Album Reviews

There are numerous reasons why music fans should be interested in a previously unreleased 5LP box set featuring an entire performance of Frank Zappa and his original Mothers of Invention band in full flight in the heart of the Los Angeles freak scene of the late-1960s. Titled Whisky A Go Go, 1968, this lovingly curated collection — which was released by Zappa/UMe on June 21, 2024 — is a time-capsule snapshot moment in time when Zappa’s original band was reaching an arguable performing peak. The music showcased on this new 180g 5LP set was recorded with the intention of being released as a live album back in the day. Captured on a then-cutting edge 8-channel multitrack recorder onboard a mobile truck courtesy San Francisco’s Wally Heider Studios (a.k.a., since 1980, Hyde Street Studios) — this long overdue archival release goes a long way to delivering the essence of what the early Mothers were all about.

Before I dig into the (uncle) meat of this review, let’s first get a rundown of some key DNA stats underlying the album’s making, as revealed in the official press materials: “Produced by Ahmet Zappa and Joe Travers, this extensive collection, some 55-plus years in the making, compiles everything The Mothers of Invention played across their three sets that night, complete and newly remixed in 2023 from hi-res 24-bit/96kHz digital transfers of the original 1" 8-track analog tapes by Craig Parker Adams at Winslow CT Studios. [. . .] All vinyl was cut from hi-res digital files by Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman Mastering in 2023, and is being pressed at Optimal Media in Germany on BioVinyl.” (We’ll discuss that latter note regarding BioVinyl and what it is in just a bit.)

Continues the press release, “A Super Deluxe Edition box set will be released on both 5LP 180-gram black vinyl, and feature a booklet with many unseen photos from the night’s events, along with copious liner notes by Vaultmeister Joe Travers, an essay by Pamela Des Barres of the Zappa-signed group The GTOs who played that evening, and an interview by Ahmet Zappa with the legendary Alice Cooper, whose own band made a most momentous splash at the Whisky that night as one of the featured acts.”

The SRP for the 5LP edition of Whisky A Go Go, 1968 is $109.98, which is available here at zappa.com. An abridged, 2LP edition, which has an SRP of $37.99, can be ordered at Music Direct here, or via the link graphic at the end of this review, where we will also share the tracklisting of the 2LP set.

An important key to the significance of this release is that we get to hear a complete 1968 Zappa & The Mothers concert recorded in an intimate small-club environment. Bits of early Mothers recordings have been issued over the years on different collections, including on classic Zappa albums like April 1969’s Uncle Meat (originally on Bizarre/Reprise), February 1970’s Burnt Weeny Sandwich (Bizarre/Reprise), and August 1970’s Weasels Ripped My Flesh (Bizarre/Reprise). Early Mothers live recordings can also be found in the digital realm on CD and various streaming services — and, of course, there have been many, many bootlegs over the years as well, but that is a rabbit hole for us to explore in another time and place.

Another part of the appeal of Whisky A Go Go, 1968 is that it captures The Mothers on their home turf, playing to an adoring audience in the club that helped break them out to the universe at large in the first place. A special sort of comfort level is apparent and conveyed throughout these recordings, from the laid-back exploratory jams to Zappa’s at times joyful interactions with audience locals.

The Mothers of Invention were arguably the eye of the hurricane that was the Los Angeles freak scene of the mid-1960s, and that comes across loud and clear on Whisky A Go Go, 1968. It is especially cool the first time you hear Zappa invite cultural icons like Kim Fowley onstage to sing, as well as his introductions for local legends Wild Man Fischer and The GTOs. It is more than a bit jaw-dropping to hear Zappa promote, from the stage, future international shock-rockers Alice Cooper (whom Zappa discovered and had signed to his own Bizarre/Straight label).

It is hard to fully convey just how great it is to hear this early Zappa material performed live, and in good sound quality — but I’ll certainly try! On Whisky A Go Go, 1968, we get to hear classic early Zappa songs such as “Help, I’m a Rock" (LP1, Side 1, Track 3) — originally from The Mothers’ June 1966 debut 2LP set on Verve, Freak Out! — brilliantly segue into an early version of “Transylvania Boogie,” from October 1970’s Chunga’s Revenge (Bizarre/Reprise).

The band plays a wonderful version of the May 1967 Verve album Absolutely Free’s closer, “America Drinks & Goes Home,” remarkably early in the show (LP1, Side 1, Track 2). We are also treated to numerous wondrous 1950s doo-wop tunes that Zappa calls out on the fly while playing the song he wrote for The Penguins, “Memories of El Monte” (LP2, Side 3, Track 3). Here, the band vamps on classic ’50s pop song chord changes, and nails them replete with soaring vocals from Ray Collins and falsettos from bassist Roy Estrada on “Oh, in the Sky” (LP2, Side 3, Track 4).

We also get to hear two versions of a Ravel’s Bolero-like jam called “The Whip” (LP4, Side 7, Track 1), which builds and builds, and probably had to do with a certain amount of, shall we say, audience participation in the moment. This leads into another jam called “Whisky Chouflée” (LP4, Side 7, Track 2), an 11-plus-minute boogie with loads of soloing. Zappa must have really liked “The Whip,” as he had prepared mixes of it along with “Hungry Freaks, Daddy” that were both found in the archives and featured here on LP5, Side 9 as Track 1 and Track 2, respectively.

Oh, and did I mention that there is about a 15-minute version of “King Kong” here too, which has been spread across LP2, Side 4, Track 3 and LP3, Side 5, Track 1? And then there’s “Khaki Sack” (LP3. Side 6, Track 4), a jaunty instrumental that feels like an alternate-universe theme for then then-popular TV spy/detective thriller comedy, Get Smart.

Whisky A Go Go, 1968 includes the first-ever live performance — remarkably enough! — of Zappa’s Absolutely Free mini rock opera "Brown Shoes Don’t Make It” (LP4, Side 8, Track 1). We also get to hear two takes of a then new and un-named tune that was subsequently titled “The Duke” (LP3, Side 6, Tracks 2 and 3). A cool jam containing a bit of conceptual continuity, it is especially interesting to note the opening melody of the erstwhile “The Duke” will be familiar to anyone who is a fan of Zappa’s August 1971 Fillmore East – June 1971 live LP on Bizarre/Reprise, as that signature sequence resurfaces at the end of "Little House I Used to Live In” just before it leads into “The Mud Shark” (Side 1 of Fillmore East, Tracks 1 and 2).

Other favorite tracks on Whisky A Go Go, 1968 include the rollicking “Brown Shoes Shuffle” (LP4, Side 8, Track 2) and a wonderful version of “Plastic People” (LP3, Side 5, Track 7), which is very different from the original studio recording found on Absolutely Free. Here, The Mothers play that tune wrapped in the framework of no less than “Louie Louie,” Richard Berry’s forever iconic late-’50s R&B classic that became a smash garage rock hit for The Kingsmen in 1963.

And now, let’s finally talk about the substance of the LPs themselves, as Whisky A Go Go, 1968 holds an extra special place in the canon of 21st century audiophile releases seeing how it is pressed on a new formulation of vinyl. Returning to the official press release, we learn these LPs were “pressed at Optimal: Media in Germany on BioVinyl, a new environment-friendly formulation and sustainable product made from bio-based PVC (polyvinyl chloride). The petroleum previously required for PVC production is replaced by recycling used cooking oil or industrial waste gases. Through the use of renewable energies and recycled raw materials, CO2 emissions are significantly reduced. More information about BioVinyl is available at https://www.optimal-media.com/en/news/biovinyl/.”

You know what? I’m truly impressed how good this vinyl pressing sounds. All of the 180g discs are happily perfectly centered, and simply feel like a quality product. No sense of compromise was apparent. But the real test was on the turntable, and my copy played dead-quiet, which I have to admit surprised me. For some reason, I did not expect that sort of performance, given the recycled oil. This is actually quite encouraging that a new technology has emerged to enable a more environmental-friendly approach to continuing the vinyl medium.

The 5LP edition of Whisky A Go Go, 1968 also includes a nice, album-size full-color booklet that is far more appealing than that of the one in the 3CD version, making it easier to read the fine essays from Joe Travers and GTOs legend Miss Pamela Des Barres. The full color and black-and-white period photos give us a great sense of what the event and the club itself were like, as well as the look of that particular incarnation of the band. As icing on the cake, the set also includes a nifty turntable slip mat featuring a photo of The Mothers taken at the venue.

For a live recording from 55-plus years ago made via an early mobile recording studio, Whisky A Go Go, 1968 feels like it rates a solid 8 to me as far as Sound goes. The recording sounds great for the times and circumstances. It effectively captures the acoustics of the Whisky club environment that are a bit on the boxy side, so this collection is not quite up to achieving a 9 Sound rating level in that regard. I suspect this factor might have had something to do with Zappa’s decision to ultimately not release it as a complete live album back in the day. Even so, go into this release with an open mind, knowing that, compared to later — and much higher-fidelity — recordings like Zappa and The Mothers’ September 1974 live masterpiece on Discreet, Roxy & Elsewhere, these early eight-channel recordings have a very different sonic footprint.

That said, the performances on Whisky A Go Go, 1968 include many aces. And while it’s perhaps not the overall best Mothers of Invention live show ever, it is still really, really good and worthy of a solid 8 rating for Music. And, ultimately, it always comes down to the music, doesn’t it — and, to that point, Whisky A Go Go, 1968 is a fun winner of an extended listening experience, and a wholly worthwhile addition to any Zappa fan’s collection.

Mark Smotroff is an avid vinyl collector who has also worked in marketing communications for decades. He has reviewed music for AudiophileReview.com, among others, and you can see more of his impressive C.V. at LinkedIn.

FRANK ZAPPA & THE MOTHERS OF INVENTION
WHISKY A GO GO, 1968
180g 5LP (Zappa/UMe)

LP1, Side 1
1. Whisky Improvisation: Episode I
2. America Drinks & Goes Home
3. Help, I’m A Rock / Transylvania Boogie

LP1, Side 2
1. My Boyfriend’s Back
2. Bust His Head
3. Tiny Sick Tears Jam
4. “The Purpose Of This Evening. . .”
5. Whisky Improvisation: Episode II (Part 1)

LP2. Side 3
1. Whisky Improvisation: Episode II (Part 2)
2. Status Back Baby
3. Memories Of El Monte
4. Oh, In The Sky
5. Valerie

LP2, Side 4
1. “Fun & Merriment”
2. Hungry Freaks, Daddy
3. King Kong – Part 1

LP3, Side 5
1. King Kong – Part 2
2. Octandre
3. Whisky Improvisation: Episode III
4. Meow
5. God Bless America
6. Presentation Of Wings
7. Plastic People

LP3, Side 6
1. Della’s Preamble
2. The Duke – Take 1
3. The Duke – Take 2
4. Khaki Sack

LP4, Side 7
1. The Whip
2. Whisky Chouflée

LP4, Side 8
1. Brown Shoes Don’t Make It
2. Brown Shoes Shuffle

LP5, Side 9 – Bonus Vintage Mixes
1. The Whip (FZ Mix)
2, Hungry Freaks, Daddy (FZ Mono Mix)

LP5, Side 10
** No Music – “Mothers” Silkscreen Image

FRANK ZAPPA & THE MOTHERS OF INVENTION
WHISKY A GO GO, 1968 – HIGHLIGHTS
180g 2LP (Zappa/UMe)

LP1, Side 1
1. Help, I’m A Rock / Transylvania Boogie
2. My Boyfriend’s Back
3. Bust His Head
4. Tiny Sick Tears Jam

LP1, Side 2
1. “Fun & Merriment”
2. Hungry Freaks, Daddy
3. King Kong

LP2, Side 3
1. “The Purpose Of This Evening…”
2. The Duke – Take 2
3. Khaki Sack

LP2, Side 4
1. The Whip (FZ Mix)
2. Brown Shoes Don’t Make It