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The earliest known recordings of Frank Zappa and Don Van Vliet, a.k.a. Captain Beefheart, are one in the same.  The pair’s “Lost in a Whirlpool,” recorded at Antelope Valley College in Lancaster, California circa 1958, is hardly auspicious but points the way towards the future musical activities of both men: Zappa, for its humorous lyrics (“about a person who was…skindiving in the San Diego sewer system, and talking about encountering brown, blind fish…It was kind of like the Cousteau expedition of its era,” per Zappa in 1989) and Beefheart, for its blues feel.  The singer-songwriter-musicians crossed paths numerous times in the future, with Zappa notably signing Beefheart to his Straight Records label and helming his old friend’s 1969 magnum opus Trout Mask Replica.  In 1975, the pair teamed up for their jointly-credited LP, Bongo Fury.  Zappa Records and UMe have recently reissued it in various formats including a 5CD/1Blu-ray box (Official Release No. 133, for those who are counting); 2LP expanded edition; and 1LP original album.

Bongo Fury was the final original album to be released by Zappa and his band, The Mothers.  A transitional album for the ever-in-motion Zappa, it featured stalwart musicians George Duke, Tom and Bruce Fowler, and Napoleon Murphy Brock alongside newer recruits such as Terry Bozzio and Denny Walley.  Zappa was coming off a purple patch that saw his music reaching a new level of success (including the Gold-certified albums Over-Nite Sensation and apostrophe (‘), the latter of which reached the U.S. top ten) while Beefheart was trying, with considerably less success, to crack the mainstream on 1974’s Unconditionally Guaranteed and Bluejeans and Moonbeams. (This period did prove influential, though, earning fans including The White Stripes, Mercury Rev, and Kate Bush.)  He made an uncredited guest appearance on his old friend (or frenemy?) and patron Zappa’s One Size Fits All, and set out on tour with Zappa and Dr. John.  Beefheart’s raw, abstract, and often primitive, blues-based style was far-removed from Zappa’s disciplined, intricate approach to music, making their collaborations a study in contrasts.

Bongo Fury was culled from January 1975 studio sessions (that also yielded some of One Size Fits All) as well as live performances from May 20-21 at Austin, Texas’ Armadillo World Headquarters, a popular music hall and beer garden built in a former National Guard Armory.  Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen, Waylon Jennings, The Sir Douglas Quintet, and New Riders of the Purple Sage were among the artists who also recorded live albums there.  (Sadly, the venue was demolished in 1981.  An office tower was built on the site.)  Beefheart sings and plays his blues harmonica on several tracks on Bongo Fury as well as contributing two spoken-word pieces.  Neither fish nor fowl, Bongo Fury occupies an uneasy but fascinating place in both Zappa and Beefheart’s discographies.  It’s heard here in Bob Ludwig’s 2012 master, while the box set also features new surround mixes in 48/24 Dolby Atmos and 96/24 Dolby TrueHD 5.1.  (The Blu-ray additionally contains the original stereo in high-resolution formats.)

The 5.1 surround mix by Karma Auger and Erich Gobel may be the most impressive here, with guitars flying from channel to channel.  It’s a somewhat front-heavy mix, but allows for plenty of separation and a clarity in the instrumentation with particular crispness and vivacity in Terry Bozzio’s drums.  The original album has long been viewed as an oddity or curio in both artists’ catalogues; here, when supplemented with the full Austin performances of May 20 and 21, 1975, it seems like less of a shotgun marriage and more of a fascinating experiment.

Beefheart’s guttural growl is an acquired taste, to put it mildly, and he generously ceded much of the spotlight on Bongo Fury to Zappa who can’t help but dominate the proceedings.  “Carolina Hard-Core Ecstasy” is comfortable territory for FZ; it’s a sad story song with fetish imagery and a production sheen redolent of his slickest ‘70s work.  (Shoutouts to the Doobie Brothers and Roger Daltrey further set the scene.)  The accessible melody is enhanced with mournful horns, pyrotechnic guitars, and Napoleon Murphy Brock’s strong harmonies.

A couple of Beefheart recitations with musical punctuation (“Sam with the Showing Scalp Flat-Top,” which introduced the phrase “Bongo Fury” to the album, and “Poofter’s Froth Wyoming Plans Ahead,” a country pastiche and spoof on consumerism) pale in comparison to the blues of “200 Years Old,” with soulful harmonica and guttural vocals, and “Cucamonga,” with George Duke out front on piano bringing a dash of soul to the blues licks.

A lengthy showcase for improvisation would make the love song spoof “Advance Romance” a staple in the live Zappa oeuvre.  There’s a gleeful sense of abandon as the Mothers and guest Beefheart take their turns, from Denny Walley’s dirty slide solo, to Beefheart blowing his harmonica and Zappa’s guitar taking it all into the stratosphere.  “Muffin Man” offers more blazing guitar fury before the album concludes with FZ’s farewell to the live audience in Austin.

The pair of Austin concerts from which Bongo Fury was drawn make their official debuts here.  Each of Zappa’s bands took on a character of its own, and this one is no exception.  As newly mixed by Craig Parker Adams from the original 16-track tapes, the sound on both shows is happily pristine.  Both the first and second shows have improvised introductions; the first evening’s “Put a Shirt on Man” is a dark and atmospheric warmup with a foreboding air.  FZ then enters and lets the audience know that the concert is being recorded before launching into a muscular “Apostrophe” which tidily introduces the bandmates in mighty fashion.  “Apostrophe” leads into the bluesy “Stink Foot,” and despite Zappa’s teasing the audience, “I know you wanna boogie – just relax,” his shifting tempi didn’t make it easy!

The Mothers’ early days were nodded at with a soulful “I’m Not Satisfied,” while Beefheart sounds content throughout to be part of the band.  He takes the lead on “Debra Kadabra” and growls and yelps his way through the dark “The Torture Never Stops.”  The composition would show up on Zoot Allures and again in rewritten form on Thing-Fish.  Here, it’s one of the more felicitous marriages of Zappa and Beefheart, leaning into the latter’s blues sensibility with his prominent harmonica as horns punctuate the roiling rhythm.

The low-key “Velvet Sunrise” (the lyrics of which varied from night to night) allowed Duke and Brock to play in a laid-back mode as Zappa rapped with the audience in typically droll fashion.  Craig Parker Adams’ mix gives the instrumentation plenty of breathing room, as on another adaptable tune from FZ’s early days, “Pound for a Brown.”  Bruce Fowler’s trombone makes a jazz noise here in tandem with Duke’s fleet keys, Tom Fowler’s deft bass and, of course, the fiery guitar.  Duke impresses even more when he brings the electro-funk to “Duke’s Things,” cutting loose on the jam piece.  The surreal, rollicking “Montana” was always a live highlight, and the same goes for the performances here.

Terry Bozzio found his footing in the band early; he contributes a powerful solo here following “Echidna’s Arf of You,” with the new mix making effective use of the stereo soundstage.  When Zappa tries out his new Mini-Moog, Bozzio’s drums remain in lockstep.  Late in the first show, Zappa says the pot smoke is “making me gag” and takes an unplanned intermission before reprising Hot Rats’ “Willie the Pimp” on which Beefheart originally sang.  (“[It’s] sort of like a boogie,” Zappa quips.)

The second show is very similar to the first – certainly by FZ’s standards.  But the band never played the same song twice, so experimentation still runs rampant on the familiar tunes which were built as sturdy frameworks for such explorations beginning with a tough, tight “Apostrophe.”  If the clouds of smoke were a distraction on May 20, a bomb threat on May 21 was considerably more serious.  The threat forced Zappa to interrupt “Pound for a Brown,” and the bandleader naturally took it seriously.  He calmly exhorted the audience to exit the auditorium and rolled with the punches when it was safe to resume the concert. (Apparently Captain Beefheart was missing, leading Zappa to share, “Since he’s not here, you’re going to have to pretend that Captain Beefheart is still taking his solo” upon his return to the stage and continuation of the song.)

The crowd-pleasing “Montana” was greeted with cheers of familiarity, and the audience is audibly enthralled by the jaunty “Camarillo Brillo” and heavy riff-rock of “Muffin Man,” as well.  Beefheart’s “star turn” on “Willie the Pimp” once again provided the encore.  The second show is followed by surviving rehearsals from April 10, 1975 in Claremont, California for the first shows of the tour.  These tapes have yielded the only official recording of the sci-fi-themed “Portuguese Lunar Landing,” and if it’s not fully developed, it’s a theatrical, fun, and irreverent tune.

The 5CD/1BD Bongo Fury is housed in a clamshell case with a 40-page booklet featuring Denny Walley’s recollections and an essay from “Vaultmeister” Joe Travers along with credits and numerous photos and tape box images.  Bongo Fury may not be the favorite album of either Zappa or Beefheart connoisseurs, but this well-crafted edition well places it into the context of both artists’ tumultuous 1970s…shy of hard-core ecstasy, perhaps, but a worthy and satisfying trip to the vault nonetheless.

The 5CD/1BD box set is available now: uDiscoverMusic.com / Zappa Online Store / Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada

Vinyl editions are also available:

1LP Black Vinyl: uDiscoverMusic.com / Zappa Online Store / Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
1LP Galaxy Vinyl: uDiscoverMusic.com / Zappa Online Store 
2LP: uDiscoverMusic.com / Zappa Online Store / Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada

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