST HAVE FOR ANY TRUE FZ FAN.. BELEW AND ZAPPA ON THE SAME STAGE GET YER' COPY NOW, SO YA DON'T FORGET CALL B4 MIDNITE TONITE!! OPERATORS ARE STANDING BY.
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Author: Guest
This is my favorite band line-up of Frank's, too bad I never got to see it in person (saw him in 1981 at the Fox Theater in Atlanta). IS there a better drummer than Terry Bozzio?!?!? I don't think so. And, with Frank's obsessive recording and filming, I wish they would release more video of this band.
Now....to those who bashed me for stating that I personally think the VHS sounds better than the DVD (one even called me an idiot).....GROW UP!!..It's only an opinion. Just being 5.1 doesn't ALWAYS mean it sounds better!! On MY high-end living room stereo, the VHS does sound better than the DVD with the exception of the bottom end, I'll admit the DVD has more bass. Other than that single fact the DVD is real "muddy" sounding, no where NEAR as crisp and bright as the VHS. Heck I can even hear Terry's sticks HITTING the cymbals at the beginning of "Pound for a Brown", on the DVD all I hear is the cymbal itself!!!
To those who honestly think the DVD sounds better...well I can only say 3 things....1) your main speakers aren't as good as mine, 2) Your VCR never truly found the Hi-Fi tracking setting or 3) You're so used to Rap, Hip Hop and other bass dominated current garbage that you have no clue what REALLY good high end sounds like!!
But does that mean I'm not watching the DVD?? No...I just have to crank the high end of the equalizer up a little more...I gave the VHS to a friend :)
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Author: Guest
i would like to point out, to mister Michael Mikesell, that, pertaining to your "under the influence" comment in the review, that Zappa was VERY vehemently anti-drug and very rarely drank aside from the occasional beer, he was just a very strange individual, and that's the only thing you can possibly describe him as is an in-di-vid-ual, a term that has lost it's meaning in today's day and age.
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Author: Guest
Seeing as how there is very little video record of the works of Frank Zappa, I consider this film to be nearly priceless. There is plenty one could be critical of: I sometimes regarded Zappa's musical topics as often rude, crude and needlessly raunchy. He was none-the-less a true American original and a brilliant composer.
The best part of this film is the concert footage. If you never got the chance to see Frank live (Like me) and you generally dig LIVE music, you'll totally dig this video.
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Author: Guest
*** Be warned that "Baby Snakes" IS NOT a regular movie as it is sarcastically referred to in the film's trailers. It is a concert film with one of FZ's greatest bands of the 70's with some extremely eye-popping clay animation sequences by animator Bruce Bickford thrown in between.
The concert footage is fantastic and it proves that FZ loved to entertain his audience and wanted to make sure that they had a great time.
There is audience participation where fans are invited on stage to take part in the band's antics. There is a man who is billed as the "Human Trombone" because the sounds he makes with his mouth sound exactly like, what else?, a TROMBONE!
Terry Bozzio has a great minute and a half drum solo that is not on the soundtrack album to this movie but can only be seen and heard here.
The concert is from the October 31, 1977 Halloween concert at the old Palladium in NYC. The songs performed are mostly taken from the "Sheik Yerbouti" album with some requested oldies thrown in to please the fans.
Dinah-Moe Humm is, unfortunately, the most requested song since it is shouted several times by audience memebers (and even by other fans on live cds). That request is typical among "casual fans". When you're a big FZ fan like myself and someone tells you they are the same and then mention "Dinah-Moe Humm" or "Valley Girl" as their favorite Zappa song, then I know they are either casual fans who have not heard much of Zappa's music or they are a liar. One older guy in the movie requests "Help, I'm A Rock" which brought a smile to my face.
The worst thing about the movie is footage of original mother Roy Estrada's fascination with a blow-up doll backstage and his annoying onstage routine with a gas mask and papal hat. I did not care for any of it.
Some criticize Bickford's animation claiming that it was used too much in this almost 3 hour movie. I disagree because there is enough concert footage and the animation is always changing.
I didn't care for Bickford's mind-less rantings but there's not too much of that thankfully.
All in all, this is a fantastic movie for all "true" FZ fans. 200 Motels was not as enjoyable since Zappa did not sing or speak one word in the entire movie.
In "Baby Snakes" he speaks humorous monologues, sings his classics and plays his guitar....HE DOES IT ALL!
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