Frank Zappa - 200 Motels

Frank Zappa's 200 Motels turns 50!

180-gram black vinyl double LP

Remastered by Bernie Grundman

Pressed at Optimal in Germany

In celebration of FZ's famous 1971 "Surrealistic Documentary," Zappa Records, UMe, and MGM are pleased to present the original soundtrack newly remastered by the legendary Bernie Grundman and featuring all original packaging including the booklet and mini-replica movie poster. 2LPs pressed on 180-gram black vinyl by Optimal Media in Germany.

Released in October 1971, Frank Zappa's 200 Motels was a miraculous feat, a cinematic collision of the venerated musician and composer's kaleidoscopic musical and visual worlds that brought together Zappa and his band, The Mothers, Ringo Starr as Zappa — as "a large dwarf" — Keith Moon as a perverted nun, Pamela Des Barres in her acting debut, noted thespian Theodore Bikel, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and an incredible assortment of characters (both on screen and off) for a "surrealistic documentary" about the bizarre life of a touring musician. A heady, psychedelic stew of low and high brow art forms, the film, written by Zappa and co-directed by him and Tony Palmer, mixed together irreverent comedic skits, madcap satire, eye-popping animation and virtuosic on-screen musical performances from both The Mothers and the RPO for a fascinating and free-wheeling multimedia extravaganza.

Shot in just 10 days with a budget of around $650,000 from distributor United Artists, 200 Motels was one of the first movies to be filmed entirely on videotape and Zappa and crew pushed the envelope of the burgeoning new medium's possibilities, mostly notably through its use of spectacular — and at the time — state-of-the-art visual effects. Described by Zappa as "at once a reportage of real events and an extrapolation of them... other elements include ‘conceptual by-products' of the extrapolated ‘real event' ... In some ways the contents of the film are autobiographical," 200 Motels was hailed by the Los Angeles Times as a "a stunning achievement" with "just the right touch of insanity," and the "Zaniest piece of filmusical fantasy-comedy since The Beatles' ‘A Hard Day's Night'" by Daily Variety.

The music, and its corresponding soundtrack, was equally diverse, a wild pastiche of avant garde rock and orchestral compositions interspersed with dialog from the film. Up until that time, compositions like the finale piece, "Strictly Genteel," were some of the most ambitious material ever written and recorded by Zappa. The band in the film and on the soundtrack consisted of Frank Zappa (guitar & bass), Mark Volman (vocals & special material), Howard Kaylan (vocals & special material), Ian Underwood (keyboards & winds), Aynsley Dunbar (drums), George Duke (keyboards & trombone), Martin Lickert (bass), Jimmy Carl Black (vocals), and Ruth Underwood (orchestra drum set), not to mention the aforementioned Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

In true Zappa fashion as he wrote in the album's original liner notes, "This music is not in the same order as in the movie. Some of this music is in the movie. Some of this music is not in the movie. Some of the music that's in the movie is not in the album. Some of the music that was written for the movie is not in the movie or the album. All of this music was written for the movie, over a period of 4 years. Most of it (60%) was written in motels while touring."

 

 

Side A

1. Semi-Fraudulent / Direct-From-Hollywood Overture

2. Mystery Roach

3. Dance Of The Rock & Roll Interviewers

4. This Town Is A Sealed Tuna Sandwich (Prologue)

5. Tuna Fish Promenade

6. Dance Of The Just Plain Folks

7. This Town Is A Sealed Tuna Sandwich (Reprise)

8. The Sealed Tuna Bolero

9. Lonesome Cowboy Burt

Side B

1. Redneck Eats

2. Centerville

3. She Painted Up Her Face

4. Janet's Big Dance Number

5. Half A Dozen Provocative Squats

6. Mysterioso

7. Shove It Right In

8. Lucy's Seduction Of A Bored Violinist & Postlude

Side C

1. I'm Stealing The Towels

2. Dental Hygiene Dilemma

3. Does This Kind Of Life Look Interesting To You?

4. Daddy, Daddy, Daddy

5. Penis Dimension

6. What Will This Evening Bring Me This Morning

Side D

1. A Nun Suit Painted On Some Old Boxes

2. Magic Fingers

3. Motorhead's Midnight Ranch

4. Dew On The Newts We Got

5. The Lad Searches The Night For His Newts

6. The Girl Wants To Fix Him Some Broth

7. The Girl's Dream

8. Little Green Scratchy Sweaters & Courduroy Ponce

9. Strictly Genteel (The Finale)

Be the first to write a review for this item OR just rate it