Frank Zappa’s celebrated The Mothers 1970 is set to be reissued digitally and as a 4CD box set through Zappa Records/UMe on June 26.
Featuring the heralded line-up of Aynsley Dunbar (drums), George Duke (piano/keys/trombone), Ian Underwood (organ/keys/guitar), Jeff Simmons (bass/vocals) as well as Flo and Eddie and Mark Volman from The Turtles on vocals (who all performed under aliases for contractual reasons), the line-up lasted a mere seven months until Simmons left the band during the making of the 200 Motels movie.
The Mothers 1970 encapsulates the band’s brief but productive span, which saw the release of the Chuinga's Revenge album and included tours across the U.S., Canada and Europe.
“It’s no secret that Frank was excited about this group," says Travers. "The cast of characters and their personalities, musically and personally, made for a very eventful and humorous chapter in Zappa’s career. Frank had a blast with these guys. Their sound was unique, their humour was like no other and yet their time was ultimately short lived.”
Overseen by the Zappa Trust and produced by Ahmet Zappa and Joe Travers, the set includes 70 unreleased live and studio recordings, an early mix of the Chunga's Revenge track Sharleena produced by a young Roy Thomas Baker and rough mixes of the song Wino's Revenge as well as an unheard version of Envelopes.
