“As anniversary editions go, this one is exhaustively thorough”: Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention’s One Size Fits All, five decades on

The original nine tracks expanded to 58 – and while there’s some repetition and flawed live production, the energy is vigorous

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By ( Prog ) published
Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention – One Size Fits All (50th anniversary)
(Image: © UMC)

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When One Size Fits All was released in the summer of 1975, Frank Zappa complained about a lack of support from distributors Warner Bros. But the album achieved one of his highest chart positions, peaking at No.26 the US.

This 50th-anniversary edition shows no such reticence on the part of the suits, expanding the album’s original nine tracks to 58, adding a wealth of rough mixes, studio outtakes and live performances.

It’s available in digital form and as a set of four CDs and a Blu-ray, the latter containing the original album remixed into Dolby Atmos and 5.1 surround plus remixes of Sofa No.1 and San Ber’dino.

Inevitably, there’s a lot of repetition, including three early mixes of San Ber’dino and two unused performances of Bitch, Bitch, Bitch, aimed at collectors and completists who savour the chance to hear songs in their primordial forms.

The two CDs of live recordings are taken from a concert in Rotterdam from September 1974 and two cuts from a show in Gothenburg, captured on a four-track machine. There are some flaws in the material.

Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention – One Size Fits All 50th anniversary

(Image credit: UMC)

There’s no bass on the Gothenburg recordings, the volume of Ruth Underwood’s percussion fluctuates on the Rotterdam set, and Zappa’s guitar has a little too much bite and tends to dominate the mix, so it’s not going to eclipse Roxy & Elsewhere or Zappa In New York in the hierarchy of live albums.

Technical issues aside, the band are tight and the energy is vigorous, with wonderful interplay between Underwood and Chester Thompson on the expansive Dupree’s Paradise.

For collectors, there’s a single-LP edition in transparent blue vinyl with the nine original songs, and a double LP that adds eight outtakes and unfinished mixes.

Both the CD/Blu-ray and double LP versions include a booklet with unseen photos and liner notes by Underwood, David Fricke and Joe Travers. As anniversary editions go, this one is exhaustively thorough.

One Size Fits All (50th Anniversary) is on sale now.

David West
David West

After starting his writing career covering the unforgiving world of MMA, David moved into music journalism at Rhythm magazine, interviewing legends of the drum kit including Ginger Baker and Neil Peart. A regular contributor to Prog, he’s written for Metal Hammer, The Blues, Country Music Magazine and more. The author of Chasing Dragons: An Introduction To The Martial Arts Film, David shares his thoughts on kung fu movies in essays and videos for 88 Films, Arrow Films, and Eureka Entertainment. He firmly believes Steely Dan’s Reelin’ In The Years is the tuniest tune ever tuned.

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