Trance-Fusion
Encyclopedia
Trance-Fusion is the name of an album of guitar solos completed by Frank Zappa
shortly before his death, but not released until 2006. The album had previously been announced for release in 1999, and 2003 and again announced in 2005 in relation to the Zappa Plays Zappa
tour. It had previously been only available through bootleg
s.
Zappa had previously released several other albums consisting entirely of guitar solos - Guitar, the Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar
series, The Guitar World According to Frank Zappa
, and the posthumous Frank Zappa Plays the Music of Frank Zappa: A Memorial Tribute
.
Frank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed...
shortly before his death, but not released until 2006. The album had previously been announced for release in 1999, and 2003 and again announced in 2005 in relation to the Zappa Plays Zappa
Zappa Plays Zappa
Zappa Plays Zappa is an American tribute act led by Dweezil Zappa, the eldest son of the late American composer and musician Frank Zappa, devoted to performing the music of Frank Zappa.- History :...
tour. It had previously been only available through bootleg
Bootleg recording
A bootleg recording is an audio or video recording of a performance that was not officially released by the artist or under other legal authority. The process of making and distributing such recordings is known as bootlegging...
s.
Zappa had previously released several other albums consisting entirely of guitar solos - Guitar, the Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar
Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar
Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar is a triple vinyl album, originally issued mail order-only as three separate volumes, featuring live material recorded by Frank Zappa between February 1977 and December 1980. The final track, "Canard du Jour", is a duet with Frank Zappa on electric bouzouki and Jean-Luc...
series, The Guitar World According to Frank Zappa
The Guitar World According to Frank Zappa
The Guitar World According to Frank Zappa is a 1987 compilation album featuring guitar solos by Frank Zappa. It was issued as a cassette from Guitar World magazine, and has also been available in bootlegged versions as Guitar Hernia and Solo on Guitar...
, and the posthumous Frank Zappa Plays the Music of Frank Zappa: A Memorial Tribute
Frank Zappa Plays the Music of Frank Zappa: A Memorial Tribute
Frank Zappa Plays the Music of Frank Zappa: A Memorial Tribute is a posthumous album by Frank Zappa.According to the liner notes, Frank's son Dweezil talked with his father shortly before Frank's death about the songs Frank had written that he would consider to be his "signature" tunes. These were...
.
Track listing
- "Chunga's Revenge" - 7:01
- Performed at Wembley Arena, London, UK: April 19, 1988. Features Dweezil ZappaDweezil ZappaDweezil Zappa is an American rock guitarist and occasional actor.-Early life:Zappa was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of musician Frank Zappa and Adelaide Gail Sloatman, who worked in business. He is the second of four siblings: his older sister, Moon, younger sister Diva and younger...
- Performed at Wembley Arena, London, UK: April 19, 1988. Features Dweezil Zappa
- "Bowling on Charen" - 5:03
- Guitar solo from Wild Love, performed at The Palladium, NYC: October 28, 1977 (early show)
- Originally called The Squirm
- "Good Lobna" - 1:39
- Guitar solo from Let's Move To Cleveland, performed at Orpheum Theater, Memphis, Tennessee: December 4, 1984
- Refers to an episode of The SimpsonsThe SimpsonsThe Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
: "New Kid on the BlockNew Kid on the Block"New Kid on the Block" is the eighth episode of The Simpsons fourth season, which originally aired on November 12, 1992. After meeting his new neighbor, Laura, Bart develops a crush on her, only to later discover that she has a boyfriend, Jimbo Jones, whom he attempts to scare off so that he can...
," in which BartBart SimpsonBartholomew JoJo "Bart" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the Simpson family. He is voiced by actress Nancy Cartwright and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
says this line. Series creator Matt GroeningMatt GroeningMatthew Abram "Matt" Groening is an American cartoonist, screenwriter, and producer. He is the creator of the comic strip Life in Hell as well as two successful television series, The Simpsons and Futurama....
is a Zappa fan.
- "A Cold Dark Matter" - 3:31
- Guitar solo from Inca Roads, performed at Memorial Hall, Allentown, Pennsylvania: March 19, 1988
- Refers to cold dark matterCold dark matterCold dark matter is the improvement of the big bang theory that contains the additional assumption that most of the matter in the Universe consists of material that cannot be observed by its electromagnetic radiation and whose constituent particles move slowly...
, a term from cosmology and particle physics.
- "Butter or Cannons" - 3:24
- Guitar solo from Let's Move To Cleveland, performed at The Pier, NYC: August 25, 1984
- "Ask Dr. Stupid" - 3:20
- Guitar solo from Easy Meat, performed at Rhein-Neckarhalle, Eppelheim, Germany: March 21, 1979
- Refers to a recurring segment from The Ren and Stimpy ShowThe Ren and Stimpy ShowThe Ren & Stimpy Show, often simply referred to as Ren & Stimpy, is an American animated television series, created by Canadian animator John Kricfalusi for Nickelodeon. The series focuses on the titular characters: Ren Höek, a psychotic chihuahua, and Stimpson J. Cat, a good-natured, dimwitted cat...
. Series creator John KricfalusiJohn KricfalusiMichael John Kricfalusi , better known as John K., is a Canadian animator. He is creator of The Ren & Stimpy Show, its adults-only spin-off Ren & Stimpy "Adult Party Cartoon", The Ripping Friends animated series, and Weekend Pussy Hunt, which was billed as "the world's first interactive web-based...
is also a Zappa fan, and Zappa provided the voice of "The PopePopeThe Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
" on one episode of the series.
- "Scratch & Sniff" - 3:56
- Guitar solo from City Of Tiny Lights, performed at Brighton Centre, Brighton, UK: April 16, 1988
- "Trance-Fusion" - 4:19
- Guitar solo from Marque-Son's Chicken, performed at Liederhalle, Stuttgart, Germany: May 24, 1988
- "Gorgo" - 2:41
- Guitar solo from The Torture Never Stops, performed at Johanneshovs Isstadion, Stockholm: May 1, 1988
- May refer to the 1961 science fiction film (Zappa is known to be a fan of monster movies), or Gorgonzola, the Zappa family's cat. Most likely refers to Gorgo (presumably a roadie or security guard) as listed in the liner notes.
- "Diplodocus" - 3:22
- Guitar solo from King Kong, performed at Civic Center, Providence, Rhode Island: October 26, 1984
- "Soul Polka"' - 3:17
- Guitar solo from Oh No, performed at Memorial Hall, Allentown, Pennsylvania: March 19, 1988
- "For Giuseppe Franco" - 3:48
- Guitar solo from Hot-Plate Heaven At The Green Hotel, performed at Paramount Theatre, Seattle, Washington: December 17, 1984 (late show)
- "After Dinner Smoker" - 4:45
- Guitar solo from The Torture Never Stops, performed at Palasport, Genoa, Italy: June 9, 1988
- "Light is All That Matters" - 3:46
- Guitar solo from Let's Move To Cleveland,performed at Paramount Theatre, Seattle, Washington December 17, 1984 (late show)
- "Finding Higgs' Boson" - 3:41
- Guitar solo from Hot-Plate Heaven At The Green Hotel, performed at Stadthalle, Vienna, Austria: May 8, 1988
- Refers to the Higgs BosonHiggs bosonThe Higgs boson is a hypothetical massive elementary particle that is predicted to exist by the Standard Model of particle physics. Its existence is postulated as a means of resolving inconsistencies in the Standard Model...
, a hypothetical massive scalar elementary particle predicted to exist by the Standard Model of particle physics.
- "Bavarian Sunset" - 4:00
- Guitar solo from post-I Am The Walrus jam, performed at Rudi-Sedlmeyer Sporthalle, Munich, Germany: May 9, 1988
Personnel
- Frank Zappa – guitar, all tracks
- Dweezil ZappaDweezil ZappaDweezil Zappa is an American rock guitarist and occasional actor.-Early life:Zappa was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of musician Frank Zappa and Adelaide Gail Sloatman, who worked in business. He is the second of four siblings: his older sister, Moon, younger sister Diva and younger...
– guitar on tracks 1 and 16 - Mike KeneallyMike KeneallyMichael Joseph Keneally is an American guitarist, keyboardist, vocalist and composer. Allmusic says: "With his wide-ranging talents and ability to be creative in almost any musical situation, Keneally is the leading progressive rock genius of the post-Zappa era."Born on Long Island, New York, he...
– rhythm guitar and keyboards on tracks 1, 4, 7, 8, 9, 11, 13, 15, and 16 - Bobby Martin – keyboards on tracks 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, and 16
- Ed Mann – percussion on tracks 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 13, 15, and 16
- Walt Fowler – trumpet, flugelhorn and keyboards on tracks 1, 4, 7, 8, 9, 11, 13, 15, and 16
- Bruce FowlerBruce FowlerBruce Lambourne Fowler is a prominent American trombone player and composer. He notably played trombone on many Frank Zappa records, as well as with Captain Beefheart, and in the Fowler Brothers Band...
– trombone on tracks 1, 4, 7, 8, 9, 11, 13, 15, and 16 - Paul Carmen – alto, soprano, and baritone saxophone on tracks 1, 4, 7, 8, 9, 11, 13, 15, and 16
- Albert Wing – tenor saxophone on tracks 1, 4, 7, 8, 9, 11, 13, 15, and 16
- Kurt McGettrick – baritone, bass saxophone and contrabass clarinet on tracks 1, 4, 7, 8, 9, 11, 13, 15, and 16
- Scott ThunesScott ThunesScott Thunes is a former bass player with Frank Zappa, Wayne Kramer, Steve Vai, Andy Prieboy, Mike Keneally, Fear, The Waterboys and others....
– bass and mini-Moog on tracks 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, and 16 - Chad WackermanChad WackermanChad Wackerman is a jazz, jazz fusion and rock drummer; arguably best known in the United States for his work as a drummer and percussionist in Frank Zappa's band...
– drums and percussion on tracks 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, and 16 - Ray WhiteRay WhiteRay White is a soul vocalist and rock and blues guitarist, best known as a member of Frank Zappa's touring ensembles. He was drafted into Zappa's band in the fall of 1976, being featured on rhythm guitar and vocals, forming a memorable vocal harmony partnership with Ike Willis on later tours in...
– rhythm guitar on tracks 3, 5, 10, 12, and 14 - Ike WillisIke WillisIke Willis is a singer and guitarist who was a regular sideman for Frank Zappa, first joining Zappa's band for the fall 1978 tour and remaining in the band for several years. He did not tour with Zappa in 1981 and 1982 for personal reasons, but returned to touring with Zappa for his final two...
– rhythm guitar on tracks 3, 5, 10, 12, and 14 - Allan Zavod – keyboards on tracks 3, 5, 10, 12, and 14
- Warren CuccurulloWarren CuccurulloWarren Bruce Cuccurullo in Brooklyn, New York is an American rock musician who worked with Frank Zappa, was a founding member of Missing Persons, and has been a long term member of Duran Duran. He also has some notoriety in the porn industry after making nude appearances in a magazine and...
– rhythm guitar on track 6 - Denny Walley – slide guitar on track 6
- Tommy MarsTommy MarsTommy Mars is a keyboard player, best known for his work with Frank Zappa.Born in Connecticut, U.S.A., 26 October 1951 Mars began piano lessons at age eight, and later his instrument range expanded to various keyboards and synthesizers. Mars graduated in 1972 from the Hartt College of Music in...
– keyboards on tracks 2 and 6 - Peter Wolf – keyboards on tracks 2 and 6
- Vinnie ColaiutaVinnie ColaiutaVincent Colaiuta is an American drummer based in Los Angeles. Originally from Republic, Pennsylvania, he began playing drums as a child and received his first full drum kit from his parents at the age of 14...
– drums on track 6 - Adrian BelewAdrian BelewAdrian Belew is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer...
– rhythm guitar on track 2 - Patrick O'HearnPatrick O'HearnPatrick O'Hearn is an American multi-instrumentalist musician, composer and recording artist. While his musical repertoire spans a diverse range of music, he is an acclaimed New Age artist in his solo career...
– bass on track 2 - Terry BozzioTerry BozzioTerry John Bozzio is an American drummer best known for his work with Missing Persons and Frank Zappa.-Biography:Terry Bozzio was born December 27, 1950 in San Francisco, California. He started at age 6 playing makeshift drum sets. At the age of 13 he saw The Beatles premier performance on The Ed...
– drums on track 2