Frank Zappa and the Mothers’ Epic 1971 Fillmore East Shows Get 50th-Anniversary Reissue

The entirety of Frank Zappa and the Mothers’ epic two-night, four-show stand at New York’s Fillmore East in June 1971 will be released for the first time this March to mark the 50th anniversary of the original live LP.

Fillmore East – June 1971 — released two months later in August 1971 with its simple, bootleg-inspired cover — previously featured 12 selections from the Mothers’ four-gig stand at the legendary venue. The Mothers 1971 collects all 63 songs that the band — then featuring the Turtles’ Flo & Eddie — played at the Fillmore East on the day and evening of June 5 and 6, 1971, including the Mothers’ surprise encore set accompanied by John Lennon and Yoko Ono to close out the run.

The eight-CD box set also features a complete recording of the Mothers’ infamous concert at London’s Rainbow Theatre on Dec. 10, 1971, where — following a performance of the Beatles’ “I Want to Hold Your Hand” — a crazed audience member came onstage and attacked Zappa, shoving him into the orchestra pit 12 feet below.

The incident left Zappa severely injured and hospitalized, temporarily paralyzing one of his arms and forcing him to use a wheelchair and leg brace for the majority of the next year. (Audio of the attack is presented here for the first time, as those tapes were rediscovered while compiling the boxset.) While recovering, Zappa began to pursue other musical ideas, making the Rainbow Theatre show the final gig of the Flo & Eddie-era Mothers lineup.

The Mothers 1971 — available to preorder now — also includes two bonus discs of highlights from the group’s pre-Fillmore shows from Harrisburg and Scranton, the single “Teas Began to Fall” and its B-side “Junier Mintz Boogie,” radio spots and more. All of the tracks have been newly remixed and remastered from the original tapes from the Zappa Vault, including the Lennon encore, with the Beatles singer’s estate providing the Zappa Trust with a safety reel of that performance.

Additionally, the original Fillmore East – June 1971 will be reissued as a three-LP set with a bonus LP of the 1971 highlights and the Lennon/Ono encore, while The Rainbow Theatre will also be released as a three-LP set for the first time.

The Mothers 1971 Tracklist

CD 1: FILLMORE EAST, NEW YORK CITY, NY, JUNE 5, 1971 – SHOW 1
1. Peaches En Regalia
2. Tears Began To Fall
3. Shove It Right In
4. Status Back Baby
5. Concentration Moon – Part 1
6. The Sanzini Brothers (Sodomy Trick)
7. Concentration Moon – Part II
8. Mom & Dad
9. Intro To Music For Low Budget Orchestra
10. Billy The Mountain
11. King Kong

CD 2: FILLMORE EAST, NEW YORK CITY, NY, JUNE 5, 1971 – SHOW 2
1. Peaches En Regalia
2. Tears Began To Fall
3. Shove It Right In
4. Intro To Music For Low Budget Orchestra
5. Billy The Mountain
6. Little House I Used To Live In
7. The Mud Shark
8. What Kind Of Girl Do You Think We Are?
9. Bwana Dik
10. Latex Solar Beef
11. Willie The Pimp

CD 3: FILLMORE EAST, NEW YORK CITY, NY, JUNE 5, 1971 – SHOW 2 (CTD; TRACKS 1-6)
1. Do You Like My New Car?
2. Happy Together
3. ”Any Chord Of Your Choice”
4. King Kong – Part I
5. Lonesome Electric Turkey
6. King Kong – Part II
FILLMORE EAST, NEW YORK CITY, NY, JUNE 6, 1971 – SHOW 1 (TRACKS 7-15)
7. Fillmore Improvisation
8. Peaches En Regalia
9. Tears Began To Fall
10. Shove It Right In
11. Status Back Baby
12. Concentration Moon – Part I
13. The Sanzini Brothers (Sodomy Trick)
14. Concentration Moon – Part II
15. Mom & Dad

CD 4: FILLMORE EAST, NEW YORK CITY, NY, JUNE 6, 1971 – SHOW 1 (CTD; TRACKS 1-4)
1. The Story Of Billy The Mountain
2. Intro To Music For Low Budget Orchestra
3. Billy The Mountain
4. Chunga’s Revenge
FILLMORE EAST, NEW YORK CITY, NY, JUNE 6, 1971 – SHOW 2 (TRACKS 5-8)
5. “Herd Of Cattle”
6. Peaches En Regalia
7. Tears Began To Fall
8. Shove It Right In

CD 5: FILLMORE EAST, NEW YORK CITY, NY, JUNE 6, 1971 – SHOW 2 (CTD)
1. The Story Of Billy The Mountain
2. Intro To Music For Low Budget Orchestra
3. Billy The Mountain
4. “Conglomerate Assembly”
5. Little House I Used To Live In
6. The Mud Shark
7. What Kind Of Girl Do You Think We Are?
8. Bwana Dik
9. Latex Solar Beef
10. Willie The Pimp
11. Do You Like My New Car?
12. Happy Together

CD 6: FILLMORE EAST, NEW YORK CITY, NY, JUNE 6, 1971 – SHOW 2 (CTD)
JOHN & YOKO ENCORE SET (TRACKS 1-6)
1. Well
2. Say Please
3. King Kong
4. Aaawk
5. Scumbag
6. A Small Eternity With Yoko Ono
RADIO SPOT, SINGLE VERSION, B-SIDE & OUTTAKES (TRACKS 7-10)
7. Homemade Radio Spot
8. Tears Began To Fall – Single Version
9. Junier Mintz Boogie – Single B-Side
10. Homemade Radio Spot Outtakes
BONUS HYBRID CONCERT: HARRISBURG/SCRANTON, PA 1971
STATE FARM SHOW ARENA, HARRISBURG, PA, JUNE 3, 1971 (TRACKS 11-20)
11. Peaches En Regalia
12. Tears Began To Fall
13. Shove It Right In
14. Status Back Baby
15. Concentration Moon – Part I
16. The Sanzini Brothers (Burning Hoop Trick)
17. Concentration Moon – Part II
18. Mom & Dad
19. My Boyfriend’s Back
20. Tiny Sick Tears

CD 7: BONUS HYBRID CONCERT: HARRISBURG/SCRANTON, PA 1971
STATE FARM SHOW ARENA, HARRISBURG, PA, JUNE 3, 1971 (CTD; TRACKS 1-3)
1. Call Any Vegetable
2. The Story Of Billy The Mountain
3. Intro To Music For Low Budget Orchestra
STATE FARM SHOW ARENA, HARRISBURG, PA, JUNE 3, 1971 & WATRES ARMORY, SCRANTON, PA, JUNE 1, 1971 (TRACK 4)
4. Billy The Mountain
WATRES ARMORY, SCRANTON, PA, JUNE 1, 1971 (TRACKS 5-6)
5. Willie The Pimp
6. King Kong (Outro)
RAINBOW THEATRE, LONDON, ENGLAND, DECEMBER 10, 1971 (TRACKS 7-9)
7. Zanti Serenade
8. Peaches En Regalia
9. Tears Began To Fall

CD 8: RAINBOW THEATRE, LONDON, ENGLAND, DECEMBER 10, 1971 (CTD)
1. Shove It Right In
2. “Pain In The Ass”
3. Divan: Once Upon A Time
4. Divan: Sofa #1
5. Pound For A Brown – Part I
6. Super Grease
7. Pound For A Brown – Part II
8. Sleeping In A Jar
9. Wonderful Wino
10. Sharleena
11. Cruising For Burgers
12. “That’s Your Tough Luck”
13. King Kong
14. I Want To Hold Your Hand