Page Two

THE MICHIGAN DAILY

Friday, May 19, 1972

records
More Mothers' madness

By MIKE HARPER
When the Mothers of Inven-
tion released their first album,
Freak Out, a few years back, I
knew right away that they were
no ordinary band - it was ob-
vious; any band that could sin-
glehandedly desecrate Mom, Ap-
ple Pie and the Girl Next Door
was far from ordinary. Their
name has been shortened -
they're now "just" the Mothers
-but they still are America's
most degerate band, and their
newest album, Just Another
Band from L.A. proves them to
be everything but its title.
Lead-Mother Frank Zappa's
latest symphony of perversion
was recorded live at UCLA's
Pauley Pavilion, and it encom-
passes two distinctive "pieces";
one side tells the story of a
California landmark while the
other consists of a virtual mon-
tage of Mothers' music-past
and present.
Side one is "dedicated" to,
stars and is "Billy the Moun-
tain," 'the touching (?) story
of a "postcardy" mountain who,
after years of posing for post-
cards, finally receives his first
royalty check. Delighted with his
new-found wealth. Billy tells his
wife, Ethel the Tree ("growing
off of his shoulder"), that they
are going to take a trip to New
York and, off they go. On their
way, they destroy Edward's Air
Force Base, level Glendale and.
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a tornado caused by Billy "sucks
up" two-thirds of Watts.
The "famous moun-tin-in and
his small, wooden wife" are link-
ed to drug abuse and payoffs in
a smut ring; and then Ethel is
labeled a "communist" and a
"witch" by an "informed"
Orange County minister. All
this and Billy gets his notice of
induction into the armed forces!
Wowie-zowie!
The twenty-four minute-plus
musical "epic" continues with
the introduction of S t u d e-
bacher Hoch, the only mortal
man who has a chance of stop-
ping Billy the Mountain, Stude-
bacher and his "trained flies"
take on Billy and consequently
fail - Studebacher falls off Bil-
ly and ruptures himself. And
thus Billy the Mountain and his
wife, Ethel, live happily e v e r
after - standing tall, as majes-
tic as a mountain and a tree
can be.
Side two is a look at rock and
roll from the 1950's through cur-
rent styles, as seen in four flow-
ing numbers. The side begins
with a dazzling version of Zap-
pa's classic, "Call Any Vege-
table," featuring some splendid
vocals by ex-Turtles' Howard
Kaylan and Mark Volman, and
loud, brutal old-time rock. The
lyrical madness of the song is
punctuated by Zappa's dutiful
wah-wah guitar and Ian Under-
wood's keyboards and abnormal
worldliness. Fine rhythm support
comes from bassist Jim Pons
and drummer Aynsley Dunbar.
Then cames "Magelena," a
song that manages to destroy
every love song that has pre-
ceeded it in six minutes' time.
"Magdelena" features obscenely
funny lyrics, and a tight Moth-

ers' musical sound that develops
into a perverted polka, playing
off of Don Preston's Mini-Moog
synthesizer.
Finally is Zappa's delicious
"Dog Breath," performed su-
perbly in the true musical sense.
The Mothers have never been
known for their musical skill,
but their engaging performance
in this case should remove all
doubts - when they want to,
they can really play. The lyrics
are encased in solid rhythm,
with Dunbar particularly effec-
tive. Frank Zappa, although not
the most original of guitarists,
does play a very productive gui-
tar, creating solid leadership
over the musical force; his solo
on "Dog Breath" is quite tasty,
proving him to be a capable ar-
tist. A highlight of this song,
as in all the others, is the fine,
oftentimes tongue in cheek vocal
work by the entire band, greatly
due to the extra efforts of
Messrs. Kaylan and Volman. As
"Dog Breath" fades into musical
memory, there comes the ap-
plause that will always deny the
Mothers the title of their new-
est album - for with their ever
increasing imagination and mu-
sical technique, they'll never be
just another band from L.A.
The Michigan Daily, edited and man-
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Summer Session published Tuesday
through Saturday morning. Subacrip-
tion rates: $1.50 by carrier (campus
area); $6.50 local mail (in Mich. or
Oh'o); $5)non-local mail (other states
and foceign).

DdYou see
the golf shirt
SJack Nicidau s wore
this weekend?
It's called the Hathaway Golf Classic. Jack Nicklaus wears it for a
lot of good reasons. The comfort is playing comfort, not just club-
house comfort; full in the sleeve for a free unhampered swing;
nothing to bind or chafe; nothing to take your mind off the game.
The fabric is what you need when things get hot and sticky: a fine
' oo% mercerized cotton lisle; it breathes and absorbs. It even works
in the wash: basin, machine or commercial laundry.
We have it in a range of colors and patterns including the solid
color tailored collar model he wore this weekend.
It plays well and it looks good: that's what the game is all about.
No wonder Jack Nicklaus wears it: $11.00

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