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Friday, November 21, 2014

Frank Zappa & The Mothers - The Fillmore 1970 Tapes (Bootleg)




Size: 315 MB
Bitrate: 320
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Some Artwork Included
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♦♦♦ [1970-11-06] ♦♦♦ Like a tidal wave of total weirdness, the Mothers of Invention splashed down on the Fillmore West for a series of shows in November of 1970, then washed back into the seedy ocean of L.A., leaving the landscape forever changed (or at least confused and slightly offended).


Not to be outdone by the art school drop-outs and buck-skin fringe contingent then wandering the Sunset Strip, Frank Zappa had been steadily releasing incredibly strange records since the mid-'60s. He abandoned the original Mothers at the close of that decade, only to reform a different line-up under the same name in 1970, this time including two members of The Turtles - Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman (sometimes known as Flo and Eddie due to contractual problems) - to help with Zappa's increasingly bizarre comedy routines and, almost incidentally, sing.

The opening set by Boz Scaggs couldn't possibly have prepared anyone for what was going to occur that night at the corner of Van Ness and Market, though it did prove that Bill Graham had a pretty good sense of humor. Eager to try out material from the upcoming 200 Motels film and accompanying album, The Mothers don't stay in any one direction for too long; sometimes it's as if they're moving in all directions at once. There are hints of jazz-fusion and psychedelia, along with Zappa's beloved doo-wop. 


They even make a brief stab at The Turtles' "Happy Together" as part of the groupie-baiting sleaze-fest "Daddy, Daddy, Daddy." This is a limber bunch, but they're at their best when playing it straight ("Call Any Vegetable" from Absolutely Free is a prime example). Some songs are derailed by excessive hollering and dialogue, the delivery of which suggests the performers are nearly as bored as the audience they're baffling. Provoking the crowd, however, is part of the plan, and listening to Frank scold them for their indifference is highly satisfying for anyone who's ever stood under stage lights.

An appreciation for this performance depends entirely on one's threshold for long and noodly instrumental explorations accented by dick jokes. But it can safely be said that no one else was doing anything quite like this at the time. During an age of weird, Frank Zappa had the distinction of being the unparalleled weirdest.

♦♦♦ [November 13, 1970] ♦♦♦ This wonderful and sonically superb recording of Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention dates back to the fall of 1970, when the band played memorable shows at both the Fillmore East and West.

From the very beginning of the set, with "Introduction / Have Gun Will Travel / Paladin And Hey Boy," the fun begins and never lets up. Older classics such as "Call Any Vegetable" and "Sharleena" are balanced against lesser-known, but just as interesting tracks, such as "Mother People," "The Sanzini Brothers," " El Porko The Magnificent," and the hysterical, "Dog Breath." He closes with the rockin' riff track, "King Kong."


The Mothers Of Invention - France Single 1971
Taken from the archives of Fillmore founder and promoter Bill Graham, this show is among many that Zappa and his early '70s version of the Mothers of Invention played at the Fillmore between 1970 and 1972. By now, Zappa was releasing most of his albums simply under his own name, but he still kept the Mothers tag around for nearly another four years.

This version of the band lasted from late 1969 through 1972, when Zappa, playing a show at the Rainbow Theater, was thrown off the stage by a deranged fan in London, breaking both his legs, forcing him to spend nearly a year in two hip casts.
This was probably the best-loved version of the Mothers, containing a hybrid version of top flight jazz musicians (George Duke), high octane studio rockers (Aynsley Dunbar and Jeff Simmons), and the remnants of a '60s pop band (Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman, better known as Flo & Eddie, from the Turtles). The connection to the Turtles came in the fact that Zappa's manager and business partner, Herb Cohen, was Kaylan's first cousin.

FRANK ZAPPA & THE MOTHERS
THE FILLMORE 1970 TAPES

DISC 1
November 6, 1970
Fillmore West, San Francisco

★ Frank Zappa - guitar, vocals
★ George Duke - keyboards
★ Ian Underwood - keyboards
★ Aynsley Dunbar - drums
★ Howard Kaylan - vocals
★ Jeff Simmons - bass
★ Mark Volman - vocals

01. Palladin and Hey Boy 
02. Call Any Vegetable 
03. The Sanzini Brothers 
04. Penis Dimension
05. The Sanzini Brothers
06. Little House I Used To Live In
07. Mudshark (w/ Dr. John references)
08. Holiday In Berlin
09. Cruising For Burgers
10. Easy Meat
11. Daddy Daddy Daddy
12. Do You Like My New Car?
13. Happy Together
14. Who Are The Brain Police (cut)

DISC 2
November 13, 1970
Fillmore East, New York City
(Early Show)

★ Frank Zappa - guitar, vocals 
★ George Duke - keyboards 
★ Ian Underwood - keyboards 
★ Aynsley Dunbar - drums 
★ Howard Kaylan - vocals 
★ Jeff Simmons - bass 
★ Mark Volman - vocals

01. Grace Slick Jam 
02. The Sanzini Brothers
03. Little House I Used To Live In
04. Mudshark
05. Holiday In Berlin 
06. Cruising For Burgers
07. The Sanzini Brothers' Pyramid Trick
08. What Will This Morning Bring Me This Evening?
09. What Kind Of Girl Do You Think We Are?
10. Bwana Dik
11. Latex Solar Beef
12. Daddy, Daddy, Daddy
13. Do You Like My New Car?
14. Happy Together
15. Wonderful Wino
16. Concentration Moon (w/ bass solo)
17. Mom And Dad
18. Improvisations (cut)

DISC 3
November 13, 1970
Fillmore East, New York City
(Late Show)

01. Kip Cohen Intro
02. Palladin and Hey Boy 
03. Call Any Vegetable 
04. The Sanzini Brothers 
05. Does This Kind of Life Look Interesting to You?
06. Pound For a Brown (On The Bus)
07. Sleeping in a Jar
08. El Porko the Magnificent 
09. Sharleena 
10. The Air 
11. Dog Breath 
12. Mother People 
13. You Didn't Try to Call Me
14. King Kong

Part 1: Fillmore Tapes
Part 2: Fillmore Tapes
Part 3: Fillmore Tapes
or
Part 1: Fillmore Tapes
Part 2: Fillmore Tapes
Part 3: Fillmore Tapes
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click on picture forr 100% sixe

4 comments:

Pello said...

I love this Zappa era with Flo & Eddie. A fantastic post. Thankx a lot.

Bob Mac said...

Thanks for this. Very interesting comparing these rare tapes to the official release LP in 1971. The "Do You Like My New Car" routine had been reworked to perfection by 1971.

Anonymous said...

Thanks very much Chris. Too bad Ruth Underwood hasn't joined the band yet. Zappa still has no peer!

Anonymous said...

I was actually at the Fillmore East concert as a young boy; too bad the links are dead...