Rory Gallagher and Frank Zappa reviewed

RORY GALLAGHER Shadow Play: Concerts 1976-1990 Eagle Vision ****

Just in case you reckoned there wasn't enough documentary footage of Rory Gallagher out there, along comes a bumper three-disc set featuring five full concerts of the Irish guitarist in action. As anyone who saw Gallager in his prime will tell you, few white blues/rock guitar players could match his precision playing. These concerts (all originally recorded for Rockpalast, a German TV show) showcase Gallagher at his blistering best; compare his 1976 rendition of Out on the Western Plain with the 1990 version, and you'll see that little had outwardly changed: still rockin', still really, really good. Should you require any extras following almost 600 minutes of onstage performance, a 1976 interview conducted in Cologne will surely offer some much-needed respite. www.rorygallagher.com  TONY CLAYTON-LEA

FRANK ZAPPA Frank Zappa in Barcelona Plastic Head**

In 1988 Zappa toured for the last time with a rock band. The tour was to end in acrimony in what was a messy finale to the great maverick's band career. At this stage, Zappa had a huge back catalogue to delve into, and here he and his band, from a Barcelona show in 1988, deliver up tracks such as Bamboozled by Love, Packard Goose, Black Napkins and Whipping Post. You either got Zappa or you didn't. For some, he tore up the music songbook and wrote his own one, an eccentric genius formed from the same mould as Captain Beefheart. For others, he was the worst form of overly indulgent "muso" whose meanderings into free-form jazz were painful to listen to. Even if you're firmly a fan, there's not a whole lot to recommend on this poorly produced package. The production values aren't great and the whole thing seems to have been hastily put together. Zappa deserves better. BRIAN BOYD