Guitarist
Jon Larsen's
The Jimmy Carl Black Story is a follow-up to his earlier
Strange News from Mars, once again featuring former
Frank Zappa drummer
Jimmy Carl Black reprises his role as a spacy narrator, reading text written by
Larsen with a fair amount of references toward
Zappa's songs from the early years, especially excerpts from "Lonesome Cowboy Burt" on 200 Motels. Unfortunately, this time the music isn't as strong as the first volume, with
Larsen songs often coming across as early-'70s
Zappa-lite, a watered-down imitation of the sextet that the late guitarist led with
George Duke and marimba player/percussionist Ruth Underwood, but without a saxophone (a harmonica is used at times). The music ranges from soft fusion to reggae and light rock, but none of the tunes ever stick in one's memory for long. The second disc is a "rockumentary," essentially, a lengthy audio interview with
Black. Sadly,
Jimmy Carl Black lost his battle with cancer around the time of this CD's release. ~ Ken Dryden