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By recording everything he did and storing it in ‘The Vault’ under his home in Los Angeles, Frank Zappa anticipated the modern age. At a time when the BBC were taping over comedy classics that can never be seen again, Zappa’s preservation of his own material – and let’s face it, there’s a lot of it – looks almost visionary now.
It means that the Zappa Family Trust, run by his son Ahmet, always has something fresh for fans to devour more than 30 years after the artist’s death. Sometimes there are never-heard-before live albums of NYC Halloween shows from 1977 and 1981, or forays to Zagreb and Ljubljana in 1975 that could be deemed nonessential. Then there’s Cheaper Than Cheep, which feels like striking oil.
It was recorded at Zappa’s rehearsal hall on 5831 Sunset Boulevard for a television special that never aired, in front of a specially-invited audience of about 100 fans. The show captures a slimmed-down Mothers on a balmy Los Angeles afternoon, featuring the best of the best being put through their paces by the ever-controlling bandleader, complete with hand gestures.
There’s even a “Goat Dimension” during the special, where Zappa checks in on animator Bruce Bickford and sleeve designer Calvin Schenkel to see what they’ve been up to.
During the main performance, saxophonist/flautist Napoleon Murphy Brock brings soulful vocal workouts to oldies Wowie Zowie and How Could I Be Such A Fool, while genius pianist George Duke chips in with searing, squelchy solos on Dupree’s Paradise.
Chester Thompson – later of Weather Report and Genesis – is on drums while Ruth Underwood dazzles on vibes and percussion. (Never mind that Zappa calls her “succulent” like Charles Dozsa talking about his succulent Chinese meal; these are different times.)
Tom Fowler on bass and Jeff Simmons on guitar/vocals complete the well-drilled though not yet nailed-down band, adding a frisson of unpredictability. Simmons left the group shortly afterwards, making this the only document of the brief six-piece iteration of the group.
The original recording of the two-hour show was left to gather dust after problems with synching between the picture and the audio – a painstaking and troublesome task back then that’s easier to fix 50 years later.
When another TV special got the green light that August, Cheaper Than Cheep was all but forgotten – and 1974’s neglect is most definitely 2025’s keepsake. It comes in box set form, including Blu-ray, vinyl and CD with 12 pages of sleeve notes.
Cheaper Than Cheep is on sale now via Zappa Records / UMe.
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