(1992) Frank Zappa - Playground Psychotics


Review:
First of all, it must be understood that Playground Psychotics is intended for fans only: fans of Frank Zappa, of course, but most of all fans of the Flo & Eddie era of the Mothers of Invention (1970-1971); fans of the man's comedy rock; fans of his obsession with "life on the road" and its chronicling; and, finally, fans of the movie 200 Motels. This two-CD set contains live material and dialogues among band members (recorded with or without their knowledge). The "anthropological field recordings" (as Zappa liked to call them) get most of the attention. Each disc begins with a collage of dressing room and hotel room tapes. Touring can make you crazy and Zappa has proof. The second disc also ends with a sequence titled "The True Story of 200 Motels," where excerpts from the video by the same title are interspersed with previously unavailable tape recordings, all pertaining to the script-reading sessions in preparation for the movie shooting. The live tracks have average sound but present some very good moments, including old Mothers songs of which no live version with this particular lineup (including the vocal prowess of Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan) was yet available; "Sleeping in a Jar" and "Mom and Dad" are highlights. An early version of "Wonderful Wino" and a complete alternate rendition of "Billy the Mountain" are also quite enjoyable. Disc one ends with the famous live session featuring John Lennon and Yoko Ono, here released with a different mix than on Lennon's Sometime in New York City. Aficionados of this particular period will find most of this album amusing; others will get profoundly bored.





Track Listing:
DISC 1:
1. Here Comes The Gear, Lads
2. Living Garbage Truck, The
3. Typical Sound Check, A
4. This Is Neat
5. Motel Lobby, The
6. Getting Stewed
7. Motel Room, The
8. Don't Take Me Down
9. Dressing Room, The
10. Learning "Penis Dimension"
11. You There, With The Hard On!
12. Zanti Serenade
13. Divan
14. Sleeping In A Jar
15. Don't Eat There
16. Brixton Still Life
17. Super Grease
18. Wonderful Wino
19. Sharleena
20. Cruisin' For Burgers
21. Diptheria Blues
22. Well - (with John Lennon & Yoko Ono)
23. Say Please - (with John Lennon & Yoko Ono)
24. Aaawk - (with John Lennon & Yoko Ono)
25. Scum Bag - (with John Lennon & Yoko Ono)
26. Small Eternity With Yoko Ono, A - (with John Lennon & Yoko Ono)

DISC 2:
1. Beer Shampoo
2. Champagne Lecture
3. Childish Perversions
4. Playground Psychotics
5. Mudshark Interview, The
6. There's No Lust In Jazz
7. Botulism On The Hoof
8. You Got Your Armies
9. Spew King, The
10. I'm Doomed
11. Status Back Baby
12. London Cab Tape, The
13. Concentration Moon (part 1)
14. Sanzini Brothers, The
15. It's A Good Thing We Get Paid To Do This
16. Concentration Moon (part 2)
17. Mom and Dad
18. Intro To Music For Low Budget Orchestra
19. Billy The Mountain
20. He's Watching Us
21. If You're Not A Professional Actor
22. He's Right
23. Going For The Money
24. Jeff Quits
25. Bunch Of Adventures, A
26. Martin Lickert's Story
27. Great Guy, A
28. Bad Acting
29. Worst Reviews, The
30. Version Of Himself, A
31. I Could Be A Star Now


Media Report:
Genre: Progressive Rock
Country: USA
Format: FLAC
Format/Info: Free Lossless Audio Codec, 16-bit PCM
Bit rate mode: Variable
Channel(s): 2 channels
Sampling rate: 44.1 KHz
Bit depth: 16 bits