Cruisin' To El Monte
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Philzone Refugee
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I've been enjoying the Zappa Family Trust's "Meat Light" revamped 3 cd reissue of The Mothers Of Invention's "Uncle Meat" album. Originally issued as a 2 LP set, this edition gives you the original 2 LP mix on the first disc, then gives you Frank's original version (he wanted to release it as a 3 LP set) plus some great studio outtakes and live performances on the second and third discs.
You may recall the catchy "Dog Breath In The Year Of The Plague", which is somewhat of an underlying theme to the album, with it's chorus of:
Primer mi carucha (Chevy '39)
Got me to El Monte Legion Stadium
Pick up on my Weesa (she is so divine)
Helps me stealing hub caps
Wasted all the time
Fuzzy Dice
Bongos in the back
My ship of love
Ready to attack
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wMSQ1vCxZJU
The Mothers are all in exceptional form here, especially notable is the interplay between Ruth Underwood on marimba and Don Preston on what sounds like a harpsichord.
Frank's first commercial success was a song called "Memories Of El Monte" that he co-wrote with Ray Collins in 1962 and became a local hit for The Penguins. Legion Stadium was a concert mecca in SoCal until it fell to the wrecking ball two days after Richard Nixon resigned in 1974. It had served as a sort of West Coast version of the Grand Ole Opry in the 40s and 50's, hosting many of the stars of Country & Western music, then became a premier venue for Rock & Roll and Rhythm & Blues in the 50s and 60s after the city of L.A. started prohibiting these concerts, hosting the likes of Chuck Berry, Johnny Otis, Ike & Tina Turner, Stevie Wonder, and, on December 26, 1970, The New Riders Of The Purple Sage and The Grateful Dead, with Jerry Garcia performing with both bands.
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L
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Philzone Refugee
Some good memories from a few
Some good memories from a few of the folks who attended the 12-26-70 show, where the final GD performance of "Till The Morning Comes" occurred:
http://www.dead.net/show/december-26-1970
Turns out the Dead played there three straight nights, Decembrr 26-28, 1970. Here's a link to the 12-26-70 show:
https://archive.org/details/gd1970-12-26.sbd.ashley-field.34031.sbeok.fl...
Here's the link to the 12-28-70 show at archive.org:
https://archive.org/details/gd70-12-28.aud.fink.17706.sbeok.shnf
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And here's the 12-27-70 show:
And here's the 12-27-70 show:
https://archive.org/details/gd70-12-27.sbd.miller.23530.sbeok.shnf
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Thanks for the Links, have a
Thanks for the Links, have a bunch of FZ boots from yesteryear. Here's a nice version Dog Breath / Uncle meat from 73 Australia (a well traded show)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWQOVeRRoso
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And of course the short video
And of course the short video of the rehearsal down under;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQvxKj2fhLA
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The great Ray Collins
The great Ray Collins
Uncle Meat was a strange album- even hard core Zappa freaks have a hard time getting into it- but contained some classics including the aforementioned Dog Breath and the extended King Kong.
If we'd only been living in California. . . .
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I had forgotten about Uncle
I had forgotten about Uncle Meat. Maybe it was the disturbing cover art that made me neglect it, but I was blown away listening to it again in the Meat Light package. At times, it is a little strange, but it is also sublimely beautiful and funny. A really great album from a genius with a highly talented group of musicians working with him.
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cool
cool