Frank Zappa - 1979 - Baby Snakes complete soundtrack

Baby Snakes

Amazon.com
Touted as "a movie about people who do stuff that is not normal," Frank Zappa's Baby Snakes chronicles a late-'70s Halloween stand in New York City (a zany enough proceeding in its own right) with digressions throughout the first half for backstage antics, band interviews, and some outlandish clay animation from Bruce Bickford, with whose work Zappa was obviously smitten. Onstage, Zappa is a live wire, the audience is appropriately rambunctious, and the band–an especially potent incarnation of the famous Mothers of Invention–is tight as could be. The film amounts to a three-hour musical carnival whose participants lack any trace of artistic or personal inhibition. Zappa, who died in 1993, always worked with consummate musicians, and Baby Snakes showcases the cream of the crop: Terry Bozzio (one of the greatest drummers ever to command a kit), bassist Patrick O'Hearn, keyboard wizard Tommy Mars, and even pop chameleon Adrian Belew.

The DVD packaging, with its deluxe miniature dossier on Zappa and the film, is fabulous, and the sound and picture seem about as good as they could be, under the influence–that is, the circumstances. Undeniable are Zappa's intelligence and charisma, which flicker and blaze every second he's on screen. The progressive-leaning rock and jazz music is frequently interrupted for meandering spoken interludes and is certainly not for all tastes. But Frank Zappa was a force to behold, and Baby Snakes offers a unique cultural education for anyone bold enough to give it a spin. "Without deviation," Zappa wrote, "progress is not possible." Baby Snakes is one of Frank's most fervent contributions to progress. –Michael Mikesell

Release information & comments

1. 0:00:00 Baby Snakes Rehearsal
2. 0:02:12 "This Is the Show They Never See"
3. 0:08:04 Baby Snakes
4. 0:10:09 Bruce Bickford/"Disco Outfreakage"
5. 0:16:25 The Poodle Lecture
6. 0:21:28 "She Said"/City Of Tiny Lites
7. 0:31:57 New York's Finest Crazy Persons
8. 0:33:52 "The Way The Air Smells . . . "
9. 0:37:53 Pound - Bass & Kybds Solo
10. 0:44:28 "In You" Rap/Dedication
11. 0:51:20 Managua/Police Car/Drum Solo
12. 1:01:05 Disco Boy
13. 1:05:07 "Give People Somewhere To Xscape Thru"
14. 1:11:34 King Kong/Roy's Halloween Gas Mask
15. 1:20:36 Bobby Brown Goes Down
16. 1:24:19 Conehead/"All You Need To Know"
17. 1:29:51 I'm So Cute/"Entertainment All The Way"
18. 1:35:07 Titties 'N' Beer/"Audience Participation"/The Black Page #2 & "The Dance Contest"
19. 1:50:55 Jones Crusher
20. 1:53:53 Broken Hearts Are For Assholes
21. 1:57:40 Punky's Whips
22. 2:09:46 "Thank You"/Dinah-Moe Humm
23. 2:17:12 Camarillo Brillo/Muffin Man
24. 2:25:38 San Ber'dino
25. 2:30:40 Black Napkins
26. 2:38:43 New York's Finest #2 & Credits
27. 2:42:43 "Good Night"

Bonus:

Baby Snakes Roxy Trailer (3:15)
Baby Snakes Theatrical Trailer (1:53)
Baby Snakes Tv Spot #1 (0:33)
Baby Snakes Tv Spot #2 (0:36)


New York Palladium, Halloween 1977
performed by
Terry Bozzio
Roy Estrada
Adrian Belew
Ed Mann
Patrick O'Hearn
Peter Wolf
Tommy Mars
and
New York's Finest Crazy Persons

CAST (in order of appearance playing themselves):
Frank Zappa
Adrian Belew
Tommy Mars
Terry Bozzio
Kerry McNab
Ron Delsener
Bruce Bickford
Rob Leacock
Ed Mann
Warren Cuccurullo
Chris Martin
Klaus Hundsbichler
Roy Estrada
John Smothers
David Ditkowich
Bill Harrington
Patrick O'Hearn
Phil Parmet
Peter Wolf
Dick Pearce
Angel
Janet The Planet
Donna U Wanna
Phil Kaufman
Tex Abel
Dale Bozzio
Diva
John
Chris
Nancy
Brian Rivera
Joey Psychotic
and probably lots more people
whose names we couldn't find out
but whose assistance in making this film
is greatly appreciated

Also appearing on a TV screen during the animation sequence:
George Duke
Ruth Underwood
Napoleon Murphy Brock

animation by Bruce Bickford
directed by FZ