FILLMORE EAST, JUNE 1971

This album, the first official live recording from Frank Zappa is a mixed bag. There is some good music, like Little House I Used To Live In, and Lonesome Electric Turkey, and there are long stretches of comedy with some music thrown in. The main problem is the sound. Whereas Zappa later became known for some meticulously recorded concerts, this one sounds like a bootleg. The dynamics are clipped off, and there is much distortion throughout.

Performancewise, it's not bad. If you can withstand the scatological references, which mostly relate to the "200 Motels" section of Zappa's conceptual continuity, there's some funny stuff. And the straight music, the songs mentioned above, and Willie The Pimp (cut in half on the record, clipped on the CD) rocks. And the rollicking version of The Turtles' Happy Together is a classic.

Despite it's flaws, this is necessary to understand some of the jokes thrown into later Zappa albums.

3 stars.