UNMITIGATED AUDACITY

Yet another of Frank Zappa's "Beat The Boots" releases, this one contains one of his better bands. This 1974 concert has three Fowler brothers, George Duke, Don Preston, Napoleon Murphy Brock, Chester Thompson, Ralph Humphrey and Jeff Simmons. Sadly, it's missing the amazing Ruth Underwood on percussion.

The concert itself is notable because other than a short Dupree's Paradise at the beginning and Camarillo Brillo at the end, the set consists of songs originally recorded in the sixties, most of them played in a medley. What was originally side 1 of the bootleg LP has some arrangements I haven't heard elsewhere.

The problem with this album is the sound. It's just awful. The first half is often distorted, and on the entire disk the bass is almost non-existant. While the second half is more listenable than the first, it's only slightly better.

While there are some moments for collectors, everyone else should avoid this disk.