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Category:    Home > Reviews > Documentary > Rock > Pop > Alternative > Classic Albums: Frank Zappa – Apostrophe + Over-Nite Sensation (Eagle Vision DVD)

Classic Albums:  Frank Zappa – Apostrophe + Over-Nite Sensation (Eagle Vision DVD)

 

Picture: C+     Sound: C+     Extras: C+     Main Program: B-

 

 

Frank Zappa’s work and its ahead-of-its-time relevance are slowly blooming at a time when the record business is a wreck.  The latest DVD to show his amazing talents is a Classic Albums installment that includes two of his greatest works: Over-Nite Sensation (1973) and Apostrophe (1974).  Leave it to Zappa to break the mold of this series.

 

After experimenting with many music forms on his albums with his band The Mothers and releasing pretty much the first videotaped feature film in 200 Motels (1971) with his band, Zappa eventually shed the band and made these solo efforts that defined everything he wanted to do, the direction the rest of his career would take and shows him at a personal peak of creativity and prolificness few artists in any field ever achieve.  He was the true innovator/outsider, yet was embraced by an active generation of fans and music lovers when so many more of them existed as a serious music audience.

 

You get a ton of great interviews, rare footage, stills and other items that give you insight into the man, his life and music that show this series has not lost its capacity for depth and music journalism despite attempts to compete with it that have succeeded (Under Review) and failed (Ultimate Albums) to approximate its success.  Especially if you lived at that time, you will discover that more of these songs are more familiar as many Top Ten hits of the time than you might expect and that is reason alone to catch it.

 

The 1.78 X 1 digital High Definition image was shot in digital video, likely HD and has some detail limits, part of which could come from the downtrade to DVD, but otherwise cannot be evaluated until the title arrives in the HD formats.  The older footage is in decent shape and it is a strong installment in the series.  The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo is sufficient and plays the music back just fine.  Extras include discography, DVD-ROM weblink of interest and three live bonus performances by Zappa on Montana (1973,) I’m The Slime (1976) and Camarillo Brillo by Zappa Plays Zappa.

 

For more on Zappa, try these links:

 

Baby Snakes (feature film)

http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/678/Baby+Snakes

 

Halloween (high definition sound DVD-Audio format)

http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/406/Frank+Zappa+-+Halloween+(DVD-Audio

 

QuAUDIOPHILIAc (high definition sound DVD-Audio format)

http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/1636/Frank+Zappa+-+QuAUDIOPHILIAc

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo


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