Frank Zappa: Dub Room Special (1982)

Essential

If you are a current, new or beginning Zappa fan this DVD is greatness.
Without using to many words like "awesome and cool" it is a great and easy watch. Without question this is one of those "must see" videos. The audio is great as always and the performances are a pleasure. No one likes drawn out reviews so I will wrap this up quick. This is a good starting video for new fans and a great nostalgia thing for old ones.

We should all be thankful for Frank's great documentation of his stuff.... November 2, 2008

I am torn on how many stars to give this

"The Dub Room Special" is a somewhat interesting, somewhat inconsistent, somewhat annoying, sometimes brilliant film comprised from the 1974 tour, the 1981 tour, some straggler footage from 1982, and some clips from 1968, all spliced together in a documentary(?) film I have never seen on TV, its intended medium, despite some not-so-TV-friendly content.

Of course, the music itself, is always tops in its field, but there are some issues with the editing. Some people complain about several intros missing from the final edit, but I understand this. It is meant to look in on the band while on stage, but why would the solo from "Montana" be taken out? Time constraints? Chronology and continuity are obviously not an issue here, as the skit number "Room Service," which is a dialogue based only on inside jokes taken from lyrics from "Roxy & Elsewhere," features an extremely sweat-soaked Napoleon Murphy Brock, and this is only a few minutes into the film, but the next time you see him, he is dry. This sequence is obviously from the later part of the show. No biggie, just a talking point.

One thing, the 1974 line-up of The Mothers apparently gave FZ a far more enjoyable time on stage than the 1981 band. In 1974, he is laughing and cracking jokes from the stage, and generally having fun. Jump to 1981: he is stone-faced throughout, almost like some field marshall, but with a gaudy jumpsuit. Both of the two bands featured play their material wonderfully, the chops of the players is never an issue. He always used the best musicians he could find at any time.

The animated segments are, in my opinion, incredible. Even though Zappa is briefly shown in a clip toying with the animation process, this is the forte of Bruce Bickford. Some people complain about the segments being too long, obstructung one's enjoyment of the band itself, but I just see it as a visual compliment to the music. But, in my humble opinion, the sound effects in the animations could have been erased, or at least, toned down. This DOES interfere with my enjoyment of the music. But watching these segments, I am astonished.

Some of the "interviews" are superfluous, specious even, but this is pretty much a film of Frank Zappa having fun in the "Dub Room." It is what is said to be. But, I do have to concur with many of this video's critics when it comes to Massimo, the nose-picking journalist. His "song," as it were, is one of Frank's duds. And including it on the Mothers' LP "Uncle Meat," WHY??? And I don't mind peurile humor, but listening to the bridge in "Montana," while seeing him with his finger all the way up in his nose, giving the camera a 'fecal-matter-eating' grin, is simply juvenile. I showed this part to my 6-year old niece, and she just said "...eww." Sometimes the humor just falls flat.

But to sum it up, "The Dub Room Special" is a patchwork of what Frank Zappa was doing in 1981 and 1982, with some gems from 1974, for good measure.

He was definitely a better musician than he was a film maker. June 12, 2008

2 of the best Zappa Bands

OK, this is not your highly polished, heavily cut, fast pace modern day video. It is a compilation of performaces by two of the best Zappa periods. Napoleon Murphy Brock, George Duke, Ruth Underwood, et al, in one band, the other band is the later incarnation with Steve Vai, Chad Wackerman, Ray White and others. The tunes are cut together with additional, low budget (ala FZ) home video style scenes of FZ in the video dub house. IMO, an A+ archive. August 26, 2007

Excellent Buy

A lot of Zappa performings. Highly recommended!! June 13, 2007

Contrasting Zappa

The contrast between two of the musical periods of FZ's life is excellent. As with every album he produced, the change from the 70's to the 80's also represented a definite shift in FZ's music. Also well represented here is the contrast of his musical genius and irreverant humor.

Just as a side note, Ruth Underwood should recieve some sort of award for her work here as the hardest working woman in a Rock Show. May 21, 2007

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