Tinsel Town Rebellion
	Produced by Frank Zappa
	Released on May 17, 1981
	US CHART POSITION #66 . . . UK CHART POSITION #55
	Find it at GEMM
PW2 37336 cover [high resolution photo]

L et’s hear it for another glimpse of occasional greatness: a live set by turns inspired, stupid, nostalgic, forward-looking, cruel, funny, and so on. This double album leads with its lone studio track, “Fine Girl,” the kind of funked-up music that appeared on Ship Arriving Too Late, “included,” in Frank’s words, “so that conservative radio stations can play something on the air.” From there, it’s a mix of golden oldies (“Love Of My Life,” “I Ain’t Got No Heart”) and new material performed live and recorded cleanly enough to warrant the live label moot. Typical of Frank’s music from this period, the highs are very high, the lows very low. “Easy Meat,” “The Blue Light,” “Pick Me, I’m Clean” and “Tinsel Town Rebellion” are fine additions to the FZ canon. However, “Panty Rap” and “Dance Contest” find Frank playing to the groundlings as he collects female underwear for a quilt and tries to get drunk people to dance (remember the Be-Bop Tango?). The performances are drawn from a few different venues, primarily the Hammersmith Odeon and Berkeley Community Theater. Honestly, I could have survived without the first two sides of music: swap “Easy Meat” for “Dance Contest” and you’ve got the makings of a great single elpee. From “The Blue Light” to “Peaches III” (another reinvention of the old “Peaches En Regalia” tune) this is great stuff. Whether he’s ripping apart the social fabric with the Absolutely Free entry “Brown Shoes Don’t Make It” or attacking the Hollywood music scene in “Tinsel Town Rebellion,” Zappa’s fury is a force to be reckoned with. Such heavy fare makes the lighter moments seem flimsy, but by now most Zappa fans have learned to accept the composer’s irregular genius as a glass half full. Tinsel Town Rebellion is definitely half full, no worse (and no better) than Sheik Yerbouti.

PW2 37336 inner gatefold	PW2 37336 inner sleeve

TRACK LISTING

1. FINE GIRL    3:30
2. EASY MEAT    9:17
3. FOR THE YOUNG SOPHISTICATE    3:13
4. LOVE OF MY LIFE    2:15
5. I AIN'T GOT NO HEART    2:00
6. PANTY RAP    4:36
7. TELL ME YOU LOVE ME    2:06
8. NOW YOU SEE IT - NOW YOU DON'T    5:03
9. DANCE CONTEST    3:01
10. THE BLUE LIGHT    5:26
11. TINSEL TOWN REBELLION    4:36
12. PICK ME, I'M CLEAN    5:37
13. BAMBOOZLED BY LOVE    5:46
14. BROWN SHOES DON'T MAKE IT    7:14
15. PEACHES III    4:56
    
    All selections composed & arranged by Frank Zappa

CREDITS

FRANK ZAPPA -- lead guitar & vocals
ARTHUR BARROW -- bass & vocals
VINNIE COLAIUTA -- drums
WARREN CUCURULLO -- rhythm guitar & vocals
BOB HARRIS -- keyboards, trumpet & high vocals
ED MANN -- percussion
TOMMY MARS -- keyboards & vocals
STEVE VAI -- rhythm guitar & vocals
DENNEY WALLEY -- slide guitar & vocals
RAY WHITE -- rhythm guitar & vocals
IKE WILLIS -- rhythm guitar & vocals
PETER WOLF -- keyboards
Greg Cowan -- eccentric well-to-do Oregonian party giver
David Logemann -- drums (1,2)
Patrick O'Hearn -- bass (9)
Joe Chiccarelli -- engineer
George Douglas -- engineer
Tommy Fly -- engineer
Mark Pinske -- engineer
Alan Sides -- engineer
Bob Stone -- re-mix engineer
Cal Schenkel -- cover art
John Williams -- graphics

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