FREAKS & MOTHERFUCKERS!

This CD is yet another of Frank Zappa's "Beat The Boots" series, where Zappa took some of the many bootleg albums circulating out there, and repackaged them as is under his own label. As we should all know by now, the value of bootleg Zappa albums is judged by sound quality, performance quality, and eyebrows.

On this one, the sound quality is not great. Although it sounds like a sound board mix, it probably is a few generations away from the original tape. There is quite a bit of distortion, and the bass is almost completely washed out. And some songs are not complete.

The performance is very good. The band sounds like they were having a lot of fun at this concert. And they played a good amount of good Zappa material, as opposed to some of the comedy heavy concerts released by this lineup.

The eyebrows are fairly strong here, with a performance of Wino Man, that turns into an imitation of Dr. John, and a short bit called Palladin Routine. Another interesting point comes in Sleeping In A Jar, which turns into a jam that contains music that will become parts of Inca Roads and Easy Meat in the years to come.

Not an essential album by any means, but it has it's moments.