"Freak Out!" by the fearsome-looking MOTHERS OF INVENTION hasn't been released over here yet, and if it is a lot of people are going to wish it hadn't been. The way they can make you scream with laughter and give you the horrors at the same time is compellingly evil. If psychedelic music can exist (debatable) this is it.

Musically they're no great shakes, the singing is ordinary and the songs – the ones they wrote down – are dull. Really it's all because the sounds they make are so weird that makes it worth listening to a double LP of what is, basically, at best Mingus gone electronic and, at worst, a meaningless row.

But dig "Help, I'm A Rock" and the 12-minute "Return of The Son Of Monster Magnet," which has an hysterically funny climax with crowds of people singing "cheamcheese" in every possible way.

Source: 1960smusicmagazines.com

With their second album "Absolutely Free" (Verve) the MOTHERS OF INVENTION have fulfilled all their early promise and confirmed the rave reports sent back by everyone lucky enough to catch them live in the States. Mother-lovers range from Eric Clapton to Eric Burdon to Spencer Davis.

And on the strength of this album it's easy to see why they are said by the most reputable people to be America's best group. They ARE. This albumis equal in progression, wealth of ideas and solid musicianship only to "Sgt. Pepper" though of course, as befits the group which invented the concept of the freak-out, much, much freakier and wierder.

Hear it. Hear it not once but 20 times -- you'll still discover new things on the 21st play.

Source: 1960smusicmagazines.com

I don't even pretend to understand what the Mothers Of Invention are up to.

I just think it's rather sad that a man of – so I have heard – such intelligence and ability as Frank Zappa should feel the call to do the things he does. And that then the whole group should turn round and waste any talent they may have on rubbish like this. Oh yes the hippies will say, but don't you see it's a big send-up? Yes I do. The point is why bother if it's entirely unrepresentative of anything they're trying to do? In fact they ARE trying to do anything. Or are we all being fooled again children?

On page 2 is a short message "Jonathan King, who starts his new TV show in two weeks time, wants Mothers of Invention's Frank Zappa for the programme." Indeed, FZ was Jonathan's guest on September 30 in the very first show episode.

On page 10 under a titel "Make way for the Mothers" is written, that "Verve plan to release the album [Absolutely Free] to tie in with the Mothers' London Albert Hall concert this Saturday (23)."

Source: 1960smusicmagazines.com

page 4

“NOW we’re gonna play,” said Frank Zappa, “and you're gonna clap and then I say ‘now let’s roll along a little’ and we’ll play some more and then you’ll clap and we’ll play some more and then we’ll go home and the war will go on and stuff.”

(read more)

page 16

POP music is the real religion of young people today. John Lennon was right the first time when he said the Beatles were bigger than Jesus Christ, he should never have retracted the statement.

Or so, anyway, says Frank Zappa, for the last two years leader of America’s notorious Mothers of Invention, in London last week for the group’s first and only concert here on Saturday.

(read more)

Source: 1960smusicmagazines.com

MOTHERS OF INVENTION: “We’re Only In It For The Money” Are You Hung Up; Who Needs The Peace Corps; Concentration Moon; Mom And Dad; Bow-Tie Daddy; Harry, You’re A Beast; What’s The Ugliest Part Of Your Body; Absolutely Free; Flower Punk; Hot Poop; Nasal Retentive Calliope Music; Let’s Make The Water Turn Black; The Idiot Bastard Son; Lonely Little Girl; Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance; What's The Ugliest Part Of Your Body (reprise); Mother People; The Chrome-plated Megaphone Of Destiny (Verve).

The cover is a cruel, accurate send-up of “Sgt. Pepper,” down to the last detail – including cut-out card, double fold-out picture, collage of the Mothers standing in front of a very freakish collection of people. Everything the Beatles did, the Mothers have done – but in such a different way. Probably the most elaborate send-up in the history of records!

The record ends on the same long, electronically drawn-out note – what there, really, any similarity between the two ends. “Money” out of the cover – difficult though it is to ignore – is an incredibly freaky record with electronic pieces, hard rock and just voices laughing (creepy), resulting in modern music which it would be folly to class as pop, or jazz, or even “modern classical” – close though it gets at times to all three.

It's pure Zappa all the way, with those weird Zappa lyrics about things like Ronnie’s numies, Kenny’s little creatures on display, cops shooting kids  and Mod-A-Go-Go stretch elastic pants.

A record like this transcends all boundaries, provoking thought at all levels. Just like “Sgt. Pepper” it would be worthy of a review in “The Times” as a serious piece of contemporary music, but it just as deserving a review in Disc (several months, unfortunately, before its release here) because it is about 87 per cent beat music. A staggering record, highly recommended to freaks of all ages! 

page 19

The Monkees’ movie will feature a walk-on by Frank Zappa, no less. He comes on screen after Davy has sung a song and makes a derogatory remark about the song. That’s all, except that Zappa, for some reason, is leading a huge cow around by a leash (in the movie, although I wouldn’t be surprised if he did it all the time).

Source: 1960smusicmagazines.com

Frank Zappa says he plays “Cruisin’ With Ruben and the Jets” all the time, because it’s really his kind of music. And that’s what the latest Mothers Of Invention album is all about – a self-indulged bit of fun between the heavy, genuine Mothers LPs which go from “Money” to “Uncle Meat,” the next.

“Ruben” is all the way through pure rock-n-roll, most of it echoing favourites of the late fifties – which is, as Zappa says, the kind of music he was raised on. Only on the last track, “Stuff Up The Cracks,” is there a little loosening-up of the rigid rock formula, when piano and guitar combine to lay down music as heavy as the Mothers have ever played – even though it does only last a couple of minutes.

As is the rest of the LP, whether you like fifties vocal rock in the very worst high-school teenage style or not, the trouble is you have to admit that, like everything else Zappa touches, It’s pretty near perfect. It doesn’t MEAN anything, of course – it’s just a gas! (Verve)

Source: ebay

MEETING Frank Zappa is like colliding with the Colossus of Rhodes. You aren't quite sure what it is – never having met anything like it before – and yet you can't ignore it. This man is a giant force, strong, fearless and a series of total contradictions. (read more)

Source: ebay

But Zappa doesn’t have time. He is busy planning a TV series which will be shot in a studio set recreating the basement of his home which is packed with equipment and where he does his entertaining.

A special pilot show will he made in December and he hopes to sell it to be syndicated. The show will be called “Lumpy Gravy” and will feature several regulars – including other ex-Mothers Ian Underwood and Motor Head plus Captain Beefheart – and will mainly be a “talk” show. (read more)

Source: Philippe Andrieu

First of the Zappa albums minus the late lamented Mothers, although Ian Underwood contributes on a number of instruments. The band he's got together on this is just as tight as the Mothers, but still rocking freely. It's a truly great rock album in fact. (read more)

Source: Fulvio Fiore

p 1: Frank Zappa, Traffic, Fleetwood Mac and Ginger Baker's Airforce are among names set for this year's "Pop Proms" at London's Roundhouse, Chalk Farm, between April 20 and 25. [...] Promoter Roy Guest is negotiating for Zappa to make a special guset appearance during the week; and he hopesto persuade BBC-TV to fil the event for screening as two one-hour specials.

p 15: The master-mind of Frank Zappa is still hard at work with plans for his next visit to this country. When he was here last autumn he threatened to return in April. It seems it will be later.
However, his return will be no mean thing. It will entail hiring the Albert Hall to stage a major concert for which Zappa plans to use 100 session musicians, or the London Symphony Orchestra,. Besides premiering a work he's written, he wants to do things by his two favourite composers, Stravinsky and Edgard Varèse.
But accompanying sights wich the actual concert are numerous and lavish including a performance by Motorhead Sherwood with an industrial vacuum cleaner, and naked cavorting.
It would be nice if Zappa's big documentary film "Uncle Meat" could be shown here some time soon. It's about the Mothers, and part shows Zappa looning around outside Buckingham Palace on his last visit here. It's in cinemascope.

Source: ebay

FRANK ZAPPA and his Mothers joined with the L.A. Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Zubin Mehta at UCLA’s enormous Pauley Pavillon (sold out, 10,000 people). The first half of the programme was an embarrassing shambles, saved from disaster by Zappa himself. (read more)

Source: eBay

"IF YOU like repression, America is a great place." Frank Zappa is making his usually pointed and apt political and social observations. He doesn't need much coaxing. In fact, it is hard to stop him once he gets going. (read more)

Source: Fulvio Fiore

“You can only derive a certain amount of pleasure out of an image,” says Zappa. “It’s not exactly my prime enjoyment in life. The very concept of a revolutionary leader is corny, it’s so embarrassing to think that someone describes you in these terms.”

He still fumes at the memory of the London School of Economics last year when he was besieged by a volley of “what do we do towards the big revolution, man?” type questions. But although he has strongly and repeatedly aired his views in the subject, Zappa is still regarded by many as the prophet of the age. (read more)

Source: slime.oofytv.set

MOTHERS OF INVENTION - WEASELS RIPPED MY FLESH : As explained on the album cover "material contained herein represents different aspects of our work from 1967-1969," and this is one of the many cans of old Mothers' material still stored up after their demise. It's a very representative album, there's recognisable reminders of all the old albums especially one theme which Zappa seems to slip into everythingin this case it creeps into "Oh No". " Weasels" isn't a straight tongue in cheek, parody album like "We're Only In It For The Money", it's yet another example of Zappa's experiments in rhythms, contrapuntal treatment and general use of instruments. Sugar Cane Harris (he of "Hot Rats" fame) does violin breaks on "Directly From My Heart To You" which are out of this world.

Source: americanradiohistory.com

Jeff Beck was being tipped this week as "guest guitarist" for Frank Zappa's UK concert tour next month. He would appear on all four dates here, and continue with the band for Continental bookings.

A spokesman for Zappa told Disc: "Frank's bringing the same band that appeared with him at the Bath festival. And there's a possibility that he'll add a British guitarist for the gigs now. The name is being kept secret until contracts have been sorted out."

But a close friend of Frank's hinted that former Yardbird Beck was a likely candidate for the spot. And Jeff's manager Mickie Most commented: "If it is Jeff I haven't been told. But it's a possibility. They're good friends."

Zappa arrives in Britain on November 24 and plays Liverpool Mountford Hall (26), Manchester Free Trade Hall (27), London Coliseum, two shows (29) and Leicester De Montfort Hall (30).

Source: americanradiohistory.com

Page 10

Why I'm Sick Of Zappa
Lisa Mehlman, New York

Mothers of Invention were on with Sha-Na-Na. They still have Frank Zappa, but that's about the only thing that approaches the original group. Aynsley Dunbar is on drums, and ex-Turtle Howard Kaylan on vocals. The music was done extremely well, but some of the visual excitement is gone. I for one am getting a bit tired of Frank Zappa's cynicism and put-downs of the audience. He announced after about 40 minutes that they were through. But the kids were screaming for more. He came back on and said: "Oh, I guess we've been given a reprieve, we'll stay a bit longer." Sure, Frank. I left.

Page 14

FRANK ZAPPA'S latest offering in the regular flow of Mothers' album is "Chunga's Revenge." It's the first album we've heard over here featuring the current Mothers line-up, and — according to the sleevc notes — "all the vocals in this album are a preview of the story fram 200 Motels." That's Zappa's orchestral work about how touring can drive you mad, and there are track on "Chunga's Revenge" complaining how the only source of love is from promotors and groupies.

There's no definite theme to the album, it's just a collection of music ranging from the older style satirical songs to lovely free blows — especially the title track with Ian Underwood on electric alto sax, and Sugar Cane Harris on organ. It's a fine album, and you can hear more from it at every listening. (Reprise)

Source: globalia.net/donlope, ebay

Masochism is not one of my favourite indulgences, and when I said last week that I'd not heard the Mothers since their very first trendy LP the last thing I expected was to be landed with this, undoubtedly the biggest waste of time, money, wax, instruments and hall hire in the history of modern music!  (read more)

Source: Fulvio Fiore

Frank Zappa was in London last week for the premiere of his first film – “200 Motels.” He was staying at his usual Kensington hotel, and attacking life with his customary vigour – outlining his plans for the forthcoming year with such accuracy you could set a clock by them. (read more)

Source: ebay

Original Zappa:

THE MOTHERS OF INVENTION – “Freak Out” – (Verve Select 2683 004, £2.90)

This is history. The very first album by the Mothers’, which came out in 1966 and for the last few years has been virtually impossible to get hold of over here.

Thankfully, Polydor have re-released this double album masterpiece, which is an essential item for all Mothers’ fans, as it is the foundation stone of their music. It’s dated in as much as all Zappa albums are one step further ahead of the last, but in no way invalidated because of this.

Things like “Wowie Zowie” with Zappa’s sleeve note … “is certainly designed to suck the 12-year-old listener into our camp. I like the piano and xylophone accompaniment in the second chorus. It is cheerful. It is harmless.” It is a mixture of that beautiful dry humour, sheer childishness, and all sorts of splendid music.

Source: eBay

On page 17 is Zappa's handwritten message from hospital to Disc readers.

CAPTAIN BEEFHEART is talking about his home, Eureka, where the snails are THIS big – he indicates about nine inches with his hands and the rabbits run at two miles an hour. The house has redwood trees behind it and the ocean in front, and some days the Captain and his old lady watch the whales rubbing barnacles off their backs against the rocks out at sea. So coming out to do all this touring, he says, is a bit freaky. (read more)

Source: Fulvio Fiore

FRANK ZAPPA – who has not played Britain since last November, when he broke a leg after being pushed offstage at London's "Rainbow" – headlines a one-day concert at London's Oval Cricket Ground on Saturday, September 16. Zappa. whose leg has not long come out of plaster, will either be backed by The Mothers Of Invention or Hot Rats. [...]
Zappa and The Mothers' new album is called "Jawa Jawaka And Hot Rats" and is due for August 25 British release. Meanwhile, – two of the Mothers Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman – have produced a solo album due for release September 1. It is called "Phlorescent Leech And Eddy."

Source: ebay

Understandably, it was a difficult decision for Frank Zappa when he accepted an offer to play England again – nine months and one week after he was pushed offstage at the “Rainbow.” But it’s good new to all Zappa fans that he and his new 20-man Mothers are poised to play the Oval on September 16. (read more)

Source: Fulvio Fiore

ANYBODY who is anybody in the Los Angeles rock world lives in Laurel Canyon. And that includes Frank Zappa. He has a fine house perched on the side of a hill surrounded by a large fence and electrically-operated gate, and a lot of noise from Moon Unit, Dweezil and the tape machine ricochet out of the windows. (read more)

Source: ebay

A "best of" full of plastic forks, TV dinners by the pool and rakish dudes in cheesy bars. All the old Mothers' hardware served up on authentic '69 warped vinyl (a truly vintage touch) as relevant and debauched as ever. (read more)

Source: Fulvio Fiore

NEXT YEAR the Mothers of Invention will be ten years old. Not that the original band is still together – Frank Zappa is the only constant factor, the rest of them are scattered to the four winds, but Frank does agree that it calls for something of a celebration. (read more)

Source: Fulvio Fiore

Frank Zappa, showman, and zany rock personality extraordinaire is in Britain at the moment. The reason of this quick visit is to appear in court regarding his action against the corporation which runs the Albert Hall. Zappa's company, Bizzarre Productions Incorporated are claiming damages over cancellation of an Albert Hall gig which would have featured Zappa with his band and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. It is claimed that if the show had gone on, "The programme would have been in poor taste and obscene".

The judge handling the case has apparently been having some trouble over rock terminology. The meaning of words such as "groupie" and "underground" had to be explained tohim by Zappa. Meanwhile the case carries on.

Zappa, here with his manager Herb Cohen is also spending some time talking to the press (see page 11). He has a new album ready for release at any time, but because of "Contractual problems" no release date can be given. The name of this album is "One Size Fits All".

Source: slime.oofytv.set