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BABY SNAKES (1979)
Eagle Vision DVD (region 1)
d. Frank Zappa; pr. Frank Zappa; scr. Frank Zappa; ph. Phil Parmet, Richard Pearce; m. Frank Zappa; ed. Frank Zappa, Klaus Hundsbichler; ani. Bruce Bickford; cast. Frank Zappa, Terry Bozzio, Ron Delsener, Johnny Psychotic, Donna U. Wanna, Diva Zappa, Bruce Bickford, Vinnie Colaiuta, Warren Cuccurullo, Phil Kaufman, Ed Mann (166 mins)

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Rock God / Rock Controversy / Rock Epic

Frank Zappa was one of the most controversial figures in American rock during the 1970s and 1980s. 

Always attracted to complex, bizarre and often unfathomable compositions, the musician seemingly sought to provoke as much as entertain his audience.  His penchant for sexual humor, offbeat social satire and a form of deliberate infantilism, however, ensured that his music was not readily accessible, and indeed despite a prolific number of albums, Zappa’s music found little airplay.  There has, nevertheless, been much serious, scholarly examination of Zappa’s music and career and it is frequently concluded that his musical ambitions often over-reached the audience with which it is most associated.  Zappa himself perhaps delighted in such a mismatch as his often scattershot irreverence deliberately worked against any conventional means of “significant” interpretation.  Yet his ambition extended to film, resulting in two outrageous, almost improvisational movies – the cult favorite 200 Motels and the odd, lengthy concert film Baby Snakes.  When originally released, Baby Snakes played for 24 hours a day at a single theatre with its soundtrack blaring over a PA system.  When widely released though, it found general disfavor amongst critics who found it way too long and self-indulgent.  Zappa reportedly had the film withdrawn and re-edited to half its length before re-issuing it.  Again, it was mainly his existing fans who responded to it.

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Synopsis (contains spoilers)

Baby Snakes consists mainly of filmed concert footage from Zappa’s performance at a 1977 Halloween concert at the Palladium.

Although the soundtrack was eventually released as a CD in 1982, the concert itself features music from the albums Live in New York and the almost infamous Sheik Yerbouti: the standout number being “Punky’s Whips”.  Incorporating backstage footage of Zappa and his band – including rehearsal and general clowning around – Zappa as director allows much time to an animator, Bruce Bickford, with whom the musician seemingly found a point of identification.  Bickford’s truly grotesque Claymation work (to a musical accompaniment) is thus interspersed throughout the first half especially, even if the stoned Bickford comes across as something of a flake.  These animated extracts are almost self-contained mini-movies and when the film settles into concert footage, almost disappear entirely.  The remaining performances showcase the talents of the band, especially Terry Bozzio and the vocal stylings of Roy Estrada, as well as offering a look at the many fans that once flocked to Zappa’s concerts. Indeed, the last section captures the fan inter-activity that makes the concert a somewhat personalized experience.  The invention of the first half segues into prolonged on-stage antics: from preparation of sorts to execution, capturing the spirit of one of rock’s most distinctive and provocative talents.

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Frank Zappa

Improvisation, Progression & the Aesthetics of Deviance

The film is intriguing in its loose structure for it partially conveys the progression from Zappa’s work with the improvisatory Mothers of Invention to his more individualized solo career. 

Thus, the film has a predominant metamorphosis motif, the idea of change (societal, perceptual, and interpersonal) influencing the loose structure as what seems improvisatory, unstructured and even haphazard is meant to represent a creative “flow”, from germination to expression.  Although self-indulgent, Baby Snakes does capture what Zappa considers the flux of (his) creativity, his constant search for sound, satire and meaning in composition.  In that respect the surreal Claymation by Bickford is an integral, paranoid vision of a mental and physical state in constant transmutation.  “Progression” is of vital importance to Zappa, who leaves it to his devotees to find whatever there is in the prolonged musical movement that obsesses him.  It is the shorter numbers, the stage performances engaging the audience, and the lyrics that testify to his satirical intent, repeatedly punching at notions of social and moral propriety as well as the limitations of imposed codes of conduct, including musical “forms”.  This searching blend of personal musing and social satire is clarified in Zappa’s assessment that without deviance there is no progress – it is perhaps not surprising that this maverick found such an audience amongst the “freaked out” generation.

In many albums, Zappa developed a private, almost child-like, mythology of characters, narratives and nonsense. 

Baby Snakes explores the mind-set that leads to such unrestricted imaginings but delves only in part into this reservoir of characters – when it does, it is mainly through Bickford’s attempts to contextualize his animation within Zappa’s work.  Perhaps the incorporation of Bickford into this film serves to reveal the kind of creativity that Zappa hopes to inspire.  Either way, Bickford’s work makes for a striking visualization of Zappa’s approach to composition-as-metamorphosis and hence the scenes where music and animation are matched are the most dynamic.  Contrasting modes of expression, however, do come through in the evolution from the introspective, interpretive treatment of Bickford to the extroverted experience of a large concert.  Indeed, the film’s sense of movement is from the personalized imagination to the notion of grand spectacle and musical showmanship on stage, where Zappa seems as much a musician as a performance artist, if not quite the philosopher (his satire is too couched in infantilism and deliberate silliness).  To progress, for Zappa, is to provoke, and his music and lyrics remain attacks on conventional forms of composition and social decorum.  In the seemingly structure-less indulgence of Baby Snakes, one senses a yearning for subversion.

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Child-of-Porn Surrealism

The 4:3 fullscreen transfer is fully restored and in excellent condition, although much of it has the unsteady look of raw verite and natural lighting so associated with the late 1970s. 

It is available in the full-length cut, as Zappa initially intended the film to be seen: the shorter version not included.  The loose, verite approach is carried in the backstage sequences into which Bickford’s animations function as explosive, imaginative outbursts.  As a mix of loosely improvisational backstage documentary and brightly-colored surrealism, Baby Snakes creates a psychedelic sense of rhythm and assembly: the film as a prolonged, searching montage, forever evolving if uncertain of any end point.  It is not inappropriate to refer to this film as “trippy”.  Bright lights and lens flares are frequent and there is an odd video-type distortion to some of the lighting, although the stage lighting techniques are nicely captured.  Blacks and blues during the lengthy concert sequence often seem murky and indistinct however.  The mix of sexual provocation and deliberate audience-pleasing infantilism that truly was Zappa’s hallmark is captured in the on-stage segments as the child-of-porn mentality saturates much that is deliberately provocative.  Although Bickford’s material is needed for the first third, it is not followed through as backstage efforts yield to concert spectacle and the energy level arguably slowly dissipates.

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Zappa in Concert

Abrasive Musical Composition and Satiric Mock-Philosophizing (Pataphysics?)

The Dolby Digital sound transfer, in either re-mastered 5.1 or stereo, is the undoubted high point, offering an opportunity to hear this music in the age of home theater.

Although Zappa’s sense of musical composition may be abrasive it also defies categorization in its mixture of hard rock, experimental noise and improvisational jazz, with Zappa acting at times as ad-hoc arranger of off-beat sounds.  Terry Bozzio’s work is the energetic highlight and his comical voice contrasts to both the more resonant bass of Zappa and the grotesque stylings of Roy Estrada.   It starts with rough noises and maintains a quality of multi-layered assembly for much of the first half, before segueing into the concert.  Pauses for contributions from Zappa’s fans are included, revealing just how much audience participation attended the ever-open Zappa.  The sense of sound collage is enhanced by the directional treatment present in this DVD mix.  Virtuoso guitar aside, in addresses to the crowd, Zappa incorporates his personal sense of mock-philosophy as well as venting his hatred for Warner Brothers (to whom he was contracted for some time in the early 1970s).  At times, the numbers seem like elaborate musical cross-talk routines (hence the Devil bit in “Titties ‘n Beer”) and thus have a psycho-dramatic intensity.  However one may react to Zappa and his music, Baby Snakes remains a fascinating social document and personal statement.

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The Zappa Secret Government File: DVD Bonus

There are several special features, most of which are printed matter contained within the reproduction of the press-kit that comes as a lift-out mock government file within the DVD case. 

The removable file is a neat alternative to a booklet and opens to reveal removable sheets of information, including a typically idiosyncratic “essay” from Zappa as to how he sought the film to be structured as a lengthy musical composition and intended as ultimately a tribute to “people who do stuff that is not normal”: again, his feelings on such deviance and progress seem integral to his outlook.  Also included in the mix of the solemn and the hokey that is this special features package is a joke-novelty pair of “Honker 3D glasses”.  Of interest within in the press kit are extracts from then-contemporary reviews of the film.  These extracts offer an account of the reception that greeted a movie which has ultimately since been wholly dismissed by all but Zappa’s loyal audience: these reviews complete the retrospective aspect of the DVD re-release: contextualizing the Zappa aesthetic. On the disc itself are a trailer, two commercial spots and a promotional advertisement for Zappa’s apparent circa 1973 “Roxy Performances”.  These extras make for a collector’s delight, although there is unfortunately little background about animator Bruce Bickford or Zappa’s actual band members and, more accurately, co-conspirators.

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FURTHER READING
RARE FRANK ZAPPA FILM BY ED SEEMAN: LUDEN'S COUGH DROPS COMMERCIAL

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