Frank Zappa - 1989 "You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore Vol. 3"

You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 3 is a double disc live album by Frank Zappa, spanning from December 10, 1971, to December 23, 1984. It was released in 1989.

"Sharleena" had been previously issued as a flexi disc in Guitar Player magazine. All the songs on disc one are by the 1984 band (except for brief segments of "Drowning Witch" edited in from the 1982 tour). Disc two includes performances from various years including a section of "King Kong" taken from the December 10, 1971, Rainbow Theatre concert, performed shortly before Zappa was pushed off the stage by an audience member. Zappa's liner notes state that after he played his solo the attack happened "moments later," but in his autobiography he wrote (consistent with the memories of other band members) that the incident took place after the band had finished its encore, a cover of the Beatles song "I Want to Hold Your Hand". Zappa claimed the tape ran out before the incident occurred. However, a full recording of the Rainbow concert would be released in 2022 as part of The Mothers 1972 box set.

The album contains performances of "Cocaine Decisions" and "Nig Biz" from a concert in Palermo, Italy on July 14, 1982. During "Cocaine Decisions", an audience riot began and police shot tear gas into the auditorium. A canister can be heard triggering near the stage, and between songs, Zappa and roadie Massimo Bassoli are heard attempting to calm the crowd down. Zappa was later reported stating, "We played for an hour and a half with tear-gas in our face and everything else, and when it was all over we went off stage and we were trapped inside this place."

Most of You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 3 is devoted the 1984 band which, at the time of this set's release, had not been properly documented (the live Does Humor Belong in Music? was made commercially available in the U.S. in 1995 only). Most of the material comes from late-'70s/early-'80s albums like Sheik Yerbouti, Joe's Garage, and You Are What You Is. Disc one is 1984 only (excerpt for a few edits in "Drowning Witch") and lacks interest. This band (Ike Willis, Ray White, Bobby Martin, Alan Zavod, Scott Thunes, Chad Wackerman) was competent but square and performances tended to resemble one another. Of significance for completists are "Ride My Face to Chicago," "Carol, You Fool," "Nig Biz," and "Chana in de Bushwop," all regular inclusions during that tour and unavailable elsewhere, but for the casual listener they hardly make the album worth buying. Disc two contains a few gems: the original version of "Dickie's Such an Asshole" (from December 1973), a slow and seductive "Zoot Allures" from 1975, and a 25-minute "King Kong" that collages wild performances from 1971 and 1982. Unless you happen to love the 1984 band, this volume is the weakest of the series.

Track listing:

All songs by Frank Zappa except where noted.

Disc one

No.    Title    Recording venue(s) and date(s)    Length

01.    "Sharleena"    Universal Amphitheater, December 23, 1984    8:54
02.    "Bamboozled by Love" (Frank Zappa, Trevor Rabin, Trevor Horn, Jon Anderson, Chris Squire; includes the guitar riff from "Owner of a Lonely Heart")    Bismarck Theatre, November 23, 1984    6:06
03.    "Lucille Has Messed My Mind Up"    Bismarck Theatre, November 23, 1984    2:52
04.    "Advance Romance"    Bismarck Theatre, November 23, 1984
Queen Elizabeth Theatre, December 18, 1984    6:58
05.    "Bobby Brown Goes Down"    Paramount Theatre, December 17, 1984    2:44
06.    "Keep It Greasey"    The Pier, August 26, 1984
Paramount Theatre, December 17, 1984    3:30
07.    "Honey, Don't You Want a Man Like Me?"    The Pier, August 25–26, 1984    4:16
08.    "In France"    Bismarck Theatre, November 23, 1984    3:01
09.    "Drowning Witch"    Stadio Comunale, July 3, 1982
Bayfront Center Arena, December 1, 1984
Bismarck Theatre, November 23, 1984
Paramount Theatre, December 17, 1984    9:22
10.    "Ride My Face to Chicago"    Bismarck Theatre, November 23, 1984    4:22
11.    "Carol, You Fool"    Bismarck Theatre, November 23, 1984    4:06
12.    "Chana in de Bushwop" (Frank Zappa, Diva Zappa)    Bismarck Theatre, November 23, 1984    4:52
13.    "Joe's Garage"    Bismarck Theatre, November 23, 1984    2:20
14.    "Why Does It Hurt When I Pee?"    Bismarck Theatre, November 23, 1984
Paramount Theatre, December 17, 1984    3:07

Disc two

No.    Title    Recording venue(s) and date(s)    Length

01.    "Dickie's Such an Asshole"    The Roxy Theatre, December 10, 1973    10:08
02.    "Hands with a Hammer" (Terry Bozzio)    Kosei Nenkin Kaikan, February 3, 1976    3:18
03.    "Zoot Allures"    Kosei Nenkin Kaikan, February 3, 1976
Les Arenes, May 30, 1982 (guitar solo)    6:09
04.    "Society Pages"    The Palladium, October 31, 1981    2:32
05.    "I'm a Beautiful Guy"    The Palladium, October 31, 1981    1:54
06.    "Beauty Knows No Pain"    The Palladium, October 31, 1981    2:55
07.    "Charlie's Enormous Mouth"    The Palladium, October 31, 1981    3:39
08.    "Cocaine Decisions"    Bismarck Theatre, November 23, 1984
Stadio Comunale, July 14, 1982    3:14
09.    "Nig Biz"    Stadio Comunale, July 14, 1982    4:58
10.    "King Kong"    Parc Des Expositions, June 22, 1982
Rainbow Theatre, December 10, 1971
Hammersmith Odeon, June 19, 1982
Palais des Sports, June 3, 1982    24:32
11.    "Cosmik Debris"    Paramount Theatre, December 17, 1984
Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, December 20, 1984
The Pier, August 25–26, 1984 (ending)    5:14

Personnel:

Frank Zappa – arranger, editing, keyboards, lyricist, vocals, producer, main performer, liner notes, guitar, compilation
Mark Volman – vocals
Howard Kaylan – vocals
Steve Vai – guitar
Dweezil Zappa – guitar
Ike Willis – rhythm guitar, vocals
Ray White – rhythm guitar, vocals
Allan Zavod – keyboards
Andre Lewis – keyboards
Don Preston – keyboards, electronics
George Duke – keyboards, vocals
Tommy Mars – keyboards, vocals
Bobby Martin – keyboards, vocals, saxophone
Ian Underwood – alto saxophone, keyboards
Jim Pons – bass guitar, vocals
Scott Thunes – bass guitar, vocals, synthesizer
Tom Fowler – bass guitar
Chester Thompson – drums
Chad Wackerman – drums, vocals
Aynsley Dunbar – drums
Terry Bozzio – drums, speech
Ralph Humphrey – drums
Ruth Underwood – percussion, keyboards
Ed Mann – percussion
Napoleon Murphy Brock – saxophone, vocals
Bruce Fowler– trombone
Diva Zappa – lyricist