Music From Your Mothers

I'm on a real Mothers of Invention kick lately, and nothing could be better than the quintessential 1968 lineup (Don Preston, Roy Estrada, Ian Underwood, Jimmy Carl Back, et al.) performing King Kong.  What gene pool made these guys?  Largely classically trained, oversexed, jaded intellectual too-cool-to-be-hippie motherfuckers - they simply do not make bands like this anymore.  They inspired so many, and were narrowly rewarded for their efforts.  Of course, Frank Zappa's post-Mothers career and all-too-short life is well documented, but it's the Mothers era that never ceases to amaze me.

Note Frank's comment at the top of this clip thanking the BBC for "allowing them to do things..." - the US hasn't changed that much, if at all; we still have the worst artist-censoring record this side of Iran.
King Kong.rm

Comments

[Cyn Collins]

Thought I'd share a video mashup I accidently culled that I think sounds great, as I tried to listen to Mothers and Wolves at the same time. Cool. I referenced it and WFMU it to my music blog.

[adam]

Great clip! Thanks a bunch. The Mothers are always a band I've pretty much looked over, now I want to check more out.

[abi rhodes]

All those early MOI albums are great

my favourite is 'Burnt Weeny Sandwich'

I particularly like 'Little House in the Country'

[Blair Fraipont]

That was a wonderful clip! Zappa and the Mothers were so much at once. I have always loved that when Zappa solos he rarely if never makes any of those ridiculous and repugnant faces that most guitarist make as if they are gonna spew their load all over their intstrument.

Thanks again!

Blair

[Ghost Dog]

First band I went to see ever was the original Mothers, it was 1969, it was a matinee, and I played hookey from high school. I was 20 something years later in a bar with Jimmy Carl Black and I told him how seeing this lot, as my first band ever, spoiled me for just about every other band I saw since...."they don't play no rubber chickens...they don't do no snorks..." he said, imitating what he imagined my juvenile disappointment would have been. Annd he was right. He was still oversexed, even then..

[Dylan McKenzie]

Love the Mothers, love the clip, but the late 60's camera work is a real headache!