Razor & Tie

Here’s one of those we-must-all-be-getting-old thoughts: Dweezil Zappa has now been making records for nearly as many years as his father did. Admittedly, Frank was more prolific (more than 60 albums released prior to his 1993 death) and, no one sane would argue, more creative. This is precisely the problem with Return of the Son of…, which borrows not only its repertoire but also its title from the elder Zappa. Dweezil, now 40, is a guitarist of superb technique and resourcefulness, and long ago he developed a style independent of Frank’s. But this two-disc live set cut with his Zappa Plays Zappa Band, all of whom are equally virtuosic, succeeds in paying tribute and little more. Although the arrangements are never overly slavish, unlike some of his previous work, these recordings unfortunately don’t suggest that he is capable of leaving his own footprint on rock and roll.