Frank Zappa - Puttin' On The Ritz: Classic Frank Zappa NYC Broadcast 1981 2CD

By the closing months of 1981 Frank Zappa had already released five albums during that productive year. Three of these records were his instrumental guitar collections, initially sold via mail order but later released through CBS. Zappa also hit the road in September '81, performing a largely domestic tour that criss-crossed the US and took in a couple of shows in Canada between September and Christmas. On board for the tour were Frank's latest touring band, comprising Chad Wackerman on drums, Ed Mann on percussion, Tommy Mars on keyboards, Scott Thunes on bass, with Steve Vai and Ray White on guitar.

In November the group travelled to New York State, played a couple of shows up north before hitting the city and unloading at the infamous Ritz venue in the East Village on the 17th. The show that night was captured by WLIR FM Radio and broadcast across the East Coast to the delight of Zappa fans who hadn't been lucky enough to secure a ticket. Playing for more than two and a half hours, with special guests Al Di Meola and Brian Peters joining on a couple of numbers, this double CD features the complete gig as broadcast, available here on CD for the first time.

Track Listing:

Disc 1: