Counterfeits & Stuff
These issues are unauthorized and illegal, but are either dishonest-to-goodness
counterfeits or contain material that either has seen official release but become rare or
withdrawn, or that has been intended for official release but been pirated before that.
(The Chalk Pie boot in the Live Compilations section also contains some such
material, but doesn't copy an entire unreleased album.) A 3-LP boot box and a single LP boot called Broadway
the Hard Way have nothing to do with the official Broadway the Hard Way
album. See also Thing-Fish - The Real
Tapes and Frank Zappa's Thing-Fish
in the Studio Oddities section.
From Biffy the Elephant Shrew:
The Necessity Is ... bootleg (also known as Rustic
Protrusion and We Are The Mothers & This Is What We Sound Like)
originated from a cassette dub of a Zappa-edited album master, said to be one of the discs
from the notorious unreleased History
& Collected Improvisations box set. "Hey Nelda", which appears at the
end of the boot, is not part of the Zappa-produced album, and is said to be on the bootleg
only because it happened to be on the source cassette as filler.
From an anonymous source:
As for "1 of 9 Mothers" ... I am fortunate to have gotten into Zappa
through a couple of the original BIG '60s Mothers freaks, Rob and Waldo
of Mother People magazine. Through them I've learned much great
stuff ... as you know, the tape of Hartford '69 is actually an excerpt from side two
of what we used to call the "unreleased LP". This was an acetate given to one of
the members of the original Mothers, who allowed it to be taped (for an exorbitant fee of
course - stories of this band member's money problems are legend! Know who I'm
talking about now?) by the producers of the old Mud Shark
bootleg label, who released it as Necessity Is ... / Rustic
Protrusion in 1979 or so. This bootleg has been copied as We Are the
Mothers & This Is What We Sound Like (1985). The acetate label reads "1
Of 9 Mothers" as it was the first disc of the unreleased legit 9-LP box The History & Collected
Improvisations of the Mothers of Invention which was to be sold through the Playboy
Record Club (!!) in late 1969. Thus, while parts of the tape ("skweezit") come
from Hartford, I'm not sure it all does. It sounds definately studio-overdubbed too.
Incidentally, according to Rob, on the bootlegs, the sides are reversed. Side one of
"1 Of 9 Mothers" begins with "Lost in a Whirlpool"; side two ends with
"Igor's Boogie".
Necessity Is ...
Rustic Protrusion
Length: 20:54+21:06? 60 minutes?
Sound quality: Mono (cover says stereo)
Label: Mud Shark MZ 3601-D, circa 1979
Matrix: MZ 3601A JM / MZ 3601 B JM
1. Shop Talk [also known as "We Are the Mothers"] ["Mothers
at KPFK" on Mystery Disc]
2. Sounds Like This [also known as "This Is What We Sound Like"]
3. Right There ["Skweezit Skweezit Skweezit" on Mystery Disc
plus a bit of "Right There" on Stage #5]
4. The Jelly [listed as "Gas Mask"] [last part of the CD
version of "Didja Get Any Onya?" from Weasels
Ripped My Flesh - plus a little extra]
5. Igor's Boogie [including parts of "King Kong" on Ahead of
Their Time]
6. Lost in a Whirlpool [The Lost Episodes version]
7. Do It in C ["Ronnie Sings"] [The Lost Episodes
version]
8. The Story of Kenny & Ronnie [listed? included?] [also on The
Lost Episodes]
7. Booger Freaks of America
8. Any Way the Wind Blows [The Lost Episodes version]
9. Fountain of Love [The Lost Episodes version]
10. Opus 5
11. Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance [The Lost Episodes version]
12. Hey Nelda [Zappa/Collins] ["bonus track"]
(See below for track details.)
Rustic Protrusion is a real Zappa title: planned for one record in the
planned but never realized 12-LP set The History & Collected
Improvisations (not to be cofused with the bootleg box of the same name (even
though that was probably the bootleggers' intentions)).
The versions called Rustic Protrusion and Necessity Is ... share
the same matrix number. At least one version lists both titles on the cover ("Rustic
Protrusion (also titled Necessity Is ...)". A possible reconstruction of events would
be that Necessity Is ... was issued in June 1980, in a run of 2500
copies, whereafter Rustic Protrusion was at some time issued, in two
different covers, as 1500 black vinyl copies, 400 blue and 100 red ones, and either or
both of these two covers listed both titles. The Necessity Is ... cover
was plain white, with a black & blue insert. Rustic Protrusion copies
came with black & white, blue & white and red & white inserts.
We Are the Mothers and This Is What We Sound Like!
Length: 20:54+21:06
LP Label: "Bizarre" DMO-30284, 1985
1. We Are the Mothers (3:32) ["Mothers at KPFK" on Mystery
Disc]
2. This Is What We Sound Like (3:51)
3. Right There [listed as "Variations on a Theme From 'Run Home Slow'"]
(4:15) ["Skweezit Skweezit Skweezit" on Mystery Disc plus
a bit of "Right There" on Stage #5]
4. The Jelly (2:22) [last part of the CD version of "Didja Get Any
Onya?" from Weasels Ripped My
Flesh - plus a little extra]
5. Igor's Boogie (6:54) [including parts of "King Kong" on Ahead
of Their Time]
6. Lost In a Whirlpool (2:13) [The Lost Episodes version]
7. Do It in C ["Ronnie Sings?"] (1:35) [The Lost Episodes
version]
8. The Story of Kenny & Ronny (2:08) [also on The Lost Episodes]
9. The Booger Freaks of America (1:22)
10. Any Way the Wind Blows (2:26) [The Lost Episodes version]
11. Fountain of Love (2:16) [The Lost Episodes version]
12. Opus 5 (3:43)
13. Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance (4:02) [The Lost Episodes
version]
14. Hey Nelda (1:21) [Zappa/Collins] ["bonus track"]
(See below for track details.)
The label has been made to look like a Bizarre release, with the air compressor on the
center sticker and everything. There is no indication as to when it was produced. The
cover uses a hand-coloured promo photo from the movie FREAKS, with Zappa's
face pasted over the body of the Mother Freak who is watching over her Freaklets. The back
cover incorporates a number of spot illustrations in the spirit of Joe's Garage:
an orang-utan pulling intestines through a water pump, turn-of-the-century gas-producing
methods, the circulatory system, and Egyptian hieroglyphs siphoning fluids out of vessels.
The CD cover has a picture of Zappa "surrounded by pinheads".
The tracks "We Are the Mothers" and "This Is What We Sound Like"
involve a made-for-radio-sounding publicity plug of the Mothers introducing themselves and
an extended psychedelic underground freak-out jam from the '60s. "We Are the
Mothers" has been officially released, perhaps in a shorter edit, as "Mothers at
KPFK" on Mystery Disc.
From Chris Ekman:
"We Are the Mothers" is definitely the same as "
Mothers at KPFK", no edits at all. "Right There" is the Mystery Disc
version ["Skweezit Skweezit Skweezit"], with
about 40 seconds of the Stage # 5 version tacked on the end. "The
Jelly", I am VERY sure, is the same as the
last 2 or so minutes of " Didja Get Any Onya?" from Weasels
Ripped My Flesh (only
on the CD). I listened to both simultaneously and am convinced that it's
the same performance. [Actually, it goes on for a little longer -
see below; Ed.] (If I'm right, this also would bear on [the
bootleg] Apocrypha.) "Igor's Boogie" actually contains a large chunk
of " King Kong" from Ahead of Their Time. From about 0 1:30 to about
0 5:00 in "Igor's Boogie", you get the blamph! that put an end to Motorhead's shenanigans at
about 0 2:50 on Ahead of Their Time, then Bunk's or Ian's sax solo from around
0 4:30 to 0 7:00.
From Patrick David Neve:
"This Is What We Sound Like" is definitely one of my top 5 favorite Zappa
solos. It should also be noted that this song is the instance where Roy Estrada was heard
to utter, "Wanna-wanna-wannan-enema ... enn-ema ..." - remember, Zappa sung
this on Zappa in New York. (Oh yeah, one last thing. The bootleg version
of "We Are the Mothers" sounds a little bit better than the official
"Mothers at KPFK." Go figure. So do the Mystery Disc tracks on An Evening
With ... Frank Zappa & Captain Beefheart.)
From ELLIOSENOR:
"The Jelly" is not exactly the same as the last couple
minutes of "Didja Get Any Onya?". Almost all of it is, indeed,
exactly the same, but whereas "Didja Get Any Onya?" ends with a
single blunt note, "The Jelly" goes on with a few bass notes, a long
pause, and Zappa introducing the next song: "The name of this next song
is 'Igor's Boogie'".
Ronny and Kenny's booger stories on The Lost Episodes are both part
of "The Story of Kenny & Ronny. "Booger Freaks of America"
is an interview between Zappa (I think it's Frank) and someone named Leonard:
LEONARD: Well, it's an organization, the Booger Freaks of America,
and I belong. It was started by a bunch of those fellows that found out that
they couldn't kick their habit. And we'd find that no matter what we did, we'd -
eventually, we'd turn to picking our nose and flipping it. That was a booger
freak. A booger freak is someone that [inaudible]. I belong to that group.
ZAPPA?: Leonard, I'd wish you'd tell us ...
LEONARD: Yeah, man?
ZAPPA?: What are you doing to overcome this habit?
LEONARD: Well, I ... this is my second time back in the BA, Booger
Freaks of America. I, uh, I was out, I was clean, man. I had the mucus off my
back. I was - I was really making it. I went to Hawaii and I was playing
a couple gigs over there.
ZAPPA?: Right.
LEONARD: I just fell right back into it, man.
ZAPPA?: What are your plans for the future, Leonard?
LEONARD: 'Scuse me, I think I got a hold of one right now, baby ...
wait a minute ... lemme get it ... got it now. You mind if I wipe it
on your coat or something, man?
"Igor's Boogie" is a live version, probably from the same
show as "The Jelly". Most of side 2 has been officially released on the Lost Episodes:
"Do It in C" is "Ronnie Sings?". "Opus 5" is a different edit
here, starting 70-80 seconds before the official version and ending some 45 seconds
earlier. The "bonus track", "Hey Nelda" is from a "Ned
& Nelda" single Zappa made way before he was famous (a Paul & Paula pastiche - see
Zappa's singles discography for
more info).
Most of side one also appears as bonus tracks on two other bootlegs: a CD re-issue of 'Tis the Season to Be Jelly
and the Live USA The Ark re-issue. "This Is What We
Sound Like" is listed there as "We Are the Mothers & This Is What We Sound
Like", even though the "We Are the Mothers" track is not included.)
A little something from Charles Ulrich:
"The Jelly" was a fully composed piece that was performed
identically on several occasions (including Detroit May 17 1969 and Appleton
May 23 1969. The two Stratford shows were definitely on February 16, 1969.
However, the so-called Stratford tape is not really from those shows. And,
anyway, "The Jelly" is not on the so-called Stratford tape. It's on
the tape known as Hartford '69 or Hartford '68. There is no evidence that the
MOI ever performed in Hartford. The so-called Hartford tape (also bootlegged
as We Are the
Mothers & This Is What We Sound Like!) is believed to be one side of an
unreleased LP, edited by Frank Zappa from several sources. So it's not clear
exactly when and where this performance of "The Jelly" comes from.
But it's presumably from spring 1969.
See also: Apocrypha
- Single picture LP counterfeit of the Freak Out! double
Sound quality: good
Label: Black Label BL 001 / S.D.R.M. Stereo
The LP lists 7 tracks on each side, but in reality is has 10 and 4:
1. Hungry Freaks, Daddy (03:27)
2. Ain't Got No Heart (to Give Away) (02:30)
3. Who Are the Brain Police? (03:22)
4. Go Cry on Somebody Else's Shoulder (03:31)
5. Motherly Love (02:45)
6. How Could I Be Such a Fool? (02:12)
7. Wowie Zowie (02:45)
8. You Didn't Try to Call Me (03:17)
9. Any Way the Wind Blows (02:52)
10. I'm Not Satisfied (02:37)
11. You're Probably Wondering Why I'm Here (03:37)
12. Trouble Every Day (06:16)
13. Help, I'm a Rock (08:37)
14. The Return of the Son of Monster Magnet (12:17)
This is one of the silliest bootlegs in all of history - a picture-disc replica of Freak
Out! which claims to be from 1965. There were no picture discs in 1965 and Freak
Out! was released in July 1966 (and it says "Made in EEC" on it :).
Nevertheless, the disc has "Printed 1965 - Frank Zappa Music" on it. Side one
has a high quality colour photo of the Freak Out! line-up (pictures from
the same phot shoot has been used on the German
"My Guitar" single and the Australian version of the Mothers of Invention compilation); side two
has the track list printed on a silhuetto of the side one picture, along with artist
(Mothers of Invention) and album title (Hungry Freaks). "Photo by PAN/G. Zint -
Graphics: irma".
Actually, Freak Out! HAS been released as a single
LP, in territories such as the UK, Germany and Mexico, with this track
list:
1. Trouble Comin' Every Day
2. Help, I'm a Rock
3. The Return of the Son of Monster Magnet
4. Hungry Freaks, Daddy
5. I Ain't Got No Heart
3. Who Are the Brain Police?
4. Motherly Love
5. Wowie Zowie
6. You Didn't Try to Call Me
7. I'm Not Satisfied
8. You're Probably Wondering Why I'm Here
(More info may be found in the Return of the Son of
the alt.fan.frank-zappa Vinyl vs CDs FAQ.)
Wowie Zowie
Label: Charly Records CD CRM 1014, Germany 1994
Bar code: 4 017692 115123
Other logo: LC 8477
1. Wowie Zowie [02:45]
2. You Didn't Try to Call Me [03:17]
3. Any Way the Wind Blows [02:52]
4. You're Probably Wondering Why I'm Here [03:37]
5. I'm Not Satisfied [02:37]
6. Hungry Freaks, Daddy [03:27]
7. I Ain't Got No Heart [02:30]
8. Who Are the Brain Police? [03:22]
9. [Go] Cry on Somebody Else's Shoulder [03:31]
10. How Could I Be Such a Fool? [02:12]
11. Motherly Love [02:45]
12. Trouble Every Day [06:16]
13. Help, I'm a Rock [08:37]
14. The Return of the Son of Monster Magnet (Unfinished Ballet in Two
Tableaux) [12.37]
(Below track 14 are listed "Ritual Dance of the Child Killers" and
"Nullis Pretii (No Commercial Potential)" as numbers "1" and
"11" (doesn't even look like a Roman II).) The cover has an old
picture of the Mothers hanging out in front of some sort of door, with Zappa
holding a baby.
From Chunga:
This edition has none of the original cover art, but what it does contain
is the original Verve stereo mix of Freak
Out!. For example - among other differences - "You Didn't Try to Call
Me" does not fade, but stays full through to Ray Collins' shout at the
conclusion. unlike Zappa's remixed Rykodisc CD versions. Not a CD-R, but released in Germany in 1994. CEDAR
digital audio restoration.
Yes, the Cedar logo is on the back cover - Cedar is a professional
system used to remove surface noise from old LP recordings.
The "compilation" is "copyrighted" by Charly
Schallplatten Gmbh, 1994. The Raven Design Group is credited with designing it.
Charly's logo states that "Charly Records is the world's leading
independent re-issue label specialising in classic recordings of Blues, Jazz,
Rhythm & Blues, Rock & Roll, Rockabilly, Latin, Gospel, Reggae, Soul,
Doo Wop ..." - their address was Kiesstrasse 36 or 38, 60486 Frankfurt
am Main, Germany.
Here are the liner notes:
"Wowie Zowie!" exclaimed Miss Pamela, "fourteen new and
original tracks, and not one hit single". And she was right to be
surprised. It was the summer of 1966, and never before in the history of music
had so many new ideas been brought together in such a package or recording.
Just who were these Mothers of Invention that were so
confident about their music?
The Mothers, so called because in jazz slang each
member was a real mother****** [motherfucker], an outstanding musician, had
been playing perverted R&B in the go-go bars of LA for a year or so with a
variety of names and line-ups. The one consistent thread being the musical
direction of Frank Zappa. In late '65 producer Tom Wilsom caught the
boogie-based finale to their act at the Whiskey-a-Go-Go on Sunset Strip. He
saw their potential as the ugliest-looking white blues band in Southern
California.
But Wilson had signed for more than he had bargained,
and once in the recording studio the real sound of the Mothers was revealed.
The session started comfortably with "Any Way the
Wind Blows", as tasteful a love song as can be found anywhere. The
illusion was shattered by the second track to be recorded, "Who Are the
Brain Police?", a scathing piece of social commentary, sung over a
discordant and effect-laden backing track.
The sentiment of "You're Probably Wondering Why
I'm Here" could sum up the whole session.
As the recording progressed certain themes and targets
became clear. Around half the tracks deal with comment and observation of such
things as [the] LA freak scene, "freaks" being the scene who were
into [a] certain music and lifestyle in mid-'60s LA, and social unrest in
post-Kennedy America. The Watts Riots are immortalised in the news
documentary-like "Trouble Every Day", a powerful track that still
has a resonance with recent problems in LA.
Other tracks show the difficulties of trying to earn a
living playing original music in go-go bars. "You Didn't Try To Call
Me", "I'm Not Satisfied", "Ain't Got No Heart", [and]
"Go Cry on Somebody Else's Shoulder" are examples of how the Mothers
could perform well-crafted rock songs.
"Motherly Love" is the band appealing from
more understanding from the potential groupies in the audience.
The problems of being a rock star appear to be
referred to in the classic "Help, I'm a Rock", but if taken
literally the lyrics could be more surreal.
The album concludes with a suite entitled "Return
of the Son of Monster Magnet". This is a recording of the sound that can
be made if you supply a collection of Sunset Boulevard freaks with a room full
of percussion equipment. The session started around midnight and finished much
later, an authentic "freak-out". The sound is somewhat raw as the
production budget ran out before the final mix and edit could be completed.
At the time of this recording all selections were
composed, arranged, orchestrated and conducted by Frank Zappa. In addition to
his virtuoso guitar, they also feature Ray Collins, lead vocalist; Roy Estrada
provided bass lines and falsetto vocals; Jim Black, drums, before he became
Jimmy Carl Black - the Indian of the group; plus, Elliot Ingber, fresh
out of the army and being a regular guitarist before he too changed to become
Winged Eel Fingerling. Plus, the voice of Jeannie Vassoir can be heard, as
Suzy Creamcheese.
The impact that these recordings had on the recording
industry, the music press and the record-buying public cannot be
underestimated. [!!! :D] They paved the way for all kinds of concept albums
and inspired many musicians who had become frustrated with the three-minute
track / single album format to break out and be more adventureous in
their work.
They also gave the lie to all the "no commercial
potential" rejection slips that Zappa had received from a number of
record companies.
More importantly, these tracks stand as a historical
record of the LA freak scene circa 1965/66 and some of the burning social
issues of the day, as interpreted by the cynical observer, Frank Zappa. In
addition there are some original and greasy love songs, not sneering pastiche,
but recordings that are a tribute to their heritage, the hard-working bar
bands and doo-wop performeres that were on the LA circuit in the 1950s and
1960s.
They can also form an essential foundation for any
Frank Zappa collection, establishing targets that he attacks many times
throughout his recording career. Then, as now, the present-day composer
refuses to die.
Alan Mansfield 1993
Lumpy Gravy & Elsewhere (CD)
Label: ZAP 012 (Zipperman)
1. Sink Trap / Gum Joy / Up & Down / Local Butcher
2. Gypsy Airs / Hunchy Punchy / Foamy Soaky / Let's Eat Out / Teen-Age Grand
Finale
3. The Masters: Breaktime [Zappa/Buff/Williams]
4. The Masters: 16 Tons [Travis]
5. Ned & Nelda: Hey Nelda [Zappa/Collins]
6. Ned & Nelda: Surf Along [?]
7. "Frank & Steve: Music for Two Bicycles & Low-Budget TV
Orchestra"
8. Brian Lord & The Midnighters: The Big Surfer
9. Ron Roman: Love of My Life
10. Mothers of Invention Radio Spot
11. "Hamburgers Make Me Sleepy"
12. Hot Rats Radio Spot
13. Gas Mask Segue
14. Knick Knax
15. Toads of the Short Forest
16. I'm Not Satisfied
17. Black Beauty / Handsome Cabin Boy
18. Florence Marley: Space Boy [Marley]
19. My Guitar
- Tracks 1-2 are the original version of Lumpy
Gravy in archaeologic sound quality.
- Tracks 3-6 & 8-9 are singles tracks made before Zappa hit it big time. Some he has
written, some he has co-written, some he has produced, he plays on some of them and so on,
some are even B-sides of tracks he was involved in.
- Track 7 is Zappa's 1963 appearance on the Steve Allen show.
- Track 10-14 unknown, though some of them more or less self-explanatory:
track 14 may be the longer version of "Revenge of the Knick-Knack
People" circulating on bootlegs that was left off the official Läther
release in a classic case of missed opportunity.
- Tracks 15-17 live at the Fillmore 1966.
- Track 18 is a film track, lifted from Beyond
the Fringe of Audience Comprehension; its liner notes there: "'Space Boy' is the rarest track in this entire box. It was
recorded for the Curtis Harrington film, Queen of Blood. Words, music and vocals by
Florence Marley. Orchestration and additional instruments by FZ. Sound effects by Ackerman
& Cole."
- Track 19 is listed as a "rare mix".
-
United-Mutations.com lists two "hidden tracks" in their tracklisting. Any
elaboration as to what these are?
-
It was hoped at the time that this was taken from an improved source; namely,
the Muntz 4-track tape. This doesn't seem to be the case, unfortunately.
The cover is the well-known Lumpy Gravy photo of Zappa in a top hat;
the back cover has Capitol Records and Muntz Stereo-Pak labels.
Some comments:
ommadawn (from the ICE Forum): After finally getting this title recently, I
have to say it's a disappointment. The 'Lumpy Gravy' part is NOT from the 4
track tape that was sold on Ebay awhile ago,) despite the Muntz logo on the rear
cover), it's from a scratchy acetate. Also, it's seems to me to be too high in
pitch (tape speed too fast.)
- CD boot of the official Mothermania
vinyl compilation, with plentiful
bonus tracks
Label: (a)RF CD 01.100 (may have been copied by (or even originated with) RXZ Records)
1. Brown Shoes Don't Make It
2. Mother People
3. The Duke of Prunes
4. Call Any Vegetable
5. The Idiot Bastard Son
6. It Can't Happen Here
7. You're Probably Wondering Why I'm Here
8. Who Are the Brain Police?
9. Plastic People
10. Hungry Freaks, Daddy
11. America Drinks & Goes Home
The first 11 tracks are from Mothermania; the rest are bonus tracks:
12. Synk Trap ["Sink Trap"]
13. Gypsy Airs
14. Dog Breath
15. We Sound Like This
16. In the Sky ["Ooh, in the Sky"]
17. Make Love with Music
- Tracks 12-13 are 1967 recordings from an unreleased
single, which was planned for release on Capitol Records together with the
all-orchestral original version of Lumpy
Gravy, which was only released on 8-track.
- Track 14 is the studio 7" single version from 1967.
- Track 15 is unknown; possibly from the unreleased album known as We Are the Mothers & This Is What We
Sound Like.
- Track 16 is an unreleased song recorded at the BBC in 1968.
- Track 17 is something recorded live in Toronto 28-Jan-1968 (in "low stereo
quality").
Supposedly made in Russia, as a limited edition of 100 numbered copies. Some or all
copies say "PROMOTIONAL COPY NOT FOR SALE" and "This is a PROMO COPY; the
normal copies are a limited edition of only 100 numbered copies with NO promo stamps or
writings" on them. This bootleg may have been copied by (or even originated with) RXZ Records.
- Almost identical to the legitimate Mothermania vinyl compilation
Re-issued on the Universe label (UN 3 029), made in Switzerland, 1990
Length: ~40 min
Sound quality: CD "Remastered" from vinyl
Label: Duchesse No. CD352076/MC 252076 (EEC); LP 152076 (EEC 1989)
Musicians: the Mothers
1. Absolutely Free (3:27)
2. Hungry Freaks, Daddy (3:28)
3. It Can't Happen Here (3:54)
4. Duke of Prunes (5:06)
5. Call Any Vegetable (4:21)
6. The Idiot Bastard Son (2:24)
7. Mother People (1:44)
8. Who Are the Brain Police? (3:22)
9. You're Probably Wondering Why I'm Here (3:37)
10. Plastic People [Berry/Zappa] (3:40)
11. Brown Shoes Don't Make It (7:26)
12. America Drinks & Goes Home (2:43)
Issued with a small reproduction of the Mothermania cover on the cover
(surrounded by Joe's Garage-style drawings) and a track listing very
similar to Mothermania's. The order is different, and "Absolutely Free" has been
added, and only some songs are the Mothermania versions. Román García
Albertos has sorted it out for us:
- Track 1 is directly from We're Only In It for the Money (non-censored
version)
- Tracks 2-3 are directly from the Freak Out! LP
- Track 4 is directly from Absolutely Free, just as the Mothermania
version was
- Tracks 5-6 are the Mothermania versions
- Track 7 is taken from We're Only In It for the Money (censored
version), BUT it ends with "... holding you near me?", without
the orchestral bit: with the last word, "me?", it edits to the Mothermania
version
- Tracks 8-9 are straight from Freak Out! - the original vinyl mix
- Tracks 10-11 are directly from Absolutely Free, just as the Mothermania
versions were
- Track 12 is the vinyl version from Absolutely
Free (different stereo image from the CD version)
(For a walk-through of which of the Mothermania tracks are different
from the original versions, and how, you can click
here.)
The CD was issued in 1989 and remastered from vinyl (crackling). The Universe version
has a different cover with a comic strip on it. (One of these issues may also have
appeared with an alternative cover; on one back cover the belly button picture from Absolutely
Free may appear.) The disc itself has been reported in three
varieties - in lieu of pictures (which we have but don't publish), we will
have to do with verbal descriptions (skip this part). All three have the track
list on the lower section of the disc (below the round centre), but in different
typefaces. Types 1 and 2 have a serif; type 2 slightly bolder. Type 3 has a
sans-serif and lists the composer within parentheses behind each title. To the
left of the centre, there is the compact disc logo; type 2 has "made in
EEC" underneath, type 3 has "Made in Switzerland" underneath and
"UN 3 029" above. To the right of the centre, type 3 has a GEMA mark,
a (P) (C) 1990 below it and a STEREO further below. Types 1 and 2 have the
legend "AMERICAN PAGEANT" high up to the right (higher than 2
o'clock), and CD 352076 a little below 3 o'clock. Type 1 has a KPA logo below
"AMERICAN PAGEANT"; type 2 has ACUM/BIEM underneath the record number.
Above the centre, type 3 has "The Mothers of Invention / AMERICAN PAGEANT /
Nullis Pretii" below a Universe logo. Types 1 and 2 have the Duchesse crown
logo at the top and Zappa's head (with pigtails) above "The Mothers of
Invention" at 10:30.
A cassette issue from Duchesse has also been found, as well as a
Japanese CD (the same package wrapped in an obi). There has also been a straight counterfeit (with bonus
tracks) of Mothermania.
As this CD album has been known to appear far and wide in record stores that normally
do not carry bootlegs, it has been speculated that the issue is/was indeed legal in some
European country due to some bizarre loophole in legislation. Does anyone know? (From
Kristian Kier, February 1999:
They started selling this CD again: it goes for 9.99 DM over here.)
- Bootlegged CD-R version of official vinyl original
Cruising with Ruben & the Jets was heavily overdubbed and remixed
on the CD re-release. This is the old vinyl mix on a CD-R.
Length: ~45 min
Sound quality: "Remastered" from vinyl (very little crackle, but tracks 3 &
7 suffer slightly from uneven turntable speed :)
Label: Cheekbone Crush Records CCRFZ-01
Musicians: The Mothers
1. Cheap Thrills (02:30)
2. Love of My Life (03:17)
3. How Could I Be Such a Fool? (03:33)
4. Deseri (Collins/Buff) (02:04)
5. I'm Not Satisfied (03:59)
6. Jelly Roll Gum Drop (02:17)
7. Anything (Collins) (03:00)
8. Later That Night (03:04)
9. You Didn't Try to Call Me (03:53)
10. Fountain of Love (Zappa/Collins) (02:57)
11. No No No (02:27)
12. Anyway the Wind Blows (02:56)
13. Stuff Up the Cracks (04:37)
14. Ancient Armaments (04:20)
Track 14 is a "bonus track": the guitar solo (from Halloween 1978) that
appeared on the B-side of Zappa's unpatriotic and undistributed single "I Don't Wanna
Get Drafted" and has never reappeared officially.
This boot comes with a thick hand-stapled booklet containing lyrics, credits,
remastering details, list of differences between the vinyl mix and the official CD (now
on-line, click here!), and the story of Ruben &
the Jets re-written about how Zappa made and later remixed the album. LOTS of relevant and
irrelevant info. Three-coloured transparent plastic jewel box with metallic colour back
insert. Black & white cover printed on coloured paper: computer graphic pastiche of
the original cover (the call-out reads "RE-MASTERED FROM THE ORIGINAL VINYL").
Back cover has what appears to be a photo of a teenage Frank on stage playing guitar - but
the quality is so bad it has to be a fake. Made in Sweden in 1996 and has been
semi-reliably traced to Stockholm. A delightful quote from the CD booklet: "Please
bear in mind that the Mothers' original, discarded plans were to do it in mono with
pre-recorded crackle. Here you have it in splendid stereo."
(There are unconfirmed but no doubt true reports of other Ruben
re-issues.)
- Bootlegged CD version of official vinyl original
The 200 Motels album from the early '70s was contractually difficult
and was not officially released on CD until fall 1997. Thus bootleg CDs.
Length: 86:52 (some issues have bonus tracks)
Sound quality: "Remastered" from vinyl
Label: Liberty? "smile" FZ-005/06 / UAS 969956 (The UAS number tries to mimic the original label -
"United Artists UAS 9956")
Musicians: The Mothers, The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (thanks, Charles!) and the Top Score Singers
Issues that Copy the Vinyl Exactly
1. Semi-Fraudulent/Direct-from-Hollywood Overture (01:59)
2. Mystery Roach (02:33)
3. Dance of the Rock & Roll Interviewers (00:48)
4. This Town Is a Sealed Tuna Sandwich (Prologue) (00:56)
5. Tuna Fish Promenade (02:30)
6. Dance of the Just Plain Folks (04:39)
7. This Town Is a Sealed Tuna Sandwich (Reprise) (00:59)
8. The Sealed Tuna Bolero (01:40)
9. Lonesome Cowboy Burt (03:51)
10. Touring Can Make You Crazy (02:53)
11. Would You Like a Snack? (01:23)
12. Redneck Eats (03:03)
13. Centerville (02:31)
14. She Painted up Her Face (01:42)
15. Janet's Big Dance Number (01:18)
16. Half a Dozen Provocative Squats (01:57)
17. Mysterioso (00:48)
18. Shove It Right In (02:32)
19. Lucy's Seduction of a Bored Violinist & Postlude (04:00)
20. I'm Stealing the Towels (02:14)
21. Dental Hygiene Dilemma (05:12)
22. Does This Kind of Life Look Interesting to You? (03:00)
23. Daddy, Daddy, Daddy (03:11)
24. Penis Dimension (04:35)
25. What Will This Evening Bring Me This Morning? (03:27)
26. A Nun Suit Painted on Some Old Boxes (01:09)
27. Magic Fingers (03:55)
28. Motorhead's Midnight Ranch (01:30)
29. Dew on the Newts We Got (01:10)
30. The Lad Searches the Night for His Newts (00:41)
31. The Girl Wants to Fix Him Some Broth (01:10)
32. The Girl's Dream (00:55)
33. Little Green Scratchy Sweaters & Courduroy Ponce (01:01)
34. Strictly Genteel (the Finale) (11:09)
Deluxe Version with Bonus Tracks (UAS 969956)
1. Semi-Fraudulent/Direct-from-Hollywood Overture (01:59)
2. Larry the Dwarf (01:57) [dialogue bonus track]
3. Mystery Roach (02:33)
4. Dance of the Rock & Roll Interviewers (00:48)
5. Song of the Rock & Roll Interviewers [bonus track]
6. This Town Is a Sealed Tuna Sandwich (Prologue) (00:56)
7. Tuna Fish Promenade (02:30)
8. Dance of the Just Plain Folks (04:39)
9. This Town Is a Sealed Tuna Sandwich (Reprise) (00:59)
10. The Sealed Tuna Bolero (01:40)
11. Lonesome Cowboy Burt (03:51)
12. Rance Muhammitz & Lonesome Cowboy Burt (02:28) [music bonus track]
13. Touring Can Make You Crazy (02:53)
14. Would You Like a Snack? (01:23)
15. Redneck Eats (03:03)
16. Centerville (02:31)
17. She Painted up Her Face (01:42)
18. Janet's Big Dance Number (01:18)
19. Half a Dozen Provocative Squats (01:57)
20. Mysterioso (00:48)
21. Shove It Right In (02:32)
22. Lucy's Seduction of a Bored Violinist & Postlude (04:00)
23. Penis Mobile / Do You Like My New Car? (02:08) [music bonus track]
24. I'm Stealing the Towels (02:14)
25. Dental Hygiene Dilemma (05:12)
26. Does This Kind of Life Look Interesting to You? (03:00)
27. What Will This Morning Bring Me This Evening? (01:58) [music bonus track]
28. Daddy, Daddy, Daddy (03:11)
29. Penis Dimension (04:35)
30. What Will This Evening Bring Me This Morning? (03:27)
31. A Nun Suit Painted on Some Old Boxes (01:09)
32. Magic Fingers (03:55)
33. Motorhead's Midnight Ranch (01:30)
34. Dew on the Newts We Got (01:10)
35. The Lad Searches the Night for His Newts (00:41)
36. The Girl Wants to Fix Him Some Broth (01:10)
37. The Girl's Dream (00:55)
38. Little Green Scratchy Sweaters & Courduroy Ponce (01:01)
39. Strictly Genteel (the Finale) (11:09)
40. Ringo: When You Go on Tour with a Musical Group (02:17) [dialogue bonus track]
41. Howard Kaylan: The Character I Play (01:00) [dialogue bonus track] [available on Playground Psychotics]
42. The Pleated Gazelle Part 1 (00:30) [music bonus track]
43. Zappa: The True Story of the Girl Who Wants to Fix Him Some Broth (03:43) [dialogue
bonus track]
44. Zappa: If You Have Not Professional Actors in the Movie ... (00:27) [dialogue
bonus track] [available on Playground Psychotics]
45. Aynsley Dunbar: Snort Me! (00:13) [dialogue bonus track]
46. Zappa: Prime Profit to the Film ... (00:16) [dialogue bonus track]
47. The Pleated Gazelle Part 2 (01:09) [music bonus track]
48. Theodore Bikel: The True Story about Rance Muhammitz (00:34) [dialogue bonus
track]
49. Mark Volman: I Play a Version of Myself (01:03) [dialogue bonus track]
[available on Playground Psychotics]
50. Jeff Simmons, Zappa, Martin Lickert, Mark Volman: Why Jeff Simmons Quit the Group and
Was Replaced by Martin Lickert (02:26) [dialogue bonus track] [available
on Playground Psychotics]
- Bonus tracks 2, 5, 12, 27 & 40 are from the 200 MOTELS movie.
- Bonus tracks 23 & 41-50 are from the TRUE STORY OF 200 MOTELS
video: track 41 is spread out over "A Great Guy" and "The
Worst Reviews" on
Playground Psychotics, track 44 is part of "If You're Not a Professional Actor" on
Playground Psychotics, track 49 is part of the track "A Version
of Himself" on Playground Psychotics and track 50 is spread out
over the tracks "A Bunch of Adventurers" and "Martin
Lickert's Story" on Playground Psychotics.
All bonus tracks are mono. As further bonus on this issue, the end of "Penis
Dimension" has been "faithfully restored to include Ringo's fabulous
retort" to the "8 inches or less?" question (I'm quoting!).
The packaging includes a deluxe 14-page booklet and a "gigantic"
film poster (I guess it must have been folded a few times then). (Actually, my source
"U" told me it is actually 38 by 60 centimeters, folded three times, but I think
"gigantic" is so funny that I want to keep it in.)
David G writes:
I've been doing a lot of listening to the "be-bonus-tracked" pirate CD of 200
Motels. It's a nice transfer, from absurdly quiet vinyl. Unfortunately, there
are a few occasions where surface noise intrudes; in particular, some of the
quieter instrumental tracks have the dreaded "fwip fwip fwip" sound
characteristic of slightly-warped vinyl. Good otherwise, but I don't agree with
Dan that it bests the Ryko disc.
- A pirate CD copy of the official Fillmore East, June 1971 CD!
Length: ~40 min
Label: On Stage / Sarabandas CD 12026 (1992)
Musicians: The Mothers
1. Little House I Used to Live In (04:42)
2. The Mud Shark (05:23)
3. What Kind Of Girl Do You Think We Are? (04:17)
4. Bwana Dik (02:22)
5. Latex Solar Beef (02:38)
6. Willie the Pimp (04:03?)
7. Do You Like My New Car? (07:09)
8. Happy Together (Bonner/Gordon) (02:57)
9. Lonesome Electric Turkey (02:33)
10. Peaches en Regalia (03:22)
11. Tears Began to Fall (02:47)
On the original vinyl, "Willie the Pimp" was split over the side break, and
only part one was used on the CD re-issue. So perhaps this pirate issue could have been
justified IF IT HAD BEEN A COPY OF THE VINYL VERSION - but it isn't; IT'S JUST A
COPY OF THE CD. It's clear we're dealing with some real idealistic people here. I'll
have to let JWB explain this:
The On Stage / Sarabandas series was an ENTIRE
SERIES of pirated albums. I also remember seeing pirated copies of live albums by
Cream, Jimi Hendrix, The Doors, Bob Dylan, and many others.
They were very common in American record stores in the early '90s, but it has been
quite a while since I've seen one. What sets them apart from regular pirates and bootlegs,
is that they were inexpensive (around $8 per disc). They were pressed in large quantities
in some European country, and imported into America ridiculously cheap (or maybe traded
for planeloads of cocaine). It is very rare to find pirated CDs in America, but this
series was very popular due to these cheap prices. They only cost half as much as the
original CDs that they were pirated from. Plus the artwork was very professional, and
probably intended to fool as many people as possible.
This might make it easier to understand why Little House I Used to Live In
is a copy of the original CD and not the vinyl. It is hard to understand why someone would
pirate original CDs, change the title and artwork, and sell them cheaply as an exclusive
"series". Once again, my cocaine explanation comes to mind.
The cover has a picture of Zappa on stage c:a 1979, from around the same time as the Saarbrücken 1978 cover.
- Bootleg CD from (at least 2 years) before the official CD came out (comparatively late)
For some reason this album was bootlegged on CD before the official CD came out.
Length: ~40 min
Sound quality: proably "remastered" from vinyl
Label: Z 700423 (back of facsimile cover); 54374 (disc)
Matrix: CDT-BERLIN 54374 01
Track list as on the LP:
1. Preamble
2. Penguin in Bondage
3. Pygmy Twylyte
4. Dummy Up
5. Preamble
6. Village of the Sun
7. Echidna's Arf (of You)
8. Don't You Ever Wash That Thing?
9. Preamble
10. Cheepnis
11. Son of Orange County
12. More Trouble Every Day
13. Preamble
14. Be-Bop Tango (of the Old Jazzmen's Church)
This came in an unusual cover: a CD-size facsimile of the original LP cover, with the
CD in a little inner sleeve. Later there was also a jewel box issue of the same disc,
possibly from other bootleggers. From David Goodwin:
I must say, it sounds very good ... maybe it's taken from the Old
Masters box or something, but that is QUIET vinyl. Some
distortion, but all in all surprisingly good. I'm pretty sure it's the vinyl mix of
"Cheepnis", but I'll have to do an A/B comparison.
Mine is the jewel-box version ... and about the only disappointing part of the set
is the fact that the inserts are printed VERY cheaply on what seems like
regular paper (instead of cardstock or whatever inserts are usually on). The way it's
packaged, though, and the way the disc looks makes me think that the people who did this
were later the ones who did the copy of Crush All Boxes
without bonus tracks, but I can't be sure ...
Läther (4 LP)
Läther Box (4 CD)
Läther (2 LP)
Leatherette (2 LP / 2 CD)
Dead Girls of London - Live in New York (CD)
Pa's Nose Fell Off at Breakfast, It Fell Right in Ma's Coffee and Displaced It (LP)
The Lone Ranger (2 LP)
Punky's Whips (45-RPM 7" single)
Officially released on the Läther triple CD in 1996.
Length: ~210 min (maximum)
Sound quality: Master / FM radio
Label: SRZ-4-1500 "(unreleased)" (?) / FZ 001-004
(Läther Box CD)
Musicians: VARIOUS!
The LÄTHER Debacle
It all started back in spring 1977, when Zappa delivered the Zappa in New York
album to Warner Brothers (his record company at the time). It had a song called
"Punky's Whips", which was about Terry Bozzio, Zappa's "cute little
drummer", and his crush on Punky Meadows, "lead guitar player from a group
called Angel". Punky had given Zappa permission to use his name like
this on the record, but he wouldn't give permission to Warner Brothers, so Herb Cohen
(Zappa's manager at the time) "took it out" - that is, "Punky's
Whips" got deleted from the album, along with references to Punky in another song
called "Titties & Beer". Now Zappa fell out with Warner Brothers over this
censorship, and gave them three more albums - Studio Tan, Hot
Rats III (later renamed "Sleep Dirt") and Orchestral
Favorites - to fulfil his contract so he would be free to go to another
label.
His contract ruled, as standard record contracts did at the time, that Warner had to
release the albums in America within six weeks of delivery. This clause was clearly not
designed for situations where the artist delivered four albums at once, and Warner didn't
release nothing, so Zappa sued them for breach of contract. Then he re-edited most of the
material (and some other stuff) into the four-LP box Läther, in order to
offer it to other record companies. He offered it to EMI, but Warners put a stop to that,
and he tried to put it out through Mercury/Phonogram on Halloween 1977, but Warner's
lawyers had the deal cancelled at the test-pressing stage. (This story is not exactly
clear, and the official version, pushed by Rykodisc and Gail Zappa, is that Zappa made Läther
FIRST and LATER chopped it up into four individual albums. Some people
believe in a third version - that it was Warner, not Zappa, that chopped it up. Pick your
favourite.)
So, in early 1978, Zappa (drinking beer and Jack Daniels) played the entire Läther
box on KROQ-FM radio (Burbank/Pasadena) and told everyone to "tape record this album
off the air because this album is not going to be available in the stores because Warner
Brothers is trying to ruin my darn career". This may sound rebellious, but actually
Warner Brothers had given the radio station permission to play it: at the time, they
didn't want it anyway.
However, Warner Brothers did issue the four albums Zappa delivered,
starting in March 1978. Zappa in New York, which Zappa post-produced, has
a real cover and real liner notes (but the LP version did not have "Punky's
Whips" - look at this CD bootleg), but the rest were
delivered only as masters and look pretty cheezy, as Warner had to make covers for them
withough Zappa's help. (They hired an artist called Gary Panter, and these three albums
are now known as "The Panter Uglies".) However, some tracks on Läther
did not come out on those albums, and some tracks came out in different versions.
There have been a few bootleg versions of the Läther material. Some
of them may have been recorded off the air, but the DJ has actually confessed he loaned
his copy of the Läther master to a "close friend" and never
saw the guy again, so at least one is straight from that tape. There are also some
Mercury/Phonogram test-pressings in circulation (among collectors with lots of money). The
original cover idea was later realized on Joe's Garage.
And in September 1996, Ryko released Läther on CD as a bit of
nostalgy for the old folks, with bonus tracks.
This is the original Läther track listing:
1. Regyptian Strut
2. Naval Aviation in Art
3. Little Green Rosetta
4. Duck Duck Goose
5. Down in de Dew
6. For the Young Sophisticate
7. Tryin' to Grow a Chin
8. Broken Hearts are for Assholes
9. The Legend of the Illinois Enema Bandit
10. Let Me Take You to the Beach
11. Revised Music for Guitar and Low Budget Orchestra
12. RDNZL
13. Honey, Don't You Want a Man Like Me?
14. We've Got to Get Into Something Real
15. The Black Page [#1]
16. Big Leg Emma
17. Punky's Whips
18. Flambay
19. The Purple Lagoon
20. Pedro's Dowry
21. Läther
22. Spider of Destiny
23. Duke of Orchestral Prunes
24. Filthy Habits
25. Whatever Happened to All the Fun in the World?
26. Titties & Beer
27. The Ocean is the Ultimate Solution
28. The Adventures of Greggery Peccary
(Of course, Läther wouldn't be Läther if there
weren't about four different track lists from as many different sources, but the
differences are minor and the above is what Zappa played on the radio and what was
eventually released (minus the bonus tracks).)
Bootleg Issues
All this has been bootlegged as a few 4-LP boxes, one on Edison records (SRZ-4-1500) in
the mid-80s, and on CD. There are also two double LPs, called Läther and
Leatherette: Läther is abridged (it has
tracks 1-2, 9-13, 16, and 19-28 (track 27 under its older title "One More Time for
the World") while Leatherette contains the missing tracks
plus other stuff. There is a third double LP too, called Pa's Nose Fell Off at Breakfast, It Fell Right in Ma's
Coffe and Displaced It (there's a bootlegger who didn't like people who list
bootlegs), and a fourth, The Lone Ranger.
The 4-CD Läther Box on the nameless label identified by an
"acid" happy face has a live cover with Zappa playing guitar on a stool; the
discs are in covers which form a large Zappa picture when joined together, and they all
come in a 12" box with styrofoam slots or something.
Single Release of "Punky's Whips"
"Punky's Whips" itself became something so saught after that it was
bootlegged on a 45 (red vinyl, no picture sleeve). It
has the original "Punky's Whips" version stretched over both sides. (The song of
course came out of the closet later on the CD release of Zappa in New York
- a slightly different version - and on Baby Snakes, in a completely
different version.)
- Läther tracks (put your mind back in 1977)
- Live
- Studio
- Interview
Leatherette has been issued on vinyl at least twice, and re-issued on
single and double CD. Part of it was re-issued on CD as Dead Girls of
London - Live in New York (on Temporary Records). The Läther
tracks were officially released on the Läther triple compact disc album
in 1996.
Leatherette
Length: 83:13 (Frank Zappa Songbook
Volume 1 cover version, some other versions are longer)
Sound quality: Soundboard / FM radio
Label: Lunar Toones 2S-5 (LP) / Three Cool Cats TCC 019-020 (double CD) / Four Aces
Records FAR008 (single CD)
Musicians: VARIOUS!
1. Dead Girls of London (05:36) [Zappa/Shankar]
2. Little Green Rosetta (01:04)
3. Ship Ahoy (01:59)
4. Duck Duck Goose (03:38) [listed as "Nuns in Frozen Heaven"]
5. Down in de Dew (02:55) [listed as "Corks & Safeties"]
6. For the Young Sophisticate (03:16) [listed as "Another Cheap Aroma"]
7. Tryin' to Grow a Chin (03:15) [not listed]
8. Broken Hearts are for Assholes (04:48)
9. The Black Page #1 (02:10)
10. Punky's Whips (10:58)
11. Titties & Beer (06:21)
12. The Ocean Is the Ultimate Solution (08:32)
13. Flambay (01:51)
14. Camarillo Brillo (03:50) [TV screen cover version only!]
15. Black Napkins (07:07) [TV screen cover version only!]
16. 1972 interview with Martin Perlich (23:00)
17. 1978 interview with Jerry Kay (04:24)
There seems to be at least two vinyl versions of this; one is struck from the other so
it sounds much worse. The first edition has a Cal Schenkel drawing from the Frank Zappa Songbook Volume 1 on the cover; the
second is supposed to have some kind of TV screen and was pressed in 90 copies on blue
vinyl, 60 red copies, 50 multi-coloured copies and 15 copies on brown vinyl. Another
"first edition" has a cover with "Pipco" on it; which one came first
is an open question.
All tracks are from Läther except
tracks 1 & 14-15: Track 1 is the original (officially unreleased) version recorded for
Lakshminarayana Shankar's album Touch Me There, with Van Morrison on lead
vocals, and tracks 14-15 are live, from the Zurkon Music bootleg (Halloween 1977).
They do not appear on the version with the Frank Zappa Songbook Volume 1
cover.
The double CD version has a colour photo of Zappa at his grand piano
with a black suit and a bow tie on. The piano is graced with sheet music and the picture
can be seen on page 104 of Dominique Chevalier's book Viva!
Zappa. The single CD version has the Cal Schenkel drawing on the cover, and has tracks
1-13 only.
Dead Girls of London - Live in New York
Dead Girls of London - Live in New York is a CD re-issue of the
first part of Leatherette, from "Dead Girls of London" to
"Flambay". The track list on the cover says:
1. Dead Girls of London (05:16) (Original Version with Van Morrison) [Zappa/Shankar]
2. [Little] Green Rosetta (01:02) (Original Studio Version)
3. Nuns in Frozen Heaven (01:57)
4. Corks & Safeties (05:57)
5. For the Young Sophisticate [listed as "Another Cheap Aroma"]
6. Trying to Grow a Chin (02:58) (Original Version Live in New York 1977)
7. Broken Hearts Are for Assholes (04:47) (Original Version Live in New York 1977)
8. The Black Page #1 (02:12)
9. Punky's Whips (10:48)
10. Titties & Beer (05:32) (Unedited Version)
11. The Ocean Is the Ultimate Solution (08:35) (Original Studio Version)
12. Flambay (01:53)
(Never mind that the track times differ slightly from Leatherette.)
The "booklet"/fold-out has a grainy black & white photo of Frank with a
Fender Stratocaster on the front - this picture is also on the back cover of a double
vinyl version of Leatherette - a short text called
"Conversation with Frank Zappa (excerpt)" inside the gatefold, and these players
listed on the back:
Frank Zappa / Adrian Belew / Patrick O'Hearn / Tommy Mars / Peter
Wolf / Ed Mann / Terry Bozzio / Ray White / Eddie Jobson / Ruth
Underwood / Don Pardo / David Samuels / Randy Brecker / Mike
Brecker / Lou Marini / Ronnie Cuber / Tom Malone / Warren
Cucurullo / Denny Walley / Arthur Barrow / Vinnie Colaiuta / L.
Shankar / Phil Palmer / Dave Marquee / James Lascelles / Simon
Phillips
(That's not a complete list.)
Dead Girls of London - Live in New York informant: Andreas
Kerschgens
- Läther tracks (put your mind back in 1977)
All tracks officially released on the Läther triple compact disc
album in 1996
Length: 19:30+22:51
Sound quality: Soundboard / FM radio (?)
Label: Cheese Records FUK-1982 (LP)
Musicians: VARIOUS!
1. Smell It (0:55)
2. Tryin' to Grow a Chin (2:52)
3. Broken Hearts are for Assholes (5:03)
4. Punky's Whips (10:40)
5. Spit it Out (0:30)
5. Honey, Don't You Want a Man Like Me? (4:10)
7. You Don't Think So, Huh? (0:46)
6. Titties & Beer (5:20)
7. Little Green Rosetta (1:03?)
8. Duck Duck Goose (2:39)
9. What You Gonna Do When the Well Runs Dry? (2:12)
10. Down in de Dew (2:57)
11. For the Young Sophisticate (3:14)
All tracks are from Läther. Tracks 1, 5, 7 and 9 are just some sound
snippets from between the songs.
Some copies have fold-out covers (with great graphics, including a halo portrait of
Punky Meadows); 100 copies were pressed on brown vinyl. The title is the first sentence in
the short story 'Tis the Season to Be Jelly by science fiction writer
Richard Matheson, which appeared on the bootleg by the same name.
- Läther tracks (put your mind back in 1977)
All tracks officially released on the Läther triple compact disc
album in 1996
Label: Jazz 001/002
Matrix number: Jazz 001-A / Jazz 001-B / Jazz 002-A / Jazz 002-B
Musicians: VARIOUS!
1. Flambay [listed as "Jazz Improvisation Part 1"]
2. The Purple Lagoon [slash "Approximate"]
3. Pedro's Dowry [listed as "Jazz Improvisation Part 2"]
4. Leather ["Läther"]
5. Spider of Destiny
6. The Duke of Orchestral Prunes
7. Filthy Habits [listed as "Karl's Guitar"]
8. The Ocean is the Ultimate Solution [listed as "Not Again"]
9. Lemme Take You to the Beach [listed as "The Beach Song"]
10. The Black Page #1 [listed as "Last and Least"]
11. Big Leg Emma
12. The Adventures of Greggary Peccary [listed as "Adventurous Stories"]
The cover has a picture of Zappa from the 200 Motels sessions, shot
with a caleidoscope lens. The back cover has a Zoot Allures era picture.
The labels are dark blue with track lists, vinyl sides, and copyright notes. The artist is
identified as Jazzmen. Sides 1, 2 & 4 have the letters PF below
the matrix numbers - compare this to official Warner Brothers releases. Pressed in both
black and blue vinyl runs.
- Pirate CD copy of original vinyl
The original Zappa in New York LP was manufactured both with and
without the gay number, "Punky's Whips", and the versions without
"Punky's Whips" were eventually sold in stores. This bootleg CD copies the rare
version with "Punky's Whips". (The official CD has
"Punky's Whips", too, plus several bonus tracks, but a slightly different
sequencing.)
Sound quality: from vinyl
Variant #1 label: FZNY 4412 / CD DIS 69204 (the former on the disc, the latter on the
cover); GEMA 4412 (may be another variant)
1. Titties & Beer (05:31)
2. I Promise Not to Come in Your Mouth (03:31)
3. Punky's Whips (10:59)
4. Sofa (03:15)
5. Manx Needs Women (01:39)
6. The Black Page Drum Solo / Black page (14:06)
7. Big Leg Emma (02:09)
8. The Black Page #2 [listed on the cover, but not on the disc]
9. Honey, Don't You Want a Man Like Me? (04:18) [mislisted on the disc as
"Honkey, Don't You Want a Man Like Me?"]
10. The Illinois Enema Bandit (12:09)
11. The Purple Lagoon [slash "Approximate"] (16:20)
There are two variant covers: one is a jewel case, and the other an LP-style cardboard
sleeve, gatefold, with facsimile artwork, printed lyrics, and a transparent plastic inner
sleeve. They may or may not stem from the same bootleggers. The jewel-case cover is copied
from a well-worn vinyl cover. See Just Another Live Album
for a spooky variant release.
Do no see also: Zappa
in New York 81
- Zappa in New York tracks (?)
Sound quality: Soundboard A-
Label: P 910128
Musicians: Zappa in New York band
1. Titties & Beer (07:36)
2. Cruisin' for Burgers (09:12)
3. I Promise Not to Come in Your Mouth (03:31)
4. Punky's Whips (10:50)
5. The Illinois Enema Bandit (12:23)
6. I'm the Slime (04:23)
7. A Pound for a Brown (on the Bus) (03:41)
8. Manx Needs Women (01:44)
9. Sofa (02:56)
10. The Black Page #2 (05:36)
11. The Torture Never Stops (13:00)
These are not the exact edits that surfaced on the Zappa in New York
release, but pretty close. For example, "The Torture Never Stops" has 30 seconds
of crowd noise at the end. It must have been taken from soundboard recordings of the New
York shows, but released when Zappa in New York had been available for
many years. See also this straight counterfeit.
On the cover is a picture of Zappa's face from the same photo session as the Strictly
Genteel cover - pixelated like when someone on TV wants to remain anonymous. The
booklet has a 1988 band photo. Add to this that the recording date is mislisted as 1984.
- Bootlegged CD/CD-R version of official vinyl original
These albums are on CD somewhat different from the vinyl originals - differing mixes
and vocal and drum overdubs. These are the old vinyl mixes on one CD. (Sleep Dirt
has also been bootlegged separately on unkown labels.)
Length: ~75 min
Sound quality: "Remastered" from vinyl
Label: FZSD 7500
1. Filthy Habits (07:08)
2. Flambay (05:01)
3. Spider of Destiny (02:53)
4. Regyptian Strut (04:12)
5. Time Is Money (02:47)
6. Sleep Dirt (03:20)
7. The Ocean Is the Ultimate Solution (13:15)
8. The Adventures of Greggery Peccary (20:36)
9. Let Me Take You to the Beach (02:43)
10. Revised Music for Guitar & Low-Budget Orchestra (07:34)
11. Redunsel ["RDNZL"] (05:24)
As can be seen, this issue is titled Studio Tan / Sleep Dirt, but the
actual order on the disc is Sleep Dirt / Studio Tan. It came out around 1991, on a
nameless label but with a bear logo on it (lookingly German, since it bears the GEMA
logo). The excuse for a booklet has four pages, reproducing the "original" LP
covers (Sleep Dirt front/back, Studio Tan front/back). Somewhere, the labels and catalogue
numbers DiscReet/Warner Bros. DIS 59 210 and 211 can be spotted. The top half of the back
cover is from the back of Sleep Dirt, and the bottom half from the back of
Studio Tan, so
as to include track listings for both LPs.
Other issues have been rumoured. At least one issue of this coupling and one issue of
the the vinyl-version-on-CD bootleg of Zappa in New York are
on the same label.
- Bootleg Baby Snakes copy with bonus tracks
1. Ancient Armaments
2. Titties and Beer
3. The Black Page #2
4. Jones Crusher
5. Disco Boy
6. Radio Spot about the BABY SNAKES movie
7. Dinah-Moe Humm
8. Punky's Whips
9. Radio Spot about the BABY SNAKES movie
"Ancient Armaments" is the guitar-solo B-side of the ill-fated "I Don't
Wanna Get Drafted" single. It was recorded at a Halloween show in 1978. Tracks 6
& 9 are (surprise) radio spots about the BABY SNAKES movie, and all
other tracks are from Baby Snakes itself. 300 numbered copies were
printed on clear vinyl (heaven), issued without labels, and 50 numbered copies printed on red
vinyl. The cover is blue and has Zappa doing the devil/spiderman mudra.
- Officially unreleased album from around 1980
Several versions. Parts also issued on an alternative Crush All Boxes
- record 8 in the Mystery Box.
LP Version
Length: ~43 min
Label: ZB
1. Doreen
2. Fine Girl
3. Easy Meat
4. Goblin Girl
5. Society Pages
6. I'm a Beautiful Guy
7. Beauty Knows No Pain
8. Charlie's Enormous Mouth
9. Any Downers?
10. Conehead
Crush All Boxes is an album Zappa
planned to release in 1980 but the bootleggers somehow beat him to it. It was played on
the radio before it was released; maybe it was bootlegged then. (The songs were released
later, on Tinsel-Town Rebellion and You Are What You Is,
but in different mixes. The original Crush
All Boxes cover was used for Tinsel-Town Rebellion, where the old
title is still vaguely visible.) 60 copies are picture discs in 4-colour fold-out covers.
CD Version
Length: ~43 min
Label: "smile" MRDAT/FZRec / FZ 008
Sound quality: superb stereo, taken from a vinyl test pressing, not
a radio broadcast
The CD version does not list or index "Beauty Knows No
Pain", but the song is there, occupying the second half of track 6. (This shifts the
other track numbers accordingly.) It's on the anonymous "smile"
label, identified by an acid-style happy-face. The front cover depicts Zappa with a Gibson
guitar (the picture from the 1980 tour posters, which can be seen on page 122 of Dominique
Chevallier's book Viva! Zappa,
and was also used on a 1984 tour bootleg called Dropping Dildos). The back cover
depicts four pages of a form titled "Data for Sensitive or Critical-Sensitive
Position", filled in/out by or about Zappa. The fold-out has Zappa surrounded by
topless women, from the same same photo shoot as the Rubber Slices cover. Overlaid on the
picture are lyrics to all songs, including "Beauty Knows No
Pain", which was omitted from the track listing on the back cover. The back cover
credits "Carl Shenkel" with "Art Design", "Bruce Brickford"
with animation, and says "(C) 1980 Mundkin [sic] Music".
A version of this (with Beauty Knows No Pain correctly indexed) was
posted on the now-defunct Sharing the Groove in 2003. It picked up a surprising
amount of steam for an internet bootleg, and thus should probably be listed
here. Tracklisting is as follows:
1. Doreen
2. Fine Girl
3. Easy Meat
4. Goblin Girl
5. Society Pages
6. I'm a Beautiful Guy
7. Beauty Knows No Pain
8. Charlie's Enormous Mouth
9. Any Downers?
10. Conehead
11. I Don't Wanna Get Drafted (Single A-Side, Bonus)
12: Ancient Armaments (Single B-side, Bonus)
13: Pick Me, I'm Clean (Drum Machine Rehearsal)
14: Teen Age Wind (Drum Machine Rehearsal)
15: Harder Than Your Husband (Drum Machine Rehearsal)
16: Bamboozled By Love (Drum Machine Rehearsal)
pressed CD Version with Bonus Tracks
Label: MM-006
Crush All Boxes sound quality: great, but with modest crackles
Bonus track sound quality: mediocre on the 1988 tracks
1. Doreen
2. Fine Girl
3. Easy Meat
4. Goblin Girl
5. Society Pages
6. I'm a Beautiful Guy
7. Beauty Knows No Pain
8. Charlie's Enormous Mouth
9. Any Downers?
10. Conehead
11. Texas Motel Medley [Lennon/McCartney/Zappa]: Norweigian Jim ["Norweigian
Wood"] / Louisiana Hooker with Herpes ["Lucy in the Sky with
Diamonds"] / Texas Motel ["Strawberry Fields Forever"] [bonus
track]
12. I Am the Walrus [Lennon/McCartney] [bonus track]
13. Remington Electric Razor [bonus track]
Tracks 11-13 are bonus tracks. Tracks 11-12 are yet unidentified live versions from
1988 (with the medley lyrics changed to ridicule the disgraced televangelist Jimmy
Swaggart). Track 13 is a Remington commercial by the Mothers and Linda Ronstadt, which was
never used by Remington. It first appeared on the bootleg Remington Electric Razor, and was
also used on Apocrypha.
The front cover has the Tinsel-Town Rebellion picture, in a red
border, and reads "The original cover, later used for the Tinseltown LP" (left)
and "The Unreleased Zappa Album" (below) and "plus bonus tracks"
(below "The Unreleased Zappa Album"). The disc is gold with nothing but
"ZAPPA" and "Crush All Boxes" printed on it.
Informants: Joefranx
MYSTERY BOX version
Label: Nifty, Tough & Bitchen Records
The Crush All Boxes version in the Mystery
Box is very different. It has the track list:
1. Fine Girl
2. Pick Me, I'm Clean
3. Teenage Wind
4. Harder Than Your Husband
5. Bamboozled By Love
6. Drafted Again
7. Falling in Love Is a Stupid Habit
(Quoth the liner notes: "'Fine Girl' and 'Drafted Again' are outtakes. Tracks 2-5
are studio rehearsals with drum machine. ('Teenage Wind' and 'Harder Than Your Husband'
are instrumentals.) 'Falling in Love Is a Stupid Habit' is a demo for Jimmy Carl Black
(FZ: piano & vocal)." (Zappa later denied that he ever wrote that last song in an
interview published in the fanzine Society Pages.) Tracks 2-5 and 7 also
appear on Apocrypha.)
8. Teenage Wind
9. Doreen
10. Fine Girl
11. Easy Meat
12. Goblin Girl
(The liner notes continue: "Tracks 2-5 [on this side] represent the
entire side one of the unreleased Crush
All Boxes [true]. Bonus track 'Teenage Wind' is an outtake. It does not
feature Bob Harris on vocals.")
- Various live: mostly parts of Warts
& All, a live album Zappa planned but never released
Warts & All I-II also featured as records 9-10 of Twenty Years of Frank Zappa (re-issued on
CD).
LP label: Mud Shark MZ4809-10
CD label: RXZ Records 321A-322A
's number one:
1. Dead Girls of London [Zappa/Shankar]
2. Suicide Chump
3. Streets & Roads [slightly longer edit of "Shut Up & Play
Yer Guitar"]
4. Thirteen [longer edit of the Stage #6 version]
5. Magic Fingers
6. [Little] Rubber Girl [Zappa/Walley] [Stage #4 version]
7. Peaches en Regalia ["Peaches III", Tinsel-Town Rebellion
version]
- Track 1 live at the Hammersmith Odeon Feb-17-1979.
- Tracks 2 and 4 edited together from two shows at the Palladium in New York: 31-Oct-1978 and
27-Oct-1978 (second show). Track 4 is a longer edit of the Stage #6
version.
- Track 3 is a slightly longer version of the title track on Shut Up & Play
Yer Guitar (18-Feb-1979, Hammersmith Odeon, London).
- Track 5 live at the Palladium, New York, 27-Oct-1978 (second show).
- Track 6 live at the Palladium, New York, 31-Oct-1978 (Halloween). It is
the Stage #4 version.
- Track 7 edited together from the early and late shows at the Hammersmith
Odeon in London on 18-Feb-1979. It has been officially released as
"Peaches III" on Tinsel-Town
Rebellion.
'n' number two:
1. Ms. X
2. For the Young Sophisticate [Tinsel-Town Rebellion version]
3. More Streets & Roads [longer edit of "Shut Up & Play Yer
Guitar Some More"]
4. Sy Borg
5. Dance Contest [Tinsel-Town Rebellion version]
6. Persona Non Grata
7. The Drive Shaft [may include Stage #6 version of "Lobster
Girl"]
8. The Deathless Horsie [Shut Up & Play Yer Guitar version]
- Track 1 live at the Palladium, New York, 31-Oct-1978 (Halloween), with Warren Cuccurullo
telling the story of how he picked up a drag queen.
- Tracks 2 and 5 have been officially released on Tinsel-Town Rebellion.
Track 2 is from the Hammersmith Odeon, London, 18-Feb-1979 (late show), and
track 5 from the Palladium, New York, 27-Oct-1978 (early show).
- Tracks 3 and 8 have been officially released on the Shut Up & Play Yer
Guitar set, track 3 as "Shut Up & Play Yer Guitar Some More" - but
this version is a couple of minutes longer. They're from the Hammersmith
Odeon, London, 17-Feb-1979 and 19-Feb-1979, respectively.
- Track 4 live at the Palladium, New York, 28-Oct-1978 (second show). It was
not part of the unreleased Warts
& All album.
- Track 6 has been previously placed at the Palladium, New York, 28-Oct-1978 (first show),
but if it's the actual Warts
& All version, it should be from 27-Oct-1978 (second show). It is,
in that case, the original source of "Theme from the 3rd Movement of
Sinister Footwear".
- Track 7 might be a longer version of "Lobster Girl" (on Stage #6,
from the Palladium, New York, 29-Oct 1978) and/or the last
part of "Little House I Used to Live in"; at any rate "Lobster Girl"
is supposed to hide somewhere on this side.
- Bootlegged vinyl version of official CD original
Two versions may exist.
Label: Collectorecord (one version?)
Matrix number: 746188A/B (other version?)
1. Zoot Allures (05:27)
2. Tinseltown Rebellion (04:42)
3. Trouble Every Day (05:31)
4. Penguin in Bondage (06:50)
5. Hot-Plate Heaven at the Green Hotel (06:36)
6. What's New in Baltimore? (04:47)
7. Cock-Suckers' Ball [Trad. Arr. / the Channels] (01:05)
8. WPLJ [Dobard/McDaniels] (01:30)
9. Let's Move to Cleveland (15:44)
10. Whippin' Post [Allman] (08:27)
The cover is a copy of the first (European only) CD release (EMI CDP 7 46188-2), with
the CD insert info on the inner sleeve. CDs were still sort of new then, so maybe this was
bootlegged for the people who didn't have CD players yet. Some copies are on white vinyl,
some on black, and the labels are a creamy off-white.
From Brian Jackson:
I have a copy of the Does Humor Belong In Music? bootleg LP on black
vinyl with red labels, in stark contrast/contradiction to the
'creamy-off-white-labels' mentioned on your page!
The labels are red, as previously mentioned, and there is white print on them
that reads (around the edge): "All rights of the Manufacturers and of the
owners of the recorded work reserved. Unauthorised copying public performance
and broadcasting of this work prohibited" [if you can believe that]. It
also says "Made in Switzerland", "GENIA", "33
RPM", "Collectorecord Ltd", and oddly enough:
"Montreux" in various places. Someone has written "1" and
"2" on the respective sides in blue ballpoint pen.
The vinyl itself has no banding whatsoever and the inner bag has all the info
from the original CD booklet. The front and back covers of the jacket look like
blowups of the EMI CD booklet and back cover inserts. It says: "Frank Zappa
Does Humor Belong in Music EMI Records" upside-down from the way it usually
is on the spine, and says the same thing in a spine-like strip that runs along
the top of the LP jacket. The carboard or paper used to make the jacket is limp
and flaccid, unlike regular issue covers from that time or any time before that.
- Bootleg vinyl version of the DOES HUMOR BELONG IN MUSIC? video
Length: 30:11+27:05
Label: Rock/APC RR-2-FZ
Musicians: Frank Zappa, Chad Wackerman, Scott Thunes, Ike Willis, Ray White, Bobby
Martin and Alan Zavod
1. Zoot Allures
2. Tinsel-Town Rebellion
3. Trouble Every Day
4. Hot-Plate Heaven at the Green Hotel
5. The Dangerous Kitchen
6. He's So Gay
7. Bobby Brown
8. Keep It Greasey
9. Honey, Don't You Want a Man Like Me
10. Dinah Moe Humm
11. Cosmik Debris
12. Be in My Video
13. Dancin' Fool
14. Whippin' Post [Allman]
The cover is copied from the German Plastic People
Songbook - made by two German people who transcribed lyrics from 14
albums and published them along with German translation. Zappa got a copy which he
corrected and sent back to the authors, with "Corrected Copy, FZ" written across
the cover, prompting a corrected re-release (on Zweitausendeins ("2001")
publishing), the cover of which was used for this album. The Plastic People Songbook cover was in turn taken from Chunga's
Revenge, so The Life of Francesco Zappa has the Chunga's
Revenge cover photo with "Corrected Copy, FZ" in Zappa's handwriting.
The album was issued in a numbered picture disc edition, a red vinyl edition, a numbered
100-copy edition spanning black and white vinyl, and another numbered 100-copy edition
spanning red and clear.
- Bootlegged version of official vinyl original
When Zappa re-issued his albums on CD, the digital remixes were also made available on
vinyl in three Old Masters boxes. The first two included Mystery
Discs full of rarities. You had to buy limited edition boxes of ten albums or so
that you already had (sometimes the box versions had new overdubs that you hated) to get
your hands on these, so in spite of their attractive content, they were never very
widespread - someone bootlegged them. (The cover is copied in genuine counterfeit style, a
with even a Barking Pumpkin logo on it.) In September 1998, however, the Mystery
Discs were officially re-released together on the CD Mystery Disc.
Length: ~40 min
Sound quality: transfer from vinyl, no doubt
Label: Collectorecord Limited, Montreux
1. Run Home Slow Theme
2. Original Duke of Prunes
3. Opening Night at Studio Z
4. The Village Inn
5. Steal Away
6. I Was a Teenage Maltshop
7. The Birth of Captain Beefheart
8. Metal Man Has Won His Wings
9. Power Trio from the Saints & Sinners
10. Bossa Nova Pervertamento
11. Excerpt from the Uncle Frankie Show
12. Charva
13. Speed Freak Boogie
14. Original Mothers at the Broadside
15. Party Scene from Mondo Hollywood
16. Original Mothers Rehearsal
17. How Could I Be Such a Fool?
18. Band Introduction from the Fillmore West
19. Plastic People [Berry/Zappa] / Solo
20. Original Mothers at the Fillmore East
21. Why Don'tcha Do Me Right?
22. Big Leg Emma
Tracks 21-22 are single versions, and appeared as bonus tracks on the Absolutely
Free CD. They were not included on the official Mystery Disc CD,
because they were already on another CD.
- Bootlegged version of official vinyl original
When Zappa re-issued his albums on CD, the digital remixes were also made available on
vinyl in three Old Masters boxes. The first two included Mystery
Discs full of rarities. You had to buy limited edition boxes of ten albums or so
that you already had (sometimes the box versions had new overdubs that you hated) to get
your hands on these, so in spite of their attractive content, they were never very
widespread - someone bootlegged them. (The cover is copied in genuine counterfeit style, a
with even a Barking Pumpkin logo on it.) In September 1998, however, the Mystery
Discs were officially re-released together on the CD Mystery Disc.
Length: ~40 min
Sound quality: transfer from vinyl, no doubt
Label: Collectorecord?
1. Harry, You're a Beast
2. Don Interrupts
3. Piece One
4. Jim/Roy
5. Piece Two
6. Agency Man
7. Agency Man Studio
8. Wedding Dress Song / The Handsome Cabin Boy [traditional]
9. Skweezit Skweezit Skweezit
10. The Story of Willie the Pimp
11. Black Beauty
12. Chucha
13. Mothers at KPFK
14. Harmonica Fun
Sound quality: Transfer from CrO2 cassette (mostly)
Label: Rondo Hatton Records / "Barking Pumpkin Records"
In 1987, Guitar World magazine issued a cassette called The Guitar World According to Frank Zappa
(A Special Guitar World Audio Presentation), containing rare guitar-based Zappa
recordings. It was made avaialble through the magazine or from Barfko-Swill. When it was
released, some of the recordings were otherwise unavailable. Some still are.
Guitar Hernia
The Guitar Hernia boot has this track listing:
1. Down in de Dew [Läther version]
2. A Solo from Heidelberg
3. A Solo from Cologne [extended version of "
4. A Solo from Atlanta [extended version of "For Duane" on Guitar]
5. Sharleena [Stage #3 version]
6. Sleep Dirt [Sleep Dirt version]
7. Friendly Little Finger [Zoot Allures version]
8. Excerpt from Revised Music for Guitar & Low-Budget Symphony
Orchestra [Studio
Tan excerpt]
9. Things That Look Like Meat [Guitar version]
10. Stevie's Spanking [Stage #4 solos]
- Track 2 remains otherwise unreleased. It's a "Yo' Mama" solo
from 24-Feb-1978, Eppelheim (a suburb of Heidelberg).
- Track 3 is a longer version of "But Who Was Fulcanelli"
on the Guitar album (21-May-1982, Sporthalle, Cologne).
- Track 4 is a longer version of "For Duane" on the Guitar
album (25-Nov-1984, Atlanta Civic Center).
- Track 5 live at the Universal Amphiteather, LA, 23-Dec-1984. It has been
officially released on Stage #3.
- Track 8 seems to be excerpted from an unreleased remix, with Wackerman
drum overdubs! Read more in the Guitar World According to Frank
Zappa entry in the Weirdo Discography.
- Track 9 is "NOT extended beyond that found on Guitar"
(07-Dec-1981,
Terrace Ballroom, Salt Lake City).
- Track 10 is the solos from "Stevie's Spanking" on Stage #4(summer 1982).
Tracks 5 and 10 do not appear on the original cassette release.
Solo on Guitar
Another bootleg called Solo on Guitar (released in 1987) has the
original cassette track order:
1. Sleep Dirt (03:17) [Sleep Dirt version]
2. Friendly Little Finger (04:17) [Zoot Allures version]
3. Excerpt from Revised Music for Guitar and Low Budget Orchestra (02:21) [Studio
Tan excerpt]
4. Things That Look Like Meat (06:06) [extended version]
5. Down in de Dew (02:54) [Läther version]
6. A Solo from Heidelberg (05:26)
7. A Solo from Cologne (05:11) [extended version of "
8. A Solo from Atlanta (04:05) [extended version of "For Duane"
on Guitar]
Track 4 is a shorter version than on Guitar
(07-Dec-1981, Terrace Ballroom, Salt Lake City), but tracks 7-8 are
longer versions of "But Who Was Fulcanelli
" (02:48) & "For Duane" (03:24) on Guitar (21-May-1982, Sporthalle,
Cologne, and 25-Nov-1984, Atlanta Civic Center, respectively). Track 6 has
never been released anywhere else. It's from the song "Yo' Mama",
24-Feb-1978, Eppelheim (a suburb of Heidelberg). Track 3 seems to be excerpted
from an unreleased remix, with Wackerman drum overdubs! Read more in the Guitar World According to Frank
Zappa entry in the Weirdo Discography.
The bootleg cover is supposed to be a blown-up picture from the Mother People
fanzine, yellow on black, with green lettering.
No Commercial Potential - A
Non-Conceptual Promotion-Only Compilation of the Music of Frank Zappa (LP)
Label: "Ryko/FZ"
Matrix: ZAP1 A / ZAP1 B
1. Peaches en Regalia (03:37) [Hot Rats version]
2. Dancin' Fool (03:43) [Sheik Yerbouti version]
3. Hungry Freaks, Daddy (03:27)
4. Oh No (01:45) [Weasels Ripped My Flesh version]
5. The Orange County Lumber Truck (03:21) [Weasels Ripped My Flesh
version]
6. Cosmik Debris (04:14) [Apostrophe (') version]
7. Why Don'tcha Do Me Right? (02:37)
8. Camarillo Brillo (03:59) [Over-Nite Sensation version]
9. Who Needs the Peace Corps? (02:34) [We're Only In It for the
Money version]
10. Conehead (04:18)
11. Debra Kadabra (03:54)
12. Sexual Harassment in the Workplace (03:43)
13. Montana (06:36) [Over-Nite Sensation version]
14. Valley Girl (04:50)
This is probably a counterfeit of an original
promo CD from Ryko. From Kristian Kier:
The same as the official
promo CD, with the last track ("Blessed Relief") omitted. The
enumeration on the back side of the sleeve is in the same way as the CD, so
not telling what's on side one and what's on side two. It's just listing the
songs from 1 to 14.
The record is pink vinyl, with blank white labels. The cover art is taken
directly from the CD, without the mentioning of track 15 and the "Compact
Disc Digital Audio" logo. If you look closer at the printing you'll
notice it's a little bit "unsharp". Also, the cover is not as bright
yellow as the original CD, it tends a little bit to orange.
It still has the Ryko/FZ logo, along with the old ordering number ZAP1,
which makes it look like a legit release. But this is obviously a counterfeit
of the promo CD.
Label: Vinyl Virus VV LP 020
Matrix: VV 020 -A- / VV 020 -B-
1. The Penguins: Memories of El Monte [Zappa/Collins]
2. Baby Ray & the Ferns: How's Your Bird? (02:10)
3. Baby Ray & the Ferns: The World's Greatest Sinner (02:25)
4. Bob Guy: Dear Jeepers (02:26)
5. Bob Guy: Letter from Jeepers (02:20)
6. The Hollywood Persuaders: Grunion Run
7. The Hollywood Persuaders: Tijuana Surf [Paul Buff]
8. Mr. Clean: Mr. Clean
9. Mr. Clean: Jessie Lee
10. The Rotations: Heavies [David Aernie/Paul Buff]
11. The Rotations: The Cruncher [David Aernie/Paul Buff]
12. The Heartbreakers: Every Time I See You (02:29) [Zappa/Collins]
13. The Heartbreakers: Cradle Rock (02:52) [Galleges]
The front cover has a map of part of the Ontario-San Bernardino-Riverside area, but not
the same map as on the Japanese CD, but tht title are set in the same font and colour as
on the original. The back cover is yellow and red, and lists the song titles, but not the
"names" of the "groups", which are listed on the original CD. The
labels are white; side one has a GEMA sign and side 2 a "painted vampire-like
hedgehog" holding a record.
Rock-Storia e Musica (Cassette)
- Unauthorised (?) compilation cassette from Italy
Spine info: "gruppo editoriale fabbri"
- Dancin' Fool
- Crew Slut
- Love of My Life
- City of Tiny Lites
- Heavenly Bank Account
- You Are What You Is
- Brown Shoes Don't Make It
- Peaches III
This Italian compilation cassette appears to be a bootleg. The cover has a picture of
Zappa in a black hat.
Trance-Fusion Demos (CD)
- Bootleg of Trance Fusion when it
was still an unreleased guitar-solo album. Now, of course, things have
changed.
Label: RXZ Records
1. Chunga's Revenge
2. Bowling on Charen
3. Good Lobna
4. A Cold Dark Matter
5. Butter or Canons
6. Ask Dr. Stupid
7. Scratch & Sniff
8. Trance-Fusion
9. Gorgo
10. Diplodocus
11. Soul Polka
12. For Giuseppe Franco
13. After Dinner Smoker
14. Light is all that matters
15. Finding Higg's Bison
16. Bavarian Sunset
- Track 1 live at the Wembley Arena, 19-Apr-1988, with Zappa's son Dweezil guesting.
- Track 2 is the solo known as "The Squirm" on Apocrypha
and (originally) Zurkon Music -
from New York, Halloween 1977.
- Track 3 is a "Let's Move to Cleveland" from Memphis, 04-Dec 1984.
- Track 4 is an "Inca Roads" solo from Allentown 19-Mar-1988.
- Track 5 is a "Let's Move to Cleveland" solo from New York 25-Aug-1984.
- Track 6 is an "Easy Meat" solo from Eppelheim 21-Mar-1979.
- Track 7 is an unknown 1988 "City of Tiny Lites" solo.
- Track 8 is a "Marqueson's Chicken" solo from Stuttgart 24-May-1988. (This
recording could
first be heard at the end of a TV documentary called AAAFNRAA about the Yellow Shark rehearsals, where it
was played over footage of the riots in Los Angeles.)
- Track 9 is a "The Torture Never Stops" solo from Stockholm, 01-May-1988.
- Track 10 is a "King Kong" solo from Providence 26-Oct-1984.
- Track 11 is an "Oh No" solo from Allentown 19-Mar-1988.
- Track 12 is a "Hot-Plate Heaven at the Green Hotel" solo from
Seattle 17-Dec-1984.
- Track 13 is a "The Torture Never Stops" solo from Genoa, 09-Jun-1988.
- Track 14 is a "Let's Move to Cleveland" solo from Seattle
17-Dec-1984.
- Track 15 is a "Hot-Plate Heaven at the Green Hotel" solo from
Vienna 08-May-1988.
- Track 16 is a live jam with Dweezil from Munich 09-May-1988.
JEFF SZARKA: Rumour has it that a member of Gail's (get that) staff was dismissed and
in a fit of anger they pounced & they pounced again & bootlegged the
master/testpressing or whatever to fuck her over.
STAN: It's from advance (promo) cassettes, from years ago when they were about to
release it, but then didn't for some unknown reason.
The cover has an extremely ugly caricature of Zappa on the cover of the Baltimore
weekly CityPaper.
FZ:OZ (3 LP)
Soon after FZ:OZ was released on CD by the Zappa Family Trust, someone
made a triple-LP bootleg.
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