The Mothers 1970

The Mothers 1970
The Mothers 1970
Box set by Frank Zappa
Released	June 26th, 2020
Recorded	1970
Studio	Trident Studios, London (Disc 1)
Genre	Comedy rock; jazz-rock; jam band; blues rock; spoken word;
Length	269:20
Label	Zappa Records
Producer	Ahmet Zappa; Joe Travers;
Frank Zappa chronology

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Loudersound

The Mothers 1970 is a 4-CD box set celebrating the 50th anniversary of the short-lived 1970 line-up of Rock-band The Mothers. It compiles 70 unreleased tracks recorded during this era of the band.^[1]

Content

The album contains three discs of previously unreleased material, The first disc features studio recordings from Trident Studios that would adventually evolve into Chunga's Revenge. These studio recordings were engineered by a then-unknown Roy Thomas Baker who would go on to be the producer for many famous bands such as Queen, The Cars, and Alice Cooper among others. The remaining three discs contain live concerts from this era, The first two discs contain the first official release of the bootlegged "Piknik" live broadcast as well as live concerts in Santa Monica, California, and Spokane, Washington. Due to not being entirely recorded these concerts were put together in a hybrid concert. The third disc consists of live highlights that were recorded throughout the US occasionally broken up with candid moments recorded in dressing rooms, motel lobbies, and on stage. These were recorded by Frank Zappa who took his UHER recorder everywhere. All of these recordings were sourced from their original vault tapes and digitally compiled and transferred by Joe Travers in 2020.^[2]^[1]^[3]

Reception

Writing for Loudersound, Hugh Fielder liked the album. He states that the first disc is "somewhat tentative" and states how the live discs show that this band line-up is far better than the only album this line-up released, Chunga's Revenge. He also states that the live concerts show the band moving towards what would eventually become 200 Motels.^[4]

Track listing

Disc 1 – Trident Studios, London, England June 21–22, 1970
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Red Tubular Lighter"	4:51
2.	"Lola Steponsky"	3:29
3.	"Trident Chatter"	1:45
4.	"Sharleena (Roy Thomas Baker Mix)"	4:04
5.	"Item 1"	5:47
6.	"Wonderful Wino (FZ Vocal)"	5:12
7.	"“Enormous Cadenza”"	1:11
8.	"Envelopes"	8:23
9.	"Red Tubular Lighter (Unedited Master)"	9:25
10.	"Wonderful Wino (Basic Tracks, Alt. Take)"	4:56
11.	"Giraffe - Take 4"	8:12
12.	"Wonderful Wino (FZ Vocal, Alt. Solo)"	5:55
Total length:		63:09

Disc 2 – Live Highlights Part 1 – “Piknik” VPRO June 18, 1970 / Pepperland September 26, 1970
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Introducing...The Mothers"	3:52
2.	"Wonderful Wino"	4:54
3.	"Concentration Moon"	2:30
4.	"Mom & Dad"	3:13
5.	"The Air"	3:18
6.	"Dog Breath"	2:09
7.	"Mother People"	2:10
8.	"You Didn't Try To Call Me"	4:21
9.	"Agon (Stravinsky)"	0:37
10.	"Call Any Vegetable"	7:14
11.	"King Kong Pt. I"	4:31
12.	"Igor's Boogie"	1:09
13.	"King Kong Pt. II"	7:09
14.	"What Kind Of Girl Do You Think We Are?"	4:26
15.	"Bwana Dik"	2:48
16.	"Daddy, Daddy, Daddy"	2:47
17.	"Do You Like My New Car?"	4:28
18.	"Happy Together"	2:00
Total length:		63:34

Disc 3 – Live Highlights Part 2 – Hybrid Concert: Santa Monica August 21, 1970 / Spokane September 17, 1970
No.	Title	Length
1.	""Welcome To El Monte Legion Stadium""	2:18
2.	"Agon (Stravinsky)"	0:48
3.	"Call Any Vegetable (Edited)"	8:28
4.	"Pound For A Brown"	4:37
5.	"Sleeping In A Jar"	2:45
6.	"Sharleena"	4:07
7.	"The Air"	3:56
8.	"Dog Breath"	2:00
9.	"Mother People"	2:05
10.	"You Didn't Try To Call Me"	4:32
11.	"King Kong Pt. I"	4:03
12.	"Igor's Boogie"	1:11
13.	"King Kong Pt. II"	8:28
14.	""Eat Yourself...""	0:47
15.	"Trouble Every Day"	4:05
16.	""A Series Of Musical Episodes""	2:09
17.	"Road Ladies"	3:57
18.	""The Holiday Inn Motel Chain""	2:06
19.	"What Will This Morning Bring Me This Evening?"	2:39
20.	"What Kind Of Girl Do You Think We Are?"	3:27
Total length:		68:29

Disc 4 – Live Highlights Part 3 - FZ Tour Tape Recording
No.	Title	Length
1.	""What's The Deal, Dick?""	1:25
2.	"Another M.O.I. Anti-Smut Loyalty Oath"	2:26
3.	"Paladin Routine #1"	1:24
4.	"Portuguese Fenders"	2:48
5.	"The Sanzini Brothers"	1:26
6.	"Guitar Build '70"	5:17
7.	"Would You Go All The Way?"	3:43
8.	"Easy Meat"	5:44
9.	""Who Did It?""	1:16
10.	"Turn It Down!"	4:13
11.	"A Chance Encounter In Cincinnati"	0:48
12.	"Pound For A Brown"	5:58
13.	"Sleeping In A Jar"	2:49
14.	"Beloit Sword Trick"	1:01
15.	"Kong Solos Pt. I"	15:23
16.	"Igor's Boogie"	1:13
17.	"Kong Solos Pt. II"	5:24
18.	"Gris Gris"	8:39
19.	"Paladin Routine #2"	1:38
20.	"King Kong - Outro"	1:32
Total length:		74:08

Personnel

Jeff Simmons - bass, vocals
Frank Zappa - guitar, vocals, composer
Aynsley Dunbar - drums
Ian Underwood - organ, keyboards, guitar
George Duke - piano, keyboards, trombone
Flo & Eddie - vocals, percussion

References

^ ^a ^b "Frank Zappa / The Mothers 1970 – SuperDeluxeEdition". Retrieved 2022-12-31.
^ "The Mothers 1970". Frank Zappa. 2020-05-07. Retrieved 2022-12-31.
^ Kreps, Daniel (2020-05-08). "Frank Zappa's 1970 Mothers Lineup Celebrated With New Box Set". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2022-12-31.
^ Fielderpublished, Hugh (2020-06-26). "Frank Zappa: The Mothers 1970 - tentative in the studio, revelatory on the road". loudersound. Retrieved 2022-12-31.

[:0-1] "Frank Zappa / The Mothers 1970 – SuperDeluxeEdition". Retrieved 2022-12-31.

[2] "The Mothers 1970". Frank Zappa. 2020-05-07. Retrieved 2022-12-31.

[3] Kreps, Daniel (2020-05-08). "Frank Zappa's 1970 Mothers Lineup Celebrated With New Box Set". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2022-12-31.

[4] Fielderpublished, Hugh (2020-06-26). "Frank Zappa: The Mothers 1970 - tentative in the studio, revelatory on the road". loudersound. Retrieved 2022-12-31.

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