This documentary focuses on the second incarnation of Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention. Zappa assembled the players as much for their flexibility as their talent, since his work embraced blues, jazz, rock, classical, doo-wop, and comedy. The players included Mark Vollman and Howard Kaylan from the Turtles (vocals), Aynsley Dunbar (drums), Ian Underwood (saxophone, keyboards), and George Duke (keyboards). According to Zappa biographer Billy James, the original band made significant progress in 1968, but Zappa's interest in improvised jazz had a significant bearing on his decision to start fresh. Underwood, who played on Hot Rats, describes the new music as "difficult," while Underwood, Dunbar, and Vollman each recall the steps that led to their joining the group. In the case of Dunbar, a session musician, Zappa made a few trips to London in order to recruit him. Initially, Zappa called the new ensemble Hot Rats before reverting to the Mothers name. According to Duke, who passed away in 2013, Zappa “liked things that didn't fit.” Dunbar, Underwood, and Duke all had their doubts about Vollman and Kaylan, but the pair won them over with their humor and skill. Although critics gave records such as Chunga's Revenge and Fillmore East–June 1971 mixed reviews, the Mothers did well on the touring circuit, although Zappa's habit of recording their conversations for material irked his band mates. Director Tom O'Dell also looks here at related projects released during the same period, including Zappa's Burnt Weeny Sandwich, violinist Jean-Luc Ponty's collection of Zappa covers, and Zappa's 1971 feature film 200 Motels. Presented in stereo, this interesting documentary about an iconoclastic American musician and his band is recommended. (K. Fennessy)
Freak Jazz, Movie Madness and Another Mothers: Frank Zappa—1969-1973
(2014) 157 min. DVD: $19.95. Music Video Distributors (avail. from most distributors). Volume 30, Issue 1
Freak Jazz, Movie Madness and Another Mothers: Frank Zappa—1969-1973
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
Order From Your Favorite Distributor Today: