Frank Zappa
Sheik Yerbouti (1979)

review by: Glenn Pfeifer
Date: 11/26/01

Why not is right....? Why not Frank Zappa as guitar god for the ages?? I was convinced that no one could touch Frank's fret mastery when I saw him for the 6th and last time in the mid-80s...his band had evolved into an amalgam of jazz and classical...doo wop and metal...an acoustic bass in one tune and two fully-programmed synclaviers in the next – but the guitars, and the 10-minute solos, never stopped amazing the crowd. Frank's style was beyond definition, his wizardry was beyond visual interpretation.

Zappa is not for everyone. My roomate and I used to clear out parties and have women running for exit signs when we'd slap on Apostrophe, or You Are What You Is.

Sheik Yourbouti truly has a little slice of everything that makes up the Zappa pie - perverse lyrics that skip from hilarious to pornographic and back again - guitar solos that range from wicked string abuse that can cause anyone to shriek in terror if played too loud to simple, clean, live outtakes that let you appreciate FZs raw musical talent - orchestration and arrangement that would be better served by a review in Classical Armchair Reviews - and even the rare Zappa single, "Dancin Fool."

If you're unsure that you can take silly junior-high sexual satire in your lyrics, or stomach 6 minute stretches of guitar-solo barrage, by all means borrow some Zappa first. This writer is betting you'll find something in one of his 60+ discs worth keeping. Enjoy. -gpfife