Customer Reviews

Ark

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is part of Zappa's Beat The Boots series, where Zappa took bootlegs, digitally enhanced them and released them as his own. They were supposed to be limited edition. Nine years later, this one is still available. Zappa released something like 14 CD's in the Beat the Boot series. Many of them are hard now hard to find. This may be your last chance to get this....or Rhino may continue to produce them...who knows.

This is the original Mothers of Invention, playing in Boston in 1968. There is alot of Zappa talking to the audience, introducing the songs and complaining about the record companies, radio stations and music fans. He does the few Mothers "hits". There is a nice guitar solo in My Guitar Wants to Kill YOur Mama, but it gets cut short. The real reason to buy this CD is for the 20 minute Uncle Meat/King Kong instrumental. There is alot of good jamming here on keyboards, sax and guitar.

Note that a mystery track is listed. My copy of the CD does not have a mystery track. I don't know if the newer editions do, or if that is just a mistake.

"The Ark" is by far my favorite CD from the "Beat the Boots #1" series. In fact, it is one of my favorite Zappa CDs in general, even when viewed with respect to his immense catalog. What makes this disc so wonderful is that the sound quality is excellent (remember, this was originally a bootleg) and the tunes exhibit the full splendor and diversity of the early Mothers of Invention. "Big Leg Emma" really cooks with its strong drumbeats and precise changes. Then, hilariously, Zappa tells the audience that he will play something that "will be better for you in the long run" and delves into an avant-garde classical music piece ("Some Ballet Music"). Fantastic! The Mothers also demonstrate their doo-wop skills on "Valerie" and then collectively proceed to take the house down with a rousing medley of "Uncle Meat/King Kong." In sum, the vast array of styles represented on this disc (all played with virtuosity) make this a great CD to own whether you are just getting into Zappa's music or have been a fan for decades.

I've always been wary of the Beat the Boot series; sure, they offer the "real deal," as compared with the You Can't...series, but...

Anyway, this release changed my opinion. The Ark is WONDERFUL, and as stuff by the original Mothers is hard to come by, it's a fascinating artifact. Although side one seems to be running a bit slow, it's a direct copy of the bootleg release of the same name (although, truth be told, it isn't the best copying job on earth). It's worth it all, though, for My Guitar and the other tracks that will delight your teenage ears. Zappa's stage presense at the time, the Contemptuous Band-leader, is also interesting to hear (compare this to his Roxy and Elsewhere persona).

Recorded at a venue called The Ark in Boston, ostensibly in 1968 (but some experts say 1969), this album would have attained classic status simply on the strength of being the first bootleg to be produced from a master tape stolen from Mr Zappa.
Other customer reviews frown upon the sound quality. I do not understand them. Sonically, it's as good as "board tapes" ever get. If anything lets the disc down, it's the sleeve - which omits to mention trumpeter Buzz Gardner even though he provides "the BIG solo" on the epic track that concludes the album. (Until I found out he was on the album, I presumed that solo was being played on a saxophone fed through a VCS3-type synthesizer. Well, you live and learn...)
A cynic might say `Thank God the tape was stolen before FZ had the chance to screw it up!' Because Zappa generally didn't allow us to hear unedited examples of the Mothers' lengthy improvisations, or works-in-progress that resurfaced three or four years later. But thanks to some enterprising bootlegger - and thanks to Rhino Records for releasing it legitimately - we can make up our own minds about `Some Ballet Music'. Some like it, some hate it. It combines some key themes from `The Adventures of Greggery Peccary' with a slightly different `Dance of the Just Plain Folks', scored for two woodwinds, one trumpet and two percussion. And we can all enjoy the 20-minute-plus medley of `Uncle Meat' and `King Kong' - which includes a brief Zappa/Tripp/Black massed-percussion jam and a chaotic Charles Ives-style blend of the two main melodies, as well as solos from Motorhead Sherwood, the two Gardner brothers (both magnificent), Zappa and Ian Underwood (until the tape cuts out).
Elsewhere, `Big Leg Emma' is sung by Black, the seldom-heard `Status Back Baby' is sung by Zappa (and it's in 4-4 time for some reason), Zappa explains his latest scheme for a subversive hit single, Roy Estrada adds something to `Valerie', and Zappa plays a brilliant solo on `My Guitar' (though this too gets cut off prematurely).

This is part of the Beat the Boots series. Zappa took bootleg LPs, digitally enhanced them and released them as CD's. Originally, they were supposed to be limited editions, but it looks like they are now readily available.

This one is from Boston, 1968. It features most of the original Mothers of Invention. Zappa does a lot of talking, introducing the songs and explaining why none of them are hits. The first few songs are just quick renditions that don't sound much different than the studio tracks. "My Guitar Wants To Kill Your Mama" is six minutes long and has a pretty good guitar solo, but it gets cut in the middle. "Uncle Meat/King Kong" is an excellent 20 minute instrumental.

Because of the "Uncle Meat/King Kong" track, I could almost give this CD 5 stars. But the sound quality and the rest of the album don't support the 5 star rating. This is a bootleg recording from 1968, so the sound quality won't be good. Zappa has done a lot to improve the sound, but there is only so much that can be done. Note that Uncle Meat and King Kong were standards that the Mothers played at most concerts from the late sixties to the mid seventies. Many of the the early bootlegs will have renditions of those tracks, but each version will be different.

FRANK'S MOTHERS OF INVENTION * THE ARK comes with a bit of art work, but no liner notes. It's a rare glimpse of early in-concert Zappa. Recorded in 1968 at Boston's "Ark" using three stagefront mikes, audio clarity is remarkably good. Frank indulges here in a few amusing intros between numbers.

THE PROGRAM:
Jimmy Carl Black (the Indian in the group) vocalizes "Big Leg Emma." Zappa calls this effort "warm-up trash before we do something HEAVY.... something a little harder to listen to." He refers to the album's most unapproachable piece, "Some Ballet Music"-- a very avant garde work, to say the least.

Next, the band takes an audience request for "Status Back Baby," then Frank provides lead vocal on what he says is their just-recorded 'B' side, the doo-woppish "Valerie." It's a song "that should have a limited type of appeal in the pure grease market." He continues: "The other side of this charming teenage record is a tune called: 'My Guitar (Wants to Kill Your Mama)'." And so it does!

All these songs are prelude to the set's highlight: another audience request, "King Kong" which is preceded by the always amazing "Uncle Meat." The band's synchronicity on these complex numbers is quite impressive.

Fans of vintage "Mothers" may buy this CD with confidence!
TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 51:50


Also recommended:
UNCLE MEAT (1968) - Originally a two-LP set, it features such Zappa classics as "Cruisin' For Burgers," "Zolar Czakl," "Dog Breath," "Mr. Green Genes," "Sleeping in a Jar" and "Electric Aunt Jemima."

This is why God created bootlegs. So that people could hear performances like this that would otherwise never get released. From the first note to the last note, and the commentary in between, this is vintage Zappa, and that is a great thing to have in your collection. If you listen to this and you don't love it, you don't deserve to have the gift of hearing. Period.

Back in the day, around 1985 or 86 I purchased this on vinyl. I still have it in storage.
There was an influx of awesome quality bootlegs from Frank Zappa. It had to be an inside job. the art, the sound quality, everything was high standard for a boot.
When Frank got wind of these bootlegs he took it upon himself to exact revenge on these perps, and released their copies of the work they stole from him in the first place. That's the beat the boots series.
This recording of the original Mothers, although not high quality by todays standards, present one of the most original and talented bands of all time.
A snapshot if you will of a moment that I would never be able to experience.
Frank never would have released this himself, so the bootleggers actually performed a great service to us .
In theory bootleggers are scum. making money from other people's work, but they release the stuff that the ultra fan wants. people who have already bought all the official releases want more. the egos of artists can't get past this.
As a Grateful Dead fan I personally won't buy bootleg material(it's kind of an unwritten code. The Dead actually let people tape their shows, so to sell a bootleg was taboo.) only trade. But there is a definite need for this stuff.

Anyway, I'll get off my soapbox.

If You're a Zappa fan and especially a Mothers fan and want to hear some awesome early Mother's jamming, this is the thing for you. And it's supported by the Zappa family trust.
Now if they would only allow the downloading of Frank's official discography.... I have A lot of room on my ipod for that.

Buy this ..you won't be sorry.

track number five is not titled "My Guitar." It is called "My Guitar Wants to Kill Your Mama."

I know FZ was working with bootlegs in the Beat the Boots series, but surely he could have found a better quality boot of this Ark show to work with. Even "enhanced," the audio quality leaves a lot to be desire.

That said, for any fan of the early Mothers of Invention, this is great stuff. Zappa's sarcastic wit comes through time and time again in his rap to the audience, many of whom seem to not "get" what the Mothers or Zappa were about.

There are the usual bootleg glitches here -- sloppy edits, bad audio, etc., but for those who want to catch Zappa @ Co. in their early years, and can overlook the poor quality audio, this is a gem.