Frank Zappa - Shut Up 'n' Play Yer Guitar (1981) (3CD Set)

100% guitar solos. The Rosetta Stone for axe players. Everyone else will be illuminated by the blindly exquisite improvised compositions, mostly culled from live performances 1979-80. A 3-CD box set with artwork that recreates the original 3-LP package… Backed by a host of different bands, Zappa makes his instrument express stuff more blasphemous than any mere words could convey. "Five-Five-Five" and "Hog Heaven" draw his most brutal and metallic tones; "Ship Ahoy" puts Zappa's distorto-funk shuffle over a cooking rhythm section. "Canarsie" lays Zappa's sinuous SG against bizarre rhythm passages featuring Warren Cucurullo's sitar. "Treacherous Cretins" finds him soloing over a reggae riff; "Variations on the Carlos Santana Secret Chord Progression" lives up to its title with the band aping a Latin percussive groove; "Beat It With Your Fist" is two minutes of maximum-velocity metal. But there's also some prettier moments here, like the reflective "Pink Napkins" and "Canard du Jour," an improvised duet with FZ on bouzouki and Jean-Luc Ponty on violin.

Originally released only by mail-order, SHUT UP became one of the more popular Zappa items and promoted a two-disc sequel, GUITAR. ©Rykodisc

Tracklist
Shut Up 'N Play Yer Guitar (CD1)
1. five-five-FIVE 2:36
2. Hog Heaven 2:49
3. Shut Up 'N Play Yer Guitar 5:38
4. While You Were Out 5:59
5. Treacherous Cretins 5:35
6. Heavy Duty Judy 4:42
7. Soup 'N Old Clothes 7:49

Shut Up 'N Play Yer Guitar Some More (CD2)
1. Variations On The Carlos Santana Secret Chord Progression 3:58
2. Gee, I Like Your Pants 2:35
3. Canarsie 6:01
4. Ship Ahoy 5:25
5. The Deathless Horsie 6:21
6. Shut Up 'N Play Yer Guitar Some More 6:53
7. Pink Napkins 4:35

Return Of The Son Of Shut Up 'N Play Yer Guitar (CD3)
1. Beat It With Your Fist 1:58
2. Return Of The Son Of Shut Up 'N Play Yer Guitar 8:31
3. Pinocchio's Furniture 2:05
4. Why Johnny Can't Read 4:34
5. Stucco Homes 9:08
6. Canard Du Jour (FZ/Ponty) 9:57