A Token of His Extreme

Frank certainly would have approved of this this great release- BONUSES Too!
For those who are wondering if the evasive "A Token of His Existance" television special that Zappa produced in 1974 - and was never aired in the US - is really coming out on DVd, I can attest to the fact that it is! With bonuses to boot! As a music journalist I got my copy this week and it will be released tomorrow! Between Eagle Rock Entertainment - which has been releasing some great DVDs at reasonable prices - and the Zappa Family Estate (led by FZ's widow Gail) - this is a class production and a must for FZ fans.

The 73 minute "concert" program was transferred from the Original 2" Quad Video Master in 2009 and looks and sounds great. The 11 songs are performed by FZ and the Mothers with George Duke on keyboards (and finger cymbals) and Ruth Underwood (percussion) and Chester Thompson (drums) providing the beat with Tom Fowler on bass and Napoleon Murphy Brock on sax and vocals. Performed in front of a live audience, a few of the numbers feature wonderful stop-action...

Excellent Zappa footage, headache inducing editing
This DVD is essentially an extended version of my favorite segment in Dub Room Special: Room Service, Florentine Pogen, Napolean Murphy Brock riding his small tiny hoss during Montana... if you're reading this review, you know this stuff is gold. This is Zappa's greatest assemblage of musicians playing some highly experimental music. It's a must own for any Zappa fan.

But, that doesn't mean it's perfect. This DVD has several lengthy stretches of video editing that hinders an otherwise beautiful audio-visual Zappa document. Most frustrating is the strobe effects used in countless sections of the concert footage in which the camera rapidly switches between various members of the band. It occurs so fast, it's impossible to see exactly what ANYONE is doing. So rather than taking in the performance and visualizing what is being played, the viewer is left to make sense of the headache inducing slideshow. It's a relief when one of these segments end.

The decision to use...

Frank Zappa A Token of His Extreme
I personally consider Frank the greatest composer of 20th century and possibly the best guitar player of all time /Jimi's fans should not be offended!/. Excellent DVD, considering the age, audio and video are very good and to me it's a pure pleasure to see as much as possible of Frank's legacy. Buy it and you're in for a treat!

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