"Happy Halloween, everybody!"  Greeting his audience at New York's late, lamented Palladium on October 31, 1978, Frank Zappa promised the enthusiastic crowd.  "This is it...this is the big one!"  He wasn't kidding.  The composer-guitarist and his band - drummer Vinnie Colaiuta, bassists Arthur Barrow and Patrick O'Hearn, keyboardists Peter Wolf and Tommy Mars, singer-guitarist Denny Walley, and percussionist Ed Mann - delivered perhaps the most epic show of their annual New York holiday residencies.  That concert is the centerpiece of Halloween 78, a massive new box set from Zappa Records and UMe.

Zappa's annual Halloween tradition began at New Jersey's (also sadly demolished) Capitol Theatre in 1972 before moving to Chicago in 1973 and then, finally, New York City in 1974.  All Hallows' Eve was his favorite holiday and he knew how special these yearly events were, even filming Baby Snakes: The Movie at the 1977 shows.  Sadly, the tradition was short-lived, taking a break in 1979; 1980's show found Zappa beset by health problems before he returned in 1981 with two shows taped for broadcast on MTV and designed as much for the at-home viewing audience as those in the Palladium's seats.  In 1982, Frank didn't stage a concert but, instead, introduced The Dub Room Special video (which included some footage from Halloween 1981, his last Palladium run) and hosted a costume contest on Halloween night at The Ritz (a.k.a. Webster Hall).  Halloween 78 continues the tradition of giant box sets including a mask which has previously encompassed releases from 1973, 1977, and 1981.  This time, the mask is of FZ as a devil, complete with pitchfork.  (More on that later.)

An audibly energized Zappa led the 1978 shows, presented on Discs 1-3 of the new box.  He cultivated an environment of controlled chaos with his streamlined band (no winds or brass).  Vinnie Colaiuta was the new guy, replacing Terry Bozzio and bringing his own frenetic energy to the drum kit.  Arthur Barrow was also a new recruit, though Zappa invited Patrick O'Hearn to return, too - leading the two bassists to alternate or sometimes join one another in harmony.  Denny Walley had returned, too, adding slide guitar to the mix and replacing Ike Willis on vocals.  Ed Mann was in his second year as part of the Zappa troupe, and the keyboard duo of Peter Wolf (an Austrian composer not to be confused with the J. Geils Band singer) and Tommy Mars remained, too.  On tour since August, the band was at its well-oiled peak by Halloween.

Happily, and after no small amount of restoration work, Halloween 78 has been sourced from pristine tapes and is as playful and entrancing as any Zappa fan would hope.  The setlist was varied, too, offering a wide swath of Zappa's songbook to that point.  The atmospheric and pyrotechnic opener "Ancient Armaments" led into "Dancin' Fool," which Zappa had performed just ten days earlier on Saturday Night Live.  Here, the disco send-up - soon to become his second highest-charting single ever as well as a Grammy nominee - leads into "Easy Meat," which was most certainly not performed on SNL.  Along with Honey Don't You Want a Man Like Me" and "Keep It Greasy," it formed one of the first suites of the almost four-hour evening.

Though the emphasis in the mix by Craig Parker Adams is on the stage activity, there are more than a few signs that the audience was a raucous one.  Zappa signed autographs during the show and warned audience members not to throw hard objects onto the stage.  He surely kept them on his feet with shifting tempos and moods, going from the mellow, even lovely, take on "The Meek Shall Inherit Nothing" (in contrast to its pointed lyrics) to the extended "City of Tiny Lites," a supple showcase for both Denny Walley and Zappa.

Many of the themes had been developed over time.  Zappa first wrote the melody of "Pound for a Brown" as early as 1957-1958, and it was a durable one reinterpreted by band after band.  (Ed Mann takes the vibes solo here.)  The satirical "Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance" was another early selection, dating back in instrumental form to 1961.  It's breezy and melodic with more of Mann as well as violin from a special guest. Renowned Indian violinist L. Shankar (later of Shakti) joined the group for the run of shows, adding a new dimension to their sound.  (Zappa referred to Shankar as "The Bionic Parrot" as a nod to his Halloween costume.)  Shankar's presence is most keenly felt on "Thirteen," so named for its meter.  Its seventeen twisty minutes of spellbinding musicianship takes in rock, prog, soul, and beyond, with Vinnie Colaiuta also at his finest and most unhinged.

It's clear throughout Halloween 78 that this was more of a rock band than the jazz group on display on another recent Zappa live release, 1974's Cheaper Than Cheep.  But the music was still as diverse as one would expect from Zappa.  "Go Cry on Somebody Else's Shoulder," from The Mothers of Invention's debut Freak Out!, offered a few minutes of doo-wop pleasure.  The irreverent tone was similarly in evidence on Warren Cuccurullo's "Story of Ms. X" (admittedly a politically incorrect one!) and an extended, lighthearted "Conehead."  On Saturday Night Live, Zappa gamely participated in a sketch as The Coneheads' daughter, and cast member Laraine Newman showed up at the Palladium show.  "Conehead" would appear on the 1981 double album You Are What You Is along with "The Meek" and the blues pastiche "Suicide Chump" (another satirical song that may not have aged well for some listeners).  Ever fastidious, Zappa starts "Chump" over again at a slower tempo to get it just right.

"Little House I Used to Live In" took up almost all of Side Two of Burnt Weeny Sandwich in 1970, and some of its themes dated back to 1962.  Here it features impressive keyboard work before Shankar enters to transform the composition with his hypnotic tones.  Colaiuta's drum solo bounces from channel to channel.  The majestic, deliberate, and even moving "Watermelon in Easter Hay" would appear on the concept album Joe's Garage played by much of the same band.  The interplay here between Zappa and Shankar is a treat, making for one of the finest live versions of this beloved composition.

Zappa noted onstage that the band didn't rehearse "Stink Foot" earlier in the day, but the track from Apostrophe (') nonetheless was played flawlessly and was rewarded with one of the most audibly enthused reactions from the audience.  Hot Rats' "Peaches in Regalia," still one of FZ's most enduring compositions, segues into 200 Motels' "Strictly Genteel," a cooldown moment and another effective suite of a sort.  (200 Motels was represented with "Magic Fingers," as well, on this expansive journey through a decade-plus of Zappa.)

Apostrophe ('), still Zappa's best-selling album, also yielded an energetic live performance of "Nanook Rubs It" (as in Nanook of the North, hero of a 1922 silent film merging documentary and docudrama, and so named for the Inuit word for "master of bears).  The fur trapper depicted in the wanders his way into "St. Alfonzo's Pancake Breakfast" ("where I stole the mar-juh-reen") where he encounters "Father O'Blivion," who's turned on by leprechauns and makes "sleazy pancakes."  The first mention of St. Alfonzo at the Palladium draws healthy applause, and the suite is one of the most crowd-pleasing moments of the show.

The band didn't tire as the evening went on, saving some of the best for last.  The lengthy, acerbic "Packard Goose" (later to be heard on Joe's Garage) inspired an extended jam in the final third of the show that positively crackles.  "Black Napkins/Deathless Horsie" closes out the concert: the former (from FZ's most recent authorized studio album to that point, 1976's Zoot Allures) a slow burner of an instrumental with the guitarist out front, the latter a virtuosic showstopper for the band and Shankar with all its complexities and FZ at his most incendiary.

The early show of October 27 at the Palladium rounds out this package on Discs 4 and 5.  It's a shorter show but most of the material (save "The Black Page # 2," one of his most complex compositions played deftly) is identical to the subsequent concert.  The band's improvisatory spirit carries the day, though, making this concert an almost as compelling listen as the main attraction.

The package, designed by Michael Mesker under the supervision of art director Ahmet Zappa, is sure to grab ample attention.  The Frank-as-devil mask is joined by a pitchfork with a small, ready-to-use battery-powered light which can be used to illuminate otherwise-hidden text within the grimoire, or textbook of magic, that contains the liner notes and credits as well as the discs in slots.  It's a beautiful book, indeed, with a textured and embossed black cover and copious illustrations from the Fantoons studio as well as photos and master tape box images.  Vaultmeister Joe Travers provides the main essay as well as technical notes explaining the unique challenges that went into restoring these concerts (a process which started more than two decades ago as the Halloween DVD-Audio release was being prepared).

Though the oversize packaging is sure to be as controversial as past releases in this series - the full audio isn't available in a smaller edition, only a single-CD or double-LP highlights set or a complete digital version - Halloween 78 is a treasure trove for fans of this period of Zappa's work or of the live energy that performing onstage gave him and the band.  No tricks here - this set is a big treat.

Halloween 78 is available now at The Zappa Online Store.

2LP "Candy Corn" Vinyl + Pop-Out Paper Mask: Zappa Online Store
2LP "Blood Splatter" Vinyl: Zappa Online Store
1CD: Zappa Online Store​​