Album Notes

It's almost impossible to talk about composer/guitarist Nigey Lennon without reference to her old ally Frank Zappa. But while many sad cases have attempted a Zappa homage, this album is the closest thing I've heard to the genuine article. "Reinventing the Wheel" is stuffed with references to nearly every Zappa era (excepting the orchestral works) and you could almost swear that Frank himself had overseen the sessions. In a way, he did. The roots of "Reinventing The Wheel" come from the early '70s, when Frank and Nigey commenced collaboration on a proposed album to be called "Nigey Lennon's Greatest Hits", in parallel with a near-inaudible Nigey guest spot on the Mothers' "Overnite Sensation". Although "Greatest Hits" was never completed, "Reinventing The Wheel" has emerged nearly thirty years down the line, enlisting the services of vocalists Victoria Berding and Candy Zappa (Frank's sister) as well as the guitar and vocals of late-'80s Zappa sideman Mike Keneally. And though "Reinventing The Wheel" could be considered simply another Zappa cloning, it completely and utterly succeeds in capturing his vibe. A lot of credit for this is due to Lennon's collaborator and co-producer, John Tabacco, who has the Zappa technique down so pat that I'm amazed he was never snapped up for one of Zappa's own "rockin' teenage combos". One of the tracks slated for the long-lost "Greatest Hits" is included here in a new version augmented by Tabacco. A chamber-jazz instrumental, 'It Must Be A Cigar' is (appropriately) a hybrid of Zappa's "It Must Be A Camel" and "Twenty Small Cigars", with dashes of "Dwarf Nebula" thrown in. The out-and-out Zappa cover here is the Candy-sung "Any Way The Wind Blows", presented in a kind of carefree military-reggae rhythm, with an arrangement tastefully overladen with splashes of dissonant color. Not to mention the sampled bassoon quotes from "Uncle Meat" and "King Kong". John Tabacco's fabulous voice comes to the fore on the greasy Sha Na Na of "Just Another Third Rate Clown". Recalling many of Zappa's anti-evangelist lyrics, this song savages the kind of 'guru of the week' that pops up in LA all the time. In "It's Just A Black Guitar", Mike Keneally's guitar pyrotechnics provide an aural representation of the sound of the weekend warriors duelling incomprehensibly in just about any guitar store on a Saturday morning. It's the enthusiastic story of how generations of youth have elevated the instrument to the point of religion. The playing is tight and the song is a ringer for 'You Are What You Is'-era Zappa, with Tabacco sounding virtually identical to Zappa vocalist Ray White. Another influence - that of the laconic Steely Dan - is evident in "Brain Tap Shuffle". Unsurprising, as it's a cover of a lesser-known early Dan track, given a fascinating treatment as Lennon and Tabacco ingeniously and ominously interweave multiple Zappa-isms and Dan influences. They obviously see the similarities between these two disparate, satirical American musical forces. An interesting coupling, and together or separate, a frighteningly original legacy for any musician to live up to. Zappa quotes and textures abound, as do the famous Zappa "modules" (three- or four-second slices of composition recurrently inserted into his songs, often on cue in a live situation). Man, it was a trip to hear the "Be Bop Tango" module resurrected, just over two minutes into "Brain Tap Shuffle". And the last ninety seconds or so unexpectedly open right out into an extensive collage of Zappa-isms, ushered in by Tabacco exclaiming "I'm flipping out!" It's all here. The frantic comedy jigsaw of "Greggery Peccary"; the candid speech and red-herring endings of "Lumpy Gravy"; the tongue-in-cheek Latin rhythm of "Drowning Witch" and even a quote from "Brown Shoes Don't Make It". But despite the homages paid, there's an originality here that deserves attention for its own merit. While still sounding very much like a 'Pretzel Logic'-era