Frank Zappa 1970 Mothers box set to be released

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.

Artists

Writer and broadcaster Jerry Ewing is the Editor of Prog Magazine which he founded for Future Publishing in 2009. He grew up in Sydney and began his writing career in London for Metal Forces magazine in 1989. He has since written for Metal Hammer, Maxim, Vox, Stuff and Bizarre magazines, among others. He created and edited Classic Rock Magazine for Dennis Publishing in 1998 and is the author of a variety of books on both music and sport, including Wonderous Stories; A Journey Through The Landscape Of Progressive Rock.