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Frank Zappa and The Mothers Of Invention in the 1960s
'Where the hell did that come from?' was likely the response from many on hearing the Mothers of Invention's debut album Freak Out upon its release in June 1966 - a time when music was changing, but to a degree that hadn't yet hinted anything this bizarre was on the horizon.
But once the freaks and the beautiful people had cottoned on to what Uncle Frank and his Merry Men were up to (despite the latter community often being the target for some of Zappa's most hilarious lampooning), the scene was set for a fanbase of the most dedicated variety to emerge and a respect from critics, musicians, performers and the intelligentsia almost unparalleled in the history of pop culture.
This film reviews the true story of The Mothers of Invention and the music they made during the first incarnation of the band. With group members Jimmy Carl Black, Bunk Gardner, Don Preston and Art Tripp taking up the tale and revealing - often for the first time - what the real Frank Zappa was all about; and with contributions from 'scenesters 'like LA wildman Kim Fowley, biographer Billy James, Zappa academic Ben Watson, music journalist Richie Unterberger and English writer and musician Alan Clayson -acclaimed biographer of Edgar Varese - this program is the most detailed, informative and enjoyable documentary on Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention yet to emerge.
Also featuring rare footage of Frank and the Mothers from throughout the 1960s, archive interviews, seldom seen live performances, and a host of other features. Includes tracks such as; Who Are The Brain Police, Hungry Freaks Daddy, Trouble Every Day, Brown Shoes Don't Make It, America Drinks and Goes Home, Are You Hung Up, Flower Punk, Love Of My Life, Dog Breath Variations, Willie The Pimp and many others.
'EXTRAS' include; Extended interviews, Digital Contributor Biographies and more.
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
I first came across the Mothers of Invention as a teenager in the late 60's with a purchase of a compilation called `Mothermania', chiefly I think because the band looked so freakish on the cover that I was sure that the inside contents would mirror this. But this wasn't psychedelic music and at first the strange mixture of satirical jibes at America. Spoken word and, for the time, unusual musical styles didn't make sense and tracks like `Who are the Brain police' were creepy and unnerving. Not the sort of Blues based rock that was the staple at the time. By the third listen though, I was totally hooked and by the end of the week was quoting whole chunks of `Brown Shoes don't make it' and `It can't happen here'.
I was lucky enough to see this line up when the Mothers played the UK in 1969 and have a real affection for those early Mothers albums. So this DVD has particular significance for me as this is the period of Zappa is by far my favourite. DVDs of long disbanded bands often only feature the questionable pronouncements of Journalists and their particular take on proceedings but this time we do get interviews some of the people who were there as well including the recently deceased Jimmy Carl Black and its good to see Bunk Gardener Don Preston and Artie Tripp all looking well and offering tit bits on their tenure with Zappa, surprising in a way, if the way the band was dumped to by leader is anything to go by. Strangely there is no mention of Ian Underwood who was an intrigal part of the Line up at the time.
There is interesting footage of some of the less well known `freaks' of the time such as Karl Franzoni and a fascinating glimpse of an early clean cut Zappa on the Steve Allan shoe Playing the Bicycle. The albums are discussed at length and with genuine insights by people who obviously enjoy them and there is also time given to some of the albums put out on Zappa's Straight label such as those by Wild Man Fischer and Capt Beefheart
Recommended to those who love the early Mothers and those who are looking for an insight into a revolutionary time when music was genuinely challenging
I was lucky enough to see this line up when the Mothers played the UK in 1969 and have a real affection for those early Mothers albums. So this DVD has particular significance for me as this is the period of Zappa is by far my favourite. DVDs of long disbanded bands often only feature the questionable pronouncements of Journalists and their particular take on proceedings but this time we do get interviews some of the people who were there as well including the recently deceased Jimmy Carl Black and its good to see Bunk Gardener Don Preston and Artie Tripp all looking well and offering tit bits on their tenure with Zappa, surprising in a way, if the way the band was dumped to by leader is anything to go by. Strangely there is no mention of Ian Underwood who was an intrigal part of the Line up at the time.
There is interesting footage of some of the less well known `freaks' of the time such as Karl Franzoni and a fascinating glimpse of an early clean cut Zappa on the Steve Allan shoe Playing the Bicycle. The albums are discussed at length and with genuine insights by people who obviously enjoy them and there is also time given to some of the albums put out on Zappa's Straight label such as those by Wild Man Fischer and Capt Beefheart
Recommended to those who love the early Mothers and those who are looking for an insight into a revolutionary time when music was genuinely challenging
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
There is a lot of original Mothers stuff out there in bootleg land. Here we get a taster in fragmented form, but not the full meal. The best bits are the interwiews with ex mothers; the late Jimmy Carl Black & the wonderfully preserved Bunk Gardner. But, hey! at 2 hours, you can't complain. Hotcha!
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
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This is a documentary about the early years of the MOI,with some original footage(FZ on the Steve Allen TV show,Wild Man Fischer)together with interviews with various members of the MOI and assorted Zappaphiles,notably Ben Watson(and who better?)
The major problem is that you get some original concert footage,but overdubbed with either the studio versions of the MOI's music,or interviews.There's still hardly any live original MOI music or DVD available outside of bootlegland("Ahead Of Their Time" is a notable exception)and this DVD does little to change that.
Still,the interviews are fascinating enough,and the concert footage is good even without much live music.Interesting,but not essential,for the Zappaphile,very little interest for the newcomer to FZ.
PS-The holy grail of FZ/MOI DVD releases,the 1973 Roxy shows,is no nearer release now than it was when first rumoured back in the early Naughties.Keep your eye on YouTube for bootleg footage.
The major problem is that you get some original concert footage,but overdubbed with either the studio versions of the MOI's music,or interviews.There's still hardly any live original MOI music or DVD available outside of bootlegland("Ahead Of Their Time" is a notable exception)and this DVD does little to change that.
Still,the interviews are fascinating enough,and the concert footage is good even without much live music.Interesting,but not essential,for the Zappaphile,very little interest for the newcomer to FZ.
PS-The holy grail of FZ/MOI DVD releases,the 1973 Roxy shows,is no nearer release now than it was when first rumoured back in the early Naughties.Keep your eye on YouTube for bootleg footage.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
From wild to mild.. yawn....
Most of this DVD would work better as a book, due to most of it being interviews with possibly knowledgeable but uninteresting journalists. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Morgan Fisher
Zappa & Mothers in the 60s.
An interesting archive of the early Mothers and Zappa's beginnings which is well presented and fascinating to Zappa aficionados I think. Read more
Published on 15 Aug 2009 by T. Cowley
Too much fluff
The trouble with non authorised documentaries (and this is one of them) is that they don't interview the people that matter, and they interview people that don't matter too... Read more
Published on 1 May 2009 by R. Hynes
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