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.
The CD features a memorable guest appearance from Sting, singing his Jimmy Swaggart-condemned Police tune "Murder by Numbers.".
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Elvis Has Just Left the BuildingFrank Zappa | Frank Zappa | Play | 02:24 | 5 MB | 15 MB |
| 2 | Planet of the Baritone WomenFrank Zappa | Frank Zappa | Play | 02:48 | 6 MB | 17 MB |
| 3 | Any Kind of PainFrank Zappa | Frank Zappa | Play | 05:42 | 13 MB | 37 MB |
| 4 | Dickie's Such an AssholeFrank Zappa | Frank Zappa | Play | 05:45 | 13 MB | 36 MB |
| 5 | When the Lie's So BigFrank Zappa | Frank Zappa | Play | 03:38 | 8 MB | 23 MB |
| 6 | Rhymin' ManFrank Zappa | Frank Zappa | Play | 03:50 | 8 MB | 23 MB |
| 7 | PromiscuousFrank Zappa | Frank Zappa | Play | 02:02 | 4 MB | 13 MB |
| 8 | The UntouchablesNelson Riddle | Frank Zappa | Play | 02:26 | 5 MB | 15 MB |
| 9 | Bacon FatDorothy Brown, Andre Williams | Frank Zappa | Play | 01:29 | 3 MB | 10 MB |
| 10 | Stolen MomentsOliver Nelson | Frank Zappa | Play | 02:57 | 6 MB | 18 MB |
| 11 | Murder by NumbersSting, Andy Summers, Frank Zappa | Frank Zappa, Sting | Play | 05:37 | 12 MB | 35 MB |
| 12 | Jezebel BoyFrank Zappa | Frank Zappa | Play | 02:27 | 5 MB | 15 MB |
| 13 | Outside NowFrank Zappa | Frank Zappa | Play | 07:49 | 17 MB | 50 MB |
| 14 | Hot Plate Heaven at the Green HotelFrank Zappa | Frank Zappa | Play | 06:40 | 15 MB | 44 MB |
| 15 | Jesus Thinks You're a JerkFrank Zappa | Frank Zappa | Play | 09:15 | 21 MB | 56 MB |
| 16 | Why Don't You Like Me | Frank Zappa | Play | 02:57 | 6 MB | 19 MB |
| 17 | What Kind Of Girl | Frank Zappa | Play | 03:17 | 7 MB | 20 MB |
| 71 mins | 162 MB | |||||
| 71 mins | 453 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dorothy Brown | Composer |
| 2 | Eric Buxton | Vocals |
| 3 | Paul Carman | Sax (Alto) |
| 4 | Bruce Fowler | Trombone |
| 5 | Walt Fowler | Trumpet |
| 6 | Mike Keneally | Guitar, Synthesizer, Vocals |
| 7 | Ed Mann | Percussion |
| 8 | Bobby Martin | Keyboards, Vocals |
| 9 | Kurt McGettrick | Sax (Baritone) |
| 10 | Oliver Nelson | Composer |
| 11 | Nelson Riddle | Composer |
| 12 | Sting | Composer, Guest Artist, Performer, Primary Artist |
| 13 | Andy Summers | Composer |
| 14 | Scott Thunes | Bass, Synthesizer, Vocals |
| 15 | Chad Wackerman | Drums |
| 16 | Ray White | Guitar |
| 17 | Andre Williams | Composer |
| 18 | Ike Willis | Guitar, Vocals |
| 19 | Albert Wing | Sax (Tenor) |
| 20 | Frank Zappa | Composer, Guitar, Keyboards, Primary Artist, Producer, Vocals |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |