Frank Zappa/Mothers 1974 [1992] "Roxy & Elsewhere"

Roxy & Elsewhere is a double live album by Frank Zappa and The Mothers, released on September 10, 1974. Most of the songs were recorded on December 8, 9 and 10, 1973 at The Roxy Theatre in Hollywood, California. The material taken from the Roxy concerts was later amended with some overdubs in the studio, while the "Elsewhere" tracks ("Son of Orange County" and "More Trouble Every Day") were recorded on May 8, 1974, at the Edinboro State College, Edinboro, Pennsylvania (and parts of "Son of Orange County" on May 11, 1974, at the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago, Illinois [late show]) and do not contain overdubbed material.

The album primarily comprised recordings from three shows at the Roxy Theater in Hollywood, and featured tracks never before or thereafter released on any Zappa/Mothers album.

The opening track, "Penguin in Bondage", is edited together from performances at the Roxy and the Chicago date. The guitar solo on "Son of Orange County" is one of the few Zappa guitar solos edited together from more than one concert, in this case the Edinboro and Chicago dates.

Some of the unused tracks from the Roxy shows circulate as bootlegs, as well as the entirety of the Edinboro show. Other tracks were released on Volumes One, Three and Four of the You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore series. On a side note, Zappa can be heard, on the released and unreleased Roxy tapes, speaking of the making of a 'film' that could potentially be "broadcast on television", as well as reminding the audience not to be "uncomfortable around the intimidatingly large 16 mm cameras."

A four-channel quadraphonic version of the album was mixed by Zappa[4] and advertised, but the quad version has never been released.

The 2014 CD Roxy by Proxy includes other material from the Roxy shows, including alternate versions of some songs from Roxy & Elsewhere, with no overdubs.

In the documentary Genesis: Together and Apart, Phil Collins states that the twin drum solos in "Don't You Ever Wash That Thing?" is what inspired him to ask Chester Thompson to become Genesis' touring drummer in late 1976.[5] Collins and Thompson also used the drum fill from the chorus of "More Trouble Every Day" in the coda of live versions of the Genesis song "Afterglow."

On February 2, 2018, Zappa Records/UMe released The Roxy Performances, a definitive set that collects all four public shows from December 9–10, 1973, and the December 8th film shoot and soundcheck, each presented in their entirety without overdubs, along with bonus content featuring rarities from a rehearsal, unreleased tracks and highlights from the recording session at Bolic Sound.[6]

On June 17, 2022, Zappa Records/UMe released Zappa/Erie, a six CD box set including the complete May 8, 1974 concert from Edinboro that had been one of the sources of "Son of Orange County" and "More Trouble Every Day" from Roxy & Elsewhere.

That's entertainment! This double LP record has been recorded live, and Frank Zappa plays the role of an entertainer on it! There are many parts where just a light background music gives an atmosphere to the conversations and to Zappa's oral presentations. The record has many fast and complex instrumental parts. "Be-Bop Tango" is a 16 minutes tracks where Zappa invites some people in the audience to dance while George Duke scats and plays a solo at the same time; this track also contains an outstanding trombone solo, plus "impossible to play" xylophone-drums-bass-trumpet combination. "Cheepnis" is an absolutely addictive track, very catchy, rhythm changing, complex and fast! The consecutive "Echidna's Arf" and "Don't You Ever Wash That Thing?" demonstrate a great mastering of the challenging synchronization of instrumentation; those tracks have very complex and fast fusion patterns; Ruth Underwood's percussions are outstanding! Zappa does not miss to play some impossible guitar solos. After the jazzy Grand Wazoo album, Zappa made 5 records between 1973 and 1975, and this one is the most instrumental and jazz/fusion by far!

Track listing:

01 Penguin In Bondage 6:48

02 Pygmy Twylyte 2:13

03 Dummy Up  6:03

04 Village Of The Sun 4:17

05 Echidna's Arf (Of You) 3:53

06 Don't You Ever Wash That Thing? 9:41

07 Cheepnis  6:31

08 Son Of Orange County 5:54

09 More Trouble Every Day 6:01

10 Be-Bop Tango (Of The Old Jazzmen's Church) 16:40

Personnel:

- Frank Zappa / guitar, guitar (electric), keyboards, vocals

- George Duke / keyboards, vocals

- Tom Fowler / bass

- Ruth Underwood / percussion

- Jeff Simmons / rhythm guitar, vocals

- Don Preston / synthesizer

- Bruce Fowler / trombone, dancing!

- Walt Fowler / trumpet

- Napoleon Murphy Brock / tenor saxophone, flute, vocals

- Ralph Humphrey / drums

- Chester Thompson / drums