Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention Live at Carnegie Hall 1971

When it comes to modern masters of their craft, there is no artists in the same field as Frank Zappa. As a composer, singer-song writer, filmmaker and father, Frank Zappa ignited the New York and Los Angeles scenes of the 60′s, 70′s and 80′s with one of the most innovative fusions of jazz, classical, music concrete, rock, doo-wop, blues and satirical and critical views of society, politics and individuals. When you dive into his interviews during the 80′s, you hear a genius speak about file sharing and the new platform that was going to come with the advancement of technology. Zappa was ahead of the curve for every year he existed and with 60 albums of phenomenal ground breaking work in his legacy, there’s no single way to really summarize the importance of Zappa. The lovely Gail Zappa, Frank Zappa’s wife of 40+ years, has overseen the direction of the Frank Zappa catalog and has done an incredible job with every release since taking on this task. The end of 2011 might possibly be her greatest achievement with the release of a very special 4 disc set of material Warner recorded professionally. Sourced from the 1971 at the prestigious Carnegie Hall in New York, there is a lot of controversy surrounding the reasons why Zappa was afforded a chance to play at this venue. Zappa would never play inside this hall before or after the two shows that comprise this new release. With long time dedicated collectors highly anticipating this release with many in the “I won’t hold my breath” mind set, the Zappa Family Trust has proven why they have taken all the right steps to prepare more extensive material from their archives to the world with a release like Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention live at Carnegie Hall 1971.

Frank Zappa has one of the most intriguing backgrounds of any musician over the last 50 years. With a father as a mathematician and engineer in the US Defense system, Zappa moved extensively in his child hood and was afforded a lot of access to music. His love for avant classical composer Edgard Varese was one of the first catalysts to his odd configurations of sound and in general, interests with life. When you look at how his group The Mothers of Invention expanded from their beginnings in the early 60′s, it’s a miracle they found the great talents of Herb Cohen. Herb served as a their means to further take care of the business aspect of their presentation so they could be afforded more creative control and financial resources to draw out Zappa’s vast visions and sea of ideas. Zappa was known well for the conceptual continuity that ran through his lyrics and shaped the overall picture of everything Zappa is known for now. In the beginning of 1971, Frank Zappa was at the very beginning of harnessing the full potential of this continuity with his new reformed version of the Mothers of Invention. Zappa had built a living off film work before he signed with a major label and toured the world. His fascination with film and growing contacts in New York and Los Angeles led to his first full length feature project 200 Motels. Created in the year of 1971, the same year as the material you hear from the new 4 disc Carnegie Hall set, 200 Motels really pushed cinematic possibilities of animation, concert footage and so much more under one vision. As one of the first films to be shot in video and transferred back into the 35mm print, this allowed for a lot of post manipulation to the film that was ground breaking for its time. Out of the 200 Motels film came many dark and detailed stories of the Mothers of Invention that managed to find its way onto the stage shows they were presenting at the same time. Pieces like ‘Billy The Mountain’ and the infamous ‘The Mud Shark’ that came to be known as classic stage shows pieces of the Mothers. They were numbers that really let the band interact with the audience and added something completely unique to every show. For long time fans of Zappa, this period is known as the “Flo & Eddie” period and was a very unique time for the band with the addition of vocal talents Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan. Carnegie Hall was a special night for this new incarnation of the Mothers and the official release from the Zappa Family Trust from this October evening in 1971 is one of the biggest posthumous Zappa releases in years.

Frank Zappa

Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention live at Carnegie Hall 1971 was recorded on the evening of October 11. With a special opener by 60′s Brooklyn based a cappella group The Persuasions, this has to be one of the best Frank Zappa concerts from the Flo & Eddie period. Zappa and his Mothers performed two shows for New York at Carnegie and really tore the roof off for both sets. For fans of the instrumental side of Frank Zappa, there are many songs that capture the essence and purity of music Zappa was capable of. ‘Pound for a Brown’ and ‘King Kong’ display a group really crafting some of the best fusion music out there, all with a sense of vitality and youth that never dies in the 4 hours of material present on all 4 discs. ‘Peaches En Regalia’ has a very different feel than the upbeat studio version from Zappa first solo release from 1969, Hot Rats. The sound recording quality on both discs is superb and I was shocked when I read that this mix is only mono, something I would have never guessed. The air sculptor’s, as Zappa coined them, that he creates with his solo work is phenomenal and these two shows really show his prowess as a phenomenal, prolific and highly skilled guitar player. The 13 minute closer of the second night ‘The Mud Shark’ shows a very different jam orientated grooved out piece than other versions I have heard with Zappa playing beautiful wah-wah solo’s and perfect rhythm melodies. If you are familiar with the various versions of this piece, than this is a must hear treat for the heavy jamming that occurs.

After a very traditional vocal group opening set from The Persuasions, Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention’s first set rips into a phenomenal version of ‘ Call Any Vegetable’. The band is really on fire right away and put the energy of the room to maximum level. The instrumental section of ‘Dog Breath’ is mesmerizing, showing the band really stretching out with rhythm still in place and harmony of the highest order. Even thought there is a heavy amount of satirical elements, the parts where the band really shows their dedication and love to making their own thoughtful and powerful music never ceases to come forth on every turn and dynamic swing of the live set. The apex of this dynamic comes in the 30 minute ‘King Kong‘. This is one, among an endless list, of the greatest Frank Zappa moments captured on tape and is worth the price tag on all 4 discs alone. Frank Zappa was expanding so fast in the 70′s and musicianship went through the roof for his 70′s bands. 1971′s Carnegie Hall staff must have been shocked that music of this nature had made it through and were probably joyed when they heard the masterful musicianship displayed on the number ‘King Kong’. With Jimi Hendrix being there first rock musician to perform at Carnegie Hall in 1968, it was only a matter of time before one of modern music’s most prolific, unpredictable and idiosyncratic artists graced their stage.

The greatest moment between both sets has to be the encore from the second show when Zappa announces that to play on the stage past midnight, they would be charged an additional $600. As fans had cheered for an encore and the atmosphere worsened when Zappa announced this, he later tells the audience, “but I would be happy to pay $600 to play for you some more”. The crowd roares and becomes overly audible in the recording and the band comes back out in full out and rips into a phenomenal version of one of their most well known pieces of that era ‘The Mud Shark’

Frank Zappa

Frank Zappa had served a blow the same year with a concert at the prestigious Royal Albert Hall being cancelled from the promoters as they found lyrics from Zappa they deemed as unfit for artists they market. The fact that they got into Carnegie Hall is a miracle and one we can only thank the heavens that Warner was on site to record. For the intro of the second set, Frank Zappa jokingly asks the audience to be patient so they can tune up the synthesizers “to sound better”. Doesn’t even seem like most of the crowd caught onto the fact that synthesizers don’t need to be tuned! Zappa then proclaims, “Contrary to the way we normally run our program [...] Ordinarily when we start up a show, we start off with something real zippy and snazzy so that you get right into it, you know?. But, I think this evening, because this is such an auspicious occasion, the desecration of Carnegie Hall itself, that we are going to actually deviate from our format ladies and gentlemen. Now some of you might find this a little bit too deviated, however, the first selection that we are going to perform is a new piece that is receiving its New York premier. You may think it’s shitty when you hear it, what are you clapping for now? Well, it’s nice to know your on our side. [...]” The band than launches into the second half of one of the most important recordings to be unearthed this year. Zappa would have a very serious stage injury shortly after the Carnegie Hall concerts took place. Caused from a fan, this, along with very bad gear damage, would further hinder this period of Zappa’s career. Like any artists with this much depth, knowledge and love for music, the state of being held back doesn’t exist and Zappa proved his resilience from dozens of album releases later. Frank Zappa and his Mothers of Invention live at the Carnegie Hall is the best 4 discs of live music released this year, a must own release.

-Erik Otis

Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention
Live at Carnegie Hall 1971 4CD
Zappa Family Trust

Order the 4CD set from Barfko-Swill

Track Listing

Disc 1

The Persuasions

1. ‘I Just Can’t Work No Longer’
2. ‘Working All The Live Long Day/Chain Gang’
3. ‘Medley #1′
4. ‘Pieces Of A Man’
5. ‘Buffalo Soldier’
6. ‘Medley #2′
7. ‘Medley #3′

Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention

1st Concert

8. ‘Hello (To Foh)/Ready?!’
9. ‘Call Any Vegetable’
10. ‘Anyway The Wind Blows’
11. ‘Magdalena’
12. ‘Dog Breath’

Disc 2

1. ‘Peaches En Regalia’
2. ‘Tears Began To Fall’
3. ‘Shove It Right In’
4. ‘King Kong’
5. ’200 Motels Finale’
6. ‘Who Are The Brain Police?’

Disc 3

2nd Concert

1. ‘Auspicious Occasion’
2. ‘Divan Persist Of: Once Upon A Time’
3. ‘Sofa #1′
4. ‘Magic Pig’
5. ‘Stick It Out’
6. ‘Divan Ends Here’
7. ‘Pound For A Brown’
8. ‘Sleeping In A Jar’
9. ‘Wonderful Wino’
10. ‘Sharleena 1979′
11. ‘Cruising For Burgers’

Disc 4

1. ‘Billy The Mountain’
2. ‘Billy The Mountain’
3. ‘Billy The Mountain’
4. ‘The $600 Mud Shark Prelude’
5. ‘The Mud Shark’

‘Billy The Mountain Solos’