FRANK ZAPPA — Bongo Fury (with Beefheart & Mothers) (review)

FRANK ZAPPA — Bongo Fury (with Beefheart & Mothers) album cover Live album · 1975 · Jazz Related Rock Buy this album from MMA partners
3.5/5 ·
Warthur
Bongo Fury captures Zappa and the Mothers sliding into avant-blues territory with Captain Beefheart rounding out the crew. From the perspective of a fan of the mid-1970s incarnation of the Mothers, this is probably a lower priority that that lineup's studio albums or more essential live albums like You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore Volume 2 or Roxy and Elsewhere; the fusion side of the band is toned down, and the Beefheart-less songs seem like off-cuts and rejects from meatier works, though that said Advance Romance is one awesome song.

The album is rather more of a success for Beefheart, who joined the Mothers for a tour after both the original Magic Band and the short-lived so-called "Tragic Band" disintegrated around him and his 1974 albums (Unconditionally Guaranteed /Bluejeans and Moonbeams) did terrible damage to his artistic credibility whilst utterly failing to win over the commercial audiences they were angling for. Bongo Fury, when it came out, was a timely reminder that despite all appearances Beefheart was still the troutmasked weirdo beloved by his fans. A couple of spoken word poetry pieces by Beefheart pad out the running time, but his true victories are the songs where he's backed by the Mothers, who adapt themselves to his style admirably - as on the opening Debra Kadabra.

On the whole, the album is probably too patchy to deserve a fourth star, but it comes exceptionally close - especially if you are a fan of both Zappa and Beefheart. For those only interested in one artist or the other, shave a star off the rating.
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