Dweezil Zappa “Return of the son of…” – Album Review

Review: Hannah Collins

Ian Donald Calvin Euclid, AKA Dweezil Zappa, paramount rock guitar legend, composer, actor and more, has released to the public a new work. A two disc composition, of the most insane “lounge” music I’ve ever heard! There’s not much in the title, yet “Dweezil Zappa, return of the son of…” is an exciting, entailing and esoteric ride from the opening riff to Dweezil’s “Thank you people good night” that outs the last entry. Unfortunately for Dweezil, the shadow cast by his Father has followed him throughout the duration of his 30+ year musical career, still keeping DZ in somewhat of a box like a tight cast actor. Return of the son of is no exception, and is more of an expansion, addition and extortion of some his fathers earlier works, than an

individuals attempt at breaking the mould. Charismatic although it is, and had me giggling my way through the first listen; all two and half hours of it! Whether listening while driving in the car or sitting or the lounge, the moment my attention waned (which others may relate to during the elongated jazz progressions linking sections of verse) I’d be hit with another installment of a completely off the wall story, that began to make some sense by the end of the piece.
Each song is an entity of irrelevant and disjointed lyrical idea’s, hilariously sewn together with a general theme, both assorted and dissimilar in it’s own crazy way. Themes of dental floss harvesting with zircon encrusted tweezers…. Riding pygmy ponies, and out of joint emergences from your poo shoot are only just a few! There are elements of scat, jazz, blues, progressive rock and signature solos. Any fan of Frank Zappa, a recognized musical genius of the 20th century, will love this compilation.

Making it even more intriguing is the fact the album is a completely live production. The songs have been progressively recorded over past tours of the Zappa Plays Zappa Band and are inclusive of crowd response, before, during, and after some of the songs. Dweezil is often heard introducing them, and giving credit to his father before playing their rendition of certain Zappa classics like “Broken Hearts are for Assholes”, one of my favourite tracks on the album. Zappa’s lyrics denote rib cracking laughter. How can you not rip a smile when listening to lines like;

“Sir Richard pump-a-loaf,
You sniffed the reeking buns of angel,
The story of a demented bread boffer
And acted like it was cocaine…..
Three hundred-seventy-nine pounds of Samoan dynamite,
Which gave your back an awful strain,
Volcanic hell”

*Chuckle….. interpretation is left entirely to the listener.

Be warned though… track lengths are LONG. I’m talking 25-35 minutes a piece for some
and they accommodate lengthy sections of mood setting instrumentals. If I could say one
thing about “Dweezil, return of the son of”, it’d be check it out man! Even if you’re not a fan, it’s funny as all hell and thoroughly entertaining!

Dweezil Zappa

Buy the Dweezil Zappa – “Return of the son of…” album here!

Check out this video from Guitar World!
Guitar World presents an exclusive tour of Dweezil Zappa’s studio, the U.M.R.K. (Utility Muffin Research Kitchen) that inherited from his father, legendary musician Frank Zappa.