Reviews

Freak Out!  Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention’s 1966 debut record on the venerable Verve label introduced an artist for whom no cow was sacred; Zappa spent his entire career successfully pushing the boundaries of popular music and, some might add, of taste.  He always had his finger on the pulse of pop culture, unafraid to poke fun at its excesses.  Now, with Zappa ’66, Vol. 1: Live at TTG Studios – No. 134 in the Official Release Series – Zappa Records’ recently-relaunched Vaulternative imprint has given fans a real treat: a look back at The Mothers’ earliest days in the heady Los Angeles rock scene.

Zappa ’66 documents the young musician at an October 1966 session at the Hollywood studio just months after the release of Freak Out!  Restored from the surviving original quarter-inch master tapes recorded by Zappa on his reel-to-reel rig, Zappa ’66 chronicles, in audio format, a television production conceived as Sex in the ‘60s and ultimately aired as Sex in Today’s World.  (“You gotta be 18!” noted an advertisement for the event reprinted in the CD booklet.)

The documentary program’s producers invited Zappa and The Mothers, then making a name for themselves in Hollywood, to stage an exploratory “freak out” with music, dance, and what would today be considered performance artists against a backdrop of special lighting and smoke machines.  TTG Studios was the same venue where Zappa, The Mothers, and producer Tom Wilson had recorded Freak Out! not long before.  It’s the only known recording of the band to feature guitarist Del Casher and also the first recorded appearances of percussionist Billy Mundi and keyboardist Don Preston with The Mothers.  Ray Collins (vocals/tambourine), Roy Estrada (bass), and Jimmy Carl Black (drums/percussion) round out the lineup.  Though very much of the time period, and often far-removed from Zappa’s later jazz-rock-classical excursions, the sound remains a fresh and vibrant one.

The set produced and assembled by “Vaultmeister” Joe Travers opens with a brief excerpt of FZ on a radio interview from September 1966; clips of Zappa’s chat are threaded throughout.  The live freak-out opens with “Freak Chouflee,” is energetic and largely improvised slice of danceable rock-and-roll in a garage vein.  Preston, though with just a few weeks under his belt as a Mother, cuts loose on organ and electric piano while Zappa moves from rhythm guitar to soloing with apparent ease.  A portion of this lengthy track was issued in 2014 on a digital release but the full track packs a far mightier punch.

Though much of Zappa ’66 is based on improvisation, some composed pieces are present.  “Move On” is one such track which never appeared elsewhere.  The driving instrumental boasts rapid-fire guitar from Zappa, and its shifting sound and time signatures point towards FZ’s later, more challenging works.  The entire program plays like one of the artist’s concept albums, with audio-verité segments of Zappa directing the “freaks” he dubbed The United Mutations in an oft-chaotic clatter.

The improvised tunes such as “Legalize Abortion” (“What do you think of Planned Parenthood?” Zappa asks the crowd) found him as a knowing ringleader, happily getting the attention of the filmmakers on-site.  Ray Collins is heard singing a bit of “Let’s Twist Again” while the Mutations were presumably twisting themselves into a frenzy for the cameras.  “Act real freaky, kids!” admonishes FZ as the band launches into “Electric Banana,” an embryonic version of 1968’s “Absolutely Free.”  The “A2 Jam” morphs into an early version of the song that would become “Khaki Sack.”

The bluesy “I Could Be a Slave,” a live staple of this era of The Mothers, is melded with The Nutmegs’ 1955 R&B hit “Story Untold,” revealing Zappa’s long-abiding love of doo-wop.  The medley is the first true vocal song on Zappa ’66 and one handled with aplomb by Ray Collins.  Del Casher closes the medley with an Eastern-influenced solo.  (Indeed, one sees how The Mothers were lumped into the raga-rock genre in this early period.)

The complete “Duke of Prunes” hasn’t survived so the version here is, by necessity, edited.  But the cooldown ballad is a highlight with its original, pre-fame-era lyrics (not about prunes!) which are straightforward by Zappa’s standards.  The blues-rooted jam “Victory Through Vegetables” closes out the set and showcases Don Preston on the organ.  It’s a detour into peppy rock-and-roll, with Ray Collins emoting, “We’re havin’ a freak-out!” as the show concludes.

The CD edition is packaged in a simple mini-LP-style jacket, with the disc itself in a protective plastic sleeve.  The eight-page booklet offers liner notes from Joe Travers plus memorabilia and photos.  John Polito has mastered the audio to sparkling effect.

Zappa ’66, Vol. 1: Live at TTG Studios is an auspicious debut for the reactivated Vaulternative Records.  It reveals the roots of the group when it was still a dance band with one foot in pop-rock and the other in the avant-garde.  Those impulses would guide Zappa for much of his recording and live career.  Though there’s not a lot of composed music here, this set is nonetheless an accessible entry point for those listeners unfamiliar with the early Mothers’ oeuvre.  The title indicates that more of Zappa ’66 might well be forthcoming.  Let’s have another freak-out, shall we?

Zappa ’66 is out on one CD or 2 LPs now from the Zappa Online Store / uDiscoverMusic.com.