In a masterstroke of understatement, Frank Zappa and The Mothers proclaimed themselves to be Just Another Band from L.A. on a 1972 album of the same title.  Of course, The Mothers were never just another band, but this particular iteration - featuring former Turtles vocalists Flo and Eddie (Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan) and bassist Jim Pons, drummer Aynsley Dunbar, keyboardist Don Preston, and multi-instrumentalist Ian Underwood - was one of the most memorable of the band's existence.  This line-up recorded a pair of acclaimed live albums (the U.S. top 40 album Fillmore East - June 1971 and the aforementioned Just Another Band from L.A.), and famously jammed with John Lennon and Yoko Ono on the Fillmore stage, a set that ended up on their Some Time in New York City double album.  But this version of the Mothers came to an unceremonious end on December 10, 1971 in London, England, concluding a tragic week that left the Montreux Casino in ashes, Zappa seriously injured, and Deep Purple with the hit record "Smoke on the Water."

On March 18, Zappa Records and UMe will celebrate this era of the Mothers with a three-release slate, the centerpiece of which is the 8-CD box set The Mothers 1971.  It's similar in spirit to 2020's The Mothers 1970, which chronicled an earlier unit also featuring Zappa supported by Flo and Eddie, Aynsley Dunbar, Ian Underwood, and others.  This release also follows on the heels of the 50th anniversary reissues of Zappa's 200 Motels; his "conceptual continuity" extended clearly from 200 Motels to the 1971 era of the Mothers, with the music for both chronicling the life of a touring rock band in satirical, sordid, and surreal detail. (Yes, Flo and Eddie sang "Happy Together," but not quite in the context one might have expected!)

The 100-track, nearly 10-hour The Mothers 1971, produced by Ahmet Zappa and "Vaultmeister" Joe Travers, presents each and every note of all four shows played at NYC's beloved Fillmore East on June 5-6, 1971, including the full jam session with John and Yoko.  (The concerts were among the closing acts at the historic venue; it closed permanently on June 27.  Today, a bank sits in its place.)  It marks the very first time the complete Fillmore East concerts have been released in unedited form.

Additionally, the box set recreates a concert from the June 1 and June 3 performances in Scranton and Harrisburg, PA (respectively), and presents the full Rainbow Theatre concert in London, England on December 10, 1971 when a "fan" attacked Zappa following the band's performance of The Beatles' "I Want to Hold Your Hand."  The band had been playing that night with rented equipment, due to the tragic fire that engulfed the Montreux Casino on December 4 (and their instruments with it).  Thankfully, Zappa and the Mothers emerged relatively unscathed, but more tragedy followed at the Rainbow less than one week later.

Zappa was violently pushed from the stage into the orchestra pit 12 feet below.  A panic broke out on the premises while he was left with serious injuries.  He wrote in his 1989 memoir, "My head was over on my shoulder and my neck was bent like it was broken. I had a gash in my chin, a hole in the back of my head, a broken rib and a fractured leg. One arm was paralyzed."  Zappa spent most of the following year in a wheelchair and a leg brace; needing to continue working, the Mothers disbanded and pursued other musical avenues.  The box set is rounded out with the original single version of Zappa's rock-and-roll pastiche "Tears Began to Fall" b/w the non-LP flipside, "Junier Mintz Boogie," plus a radio spot and outtakes.  This is the first release to present the official audio of the Rainbow Theatre show complete with its frightening ending.  It was thought to have not been recorded but was recently discovered as this box was being curated.

Most of the live tracks have been newly mixed by Craig Parker Adams at Winslow Ct. Studios and mastered by John Polito at Audio Mechanics. The Rainbow Theatre show has been newly mixed by producer/engineer and Jimi Hendrix collaborator Eddie Kramer (his first Zappa Trust project to date) and mastered by Bernie Grundman. All recordings included on The Mothers 1971 were sourced from their original 2-inch, 16-track, 1-inch 8-track, and quarter-inch 2-track stereo analog master tapes in The Vault and digitally transferred and compiled by Joe Travers in 2020.

The Lennon/Ono jam session has also been freshly remixed.  Featuring Walter Ward's oldie "Well" (a Liverpool-era Beatles favorite) with John on lead vocals and Zappa soloing plus a version of "King Kong" that transformed into the jam "Scumbag," the encore was originally planned for release by Zappa who mixed it in 1971.  But once John and Yoko released their own mix on Some Time in New York City, Zappa shelved his recording util the 1992 release of Playground Psychotics.  In 2021, the Lennon Estate provided the Zappa trust and UMe with a high-resolution transfer of the original multitrack safety reel (which Zappa had made for Lennon in 1971); that transfer has been used as the basis of this remix.

The CD-sized case features eight discs in their own mini-sleeves, collectively housed within an inner slipcase.  The accompanying 68-page booklet has Ahmet Zappa's new interview with Ian Underwood plus commentary from Eddie Kramer and Jim Pons.  Joe Travels has provided tape-by-tape liner notes, and Henry Diltz has supplied photos.  The Mothers 1971 will also be available for download/streaming, including in high resolution.

Vinyl enthusiasts will be rewarded with two releases in this campaign.  An expanded 50th Anniversary edition of Fillmore East - June 1971 will be presented on 3 LPs.  The first LP has the remastered version of the original album, while the second and third platters boast the John and Yoko encore and the complete "Billy the Mountain," among other outtake material from the concerts.  The bonus material encompasses Zappa's period mixes, some of which are not included on the CD set.  The Fillmore East 50th Anniversary Edition 3LP set features liner notes by Joe Travers and was cut by Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman Mastering.

It's joined by Rainbow Theatre - December 10, 1971, presenting the show as heard on the CD box set across 3 LPs.  It has been cut by Bernie Grundman at his studio and features liner notes by Eddie Kramer.  Both vinyl sets were pressed on 180-gram vinyl by Optimal: Media in Germany.

These landmark sets are due from Zappa Records and UMe on March 18.  You'll find pre-order links and complete track listings below.

Frank Zappa and The Mothers, The Mothers 1971 (Zappa/UMe, 2022) (Official Zappa Store / Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

CD 1: FILLMORE EAST, NEW YORK CITY, NY, JUNE 5, 1971 - SHOW 1

1. Peaches En Regalia
2. Tears Began To Fall
3. Shove It Right In
4. Status Back Baby
5. Concentration Moon - Part 1
6. The Sanzini Brothers (Sodomy Trick)
7. Concentration Moon - Part II
8. Mom & Dad
9. Intro To Music For Low Budget Orchestra
10. Billy The Mountain
11. King Kong

TOTAL TIME: 79:00

CD 2: FILLMORE EAST, NEW YORK CITY, NY, JUNE 5, 1971 - SHOW 2

1. Peaches En Regalia
2. Tears Began To Fall
3. Shove It Right In
4. Intro To Music For Low Budget Orchestra
5. Billy The Mountain
6. Little House I Used To Live In
7. The Mud Shark
8. What Kind Of Girl Do You Think We Are?
9. Bwana Dik
10. Latex Solar Beef
11. Willie The Pimp

TOTAL TIME: 74:13

CD 3: FILLMORE EAST, NEW YORK CITY, NY, JUNE 5, 1971 - SHOW 2 (Continued)

1. Do You Like My New Car?
2. Happy Together
3. "Any Chord Of Your Choice"
4. King Kong - Part I
5. Lonesome Electric Turkey
6. King Kong - Part II

FILLMORE EAST, NEW YORK CITY, NY, JUNE 6, 1971 - SHOW 1 (Tracks 7-15)

7. Fillmore Improvisation
8. Peaches En Regalia
9. Tears Began To Fall
10. Shove It Right In
11. Status Back Baby
12. Concentration Moon - Part I
13. The Sanzini Brothers (Sodomy Trick)
14. Concentration Moon - Part II
15. Mom & Dad

TOTAL TIME 70:44

CD 4: FILLMORE EAST, NEW YORK CITY, NY, JUNE 6, 1971 - SHOW 1 (Continued; TRACKS 1-4)

1. The Story Of Billy The Mountain
2. Intro To Music For Low Budget Orchestra
3. Billy The Mountain
4. Chunga's Revenge

FILLMORE EAST, NEW YORK CITY, NY, JUNE 6, 1971 - SHOW 2 (Tracks 5-8)

5. "Herd Of Cattle"
6. Peaches En Regalia
7. Tears Began To Fall
8. Shove It Right In

TOTAL TIME: 70:48

CD 5: FILLMORE EAST, NEW YORK CITY, NY, JUNE 6, 1971 - SHOW 2 (Continued)

1. The Story Of Billy The Mountain
2. Intro To Music For Low Budget Orchestra
3. Billy The Mountain
4. "Conglomerate Assembly"
5. Little House I Used To Live In
6. The Mud Shark
7. What Kind Of Girl Do You Think We Are?
8. Bwana Dik
9. Latex Solar Beef
10. Willie The Pimp
11. Do You Like My New Car?
12. Happy Together

TOTAL TIME: 74:39

CD 6: FILLMORE EAST, NEW YORK CITY, NY, JUNE 6, 1971 - SHOW 2 (Continued)

JOHN & YOKO ENCORE SET (TRACKS 1-6)

1. Well
2. Say Please
3. King Kong
4. Aaawk
5. Scumbag
6. A Small Eternity with Yoko Ono

RADIO SPOT, SINGLE VERSION, B-SIDE & OUTTAKES (Tracks 7-10)

7. Homemade Radio Spot
8. Tears Began To Fall - Single Version
9. Junier Mintz Boogie - Single B-Side
10. Homemade Radio Spot Outtakes

BONUS HYBRID CONCERT: HARRISBURG/SCRANTON, PA 1971

STATE FARM SHOW ARENA, HARRISBURG, PA, JUNE 3, 1971 (Tracks11-20)

11. Peaches En Regalia
12. Tears Began To Fall
13. Shove It Right In
14. Status Back Baby
15. Concentration Moon - Part I
16. The Sanzini Brothers (Burning Hoop Trick)
17. Concentration Moon - Part II
18. Mom & Dad
19. My Boyfriend's Back
20. Tiny Sick Tears

TOTAL TIME: 70:19

CD 7: BONUS HYBRID CONCERT: HARRISBURG/SCRANTON, PA 1971

STATE FARM SHOW ARENA, HARRISBURG, PA, JUNE 3, 1971 (Continued; Tracks 1-3)

1. Call Any Vegetable
2. The Story Of Billy The Mountain
3. Intro To Music For Low Budget Orchestra

STATE FARM SHOW ARENA, HARRISBURG, PA, JUNE 3, 1971 & WATRES ARMORY, SCRANTON, PA, JUNE 1, 1971 (Track 4)

4. Billy The Mountain

WATRES ARMORY, SCRANTON, PA, JUNE 1, 1971 (Tracks 5-6)

5. Willie The Pimp
6. King Kong (Outro)

RAINBOW THEATRE, LONDON, ENGLAND, DECEMBER 10, 1971 (Tracks 7-9)

7. Zanti Serenade
8. Peaches En Regalia
9. Tears Began To Fall

TOTAL TIME: 77:25

CD 8: RAINBOW THEATRE, LONDON, ENGLAND, DECEMBER 10, 1971 (Continued)

1. Shove It Right In
2. "Pain In The Ass"
3. Divan: Once Upon A Time
4. Divan: Sofa #1
5. Pound For A Brown - Part I
6. Super Grease
7. Pound For A Brown - Part II
8. Sleeping In A Jar
9. Wonderful Wino
10. Sharleena
11. Cruising For Burgers
12. "That's Your Tough Luck"
13. King Kong
14. I Want To Hold Your Hand

TOTAL TIME: 75:19

Frank Zappa and The Mothers, Fillmore East - June 1971: 50th Anniversary Expanded Edition (Reprise/Bizarre MS 2042, 1971 - reissued Zappa/UMe, 2022) (Official Zappa Store / Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

LP 1: SIDE A

1. Little House I Used To Live In
2. The Mud Shark
3. What Kind Of Girl Do You Think We Are?
4. Bwana Dik
5. Latex Solar Beef
6. Willie The Pimp - Part I

LP 1: SIDE B

1. Willie The Pimp - Part II
2. Do You Like My New Car?
3. Happy Together
4. Lonesome Electric Turkey
5. Peaches En Regalia
6. Tears Began To Fall

LP 2: SIDE C

1. Well - featuring John Lennon and Yoko Ono
2. Say Please - featuring John Lennon and Yoko Ono
3. Aaawk - featuring John Lennon and Yoko Ono
4. Scumbag - featuring John Lennon and Yoko Ono
5. A Small Eternity With Yoko Ono - featuring John Lennon and Yoko Ono

LP 2: SIDE D

1. King Kong - Solos

LP 3: SIDE E

1. Billy The Mountain: Billy The Mountain, Phase One of "The Plot," Phase Two & Newscast, The Legendary Low Budget Hero, The Flies

LP 3: SIDE F

1. Billy The Mountain (continued): Studebacher Hoch, The Conclusion
2. Homemade Radio Spot
3. Tears Began To Fall
4. Junier Mintz Boogie

Frank Zappa and The Mothers, Rainbow Theatre - December 10, 1971 (Zappa/UMe, 2022) (Official Zappa Store / Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

LP 1: SIDE A

1. Zanti Serenade
2. Peaches En Regalia
3. Tears Began To Fall

LP 1: SIDE B

1. Shove It Right In
2. "Pain In The Ass"
3. Divan: Once Upon A Time
4. Divan: Sofa #1

LP 2: SIDE C

1. Pound For A Brown - Part I
2. Super Grease
3. Pound For A Brown - Part II
4. Sleeping In A Jar

LP 2: SIDE D

1. Wonderful Wino
2. Sharleena
3. Cruising For Burgers

LP 3: SIDE E

1. "That's Your Tough Luck"
2. King Kong - Part I

LP 3: SIDE F

1. King Kong - Part II
2. I Want To Hold Your Hand