Frank Zappa - 1988 - Broadway The Hard Way
Vinyl rip at 24 bits, 192 KHz

The first live album compiled from various performances on Frank Zappa's 1988 world tour (his final outing), Broadway the Hard Way is composed mostly of new, vocal-oriented material. The tone throughout is highly political, with Zappa taking potshots at such targets as Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Pat Robertson and other televangelists, Jesse Jackson, C. Everett Koop, and so on. Despite Zappa's well-deserved reputation as an acute satirist, his sarcasm is often surprisingly humorless here, leaning toward didacticism; his choice to name names and address his subjects explicitly, rather than through metaphor, also renders the album instantly dated, almost like a late-'80s standup comedy routine. Despite these flaws, many of Zappa's political observations hit the mark, as do some of the jokes, easily making Broadway the Hard Way one of his best and most intellectually stimulating post-'60s political efforts. (AllMusic)

Track list:
01 - Elvis Has Just Left the Building
02 - Planet of the Baritone Women
03 - Any Kind of Pain
04 - Jesus Thinks You're a Jerk
05 - Dickie's Such an Asshole
06 - When the Lie's So Big
07 - Rhymin' Man
08 - Promiscuous
09 - The Untouchables

Personnel:
Frank Zappa – guitar, producer, main performer, vocals
Kurt McGettrick – baritone saxophone
Scott Thunes – bass guitar
Albert Wing – tenor saxophone
Ed Mann – percussion
Chad Wackerman – drums
Ike Willis – guitar, vocals
Eric Buxton – vocals
Paul Carman – alto saxophone
Walt Fowler – trumpet
Mike Keneally – synthesizer, vocals, guitar
Sting – lead vocal on "Murder By Numbers"
Bruce Fowler – trombone
Robert Martin – keyboards, vocals

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