Back catalogue: Rock

Review: A retrospective compilation of previously unreleased Frank Zappa tracks, anyone? The enigma left behind an incredible legacy in his 30 year career, time on stage spanning the majority of a life that was cut far too short, although by that point he'd already been lucky to survive an arson incident in Switzerland that left him with head trauma, numerous fractures, back, neck, and leg injuries and a crushed larynx that caused his voice to drop significantly after recovery. The incident also gave audience members Deep Purple inspiration for their seminal track, 'Smoke On The Water', but that's another story. Digressions aside, the tracks here are plucked from different periods in that inimitable storied history, but they all share political themes with an overriding anti-establishment message. A number also involve the Synclavier, one of the earliest digital synths, polyphonic sampling systems and music workstations ever created.

Review: "The Mothers of Invention cordially invite you to join them on Tuesday, July 23, 1968, when they will be taking over the Whisky a Go Go for five full hours of unprecedented merriment, which will be secretly recorded for an upcoming record album. Dress optional. Starting sometime in the evening. R.S.V.D.T." So the ad in the LA Free Press allegedly read. Five hours? Unprecedented merriment? Frank Zappa at the height of the 1960s youth awakening? Sounds decent to us, as does this package, pieced together from scraps of bits captured during that concert. A genuine ride into the wonderful insanity of a band that remain pretty much out there on their own in the great universe of rock & roll, its bluesy, proggy, funky, folky, punk-y business. And it could only be Zappa.