When Frank was asked whether or not he felt he had written or recorded anything that was unique or special to him he replied, "Yes." He then mentioned the names of 3 guitar instrumentals; "Black Napkins," "Zoot Allures" and "Watermelon In Easter Hay". He considered these his 'signature pieces'.
1974: Not actually played, but the opening chords were teased frequently by Frank throughout the tour, especially in is "Dupree's Paradise" solos. The most obvious "Zoot" tease, however, came in a post- "Don't You Ever" jam, which segued rather beautifully into the only ever performance of "Flambay". This occurred on 9/25, and their exists a rather sweet copy of this in the taping community.
1975 Sep-Dec: For those of you who shelled out the 27 bucks, I will tell you that this tune is essentially performed as on FZPTMOFZ, with the standard deviation coming in Frank's lengthy and highly experimental solo. For those of you who kept your money and didn't go to the show, I will tell you that this version is essentially performed as on YCDTOSA Volume III, with the solo section not being from the '82 band. After Frank would complete the head as heard on YCDTOSA, he would veer off into new musical territory, basing his solo on the written song but frequently veering off into new directions. On this tour, Frank has not yet discovered the wonderful world of "Ship Ahoy", and thus these performances do not contain that effect laden guitar coda. Nevertheless, they are still some mighty sweet solos.
1976 Jan-Mar: For those of you who shelled out the 27 bucks, then I will tell you that this tune is essentially performed as on FZPTMOFZ, with the standard deviation coming in Frank's lengthy and highly experimental solo. For those of you who have not broken down and acquired the mustache-laden mail order CD, then I will tell you that this tune contains three parts. Part one is essentially performed as on YCDTOSA Volume III (the pre-solo part). Part two is the "Zoot Allures" guitar solo, which evolves directly out of the head of the tune. Part three is essentially performed as on "Ship Ahoy" from SUNPYG, with the standard deviation coming in Frank's solo. During these "Ship Ahoy" experiments, Frank occasionally segues into raw, instrumental versions of either "Ms. Pinky" or "Disco Boy", both of which sound better here than they do in there officially released versions. Without a doubt, these guitar workshops are highlights of each show, and are one of the few reasons why this tour simply cannot be ignored.
1980: This just in from Jon Naurin- "A surprising report from a tape I recently got: on 20-Apr 1980, show #2, "Zoot Allures" was played (in the same spot where he threw in "He used to cut the grass" two days earlier). FZ announces that this is a song they've never played live before, and the first couple of bars would have revealed this anyway. After the staggering intro, FZ delivers a long and quite nice solo. The vamp is similar to the 1981/82 one."
1981: Essentially performed as on "The Best Band You Never Heard in Your Life", accounting for obvious differences in instrumentation (Vai on sitar), and with the standard deviation coming in Frank's solo. "Chalk Pie" from "Guitar" is a "Zoot Allures" extract. [Patrick Buzby describes the 11/1 performance- the first of the 80's- " This version of "Zoot" has FZ soloing (rather awkwardly) over the headsection. Then, at the point where the solo arrives, the band stays in A-Flat rather than moving up to A, and Scott and Chad stay in a rock groove rather than a reggae one. As a result, the solo sounds similar to the "Mammy Anthem" solo (though in major rather than minor). Very interesting. I see "Zoot Allures" as being a very significant song on this tour. IMO, the shows from November on are on a different level compared to the earlier ones, and this song (premiered on 11/1) demonstrated this better than any other (aside from "Drowning Witch")."]
1982: Essentially performed as on "The Best Band You Never Heard in Your Life", accounting for obvious differences in instrumentation (Vai on sitar), and with the standard deviation coming in Frank's solo. During these solos, Frank and/or Vai would occasionally employ the use of delay effects, and this added to the excitement and possibilities of Frank's playing. "When No One Was No One" from "Guitar" is a "Zoot Allures" extract, with a little effect use thrown in towards the end.
1984: Essentially played as on "Does Humor Belong in Music?", with the standard deviation coming in Frank's solo. Only played as a show opener.
1988: Essentially performed as on TBBYNHIYL, with the standard deviation coming in Frank's solo.
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