Frank Zappa & The Mothers Of Invention - The New Maternity (2016)

1970 BROADCAST BY FRANK & THE SECOND MOI Recorded during a relatively obscure part of Frank Zappa and the Mothers' history, the broadcast on this CD, from 18th June 1970 in Holland, comes from the first tour by the Flo & Eddie line-up of the group, who had performed their first gig with Zappa just five days earlier. Indeed, during the introductory interview, the presenter feigns surprise to see you back, when it was announced last year that the Mothers had broken up. Frank explains - after a little coaxing - that the principal reason for this was that the last US (old) Mothers Tour had resulted in a net loss of several thousand dollars, due to large overheads. So why did you form a new group then? the intrepid inquisitor understandably asks. I thought it d be fun replies Frank Vincent, somewhat belligerently. But back to Flo & Eddie; On the cover of your first album there was a quote from a man who said I m gonna make your band as big as the Turtles, do you think you re now as big as the Turtles with two people from the Turtles in your group? Frank continues well if you re going to be as big as the Turtles it helps to have some Turtles in your group to hollers from the aforementioned Mark & Howie, after which introductions continue. We shan t spoil the entire spoken section for the listener by repeating here this entire segment, but suffice to say, Ian Underwood, Aynsley Dunbar, Jeff Simmons and George Duke all get a mention, as do The Monkees, for reasons that will become apparent, and then the music starts. The seven-piece new Mothers lurch headlong into a jazzy Wonderful Wino a composition not released on studio album until Zoot Allures in 1976. The rest of the set however is drawn from an earlier period when Mothers version one were still in tow - albeit with very different arrangements throughout the show. This gig remains the only available live recording of the Mothers in 1970, and thus it fulfils not just a glaring omission in collections of such delights, but illustrates superbly and for the first time what this line-up were all about at the inception of their tenure.