The Frank Zappa vault series, whether it’s reissues of classic albums or new archival releases, is an embarrassment of riches that thankfully seems to have no end.
Among the recent new products (boy, would Frank hate that word) to come out in various configurations and formats are legendary recordings from the Whiskey a Go-Go from July 23rd, 1968. The concert came after the first three albums from the Mothers: Freak Out! (1966), Absolutely Free (1967), and We’re Only in It for the Money (1968) and Zappa’s first solo album, Lumpy Gravy, a collaboration with the Abnuceals Emuukha Electric Symphony Orchestra, on which Zappa did not perform, but instead conducted the orchestra.
While some of these live recordings have come out in dribs and drabs over the years, having all three sets available for the first time is truly a revelation. The evening was a real happening and some of the rock glitterati in attendance included former members of The Turtles and future members of The Mothers, Mark Volman and Howard Kalan, soon to be known as Flo & Eddie. Others there for the historic evening included John Mayall, during his Laurel Canyon period, and reportedly members of The Rolling Stones.
With the famed Wally Heider mobile recording truck on hand, and intended as a live recording session (how it was billed on the marquee) of the Mothers of Invention, this is more of a multi-media freak out, or what some might even call a freak show. This is classic Mothers of Invention, with all their wooly hair hanging down to their knobby knees.
The music, while rooted in some bizarre mashup of fusion jazz (before that was even a thing), ’50s doo-wop, bluesy R&B, woozy music hall and fairground sounds on acid, is liberally sprinkled with faux rock, bodacious hippie burlesque and zany, ribald and satirical showbiz antics. Yet, it is both still far ahead of its time and often an intoxicating mix of shredding guitar rock and long, improvisational instrumentals and free jazz. There’s a touch of heavy rock of the era, with an Allman Brothers Band and Rolling Stones feel in spots.
The evening’s entertainment also included the debut of Zappa proteges the GTO’s (featuring Pamela Des Barres), Alice Cooper, and Kim Fowley. The main band is a classic Mothers lineup. The nine-piece group includes future Little Feat bassist Roy Estrada, Don Preston on keyboards, Ian Underwood on sax, Bunk Gardner on sax and flute, Motorhead Sherwood on baritone sax and percussion, percussionist Ray Collins, and Art Tripp and Jimmy Carl Black on drums and percussion. Vocals are primarily shared by Collins and Estrada.
While there are many favorites from the rich Mothers of Invention catalog included here, such as “America Drinks and Goes Home,” “Status Back Baby,” “Plastic People,” and “Brown Shoes Don’t Make Out,” just to name a few, there are many obscurities, improvisations, and what might appear to many to be unfinished songs. Such tracks are different takes of a song like one would hear in a recording session, which is what the evening of music was initially intended to be. There are borrowed doo-wop lyrics and even a cover of “My Boyfriend’s Back.”
The limited-edition deluxe box includes five 180-gram bio-vinyl albums in black poly-lined sleeves. Side 10 includes the first etching on a vinyl Zappa/Mothers set of a Mothers silkscreen image. There is also a gorgeous and informative 20-page, album-sized color book and a lovely turntable mat of the album cover that’s almost too nice to actually use.
Amidst the tumultuous protests, violence, and spiraling political activities of the hippie love hangover that encapsulated 1968, Frank Zappa could still bring a jaundiced and knowing wink of music and spectacle to a tiny stage in West Hollywood and make everyone laugh. For all his prodigious talents, Zappa never took himself or anyone else too seriously. The music here seems like the perfect soundtrack for another key political year in America’s twisted history—2024. If only Frank could have been here to witness it, I’m sure he would have some interesting insights and pearls of wisdom.
GRADED ON A CURVE:
A+
