With a ZPZ concert imminent in the town of Vilnius, Lithuania, Dweezil, Diva and Gail reckoned it would be a nice opportunity to pay an emo-sho-null tribute to the iconic FZ statue present there. Check out the TV coverage.
‘t Would appear then that not all Zappa statues are created equal…
Via Uni-Muta, where you’ll find more footage from ZPZ’s Vilnius gig.
great statue looks really identical compared to the german bust which can make you guess the identity iam glad there is a sign there telling the folks who it is. How a DZ loves his dad 🙂
and they placed one in a mall? next to a vendingmachine.
oh, that destiny.
went and saw the one in the school parkinglot in vilnius, a good parkbench next to it, some strong canned beers and an ipod crammed with zappa. that`s destiny for ya.
When Dweezil noted that the sculpture people hadn’t contacted the family, and that the family heard about it second-hand, it occurred to me that the Vilnius folks were probably afraid to tell the ZFT for fear of reprisals/shutdown. But I don’t know that that’s the case.
You just never know what they’ll approve of or go after. Perhaps there’s some internal logic to it, but to some of us on the outside world who pursue Frank-celebrating endeavors, it seems arbitrary. If they had hated the sculpture and gone after it to have it removed, would anyone be surprised?
That said, I do make a practice of cc’ing Gail my radio show promos etc. just to be aggressively transparent about things. She’s responded a few times, never negatively.
It is a good likeness of Frank. Someday we’ll have those in the USA, but we got a whole lotta wisin’ up to do first.
[quote comment=”6141″]…..You just never know what they’ll approve of or go after. Perhaps there’s some internal logic to it, but to some of us on the outside world who pursue Frank-celebrating endeavors, it seems arbitrary. If they had hated the sculpture and gone after it to have it removed, would anyone be surprised?…….[/quote]
You nailed it Kevin. That’s the whole ball of wax. No fucking rhyme or reason, nothing consistent.
“Zappa music is too good to be compressed…..Oh wait we’re selling MP3s”
“Here’s the alumni in your face!… on our DVD, on our CDs, on our posters….Oh wait !! The alumni are completely unimportant to what we’re all about…”
“We have to be very careful about how people portray Frank Zappa..he’s a serious composer with serious views and people don’t get that, we don’t want that abused…….Oh Wait!!! Let’s license his likeness to a BEER company*!!”
hahaha they’re a fuckin’ riot, no??
*let me say Beer is a lovely invention, and the Zappa beer from Lagunitas was amazing, but my point is…if some, say, German company had done that without GZs temporary/arbitrary blessing, they’d STILL be yammering on about how Frank’s precious image was so horribly abused, nay, being used to SELL BEER, horrors, which he made fun of (see “Winos Don’t March”, Real Frank Zappa Book). Note that…suddenly….arbitrarily…. the beer is no longer permitted. The wind changed. Or the beer company was nice to Ike Willis, which actually seems to have been the case.
Let me say something positive about Gail (mark it down) she looks pretty healthy, has quite lost some weight, good for her. !!!
[quote comment=”6147″]…*let me say Beer is a lovely invention, and the Zappa beer from Lagunitas was amazing, but my point is…if some, say, German company had done that…[/quote]
In that case at least the beer would be better 😉
Th.
“Let me say something positive about Gail (mark it down) she looks pretty healthy, has quite lost some weight, good for her. !!!”
Well, since she’s been painted by some here as nothing short of a hunchbacked ogre with lightning bolts flying from her head, she was bound to look pretty good on TV.
Thinman, did you actually try the Lagunitas beer? Perhaps it was the tasty labels, but I thought the Frank-flavored beers were superior, bold and hearty. Also it was great to walk over to my local supermarket and see Frank’s face on a bottle.
However, from what I understand the beer has been discontinued. Surmise away as to why.
interesting how both dwez and gail said they “wanted to meet those responsible”. didn’t sound too friendly to me.
They clearly approve of the statue/bust or whatever it is.
But here’s what I don’t understand: What makes a statue a better remembrance of Frank than keeping his music alive? Frank always said he didn’t care if people revered him when he was gone, but it was inevitable that we would.
So would Frank have approved of statues over music? I suspect that he’s rather have people be a-jammin’ on his tunes than erecting statues.
Heh, erecting.
It’s all a bit silly if you ask me…he would probably scoff at the idea of being immortalized in a statue.
Now, if this were a statue of The Residents – in full eyeball regalia – then that would be something to shout about.
ZPZ were playing a gig there so this was a neat way of getting some free publicity via an appearance on TV news and selling a few more tickets. Nothing wrong with that – performers everywhere do that kind of thing. But that’s probably why Gail/ZFT approved of it.
They must be quite insular not to have heard of the statue before though. I remember reading about it in the UK mainstream newspapers years ago when it was first erected.
There have been statues of the Residents erected in the US, but in true Residents fashion, no one will say where. 😉
[quote comment=”6164″]ZPZ were playing a gig there so this was a neat way of getting some free publicity via an appearance on TV news and selling a few more tickets. Nothing wrong with that – performers everywhere do that kind of thing. But that’s probably why Gail/ZFT approved of it.
They must be quite insular not to have heard of the statue before though. I remember reading about it in the UK mainstream newspapers years ago when it was first erected.[/quote]
I think you nailed it, xorg: free publicity. As well, after all their failed litigations and their fury of cease and desist letters, here was an opportunity to put a “kinder”, more “touchy-feely” face on the ZFT in Eastern Europe. They are, after all, selling a brand (Zappa Plays Zappa), and public acrimony serves no purpose.
Historically, Europeans have had a much different view of musicians than the United States. In Europe, musicians (poets, artists in general) are revered, and statues are a means of honoring and immortalizing them. However, traditionally in the U.S., musicians like actors were socially viewed as little better than common streetwalkers or dancehall women — a social caste one seldom frequented with, and least of all, erected statues or busts in their honor. Though times have changed, it seems that deep down American puritanical attitudes are still very much the same. Perhaps this is why the ZFT is so (some might add neurotically so) focused on controlling Frank Zappa’s posthumous legacy? To me, the Vilnius bust is a fine example of the spontaneous outpouring of reverence of the fan base. Once permission becomes a prerequisite, all spontaneity is lost. Isn’t that what made the Vilnius bust news in the first place?
far be it for me to defend Dweasel and Sloatman but I dont think this was just a sleazy publicity thing for ZPZ, they are clearly crying at the start, which suggests that they were moved emotionally by this. Or else they’re sociopaths…
Residents!! Sorry, but another Don Preston connection!!
my theme this month!! He of course is on their album ESKIMO, they asked him to bring the modular moog , and he , duh, has some GREAT stories of working with them. wonderful album, wacky idea.
[quote comment=”6151″]…(snip)…..Well, since she’s been painted by some here as nothing short of a hunchbacked ogre with lightning bolts flying from her head, she was bound to look pretty good on TV.
(snip)….Lagunitas beer?….However, from what I understand the beer has been discontinued. Surmise away as to why.[/quote]
1. well I have always maintained that there is no reason to go on the internet and call her all the horrible fucked up names that have gone on in the forum, about her weight, smell, vagina, all that stuff. Really bad taste. I have NEVER done that. Sure, in person I may have gone pretty raw right after she pissed me off with a lawsuit letter, but please people, why go there?
It’s interesting that she and her hunchmen BANNED ME and others from the forum for basically speaking truth to power….but allow people on there who call her ALL kinds of vicious names. Hmm.
Having said that — I say JUST THE FACTS are enough to make the point that shit is totally fucked up !!!
2. THE FACTS on the Lagunitas Beer thing — and let me say first — I have called the brewery once or twice to get the real story, but the main dude was busy both times. Maybe someone else wants to take that on, or stop by if you are in Cali, and let us all know.
What I know to be completely FACTUAL:
-Ike Willis did some Dec 21 week Xmas/Zappa birthday shows with UGLY RADIO REBELLION a few years ago, all in the midwest USA.
-Some of the festivities included PANCAKE BREAKFASTS at some local places. These innocent little restaurants ( I think there were TWO spots, that fact is worth checking but unimportant really)– were holding “ST ALFONZO’s PANCAKE BREAKFAST” and had advertised as such, and had also advertised that Ike and the band would attend, eat, hang out, have a great time with OTHER PEOPLE WHO LOVE FRANK ZAPPA and so on. I think one had Frank’s picture on a poster. Yawn.
-Gail or her associates actually fucking CALLED at least one of these places, threatening the usual imaginary lawsuits, telling them THIS IS UNAUTHORIZED etc.. At least one restaurant called it off — completely rattled and shocked that they were getting “threats”. It was so off the hook and unexpected that they pulled out right away.
-Also on this run of shows the guy from Lagunitas, thru a midwest booking agent friend of ours we’ll call Vicki H., because that’s her name, agreed to send out a few cases of tasty Lagunitas beer for the various celebrations planned around FZ’s birthday.
Celebrations planned by these horrible, hurtful CRIMINALS who were insanely trying to ….enjoy life , and get together with other people who appreciated this obscure little composer guy, Frank Zappa, and wanted to have a very good time laughing together ‘cos they love this man. But no. Unacceptable!!!!
Those are the FACTS.
Other than that — I was told by more than one party that the owner of Lagunitas – who had been previously given THE BLESSING by GZ – was called and reamed out by her about doing this — since he was (cue ominous megaphone/concentration camp PA system voice): “ENDORSING AN UNAUTHORIZED PERFORMANCE” !!
I ‘d love to get the rest of it on the record, need some help there. But again — another little vignette to help anyone who is somehow unclear as to the patterns (patterins?*) that we are witnessing. Wow.
* “patterins”. For extra credit name the Zappa song with that word in it. this is an easy one!!
[quote comment=”6131″]great statue looks really identical compared to the german bust which can make you guess the identity iam glad there is a sign there telling the folks who it is. How a DZ loves his dad :)[/quote]
You’ve seen the Bad Doberan bust in person?? They must have changed it. because I’ve been to see it at least three times and it always looks just like Frank. His brother Bobby and his sister Patrice were fooled too, because they quite loved it in 2002 when they were there.
But what do they know.
[quote comment=”6168″]far be it for me to defend Dweasel and Sloatman but I dont think this was just a sleazy publicity thing for ZPZ, they are clearly crying at the start, which suggests that they were moved emotionally by this. Or else they’re sociopaths…[/quote]
Then why the cameras? The media? The interviews? I’m not calling them sociopaths, but their interaction with the media is calculated (which is not a bad thing, especially when you are running a niche business). In regards to Dweezil’s tears at the start of the clip, I find all such public displays suspect (particularly when they occur so frequently within range of the media).
[quote comment=”6170″]another little vignette to help anyone who is somehow unclear as to the patterns (patterins?*) that we are witnessing. Wow.
* “patterins”. For extra credit name the Zappa song with that word in it. this is an easy one!![/quote]
What is “Be in My Video”…
I’ll take Easy Zappa Songs for 50, Art.
(Ooooh, just dated myself; I meant Alex.)
andre get a grip baking up your arguments by someone else,how would i know how candy and bob feel about the statue. so who cares i like the one form vilnius much better. So bite it . Or to be honest the one in Germany looks like frank is gay and hasn’t any teeth. Next time i get there i bring him a banana so he want hurt his gums.
oh and by the way seen ZPZ in oslo this week was a super great show
keep going ben nice singing ……………..they rocked the house.!
Hey Andre, GZ just wants in on some of the big Ugly Radio Rebellion money. I have seen them a bunch of times, they are surely getting very rich.
I’ve got a St. Alfonzo’s Pancake Breakfast tee from Louisville, KY. It’s got FZ posing with a mop.
Greetings… Kevin Hoover sent me a note that the Brewery came up here… I read Andre’s post and thought I’d weight in…
The thing is Ohio was as he said it was… I got somewhat reamed. It was a sad thing, but I actually understood, kind’a. We were only donating a few cases and our name was on the program, and I also understand that Gail does not have any way to know from what she sees in a Google alert if we fronted money for it, if we donated a thousand cases, or what. In any case, she did not want the product involved because, well, she did not want it involved. Wanting to continue the relationship, I did call and ask that we not be so honored by the show…
But, I also understand that it is uncool when others make off with your stuff. I have had my own creative toes stepped on here by other breweries enough to understand, if only tangentially. The bigger question is, what really is your stuff and what is shared by the world… Hard to know…
No judgement of others actions is implied here in any way at all…
Now, we are no longer doing the labels. Here is the uncomfortable story…
I received a call from Ray Collins, a sweet man who lives in the LA area… he may be without a permanent address. He told me that Jimmy Carl Black had passed away and that a benefit was being organized and if I were to donate a couple of cases that they would bring a good price in a silent auction and that the proceeds would go to JCB’s widow… Seems money was very tight there too. There was no saying no to one who may need a hand asking for help for another who does need a hand. Two cases.
I also felt I needed to mention it to Gail, and that was the foreseeable end.
A month ago I got a call from Gail’s assistant asking if I would like to do another label, Joe’s Garage, and I declined.
All good things come to an end, and sometimes that’s the way that you know they were good.
I’ve had several long interesting conversations with Gail and she is very cool in her own space. I met Dweezil briefly once in the UMARK and he is a very kind and gentle guy. Just like that. I’ve seen the ZPZ show in five different cities. I think I’ve seen DZ feeling very emotional about the music on stage while watching Joe Thunes play bass with them in Santa Rosa. I’ve seen him stand at the edge of the stage for over an hour after a show and very humbly accept affection and allow them to commune with he who was so close to the source.
These are very cool people. Frank’s legacy is enormous. I’m not sure that the burden isn’t overwhelming. I’m not sure that I would make uniform and cool decisions. There is no knowing internal motives, but you don’t get to perform West Side Story or Petruschka without asking permission, and while this is also Rock and Roll, I think it is difficult for the family in the big house to be understood in the midst of the scrum.
My thoughts only….
All the best….
Thanks Tony for clearing that up, your part of the story was what I did not know, so I did not try to speak for you.
You add a valuable perspective, with all that clarification.
And your beer is awesome!!!! I mean that! People would bring us bottles to shows –I expected , whatever, coool, this beer with the cool labels.
When I finally tried some — wow, a great beer. Keep up the good work, whatever is on the labels.
[quote comment=”6176″]andre get a grip baking up your arguments by someone else,how would i know how candy and bob feel about the statue. so who cares i like the one form vilnius much better. So bite it . Or to be honest the one in Germany looks like frank is gay and hasn’t any teeth. Next time i get there i bring him a banana so he want hurt his gums.[/quote]
(Sigh) I know better than to feed you , “voice on the wall”, but rest assured I would not, nor have I ever, put words into anyone’s mouth. My record of public discussion on the web is very clear in that aspect, you seem new to this, so you know not of what you speak, in this particular instance.
Since it seems to be unclear only to you , I’ll clarify.
I attended the 2002 Zappanale, where my band Project/Object played. Also there, besides about 10 Zappa alumni, some of whom I had already toured with (Ike, Don, Bunk, Roy, Napoleon), was Bob Zappa and Patrice Zappa. We have stayed in touch since. Patrice has performed with P/O a couple times and will again hopefully this fall.
So — I was there. I know they were delighted at the whole 3 day even in Bad Doberan, because they said so.
They were touched at the response of people to their brother’s music, and said so, even though anyone could tell watching their joyful reunions with LOTS of people that played with Frank, some they had not seen in decades, some they had never met.
Just to help you understand.
[quote comment=”6176″]… so who cares i like the one form vilnius much better. So bite it …[/quote]
Feel free to like whichever one you like — that after all is how the world goes around.
But by the way — “So bite it” ???
why take it into the gutter??? Have I insulted you in our exchanges?? This is the kinda crap that belongs on the censored forum. How dare you insult me when I’ve tried to communicate with you on a factual level. Don’t get me started.
[quote comment=”6183″][quote comment=”6176″]… so who cares i like the one form vilnius much better. So bite it …[/quote]
Feel free to like whichever one you like — that after all is how the world goes around.
But by the way — “So bite it” ???
why take it into the gutter??? Have I insulted you in our exchanges?? This is the kinda crap that belongs on the censored forum. How dare you insult me when I’ve tried to communicate with you on a factual level. Don’t get me started.[/quote]
See, this is why people are calling you a troll, Wall. I think everyone’s okay with differing opinion (or at least I am) but it would be better expressed without being juvenile… “bite it”, that’s something a 14 year old would say.
Honestly, I think you are earnest and eagre and obviously passionate about Zappa and NOT some freak who wiki’d the discussion so they can wander in and get their ‘feel’. Yeah, the crap goes both ways (especially the posts given when KUR got their little love note) but taking this all so personal and being so confrontational is not conducive to intelligent discussion (no shit Sherlock).
So take a breath, get yourself that Barry Miles bio and be skeptical of everyone and everything.
Also thanks for Tony’s two cents, what a wonderful post! Glad to see that Ray Collins is more together than that recent article suggested.
wow, this is getting to be more and more like the forum at zappa.com.
(what ever happened to all the fun in the world?)
[quote comment=”6187″]wow, this is getting to be more and more like the forum at zappa.com.
(what ever happened to all the fun in the world?)[/quote]
Hmm…Perhaps I’d have to agree with the last part of your assertion, since dealing with some numskull is not the most funny activity I can think of, but then again, as of lately some interesting information and people have popped up around here.
Yeah, not the Comedy Central but still I choose this one over the one you mention…
Isn’t Tony awesome? He steps in and the whole conversation level goes up about 17 notches. But never fear – it’ll plummet back into squabbling momentarily.
He was always so generous with his brew. I went by Lagunitas one time and he interrupted a business meeting to come out, say hi and give me a case of Zappa brew.
All this talk of Frank-flavored beer has me jonesing for a Lumpy Gravy. I have one downstairs but it’s about a year old… maybe I’ll pour some fresh beer in the bottle and then eat the label. Yeah, that’ll work.
O/T – Anyone have any stupid songs to suggest for my show tonight? I’m sitting in for Scatch and the theme is Frank’s Stupid Side.
http://crushallboxes.blogspot.com/
Obvious selections are Dumb All Over, A Little Green Rosetta, Conehead, Flakes…
i see you at the zappanale andre iam 6 foot 5 and you can spot me on my t shirt it will say andre on it see you then:)
[quote comment=”6188″][quote comment=”6187″]wow, this is getting to be more and more like the forum at zappa.com.
(what ever happened to all the fun in the world?)[/quote]
Hmm…Perhaps I’d have to agree with the last part of your assertion, since dealing with some numskull is not the most funny activity I can think of, but then again, as of lately some interesting information and people have popped up around here.
Yeah, not the Comedy Central but still I choose this one over the one you mention…[/quote]
Yes, Sharleena, it certainly makes one wonder where all the trolls are coming from and why.
Hmmm, so I’m not allowed to pass judgement on a person who has a fit over raising a couple hundred bucks for a dead man’s widow!? Ugh, I find that so sickening because….it is sick.
“Whatever happened to all the fun in the world?”
Whatever happened to BARRY?
Beer.
[quote comment=”6194″]Whatever happened to BARRY?
Beer.[/quote]
Grimbergen, to be exact. 😀
mmmm…Grimbergen!
[quote comment=”6190″]i see you at the zappanale andre iam 6 foot 5 and you can spot me on my t shirt it will say andre on it see you then:)[/quote]
This comment smells of a threat toward Andre, VOTW. If you keep commenting the way you are I am going to have to gently show you the way to the back exit.
[quote comment=”6189″]
O/T – Anyone have any stupid songs to suggest for my show tonight? I’m sitting in for Scatch and the theme is Frank’s Stupid Side.
http://crushallboxes.blogspot.com/
Obvious selections are Dumb All Over, A Little Green Rosetta, Conehead, Flakes…[/quote]
Let me take you to the beach?
Although there’s probably a very deep meaning between the lines that I can’t get because English is not my primary language, etc…
Truck driver divorce? mmmmm….string beans! Although I am sure Sharleena’s “deep meaning” theory applies to this one for sure.
Oh, those are great additions, thanks.
The basic criteria are anything dumb: a song with a (deliberately) lame riff, or one that describes stupid behavior, and of course any song that has the words dumb or stupid in it.
[quote comment=”6202″]Oh, those are great additions, thanks.
The basic criteria are anything dumb: a song with a (deliberately) lame riff, or one that describes stupid behavior, and of course any song that has the words dumb or stupid in it.[/quote]
Frank’s Stupid Side, huh? I don’t know if Frank had a “stupid” side, but he certainly did have a “silly” side, Kevin.
How about “Falling In Love Is A Stupid Habit” (from Apocrapha)? Or “Rubber Girl” (from “Go Cry On Somebody Else’s Shoulder”, Palladium, NYC, 31 Oct 1978)? Or go directly to the meisters of silly themselves, the vaudeville Mothers band with such classics as “Eddie, Are You Kidding?”, “Magdalena” and “What Kind Of Girl Do You Think We Are?”
“Frank’s Stupid Side, huh? I don’t know if Frank had a “stupid” side, but he certainly did have a “silly” side, Kevin.”
Silly sounds too namby-pamby and innocuous, like he’s the Ronald McDonald of the Nouveau Abstruse or something.
I would argue that Frank had a decidedly stupid side based in part on this quote from A Little Green Rosetta:
‘Cause this is a stupid song,
And that’s the way I like it.
What results, Kevin, when a genius gets silly? As opposed to just stupid?
The results are works of art like “Hunchentoot” and “Thing-Fish”.
I’m just thinking distinction without a difference here. OK, he does silly songs… except that McCartney did Silly Love Songs and I don’t think Frank would willingly inhabit the same galaxy as that.
Stupid might have some definitional overlap with silly, but it comes with bonus eyebrows so I’m firmly in the stupid camp.
And I can tell you with complete certainty that the previous sentence has never been uttered before in the history of the universe.
But of course, Frank did inhabit the same galaxy as Paul McCartney (they were both rock musicians). And Frank wrote his own brand of “Silly Love Songs” albeit with his own particular eyebrows stamped upon them (like “Why Does It Hurt When I Pee?”, “Jones Crusher”, “Magdalena”).
Now from his famous out chorus song from Joe’s Garage “A Little Green Rosetta”:
Now you see, some places in the Third World it might be difficult to dance to this because the kerosene record player is not a very efficient device . . . And a lot of times they run out of, they run out of spunk right in the middle of the chorus . . . Causing the song to sound like this . . .
What is sillier, and yet more sardonic, than that?
(Rang Tang Ding Dong, I am the Japanese Sandman . . . Take eight . . .)
Show me your thumb if you’re really dumb!
My money would be on “Jumbo Go Away” or “Suicide Chump”
Kevin, you are correct. “Valley Girl” has got to be the most stupid song Zappa ever wrote: “Barf out, gag me with a spoon, totally!”
THE TROLL WANTED TO MEET ANDRE THATS ALL 🙂
Sofa, Yahozna, Baby take your teeth out, zomby woof, and…
“Girl you thought he was a man but he was a muffin”
As it turned out two hours was not enough to encompass all the el stupido. The was spillover doltage sloshing about the studio, lonely and unplayed.
By the way, on July 3 I’m interviewing Ed Palermo about “Eddy Loves Frank.”
[quote comment=”6214″]THE TROLL WANTED TO MEET ANDRE THATS ALL :)[/quote]
You must be handsome, too. Because you is a dummy. All 6 foot 5 of ya. Ooooo, shudder! Are you a violent man?
[quote comment=”6217″]As it turned out two hours was not enough to encompass all the el stupido. The was spillover doltage sloshing about the studio, lonely and unplayed.
By the way, on July 3 I’m interviewing Ed Palermo about “Eddy Loves Frank.”[/quote]
Perhaps it was the definition of the particular episode of your show, itself, Kevin (or American FCC regulations), yet it seemed that your choice of “stupid” songs was too loosely defined, too generalized, and you missed an opportunity to really explore Zappa’s “stupid side” beyond the mere superficial. Your broadcast completely ignored the original Mothers, the vaudeville Mothers, and the Roxy Mothers — a wealth of material. Just an observation.
I’m looking forward to your Ed Palermo interview.
“Your broadcast completely ignored the original Mothers, the vaudeville Mothers, and the Roxy Mothers — a wealth of material. Just an observation.”
You’re right in that that is my tendency, to emphasize the portions of Frank’s musical legacy which most engage me. That’s the later stuff, which to me has always seemed more clearly realized (my bias).
However, just for the record (so to speak) I did play Help I’m Rock, Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance, the Idiot Bastard Son, and two versions of Cheepnis.
“You’re right in that that is my tendency, to emphasize the portions of Frank’s musical legacy which most engage me. That’s the later stuff, which to me has always seemed more clearly realized (my bias).”
Of course, Kevin, that is your right (to have your own bias). It’s your show, and you can’t please every possible listener (nor should you try).
From my own perspective (and bias), Zappa’s satirical and sardonic humor was just as clearly realized to me in 1959’s “Lost In A Whirlpool” and in 1967’s “Brown Shoes Don’t Make It” from Absolutely Free as was his later material, only a matter of degrees and the particular focus of his caustic eyebrows.
For the record, I did enjoy your Friends of Frank section immensely. I mean, A reggea version of Cosmik Debris? Who would have thunk it?