Fillmore East: June 1971

Personnel: Frank Zappa (guitar); Ian Underwood (vocals, woodwinds, keyboards); Bob Harris (vocals, keyboards); Howard Kaylan, Jim Pons, Mark Volman (vocals); Aynsley Dunbar (drums).
Recording information: Fillmore East (06/1971).
This live record was recorded with the Flo & Eddie incarnation of the ever-changing Mothers line-up. The vocal duo, which had considerable chart success as the Turtles, parodied their success as "rock stars" here, and Zappa utilized their soul and doo-wop-style vocals for maximum comedic effect. The set works as a comedy record as much as anything else. They perform their huge hit "Happy Together," but it's done as a goof. Zappa and Flo & Eddie talk over the backbeat like standup comics.
Listeners' enjoyment of the record will be directly proportional to their appreciation of funny but gross humor featuring creamed corn, donkeys, hemorrhoids, enchiladas wrapped in pickle sauce, and endless genitalia references. While there are some pieces from previous records ("Peaches En Regalia," and "Willie the Pimp" from HOT RATS) the centerpiece of the record is a loose narrative beginning with "The Mud Shark," a tale of an actual motel in Seattle where people would fish out the window. Though it could hardly be called a commercial record (even its cover is scrawled in pencil), for some bizarre reason, it made it to the Top 40.