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Frank Zappa - Unmitigated Audacity CD (album) cover

UNMITIGATED AUDACITY

Frank Zappa

 

RIO/Avant-Prog

2.44 | 29 ratings

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Chris H
Prog Reviewer
4 stars Frank Zappa: Live and completely overlooked!

Probably Zappa's most overlooked live recording, Unmitigated Audacity should have a place in every Zappa fan's heart as this concert was performed as the tenth anniversary of the original Mothers Of Invention. Of course, it was almost 1975 at this time and new musicians had come and old ones gone, most notably the arrivals of Napoleon Murphy Brock, Tom Fowler and Jeff Simmons. That brings me to my next point, which is the vocals. I much prefer Zappa on vocals, but Napoleon Murphy Brock brings a nice spin on things. What is ironic is that he wasn't even a musician when the bulk of this material was released, yet he finds himself as the singer here. Nicely presented, however.

Every single song on here, except for Camarillo Brillo (Over-Nite Sensation, 1973) and Oh No (Weasels Ripped My Flesh, 1970) was originally cut before the original Mothers departed in 1969. This concert put together the best of the best from Freak Out!, We're Only In It For The Money, and Cruising With Ruben & The Jets, with a few added extras. Frank ends the concert by reciting the band line-up over the riff from "Louie, Louie", and "Oh No" starts in the middle of a climactic vocal harmony. Frank's improvisational lyrics and massive solo make "More Trouble Coming Every Day" an excellent rendition.

This is a very exciting and captivating album, and unlike Frank's numerous other live outputs this features virtually no spoken word. Essential to any collection, the only reason I can't give this 5 stars because it is plagued by horrific sound quality. 4 stars nonetheless, this is a hidden gem for any collector.

Chris H | 4/5 |

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