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Frank Zappa & the Mothers - Fillmore East: June 1971 Audio CD

A fair review of the Frank Zappa & the Mothers "Fillmore East: June 1971" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Frank Zappa & the Mothers reviews here, or go back to the Frank Zappa & the Mothers tabs.

Frank Zappa & the Mothers Band: Frank Zappa & the Mothers
Title: Fillmore East: June 1971
Rating:
Release Date: 1995-05-30
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Little House I Used to Live In 2: Mud Shark 3: What Kind of Girl Do You Think We Are? 4: Bwana Dik 5: Latex Solar Beef 6: Willie the Pimp 7: Do You Like My New Car? 8: Happy Together 9: Lonesome Electric Turkey 10: Peaches en Regalia 11: Tears Began to Fall

Where's the Bandit????
You have to be a Zappa junkie to love his music, and I am. I love the Live at Filmore album.

What totally disappoints me is that when the vinyl went to CD they removed the Illinois Enema Bandit. Okay, I'll grant you it's a take off on a real life situation, but it's also the best blues rif I've ever heard on a Zappa album.

I've combed everything from Amazon, I-tunes, Sony, music stores, etc. . . and there just isn't a CD after take of the Live at Filmore that includes this song. What a cheat!!!!!!!

If anyone finds a CD version that includes the Illinois Enema Bandit flag me. . . I'll be buying.


Shut up and Play your guitar?
While I'm not a huge Zappa fan, and perhaps enjoying irreverent theater as music is one of the requirements - I've long admired and enjoyed Zappa guitar playing. Funny, irreverent, and sadistic at times, Zappa's Mother's are onstage and perhaps a little too into theater for my tastes. His effortless noodling is what I buy his records for. I have a hard time passing up a live session, and so, this one enters the foray - my take, NOT enough noodling.
Without reading the historical background of what this band (this newly constructed Mother's) was made up of, you'd wonder what the Turtle's song is doing there, as did I, and you'd no doubt be a bit struck with all the obsession with fan-based, star-obsessed hilarity.
No matter.
.


DO THE MUD (SHA...SHA...) SHARK!
There are so many Zappa albums, its real easy to get lost. I have a select few Zappa albums that I really like, and The Mothers '71 Fillmore album is one of them. In my top five this is in the number two spot (Hot Rats is my favorite- I really dig the instrumental direction from this period). The Mothers take a different route on this live outing then they had on previous albums (most likely because its not really the Mothers. . . it's The Turtles). The story telling style of the set is common on live Zappa; but I don't usually get absorbed in other long winded Zappa rants. The story of the mudshark is kinda nasty but quality entertainment and is delivered with a good pace, and very tight musicianship from the Mothers (Turtles).

Flo and Eddie (The Turtles,) are harmonizing behind Zappas monolougue talk, with the catchy "sha-sha-shark" bit after the stellar instrumental introduction HOUSE I USED TO LIVE. Zappa plays strict guitar in this set, and it's some of his top chops. The band in the story is name dropped as Vanilla Fudge, but the story is actually based on the popular sexual perversions of the Zeppelin boys who are represented by playing their hit single. . . The Turtles song, Happy Together.

The band really molds though and the album needs to be taken as a whole. The seperate tracks are really just peices of the whole performance. Even though some songs are listed with familiar names, like Willie The Pimp, they have their own formation into the groove. Some of the tracks trump the originals like HOUSE I USED TO LIVE, or the super tight version of PEACHES. Essentially this album exists though only to butter you up to do the mudshark. (ewwwwww. ).


Not a great FZ album, but it has its moments....
It's essentially a comedy album, with most of the material being borderline sleazy, like a carnival barker back in the days when Times Square was a bordello of hedonism. This is an album of Frank's I don't play that much. Most of the singing/narration has to do with silly stuff about groupies and their variously demented sexual practices. It comes across as an adolescent who has discovered parts of his and the female's anatomy. It's occasionally amusing, but the instrumentals here are the highlights. There's an excellent solo in Willie the Pimp Part One (though it's not as majestic as the Hot Rats version), and there's a magnificent version of Peaches en Regalia. It's almost as good as the studio version, and it's a lot better than the abysmal Peaches III version on Tinsel Town Rebellion. The song Do You Like My Car? has its moments, but it's best part is when Flo and Eddie say it's time to sing their "hit record", then go into a rather fun rendition of Happy Together, which was their big hit when they were in a little band called The Turtles. Despite the fact that Flo and Eddie say "sing like it's a big rock show" in a very self conscious way, they still give it a great performance and people do sing along.

This is one aspect of Frank's oeveure that I don't really care for. It's still has some good material, but only buy if you're a Zappa completist. .


Great music and hilarious
In my opinion after The Allman Brothers live at the Filmore this is the best live album ever! Its hilarious and the musicianship is awesome. I'm surprised the reviews for this album aren't better. I bought it a few weeks ago after not hearing it for a couple of decades. I figured I would listen to it once or twice but I've been listening at least once a day. The songs mock rock stars, groupies, and life on the road. Unlike some reviewers I love Flo and Eddie. They have excellent voices and a self deprecating style that is a perfect fit with Zappa. Only caveat is that there are a couple of lines that are a bit misogynistic. My daughter likes Zappa too but I'm not playing this CD for her. .


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