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Frank Zappa — 200 Motels
(Rykodisc RCD 10513/14, 1971/1997, 2CD)

by Peter Thelen, Published 1998-02-01

200 Motels Cover art

It's been a long time waiting for this one; apparently MGM owned the rights and had, to date, refused to license its reissue. Well, I guess all the legal crap resolved itself finally because it's here now, the last item in Zappa's back catalog to get the digital treatment. And a fine job Ryko has done, with a 50 (!) page booklet with at least everything that the original LP set came with (albeit scaled down): information, stills from the movie, and yes, even the poster. Of course 200 Motels is the soundtrack to one of the weirdest movies ever made, about a rock band's life on the road, and any other incidental nonsense that crossed Zappa's mind during the three-or-so years that it took to write the material herein and produce the feature. The Mothers of Invention mark 2 are featured, which includes frontmen Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan (a.k.a. Flo and Eddie), as well as George Duke, Aynsley Dunbar, Ruth and Ian Underwood, and Martin Lickert, with guest spots for Jimmy Carl Black and Jim Pons, plus the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. It would be futile to attempt to describe the music in words, although most of this is far more chaotic than his usual fare, save a couple memorable tunes like "Lonesome Cowboy Burt" and "Shove It Right In." Four promotional radio spots, each under a minute, are included as bonus tracks, along with a CD ROM track of the original theatrical trailer. In all, a welcome reissue.

Filed under: Reissues, Issue 14, 1997 releases, 1971 recordings

Related artist(s): Frank Zappa, George Duke, The Mothers of Invention

 

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