antimusic.com: Quick Flicks: Frank Zappa - A Token of His Extreme Review

Frank Zappa - A Token of His Extreme

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Frank Zappa fanatics now have another excellent piece to add to their collection with A Token of His Extreme, a presentation that Frank put together at his own expense that was recorded before a live audience at KCET-TV in Hollywood in 1974 and subsequently shown during prime time on a few stations in Europe but not in the States; until now it has never been commercially released.

Zappa's backing band the Mothers on this occasion consisted of George Duke, Napoleon Murphy-Brock, Ruth Underwood, Tom Fowler and Chester Thompson and while Zappa's eloquently quirky vocals provide audio stimulation it is Murphy-Brock that provides most of the visual show, roaming the stage acting the wild man as he sings, dances and plays sax.

Duke takes the mic for "Room Service" and opening cut "The Dog Breath Variations/Uncle Meat" is played to animation by Bruce Bickford; otherwise the show features hot takes on familiar tunes like "Montana," "Stink-Foot" and "Inca Roads" along with "Son of Orange County," "Florentine Pogen," "More Trouble Every Day" and several others.

Click the DVD cover below to purchase online.