Indian violinist L. Shankar's debut LP in America is a wide-ranging affair and quite unlike his later albums of Indian classical music with tabla and ghatam. Frank Zappa, who added Shankar to his band for a few concerts during a late 1970s tour, produced this record and sings (under the pseudonym Stucco Holmes) on a piece he co-wrote with the violinist, "Dead Girls of London." This hard rocker is followed by the considerably mellower "Windy Morning," showcasing his incredible technique on electric violin with overdubs, though the leader's solos grow more intense with each chorus. Shankar's one vocal on the album, "Knee Deep in Heaters," is also the least interesting track, with a rather bland lyric by Zappa. "Darlene" is a complex piece that demands a lot of Shankar and Phil Palmer (heard on both guitar and mandolin). The strange ballad "Touch Me There" has an odd vocal by Jenny Lautrec, who seems to have trouble following her cue at the beginning of one chorus. "No More Mr. Nice Girl" is an extended, upbeat rocker, jointly written by Shankar and Zappa, that incorporates Jack Emblow's accordion in addition to some exotic keyboard work by James Lascelles, wrapping with a blazing finale by the violinist. This LP should be considered an uneven but worthwhile effort for the short-lived Zappa Records, though it was reissued on CD eventually. ~ Ken Dryden, All Music Guide
Dave Marquette (Bass), Frank Zappa (Vocals), Vicky Blumenthal (Vocals), Phil Palmer (Guitar (Electric)), Phil Palmer (Guitar), Lakshminarayana Shankar (Vocals), Simon Phillips (Drums), Phil Palmer (Mandolin), Stucco Homes (Vocals), Geoff Young (Engineer), Jack Emblow (Accordion), James Lascelles (Keyboards), Frank Zappa (Producer), James Lascelles (Organ), Jenny Lautrec (Vocals), Lakshminarayana Shankar (Violin), James Lascelles (Piano), Dave Marquee (Bass), James Lascelles (Synthesizer)
Touch Me There is a 1979 album by L. Shankar (credited as "Shankar"). Shankar performed acoustic and 5-string Barcus Berry electric violin, string orchestra, and provided vocals on the track "Knee Deep in Heaters." Shankar composed all the music for the album, except on two tracks which he composed music with Frank Zappa, and further served as an arranger and orchestrator on the record. The album was produced by Frank Zappa who also served as the album's lyricist and who co-wrote, with Shankar, the music for the tracks "Dead Girls of London" and "No More Mr. Nice Girl."
The song "Dead Girls of London" was released as a 12" maxi single on September 24, 1979.
In the final version of the song, "Dead Girls Of London" the lyrics are sung by Zappa and collaborator Ike Willis. Vicky Blumenthal provides the chorus on "Dead Girls Of London," "Knee-Deep In Heaters," and "No More Mr. Nice Girl," while Jenny Lautrec sings the lyrics to the album's title track, "Touch Me There," and Shankar himself sings the lyrics to the album's final track, "Knee-Deep In Heaters."
The lyrics for the album's opening track, "Dead Girls Of London" were originally supposed to be sung by Van Morrison, but since Morrison was signed to the Warner Bros. Records record label who Zappa was in a legal dispute with at the time, Zappa was unable to release the song on his label with Morrison's vocals, and so they were re-recorded (this early version did appear on Frank Zappa bootlegs, such as "Another Cheap Aroma").[2]
