The flood of Frank Zappa archival releases may soon edge out the number of such releases from Neil Young and the Grateful Dead. Like those from Young and the Dead, these archival releases are warmly received by fans and consistently top-notch in quality and/or historical significance. Two recent releases from the Zappa estate reflect two very distinct and different eras in his career.
The first is very much about the fledgling birth of the Mothers of Invention. These are recordings from 1966 that were part of a multi-media “happening,” recorded and filmed as a documentary, Sex In Today’s World, filmed at TTG Studios in Los Angeles, that reflected the woolly fringes of the southern California musical counterculture explosion that was also happening in San Francisco, New York, and London. While there are tinges of the trippy jams of San Francisco bands and some of the darker hedonism of London, especially New York, Zappa’s more professional yet more humorous approach sets this scene apart from the others.
This freak out, which was the title of the debut album from the Mothers of Invention, released in 1966, seems somewhat unhinged looking at it through the artifice of the calculated corporate state of pop music today, although for the most part it just sounds like a garage band captured at some drunken frat party, with careening freak-beat rock, leavened with brief moments of woozy doo-wop and hints at the Mothers’ songs to come.
Like almost the entire history of the Mothers, these live recordings capture a moment in time for a band always in flux—with changing musicians and the shifting and mixing of various musical genres. As for the lineup, guitarist Eliot Ingber had just left the group, and drummer Billy Mundi, guitarist Del Casher, and keyboardist Don Preston had recently joined. This was also right after Van Dyke Parks was briefly in the band. The other members were second drummer Jimmy Clark Black, bassist Roy Estrada, and vocalist Ray Collins. Also appearing at this live freak-out were the United Mutations.
There are long jams, bits of interviews and spoken-word intros, along with odd juxtapositions such as the song “Pomp and Circumstance” followed by a track titled “Legalize Abortion,” and some twist music.
The double 180-gram records are pressed on transparent red vinyl and encased in die-cut paper, poly-lined sleeves, and the package includes an informative four-page insert with photos, liner notes, and an essay by Zappa vaultmeister Joe Travers.
Given the primitive, ad hoc recording method and the tapes’ vintage, the recording is surprisingly good. This is a perfect appetizer to be consumed before the delicious delights of the first two Mothers albums.
The other recent Zappa reissue is a collaboration between Zappa and Captain Beefheart (Don Van Vliet). Beefheart had staked out some of the same avant-garde territory as Zappa, writing, recording, and performing music not for the faint of heart. While Zappa leavened his music with humor and more accessible sounds, Beefheart was uncompromising in his musical approach, growling, stomping, and reflecting a jaundiced view of life.
He was a musical cousin to Tom Waits in many ways (without the heart of gold and romanticism) and a difficult cult figure of that time with an almost impenetrable musical identity. Zappa and Beefheart knew each other as teens in California. Zappa produced Beefheart’s most accessible release, Trout Mask Replica, and Beefheart appears on the 1969 Mothers album Hot Rats. Surprisingly (or maybe not), the two gel perfectly on this album, yielding two of Zappa’s most-loved tracks, “Cucamonga” and “Muffin Man.” The album includes live performances from the Armadillo World Headquarters in Austin, Texas, as well as studio recordings.
Along with Beefheart and Zappa are former Mothers members George Duke, Napoleon Murphy Brock, Bruce Fowler, Tom Fowler, and Chester Thompson, as well as new collaborators Denny Walley and Terry Bozzio.
The bonus disc includes long versions of “Carolina Hard-Core Ecstasy” and “200 Years Old,” an isolated vocal version of “Man With The Woman Head,” and an alternate version of “Muffin Man/A Little Green Rosetta.” There’s a new mix of the original version of “The Torture Never Stops” and a rehearsal of “Poofter’s Froth Wyoming Plans Ahead.”
The double-album gatefold package includes 180-gram vinyl mastered from the original analog master tapes. The set comes with a lithograph of Beefheart and Zappa, along with a beautiful, detailed 16-page glossy booklet filled with black-and-white and color photos, tape box images, a Rolling Stone ad for the album, and a collage. Also included are a photo reproduction of a concert handbill, a reproduction of a photo of an original album on Discreet Records, and extensive liner notes and essays throughout.
This was Zappa’s last recording before his often-contentious association with Warner Brothers Records. Bozzio would go on to be a major Zappa collaborator, but the Mothers and the people from the group would figure less and less on his albums.
While Zappa reissues are always excellent, this particular one ranks highly as a mostly live album that often sounds like a studio recording.
GRADED ON A CURVE:
Zappa ’66 Vol. 1: Live At TTG Studios
B
Bongo Fury (50th Anniversary Edition)
A-
