Frank Zappa Zappa '80: Mudd Club 180g 45rpm 2LP

Analog Planet Rated 8/10 Music, 7/10 Sonics!

During the Spring/Summer tour of 1980, Frank Zappa played a set at his favorite NYC nightclub – the famous Mudd Club. Zappa adored the place and even wrote a song dedicated to it.

The complete performance is included on two 45rpm 180g audiophile vinyl LP's and mastered by Bernie Grundman, 2022.

Package features photography and memoir from George Alper, who worked for FZ and was at the event, along with liner notes from Arthur Barrow, Steve Vai and Vaultmeister Joe Travers.

Borrowing some Deadhead taper terminology, this is effectively a pretty great audience recording, and that makes it about as pure a high-fidelity listening experience as could be hoped for here, even though the microphone locations were probably not optimal. One can only imagine what the SPLs were like in that tiny space, with this band firing on all cylinders! Given its analog/Nagra DNA, it made sense to have this vinyl spinning at 45rpm to deliver as much of that fat club ambiance as possible. Audiophiles who appreciate this sort of ambiance-flavored recording will get a kick out of the natural feel of the instruments, the room-filling bass and the punch of the kick drum that cuts through as clearly as the hi-hat's sizzle. And, of course, Zappa's guitar tone is off the hook at points. When he kicks in for his solo on 'Outside Now' at the end of Side 1, I can only imagine the sonic blast the folks in the first few rows of the club must have felt!