Roxy & Elsewhere
Encyclopedia
Roxy & Elsewhere is a live album by Frank Zappa & The Mothers
which was released in 1974. Most of the songs were recorded at The Roxy Theatre
in Hollywood, California on December 8, 9 and 10, 1973. The material taken from the Roxy concerts was later amended with some overdubs in the studio, while the "Elsewhere" tracks ("Son of Orange County" & "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.
, an unincorporated area near Palmdale, and also makes references to Lancaster, California
, twin city to Palmdale and Zappa's hometown.
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 are floating around in audience recording trading circles, as well as the entirety of the Edinboro show. Other tracks were released on Volumes One and Three 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 prepared and advertised, but not released.
DVD as a bonus feature.
Joe Travers has stated that "It's sitting in the vault. Waiting for a budget to do it properly. Basically the film footage, the negatives were transferred by Frank in the '80s using '80s technology. What we want to do is go back to the original negatives and do it in High Definition and then create a 5.1 mix from the original masters so that we have surround sound as well as Frank's 2 channel stereo mix. Once we get all that together, then we need to cut the program. Edit the program together, camera angles, what shows, what we are going to include from what shows or include all the shows. I have no idea what Dweezil and Gail want to do. It's great stuff, but the process of just getting to that point is going to cost a lot of money and take a lot of time." http://globalia.net/donlope/fz/videography/roxy.html Two songs from the unreleased film ("Montana" and "Dupree's Paradise") were used as opener for the Zappa Plays Zappa
concerts in 2006.
On April 1, 2007, Zappa.com unveiled a redesigned website, which included the 30-minute segment from the Roxy performances, which had been used at the Zappa Plays Zappa concerts, on its new videos page.
The clip for "Montana" was included as a bonus feature of the Classic Albums: Apostrophe(')/Over-Nite Sensation DVD, which was released on May 1, 2007.
(North America)
The Mothers of Invention
The Mothers of Invention were an American band active from 1964 to 1969, and again from 1970 to 1975.They mainly performed works by, and were the original recording group of, US composer and guitarist Frank Zappa , although other members have had the occasional writing credit...
which was released in 1974. Most of the songs were recorded at The Roxy Theatre
The Roxy Theatre
The Roxy Theatre is a famous nightclub, on the Sunset Strip, in West Hollywood, California. The Roxy is owned by Lou Adler and Adler's son, Nic, who operates the club.- History :...
in Hollywood, California on December 8, 9 and 10, 1973. The material taken from the Roxy concerts was later amended with some overdubs in the studio, while the "Elsewhere" tracks ("Son of Orange County" & "More Trouble Every Day") were recorded on May 8, 1974 at the Edinboro State College
Edinboro University of Pennsylvania
Edinboro University is a public liberal arts university located in Edinboro, Pennsylvania, USA and one of 14 schools associated with the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education. The town is named after Edinburgh, Scotland. It is also not to be confused with the University of Edinburgh...
, Edinboro
Edinboro, Pennsylvania
Edinboro is a borough in Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of the Erie Metropolitan Statistical Area. As home to Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, it is a small college town, as well as a "resort community"...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
(and parts of "Son of Orange County" on May 11, 1974 at the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
(late show)) and do not contain overdubbed material.
Music
This album is considered a high-watermark recording of one of the most celebrated incarnations of the Mothers. It features an array of highly challenging instrumentals such as "Echidna's Arf (Of You)", "Don't You Ever Wash That Thing?", and the opening theme of "Be-Bop Tango (of the Old Jazzmen's Church)". It also features "Cheepnis", Zappa's tribute to low-budget monster movies, and reworks of earlier tracks such as "More Trouble Every Day" and "Son of Orange County" (excerpted from the song "Oh No" and given an extended guitar solo). "Village of the Sun" is about Sun Village, CaliforniaSun Village, California
Sun Village is a census-designated place in Los Angeles County, California. At an elevation of , it is located in the eastern Antelope Valley, north of Littlerock. The center of Sun Village may be considered to be Palmdale Boulevard and 90th Street East. The 2010 United States census reported Sun...
, an unincorporated area near Palmdale, and also makes references to Lancaster, California
Lancaster, California
Lancaster is a charter city in northern Los Angeles County, in the high desert, near the Kern County line. Lancaster currently ranks as the 30th largest city in California, and the 148th largest city in the United States. Lancaster is the principal city within the Antelope Valley...
, twin city to Palmdale and Zappa's hometown.
Album
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. Material from the Roxy performances were partially overdubbed. The other tracks came from the second show on Mothers Day 1974 in the Chicago Auditorium Theatre and the May 8th Show in Edinboro State College (also 1974).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 are floating around in audience recording trading circles, as well as the entirety of the Edinboro show. Other tracks were released on Volumes One and Three 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
Quadraphonic
Quadraphonic sound – the most widely used early term for what is now called 4.0 surround sound – uses four channels in which speakers are positioned at the four corners of the listening space, reproducing signals that are independent of one another...
version of the album was prepared and advertised, but not released.
Unreleased DVD
There was a 3 minute trailer released in the new millennium advertising a Roxy DVD which could potentially contain the footage from all three nights. The trailer was later included on the Baby SnakesBaby Snakes
Baby Snakes is a movie which includes footage from Frank Zappa's 1977 Halloween concert at New York City's Palladium Theater, backstage antics from the crew, and stop motion clay animation from award-winning animator Bruce Bickford....
DVD as a bonus feature.
Joe Travers has stated that "It's sitting in the vault. Waiting for a budget to do it properly. Basically the film footage, the negatives were transferred by Frank in the '80s using '80s technology. What we want to do is go back to the original negatives and do it in High Definition and then create a 5.1 mix from the original masters so that we have surround sound as well as Frank's 2 channel stereo mix. Once we get all that together, then we need to cut the program. Edit the program together, camera angles, what shows, what we are going to include from what shows or include all the shows. I have no idea what Dweezil and Gail want to do. It's great stuff, but the process of just getting to that point is going to cost a lot of money and take a lot of time." http://globalia.net/donlope/fz/videography/roxy.html Two songs from the unreleased film ("Montana" and "Dupree's Paradise") were used as opener for the Zappa Plays Zappa
Zappa Plays Zappa
Zappa Plays Zappa is an American tribute act led by Dweezil Zappa, the eldest son of the late American composer and musician Frank Zappa, devoted to performing the music of Frank Zappa.- History :...
concerts in 2006.
On April 1, 2007, Zappa.com unveiled a redesigned website, which included the 30-minute segment from the Roxy performances, which had been used at the Zappa Plays Zappa concerts, on its new videos page.
The clip for "Montana" was included as a bonus feature of the Classic Albums: Apostrophe(')/Over-Nite Sensation DVD, which was released on May 1, 2007.
Track listing
All selections composed by Frank Zappa and performed by Frank Zappa & the Mothers, except "Dummy Up" composed by Brock, Simmons, and Zappa. All tracks recorded at the Roxy, except "Son of Orange County", "More Trouble Every Day" and parts of "Penguin in Bondage".Side two
- "Village of the Sun" – 4:17
- "Echidna's Arf (Of You)" – 3:52
- "Don't You Ever Wash That Thing?" – 9:40
Side three
- "CheepnisCheepnisCheepnis is a song by Frank Zappa written for his never-produced musical Hunchentoot, a tribute to B-movies. The song first appeared on his 1974 album Roxy & Elsewhere, from a live recording. Another live version of the song was released on You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore Vol. 2...
" – 6:33 - "Son of Orange County" – 5:53
- "More Trouble Every DayTrouble Every DayTrouble Every Day is a 2001 film by French director Claire Denis. The film was written by Denis and Jean-Pol Fargeau. The film stars Vincent Gallo, Tricia Vessey, Béatrice Dalle and Alex Descas. The film's soundtrack is provided by Tindersticks....
" – 6:00
Musicians
- Frank Zappa – guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, vocals, producer - Napoleon Murphy BrockNapoleon Murphy BrockNapoleon Murphy Brock is an American singer, saxophonist and flute player who is best known for his work with Frank Zappa in the 1970s, including the albums One Size Fits All, Roxy and Elsewhere, and Bongo Fury...
– fluteFluteThe flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
, tenor saxophoneTenor saxophoneThe tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble...
, vocals - Robert "Frog" Camarena – backing vocals ("Cheepnis")
- Debbie – backing vocals ("Cheepnis")
- Lynn - backing vocals ("Cheepnis")
- Ruben Ladron de Guevara – backing vocals ("Cheepnis")
- George DukeGeorge DukeGeorge Duke is a multi-faceted American musician, known as a keyboard pioneer, composer, singer and producer in both jazz and popular mainstream musical genres. He has worked with numerous acclaimed artists as arranger, music director, writer and co-writer, record producer and professor of music...
– synthesizerSynthesizerA synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
, keyboards, vocals - Bruce FowlerBruce FowlerBruce Lambourne Fowler is a prominent American trombone player and composer. He notably played trombone on many Frank Zappa records, as well as with Captain Beefheart, and in the Fowler Brothers Band...
– tromboneTromboneThe trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
, dancer - Tom Fowler – bass guitar
- Walt Fowler – trumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
, bass trumpet - Ralph Humphrey – drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
- Don PrestonDon PrestonDonald Ward Preston also known as Dom DeWilde or Biff Debrie born September 21, 1932 in Flint, Michigan. Preston is an American jazz and rock and roll musician.-Biography:Preston was born into a family of musicians and began studying music at an early age...
– synthesizer - Jeff SimmonsJeff Simmons (musician)Jeff Simmons, born May 1949 in Seattle, Washington, is a rock musician and former member of Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention. Simmons provided bass, guitar, and backing vocals for the group between 1970 and 1971. He left The Mothers just prior to the filming of 200 Motels in mid 1971...
– rhythm guitar, vocals - Chester ThompsonChester ThompsonChester Cortez Thompson is an American drummer and session musician.-Biography:Thompson made his name as a session drummer, going on to play in Frank Zappa's touring band and with Weather Report...
– drums - Ruth UnderwoodRuth UnderwoodRuth Underwood is a retired professional musician, best known for playing xylophone, marimba, vibraphone and other percussion instruments in Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention from 1967 to 1977....
– percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
Production staff
- Stephen Marcussen – digital remastering
- Kerry McNabb – engineer, remixing
- Wally Heider – engineer
- Coy Featherstone – photography
- Cal Schenkel – graphic design, design
Charts
Album - BillboardBillboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
(North America)
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1974 | Pop Albums | 27 |