Overview:
In the first major stylistic change of his career, Frank recruits the two lead singers of the Turtles, most well known for their 1967 hit Happy Together, for his new reformed Mothers of Invention. He had been slowly building his new band over the last 10 months. Ian Underwood stayed with Frank from the original Mothers, and Jeff Simmons was signed to Frank’s label and his debut album was produced by Frank. FZ had also been guest performing with musicians looking for members of his new band, which is how he found Aynsley and George. After the Contempo 70 show in May, Mark and Howard approached Frank and told him the Turtles had broken up, and the rest is history. This band was a massive departure from the 60s Mothers, the focus was more on vocal songs and compositions, with spontaneity downplayed. These shows have significantly more structure, rarely does this band venture into full blown improv. The tweaky weirdness and long jams are still here, but are now largely relegated to King Kong, and to a lesser extent Call Any Vegetable. This is very much a transitional band, halfway between the old MOI and the more defined Flo and Eddie Bands of 1971. The first shows (June-July) featured almost exclusively rearranged music from the old MOI, but starting in August they began to develop a lot of the music that would end up on Chunga’s Revenge and 200 Motels (and Easy Meat, which wouldn’t appear on an album for another decade). This era gets a lot of hate, and some of that is deserved. The Groupie Opera is played a lot and isn’t as successful or humorous as it would become in the following year, and some of the routines from this era, especially Have Gun Will Travel, are among the least funny moments in the first half of Frank’ career. George Duke is one of my favorite keyboard players ever, but he unfortunately plays more trombone then piano at most shows. That being said, this band has a whole lot to like. This era has a lot of songs that were never performed again in the same arrangement or at all. This band could jam, and until The Mothers 1970 this was not represented in the official catalog at all. King Kong, Call Any Vegetable, Who are The Brain Police, Easy Meat, Holiday in Berlin and the rare Chunga’s Revenge always produce awe-inspiring jams. Mark and Howard provide such an infectious, joyous energy and it’s obvious they love all the material. Jeff Simmons is hysterical and his voices and banter saves all the routines from being totally dull. The Turtles are also very funny, but the material they’re given is less interesting and humorous than what they’ll be working with in 71. Though this is one of Frank’s lesser outings it is still definitely worth one’s time for the historical interest, the successful humor, and the fantastic music.
The Band:
Frank Zappa – Guitar, Vocals, Ringleader
Mark Volman – Lead Vocals, Stardom
Howard Kaylan – Lead Vocals, Compartments
Jeff Simmons – Bass, Vocals, The Bayou, Comedy Music
Ian Underwood – Keyboards, Alto Sax, Sanzini
George Duke – Keyboards, Trombone, Jazz
Aynsley Dunbar – Drums, Pure Energy
Recordings Available:
1970 06 12 – Municipal Auditorium, San Antonio, TX (Audience C+)
This is an absolutely miserable recording of the first ever show by this new Mothers of Invention. The sound quality is so horrible I cant confirm if FZ says anything about this being the first performance of this new band. The sole reason to pick this tape up is because it features the only known live performance of a song called Giraffe, but a studio take has now been released on the Mothers 1970 as Lola Steponsky. Giraffe on the album is an instrumental (and better) take of the same tune. That being said, there are still passages of music not found on the studio takes that are definitely worth hearing. There’s also a pretty good King Kong, but due to the sound quality, this show is for hardcore fans only.
1970 06 18 – VPRO TV, Uddel, Netherlands (Official Release)
This is an fantastic show that was frequently bootlegged until its official release on The Mothers 1970 (two tunes, Mother People and Wonderful Wino, showed up on At The Circus on the Beat The Boots Series). This is the best quality you can find for an early performance by this line up, and features almost all of the songs this band could play at this point. At this point the Turtles were using some kind of effect on their vocals that made them hard to hear, but they would ditch that pretty soon. Excellent versions of Wonderful Wino, You Didn’t Try to Call Me and King Kong make this show a must listen.
1970 06 28 – Bath Festival of Blues and Progressive Music, Shepton Mallet, UK (Audience B-)
Another likely enjoyable show with pretty horrible audio quality. There’s nice versions of Holiday in Berlin and King Kong, but they’re too distorted for me to ever return to. Completionists only.
1970 07 05 – Tyrone Guthrie Theater, Minneapolis, MN (Two Shows – Official Release)
An excellent set of shows that are the origin for Nancy and Mary Music off of Chunga’s Revenge. The band is in high spirits, the tape sounds excellent for this era and there’s a lot of great songs and performances. Highlights include a wild King Kong and Chunga’s Revenge, A Call Any Vegetable where George and Ian solo, the only known performance of Justine and The Orange County Lumber Truck (in this era) and some rare weirdo improv. This was released at Road Tapes #3 and you should go listen to this on Spotify now!
1970 08 21 – Civic Auditorium, Santa Monica, CA (Official Release/Audience A-)
Another fantastic show from the new MOI in wonderful quality. A sick Call any Vegetable and Pound for a Brown start the show, there’s a hot King King and (I think) the world premiere of the Groupie Medley in a weirdo proto-version. Most of the first half of this show is available on The Mothers 1970, but the audience recording is more than listenable. A great audience recording worth checking out, but mostly for the 200 Motels/Groupie Routine material since Vegetable and Pound are available on streaming.
1970 09 17 – Coliseum, Spokane, WA (Official Release)
The middle portion of this show is available on The Mothers 1970. It starts with a great King Kong, an amazing spur-of-the-moment Trouble every day, and the start of the early groupie opera. A fragment, but a very enjoyable one.
1970 09 25-26 – Pepperland, San Rafael, CA (Two Shows – Audience B+/B)
click here to listen to the first show
click here to listen to the second show
These are neat shows and both highlight the continuing experimentation Frank was doing with the music and story of 200 Motels. The shows have the same setlist except at the first show they play the Duke and the Wino-Moon-Mom medley instead of the first half of the groupie opera and at the second show they play a freestanding Wonderful Wino instead of Who Are the Brain Police. They feature the only known performances of Lonesome Cowboy Burt from this era, the likely premier of Penis Dimension and a shorter version of the groupie opera (compared to the Santa Monica show). Fantastic jamming from both shows in Call any Vegetable, Pound, King Kong, and Who are the Brain Police. The King Kong from the first show is interspersed with the Paladin Routine; likely Frank was trying to figure out where to best fit the bits in concert. I’d say check these shows out. Most of the groupie opera from the second show appears on the Mothers 1970
1970 10 XX – Miscellaneous locations (Official Releases)
There are no unofficial recordings from October, but Frank recorded a lot of shows from this era on his portable Uher tape recorder on the side of the stage. Diphtheria Blues and The Champaign Lecture from Playground Psychotics and The MOI Anti Smut Loyalty Oath from YCDTOSA1 are all Frank released from this era, but the 4th disc of the Mothers 1970 is full fantastic outtakes that were on FZ’s cutting room floor. These are funny, awesome performances and another reason to check out The Mothers 1970. These are the first shows to feature all the comedy routines, excluding the groupie opera parts.
1970 11 05-06 – Fillmore West, San Francisco, CA (Two Shows – Soundboard A/A-)
click here to listen to the first show
click here to listen to the second show
Fantastic sound quality for some very nice shows. An excellent King Kong, Easy Meat and Holiday in Berlin, takes of the “oldies” medley and good examples of all the routines this band did. The Dr. John routine pops up abruptly in the proto-Mud Shark, to my delight. Who are the Brain Police and the first show’s Easy Meat unfortunately cut after about a minute and a half. Great examples of the best (and worst) aspects of this tour. These shows sound absolutely fantastic and have complete performances of King Kong and Easy Meat, something the Fillmore East shows sadly lack. Get these tapes.
1970 11 14 – Fillmore East, New York, NY (Two Shows – Soundboard A+)
click here to listen to the early show
click here to listen to the late show
The best sounding recording of this band with some great performances. Parts from these tapes were released as bootlegs and later pseudo-officially on the Beat the Boots series as Freaks and Motherfuckers and Tengo Na Minchia Tanta. A fantastic as always, Call Any Vegetable, Pound and oldies medley round out the early show. They play the King Kong themes as a show closer, and say they’ll continue for an encore immediately before the tape cuts. They’re a bit of a jam at the end of the tape of the late show that I assume is a fragment from this encore King Kong continuation. Good stuff, but sadly only about 2 minutes. The late show starts with the band and the audience trying to goad Grace Slick of Jefferson Airplane on stage. They get her on, but she won’t sing anything. After that we get excellent performances of The Duke, the entire groupie opera and the Wino-Moon-Mom Medley, with a Dr. John routine thrown in. These are by far the best recorded versions of all the November-December 1970 live material and it features superb performances for all of them. The only things missing are a complete King Kong, Easy Meat and Who are the Brain Police, but the former two can be found on the Fillmore West tapes. If you have any interest in this band at all you should check out these shows.
1970 11 15 – University Of Maine, Gorham, ME (Audience B+)
I typically enjoy shows from weird locations, and this is a show I enjoy from a weird location. A nice sounding, very good, typical show for this era. Excellent Call Any Vegetable, Pound, Sharleena, King Kong and Brain Police rounded out by the oldies medley, Penis Dimension and of course the comedy routines. I feel like in these weirdo venues the audiences are more excited to see these acts that rarely come to places like Maine, and this just pumps more energy into the band’s performances. Check this one out.
1970 11 20 – Veterans Memorial Auditorium, Columbus, OH (Audience A with B patches)
The same setlist as the previous show, but the Wino-Moon-Mom medley was added. Frank is forced to announce that no smoking is tolerated, and it clearly pisses him off. This results in slights against the “godforsaken 4-H town” throughout the concert. This combined with all of this band’s great jamming songs (except Easy Meat). Frank also drops a very cool quote from This Town is a Sealed Tuna Fish Sandwich in his solo from Who Are The Brain Police. This is a fantastic show, strong recommendation.
1970 11 26-27 – Unreleased German Documentary (Stage A/B+)
This unreleased documentary features two short stage recordings from Liverpool and Manchester, as well as an interview with Frank from around the same time. The interview isn’t very interesting, and the two stage fragments only capture the very beginnings of each show and the final song of the Manchester concert. Both shows opened with the Paladin Routine and Call Any Vegetable. Each recording only captures up through George’s solo, and misses Frank’s take and the end of the song. Who are the Brain Police is a full take from the Manchester show, but that is it for this tape. Great performances and sound, but only a couple fragments.
1970 11 27 – Free Trade Hall, Manchester, UK (Audience C/C-)
This is one of the worst bootlegs I’ve ever heard. Awful sound and the whole concert wasn’t recorded by this taper so the only song with any improvisation is Wonderful Wino. They play Holiday in Berlin, but it cuts seconds before the solo section. No King Kong, Call Any Vegetable, Pound or Easy Meat and abysmal sound quality. Completionists only. There’s also a short fragment stage recording available from an unaired documentary, but this is just the very beginning and end of the show. These are portions not captured on the audience recording and in much better quality. Don’t get this one unless you really love Manchester.
1970 11 29 – The Coliseum, London, UK (Two Shows – Audience B-/B/B+)
click here to listen to the early show
click here to listen to the late show
The early show for this date is one of the worst recordings of the tour. The show starts off exciting with a totally wild Call Any Vegetable that goes off the rails during the monologue section and a nice String Quartet, but apart from that this is a mostly vocal concert. That paired with often inaudible dialog makes for a bad time. The show ends with King Kong, but it’s the outro version without any solos. It’s possible they continued the song as an Encore, but it’s almost completely missing from the tape. There’s pretty much no reason to pick up this show besides the opening 20 minutes. The late show on the other hand is a completely different story. The show opens with the Duke and Easy Meat, before going into a fairly regular take of the Groupie Routine. At the end of Do You Like My New Car?, The Turtles sing a little bit of Judy Blue Eyes, which gives Frank the idea to invite Stephen Stills onstage! He plays on Happy Together, gets to solo in Brain Police and takes part in the 20+ minute Brain Police/Dr. John Routine jam that follows. Eventually Frank says they’ll play the end of the Opera: What Will This Evening Bring Me This Morning?, which slowly morphs into the end of Judy Blue Eyes! Stills is singing and playing guitar throughout the entire end of the show. A fantastic, historic on stage moment, in pretty good audio quality too. Go get the late show!
1970 12 02 – KB-Hallen, Copenhagen, Denmark (Audience B/C)
This is a great concert but unfortunately about a third of it is unlistenable. The better tape spans the whole concert, but is badly fragmented. Thankfully Yojimbo, Drew51 and Flambay from Zappateers did an amazing job patching the two recordings together to make a mostly enjoyable experience. There’s great takes of King Kong and Call Any Vegetable and some rare complete improv, just making it up on the spot. It’s unfortunate the Flo and Eddie Bands didn’t do this more because it’s always entertaining. FZ almost gets hit by a light bulb (my assumption, he makes references to the amounts of lights above him) and the Turtles sing a bit of April Showers. Frank also decided to split up the medley that starts with The Air. They played The Air, Dog Breath, and Mother People early in the show, but played You Didn’t Try to Call Me and King Kong as an Encore. A chunk of the Vegetable monologue and the endings of King Kong and the improv were only captured on the worse recording, but the instrumental parts in the later two songs aren’t too horrible. The entire middle section of the Groupie Opera (from the end of What Kind of Girl to the beginning of Happy Together) is missing from the good tape, and even worse is that it seems like it was a particularly funny performance. Hardly anything spoken on the C recording is intelligible, but all the audience laughter is. I could also tell there’s references to certain danish pornography that would take over the following the Amsterdam shows in a few days. Despite this, this tape is still worth checking out for Call Any Vegetable, King Kong, the raw improvisations and general good mood.
1970 12 06 – Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, Netherlands (Two Shows – Audience B/B-)
click here to listen to the early show
click here to listen to the late show
Two of the best shows of the tour. Not great sound but very listenable. These shows are filled with perverted references to “the pig book and the dog book” aka Animal Bizarre #2, a set of Danish porno mags that were apparently everywhere in Europe in the 70s and 80s. Anyway I’m a degenerate and I find the band’s constant references to the smut hysterical. The two run throughs of the Groupie Opera are laden with pigs and dogs and the monologue in Call Any Vegetables goes completely off the rails. On top of this there’s great renditions of Easy Meat, Holiday in Berlin and a King Kong from each show. The early show starts off with the Turtles telling a Christmas story to fill time while they fix a problem with Ian’s organ. These are fantastic concerts from this band at the height of its power. In Penis Dimension Frank plays a quote from Wipe Out after the “rock n roll guitar player” line. These shows are on my must have list. The pig and dog book hysteria from these couple shows led to a reference in the lyrics of Strictly Genteel, so there’s mild historical interest too.
1970 12 08 – Tonhalle, Düsseldorf, Germany (Audience B/C)
“Dusseldorf is the El Monte of the Rhineland”. Despite the C rating on FZshows, I would say most of this show is in the B/B- range, with the start of the second set (Wino to Mother People) having truly abhorrent sound quality. A hard C-. That being said, there’s a lot to like on this tape. Another great Call any Vegetable, Pound for a Brown, King Kong, and Who are the Brain Police are worth the price of admission for me. Penis Dimension has some more reference to the Danish habits, some other bits are in German, Frank plays Wipe Out after the “guitar player” line and Jeff’s bit is the funniest part, as always. A nice show; if you like this era and can tolerate meh sound, pick this one up.
1970 12 12 – Konzerthaus, Vienna, Austria (Audience B-)
Another great show from the final dates of this band. A nice Vegetable starts the show, and is followed by fantastic improv for the next 108 minutes. Easy Meat, Pound for a Brown, Sharleena, Who are the Brain Police and King Kong are all on fire, and there’s a very rare and excellent performance of Chunga’s Revenge. The rest of the songs are all inspired and full of humor plus there’s a solo performance of The Air, which goes off the rails and into King Kong. The sound isn’t great but it’s listenable. An awesome show and another strong recommendation.
1970 12 15 – Palais Gaumont, Paris, France (Soundboard A)
A fantastic show with excellent sound quality. There’s a lot of dropouts in Call Any Vegetable, but they stop after the first half of the song. This show was released as part of the Beat The Boots series as Disconnected Synapses. George doesn’t get a solo in this last known performance from this tour, but Frank’s solo more than makes up for it. Penis Dimension doesn’t have much improv, there’s a nice String Quartet and probably the funniest Porko of the tour, but the real reason to get this show is the finale. Special guest violinist Jean-Luc Ponty joins the band for an awe-inspiring 30+ minute King Kong. This is probably one of the best King Kong’s ever, everyone gets a chance to solo and there’s tons of weirdo improv and quotes from popular songs. This is followed by another excellent Who are the Brain Police. Easily one of the best shows of the year.
1970 12 16 – Paleis voor Schone Kunsten, Brussels, Belgium (FM B+)
A short FM broadcast consisting of Penis Dimension, the solo section from Holiday in Berlin and Cruising for Burgers. The solo is of course excellent, and this recording, I think, showcases what this band could do well in three songs. Penis Dimension is missing the “My rump hairs long for your sweet love” section, possibly an edit for radio. Good filler material for a playlist or something.
The Songs Played:
The Air – Played essentially as on Uncle Meat, but with the Turtles singing. This is a stupid little doowop song that I cant help but sing along to when it shows up. Always played first in a medley with Dog Breath, Mother People and You Didn’t Try to Call Me, except when it was played by itself at the Vienna and London late show. The band provides excellent backing; I particularly enjoy Simmons’ bass work in this tune. FZ cut the song off half way through at the Fillmore West and the two solo performances. Starting in November, FZ would sometimes make the Turtles hold the “the” in the second “the air” as long as they possibly could, showing off their incredible vocal talent. Occasionally “you can crash in my Nash ” would mutate to “with Graham Nash”. The ending includes a dramatic, possibly Three Dog Night inspired “won’t you please hear my plea” that leads into Dog Breath. I love the surges of energy throughout this dumb song and the contrast it provides for the rest of the show.
Bwana Dik – This tune appears pretty much as it would half a year later on the Fillmore album, except played much quicker. This song was always played a part of The Groupie Opera. Over the course of the tour it slows down and becomes more recognizable. At the premier performance, the surf music from the beginning of Lumpy Gravy had yet to be applied to the opera, so the lyrics were just spoken. The transition into Latex Solar Beef is shorter too. This tune and Latex Solar Beef are often grouped together in file naming.
Call Any Vegetable – This tour features the reworked version of this Absolutely Free tune that would be played for the next year and a half, but of course there are some differences from this band’s take and the version heard on Just Another Band From LA. The spoken intro (“This is a song about Vegetables…”) is often said, but not always. Holding your hand has been changed to joint by this point and the post-solo section features a pseudo-improvised monologue by Frank (that seems to get longer as the tour goes on). The earliest performances start with about 45 seconds of Agon by Igor Stravinsky. There’s a quote from Jupiter by Holst leading into the solo and the piece proper ends with a bit of the Royal March from L’histoire du soldat, also by Igor. This is then followed by some huffing and moaning and Frank ends the tune by saying “what a pumpkin”. Starting in November the Turtles say “we’re coming together” in the moaning section. The intro quote from Agon was dropped at the Minneapolis late show and dropped entirely by September. FZ would always finish his monologue with the second half of the speech from the beginning of Soft-Shell Conclusion (Muffins, Pumpkins, Waxpaper….) with some screams from Mark and Howard (“yeah!”). This section was edited out of the JABFLA take. The “where can I go?” section would not be added until August of the next year. At the first shows of this era, the post “God Bless America” section is the same slow lounge-esque performance of the opening lines heard on JABFLA, but by late September the ending becomes a repetition of the intro bars. This lasts until the end of the year. At the Minneapolis late show Frank doesn’t solo, but instead George and Ian get a chance to play. In late November Frank starts to change things up once again. Starting in Columbus the solo section begins acapella, and then in Europe George gets a solo before Frank in every performance except for Paris. Additionally, beginning in London the quote from Jupiter by Holst is dropped and it goes straight into the solo section. In late November and December this tune would frequently go off the rails in the monologue section, with stories about Danish pornography, muffin repetitions, or deconstructions of the whole end of the song. The Turtles sing the hell out of this tune and really make it shine. This version is one of Frank’s all time best rearrangements and another one of the highlights of the tour, especially the late European takes.
Chunga’s Revenge – Played on two occasions 5 months apart in Minneapolis and Vienna. These are great performances of this too infrequently played tune. Played essentially as on Chunga’s Revenge, but with more jamming. At both shows, George, Ian and Frank solo.
Concentration Moon – Played essentially as on We’re Only in it for the Money, but with the Turtles singing and without the middle spoken section. The band provides excellent backing. I’ve never been a huge fan of Frank’s singing on that album, so I actually prefer these takes. I think Flo and Eddie are more successful when they’re singing more energetic songs, but they clearly love the material and give it their all, so these performances are still nice to hear. Always followed by Mom & Dad, and almost always preceded by Wonderful Wino. At the later Fillmore East show, Jeff Simmons takes a bass solo in the middle of the tune.
Cruising For Burgers – This is the final piece of The Duke, preceded by Little House, The Mud Shark and Holiday in Berlin. These performances have one repetition of the guitar intro heard on Playground Psychotics, followed by an instrumental take and then a vocal run through sung by Mark and Howard. A nice version of the Uncle Meat classic.
Daddy Daddy Daddy – This delightful pop tune appears much as it would in 200 Motels, but without the overdubbed backing vocals and with an extra verse about George Duke. Also the “Do you like my new car” section of the song is missing. It starts with whistling in its place and ends with “screaming all night”. This tune is a regular part of The Groupie Opera, coming between Latex Solar Beef and Do You Like My New Car. On at least two occasions this was played as the start of a shortened-for-time version of the opera. This is one of my favorite songs from this era and is thoroughly enjoyed whenever it pops up
Dog Breath – A fairly unique version, different from both the Uncle Meat and Just another Band from LA takes. This is a rock n roll take of the tune, and Mark and Howard give it all they have. They sing both the lyrics and the “la la la la la”s triumphantly. Always played second in a medley with The Air, Mother People and You Didn’t Try to Call Me. It sadly lacks the guitar solo from the JABFLA versions, but it’s still an enjoyable arrangement.
Does This Kind of Life Look Interesting to You? – Played one time at the Fillmore East. This is an acapella version of the 200 Motels tune. Only the intro is sung, but it’s still neat to hear it pop up. Simmons recites the lead lines and the turtles sing the backing rhythm.
Do You Like My New Car? – This song/routine debuted much as it would appear on the Fillmore album. Frank would usually set the stage with a brief introduction to the scene, and later explain the bullet to audiences in the middle of the song. This routine gets longer as the tour goes on, eventually acquiring all the little jokes and improv heard on the official release. The Bullet was frequently abused when it came up, with the Turtles saying it as many times as possible. Always preceded in The Groupie Opera by Daddy Daddy Daddy and followed by Happy Together.
The Duke – A medley consisting of Little House I Used to Live In, The Mud Shark, Holiday in Berlin and Cruising for Burgers. Also known as the Hunchback Duke or the Return of the Hunchback Duke.
Easy Meat – Premiering in October, a full 10 years before it appears on a record! This piece is pretty recognizable from the get go. The heavy guitar and bass riff is played prominently through the whole song and Frank consistently plays a fantastic solo. This is my favorite performance of this FZ classic and another highlight of the tour
Giraffe – Played once at this band’s first show before disappearing forever. This tune is performed essentially as Lola Steponsky on The Mothers 1970 (Giraffe – Take 4 is instrumental), but with an additional intro, ending and a spoken segue into the Air. The unreleased intro replaces the instramental take of the theme heard on the studio track and the unreleased coda replaces the drum solo. FZ introduces the song as “a fantasy about indiscriminate uses of ovens in America”. This song’s lyrics are then about concentration camps and the holocaust. At the end of the song, FZ plays the opening notes of The Air, says “meanwhile in the ovens” and the Turtles take it away. Despite the lyrics this is an infectious little melody, that I feel is one of Frank’s great lost tunes.
Gris Gris Gumbo Ya Ya (Dr. John Routine) – One of the four comedy routines introduced in late September/early October, and the least played of them. Jeff Simmons does a hilarious Dr. John impression while the band plays Gris Gris Gumbo Ya Ya. Mark and Howard sing the song in between Simmons’ narrations. This tune could show up anywhere, usually just when Frank decides. The best version by far is from Beloit and heard on The Mothers 1970. After the opening there’s an excellent set of solos. Another great performance is from the London Stephen Stills jam. By far my favorite of the routines from this tour.
The Groupie Opera – This refers to the set of songs on the Fillmore East Album from What Kind of Girl to Happy Together. This story of this Medley/Routine is/was a central part of the plot to 200 Motels, but there wasn’t enough time to shoot it to include it in the film. This set of songs made their debut at the El Monte Legion Stadium, in a primordial state. By September the routine had solidified to What Will This Morning Bring Me This Evening?, What Kind Of Girl Do You Think We Are?, Bwana Dik, Latex Solar Beef, Daddy Daddy Daddy, Do You Like My New Car? and Happy Together. Early performances included Road Ladies as the first song and ended the set with What Will This Evening Bring Me This Morning. There was also a rocking piece of music, heard on the 200 motels 50th anniversary demo outtakes, played at the beginning and end. On two occasions only Daddy Daddy Daddy To Happy Together was played. The suite would not reach the state it appears in on the Fillmore East until late May or Early June of the next year. Frank accurately introduced it with the warning “We have stuff that deals with peepees”.
Happy Together – This lovely Turtles classic appears in the rocking form as heard on the Fillmore East album, but unfortunately on this tour there’s only one repetition of the ending lyric-less verses, instead of multiple like on the Fillmore album. Still a fun end to the opera. At the debut performance, the song is cut even shorter and goes right into another take of the guitar riff intro of What Will This Morning Bring Me Evening heard on the 200 Motels 50th anniversary demo outtakes, which then segues into What Will This Evening Bring Me Morning.
Have Gun Will Travel ( The Paladin Routine) – One of the four comedy routines introduced in late September/early October. This one was played as an opener, for some reason, many times in the last three months of the tour. The Turtles would sing the theme to this now forgotten western about a cowboy for hire hanging around a hotel in San Francisco with a racist Asian sidekick, and he would pull out a big card to get people to hire him or something. It’s not very funny; one of the Turtles does a stereotypical Asian voice and lists off Asian foods and phrases as like a restaurant waiter, which is horrid, but they then make a very dumb incest joke which always makes me laugh, because I’m a cretin. The Turtles then scream a set of vocal phrases (maybe music from the show?), and Frank would say the opening lines of Call and Vegetable. It’s a pretty awful routine and one of the worst things Frank did. The earliest known performance is from the earlier of the two Pepperland shows, where it appears twice, split in half, right in the middle of King Kong! By far the most interesting performance of this very lame, dated and racist bit.
Holiday In Berlin – Part three of The Duke; This tune is preceded by Little House and The Mud Shark and followed by Cruisin for Burgers. This tune is played essentially as on Burnt Weeny Sandwich, complete with an outstanding proto Inca Roads solo, except in this era the tune has lyrics! They start the same as Would You Like a Snack?, but continue through the whole tune. The words relate to the riot that broke out during the Mothers show in Berlin in 1968. The lyrics are honestly some of the weakest Frank ever wrote, but they don’t drag the tune down because the Turtles sing them with everything they’ve got. Every performance starts with a ratchety guitar intro while the Turtles say “Rance Muhammitz” and other names, notably “Ruth!” By September the Inca Roads post-solo theme would be fully written and sung by the turtles before Frank’s beautiful solo. At the Fillmore East, Frank ends up quoting Easy Meat and the band follows along with him. At the Vienna show, George gets a short solo following Frank’s. Every performance of this tune is fantastic and an easy highlight of the tour.
Intros, Outros, Tuning and Preambles – Mark and Howard were always singing, so the spaces between songs are frequently filled with snippets of other songs. Tunes quoted in these places include Earth Angel, Surfin USA, Pirate Jenny, April Showers and Merry-Go Round.
It Can’t Happen Here – Played on two occasions in Minneapolis and Columbus. The Minneapolis performance emerges from a King King, and only goes up to the line about Minnesota. In Columbus some yells “play something from Freak Out!” And Frank snidely obliges, singing about as much as in Minnesota. Who could imagine?
Improvisations – Completely making it up in the spot. This unfortunately only happens a few times in this era, but when it does it’s always really fun. A Piece of Contemporary Music from the Minneapolis late show is a great example, which ends up turning into Caravan with a drum solo. The Bullshit Rhythm is another example but it’s really just Frank conducting the audience to say “Bullshit” while the band sorta vamps. More fully realized improv starts to appear in the last European tour. Also by Europe, Frank introduced more vocal hand signals for the Turtles, including a big vocal glissando and a mutation of the word compartments (“Com-PAHT-ments”). Early in the era there were some holdovers from the 60s Mothers (Ex. Donnnnieee), but these were pretty quickly phased out. Though there wasn’t much standalone improv, there was a lot in and in between songs so these vocal cues got a lot of use.
Johnny’s Theme – At the Columbus show, after the set break, The Turtles start to sing this theme to the tonight show while George accompanies as an intro to Frank coming back on stage. Here’s Frankie!!!
Justine – Known to be performed once, at the Minneapolis late show. This is an awesome little tune, co-written by Hot Rats’ own Don “Sugarcane” Harris. Flo and Eddie belt out this RnB tune as fast as they seemingly can, and the band just barely keeps up with them. An overlooked ditty worth checking out, along with everything else from the Minneapolis shows.
King Kong – The beast continues to change up a bit on this tour. The theme starts as normal and is then immediately followed by a new, short, third theme of King Kong . George Duke always takes the first solo and blows us all away. Then the secondary theme comes in, before fading away into a very mellow, tweaky take of part one of Igor’s Boogie! It’s played twice before a new fourth theme to King Kong is introduced! This fourth theme is also a variation on the beginning phrase of Igor’s Boogie. Following the boogie things start to get more experimental. At most shows following the third theme, Ian gives a fantastic sax solo, Frank follows with a tremendous guitar workout, Aynsley gives a monster drum solo and Frank conducts some weirdness into the final repetitions of the main theme. After the very last repetition there’s a slow, meltdown-y, ending. This, of course, isn’t what always happened. At the Minneapolis early show, the tune ends after George’s solo, but starts up where it left off about half an hour and 8 songs later. Occasionally just the first and second themes of King Kong would get played and Frank would announce the end of the concert, neat to hear but it rarely occurs. On two of the three known occurrences of this outro version, it’s likely they continue the song as an encore. At the first Pepperland show Frank experimented with inserting The Paladin Routine in between the solos. Really weird hybrid creation, but super neat to hear. At the last two performances from this tour, the whole Igor’s Boogie section was dropped. Starting in August this tune was almost always preceded by You Didn’t Try to Call Me as the end to what I’ll call the oldies medley. In November, George starts playing a line from Call to Post in the final outro. At a few shows in Europe the band would quote Chunga’s Revenge, and at the late Amsterdam show Frank plays the whole intro following the Igor’s Boogie section. At the Paris show, Jean-Luc Ponty guests in King Kong and fantastic things happen, including quotes from Ain’t She Sweet?, Blue Danube, and Suite: Judy Blue Eyes. Every performance, except the outro takes, are incredibly inspired and hot and a main reason to collect tapes from this tour.
Latex Solar Beef – This tune premieres in a more different form than any other Groupie Opera songs. In this era, it appears as a meltdown following Bwana Dick. Howard quickly screams out the lyrics while the band plays some tweaky background music. There’s then a short segment where everyone says “help me!” a la the Fly, followed by “Hear the Steam ” segment, which is the same as it appears on the Fillmore album. Ending the song is a unique, plucky guitar riff while Howard screams “Listen! The steam is whistling!” And a transition into Daddy Daddy Daddy. A real weirdo number, and one of my favorite parts of the early opera. This tune and Bwana Dik are often grouped together in file naming.
Little House I Used To Live In – Played essentially as on the Fillmore East 1971 album, but with an additional very short intro and for the only time ever lyrics!. Flo and Eddie wail over this intro for the first couple months, but it’s dropped by November. The first couple performances of this tune either feature no vocals or “La”s sung to the melody, but by September the piece has acquired lyrics relating to Bwana Dik and Penis Dimension. I don’t personally think this piece needed lyrics, but if you’re a big fan of the Fillmore East album you should check these performances out. Part one of The Duke; This tune is followed by The Mud Shark, Holiday In Berlin and Cruisin for Burgers, as it would be for the rest of the year. There’s unfortunately no solo section, but Holiday in Berlin makes up for that.
Lonesome Cowboy Burt – Played once each night at the Pepperland. These performances feature The Turtles singing. They do their best, but this tune was made for Jimmy Carl Black. No major differences from 200 Motels besides that.
The M.O.I. Anti-Smut Loyalty Oath – This spoken oath was played at least twice in early October, in response to Jim Morrison’s conviction for indecent exposure the month before. It’s a call and response oath delivered by Zappa as a promise to not whip it out on stage. This does not include private showings in the motel room, however.
Mom & Dad – Played essentially as on We’re Only in it for the Money, but a little slower and without all the snorks and extra studio madness. The band provides beautiful accompaniment and the Turtles handle the vocal chores. I’ve never been a huge fan of Frank’s singing on that album, so I actually prefer these takes. I think Flo and Eddie are more successful when they’re singing more energetic songs, but they clearly love the material and give it their all so these performances are still nice to hear. Always preceded by the Concentration Moon.
Mother People – Played essentially as on We’re Only in it for the Money, but with the Turtles singing. The band provides excellent backing, especially Frank. I’ve never been a huge fan of Frank’s singing on that album, so I actually prefer these takes. Flo and Eddie clearly love the material and give it their all, so these performances are worthwhile. They also sing the censored lyrics removed from WOIFTM. Always played third in a medley with The Air, Dog Breath and You Didn’t Try to Call Me.
The Mud Shark – A proto-version of the Fillmore East tune, this starts as just a 30 second jam between the end of Little House and the start of Holiday in Berlin. In November the tune gains the words “Mud Shark” at the end of Little House and by the winter European tour it had gained the pre-story lyrics about The Mud Shark arpeggio and secret words. By the end of the following year it would have gained a rock n roll sex story and a dancing lesson. Part two of The Duke, coming between Little House and Holiday in Berlin.
The Oak Tree/A Christmas Story – At the start of the Amsterdam early show, Ian is having some trouble with his electric organ, so Mark and Howard tell a well known German Christmas story about an Oak Tree and a reindeer. As an uneducated American, I’m not familiar with this story, but the crowd seems to love it. The story doesn’t really end, the turtles either just kinda dwindle off or there was more of a visual ending. After the story winds down the band jumps into King Kong and starts the show proper.
The Orange County Lumber Truck Medley – A medley consisting of four songs, Let’s Make the Water Turn Black, Harry You’re a Beast, Oh No and The Orange County Lumber Truck. This medley was commonly played as an instrumental in the 60s, but in its one known performance from this era, these songs are all played with lyrics. The first two tunes sound much as they do on We’re Only in it for the Money, except Harry has the censored lyrics restored and Harry and Madge are changed to Joseph and Mary respectively. Oh No is like it is on Weasels, except the Turtles don’t sing the lyrics to the “in your dreams” section. FZ plays a hot solo, there’s another repetition of the “in your dreams” section and we are back into Orange County. The Turtles launch into about 15 seconds of Linda Lu by Ray Sharpe after the first phrase. This was a regular part of the arrangement and one of the weirdest things you’ll hear in these early 1970 shows. There’s a guitar solo in the middle of the theme, and following the end of the head there’s an unreleased bit of chugging music before a long drum solo. Finally, there’s a slow reprise of the theme to end the medley. The turtles sing “Don’t come in me” from Harry You’re a Beast over the quoted parts of the song in the OCLT. This is a very neat performance but the lack of a real full band jam keeps me from returning to this version.
Piano Prelude – Played at the London early show. I think it’s just Ian, maybe George playing some lounge-esque music before the show. Maybe from a soundcheck?
Penis Dimension – This epic first appeared at the Pepperland in late September. It appears essentially as on 200 Motels, except there’s further music and dialog past where the studio take ends. After the line “you gotta tell him these words”, Jeff would have a pseudo county section where he introduces a song called “My Rump Hairs Long for Your Sweet Love”. This section featured a lot of lyrical improv and is by far my favorite part of the tune. Jeff would throw out an ever increasing list of names of the singer of “Rump Hairs”, my favorite being “Baby Ulrich”. After this section, the “Rump Hairs” song is revealed to be more lyrics from Bwana Dik/The Theme of Lumpy Gravy. These lyrics can be heard on the 200 Motels 50th Anniversary as “Scene 87″, but with different music. They’d then say that the dick could be classified as a lethal weapon, there’s a repeat of the main theme and the piece comes to a close. Simmons’ part wasn’t added until October or November. In Europe “8 inches” was changed to “12 centimeters” which isn’t an accurate conversion. Penis Dimension is far from my favorite song. I prefer the instrumental versions from 1972 or 1976, but these takes are pretty funny, especially in December. In the final known performance from this year, Jeff Simmons bit is once again missing, but I believe this to be an edit for radio.
Porko the Magnificent/The Sword Trick/A Magic Trick – One of the four comedy routines introduced in late September/early October. This one is always preceded by A Pound for a Brown and Sleeping in a Jar, and is followed by Sharleena. George Duke would play some light lounge music while the Turtles and Jeff, as Porko and his assistant Birdman Fitzgerald, would perform a sword trick. They’d ask for a strand of hair from an audience member, and then cut that with a fake sword. After that, Frank instructs the audience that they need to project their “groovy vibes” onstage so that Porko can complete his trick, something about swinging his sword through Birdman’s neck (without spilling any blood). That’s all I can tell from the audio recordings which are mostly, lounge music, yelling and Frank narrating. George would always quote popular music and well known tunes as background music for the act. He most commonly played Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head (7 times), I Can’t Give You Anything But Love (6 times) and There’s No Business Like Show Business (4 times). He also played December Bride at least twice and Johnny’s Theme, What’s New, We Wish You A Merry Christmas, and The Man I Love at least once. This routine started as just some brief Duke lounge music after Sleeping in a Jar, with no Turtles involved, as heard at the Pepperland shows. The short interlude became a routine when the sword trick act and pop tunes were added in October.
A Pound for a Brown – This perfectly composed tune appears once again as a guitar solo vehicle. The band play a much prettier arrangement of the song, compared to the 60s version, before Frank launches into guitar heaven. Another reason to collect shows from this era. Always followed by Sleeping in a Jar.
Road Ladies – Essentially played as on Chunga’s Revenge. This tune pops up as a kind of overture to The Groupie Opera in its earliest performances. At its first appearance in Santa Monica, it lacked the piano intro heard on the studio version, but it would acquire it by Spokane. The guitar solo is mostly composed, but Frank always plays around with it. This is a very soulful, underrated blues song and fairly unique in Frank’s discography.
Rudy Wants To Buy Yez A Drink – Played essentially as on Chunga’s Revenge, and there’s one known performance. I’d put this in the category of one of Frank’s worst songs, does anybody like this one?
The Sanzini Brothers – One of the four comedy routines introduced in late September/early October and the most played of them. This bit is really just Ian playing circus-y music while Flo and Eddie (and maybe Jeff?) run around and yell. Frank reveals on a few occasions that this is just a bit to amuse and fool the audience while the rest of the band tunes up. In November, Mark, Howard and Jeff (and maybe Ian?) debut the Pyramid Trick, where the magnificent Sanzinis run around the stage screaming (two of them will get on their hands and knees) before eventually forming a pyramid shape with their fingers. Jeff’s commentary during the Pyramid Trick is always pretty funny, like his improvised names of the brothers Sanzini. Frank could cue this tune at any time, usually after a few seconds of nothing and he realizes there’s dead air, by yelling “The Sanzini Brothers!”. Harmless stuff, It was probably pretty funny live but a lot of the humor seems to be lost without the visual aspect.
Sharleena – Essentially played as on Chunga’s Revenge, except instead of a fade out there’s a near acapella version of one of the turtles passionately belting out a few “why doesn’t somebody send my sharleena home”s, and then a slow ending from the whole band. Frank’s solos are always nice but never super notable. A very nice version of this frequently reworked tune.
Sleeping in a Jar – The Uncle Meat tune is played instrumentally a few times through. Each repetition of the theme is performed a little differently, and Frank provides guitar throughout. The final phrase is played very slowly and majestically, and there is some new keyboard and drum music based on the Pound for a Brown bassline that acts as a coda. At the Pepperland shows this tune is followed by some lounge music from Mr. Duke before moving into Sharleena. Always preceded by Pound For a Brown. Starting in October this tune was always followed by Porko the Magnificent.
The String Quartet – Not referred to as such on this tour, but this is the name applied to A Pound for a Brown and Sleeping in a Jar. Interestingly, Frank never announces Sleeping in a Jar, only Pound.
Willie the Pimp – Not a full performance, but the Willie riff is played after a hot Wonderful Wino at the first Pepperland show before quickly starting the next song. Definitely a bummer seeing it in a setlist and just getting about 20 seconds of the riff.
What Kind Of Girl Do You Think We Are? – Part of The Groupie Opera. Introduced almost completely as it’s heard on Fillmore East June 1971, but the “If his dick is a monster” was played extremely slowly. This part quickly picked up speed at following performances though. The Turtles would frequently change the name of the city in the tune to match the location of the concert, and they’d sometimes improvise what the groupie likes to get off with. “Rancid Budweiser” was originally written as “Tinsel Glitter” and performed that way on most occasions. A demented little blues song.
What Will This Evening Bring Me This Morning? – This underrated tune shows up twice in the recordings from this era. It appeared as the end to the very earliest appearance of The Groupie Opera, and later as the closer of the Stephen Stills jam. This is one of my favorite songs from 200 Motels and I wish Frank kept it as the end of the opera. At the London show the Turtles of course start singing Judy Blue Eyes, with Stills joining in.
What Will This Morning Bring Me This Evening? – “Each one of these microphones represents a hotel room”. The first song of the proto-Groupie Opera (not counting Road Ladies), Frank would usually introduce the opera and then each member of the band would ramble, all at once, about wanting to get laid while in some town on the road. This was mostly improvised but eventually they all line up at the phrase “this has worked for others, perhaps it will work for me!” After this they burst into the tune proper, as heard in the film version of 200 motels. Following the music we get a “partial list of clubs and bars to go get laid while you’re on the road” The Turtles and Jeff go back and forth naming places and cities, before a smooth transition into What Kind of Girl do you think We are? A cool start to the proto-opera. At the premier performance in El Monte, the song ends with the guitar riff heard on the demo outtakes on the 200 Motels 50th anniversary box while the Turtles say the names of pop stars. Who knows why Frank got rid of that guitar ending, because it rocks hard.
Who are the Brain Police? – Frank introduces this tune “as if it were played by Canned Heat”, and oh boy is it fantastic. This tune is barely recognizable from the Freak Out version. It starts out with a prominent guitar riff based on On The Road Again before Mark and Howard come in to belt out the lyrics. After this it’s an absolute jam with a killer solo from Frank. Who would have guessed this song could go so hard? The tune ends with a showcase of the lead singers. Usually played as an encore or closing number and what a way to end a show. At the London late show special guest Stephen Stills plays a solo in this tune.
Wonderful Wino – This Simmons/Zappa rockin classic changes arrangements basically every tour. This time around the tune starts with Bringing in the Sheaves like always and the turtles sing the hymn. Simmons sings the entire song and does a consistently fantastic job. Frank plays a hot solo in the designated spot, Jeff finishes the tune and Frank jams some more. Usually followed by Concentration Moon, except at the 2nd Pepperland show where the tune (and show) ends with Jeff, Frank and Howard singing “Oh yeah” repetitively while Frank jams. This is a great tour for this oft reworked song and one of my favorite of Zappa’s straightforward rock tunes.
Would You Go All The Way? – Essentially performed as on Chunga’s Revenge. Until I heard the version on The Mothers 1970, I would have said this is a forgettable, sexist song, but after hearing that take my mind changed! Aynsley is absolutely on fire!!! The lyrics are still lame, but the tune itself isn’t bad and Aynsley’s performance takes the song to a whole new level. Easily the definitive version of this tune.
You Didn’t Try To Call Me – A revamped version of the Freak Out Tune, well actually like a more rocking take of the Ruben in the Jets version. It starts pretty much as the studio version does, but slowly gains energy as the tune goes on before exploding into a micro frenzy of guitar while the Turtles chant the title. Unfortunately, by September Frank would drop the guitar ending and the tune would segue right into King Kong. This is a powerful and entertaining segue, but I still wish he kept the first ending. Almost always played last in a medley with The Air, Dog Breath and Mother People. In June and July the tune is followed by Agon and Call any Vegetable. In August the song still had the guitar ending and some conducted improv leads the band into King Kong, but by the next month the guitar ending would disappear and the segue into King Kong was set in stone. The Turtles would frequently yell “Ruth!” or other names (“Jean-Luc!”) after the line “I keep calling your name”, to my delight.
King Kong Solo Table:
Life On The Road 