This is a tight band and a great show. Definitely listen for the unedited "Inca Roads" improvised guitar solo that ended up on the studio cut- it is amazing. Another great moment is "Duprees Paradise". The opening with Napoleon's flute solo after George's odyssey opens the door to more great solos that need to be heard by all fans. This is a must buy, especially those fond of the Roxy & Elsewhere sound.

This is the 1974 line-up of The Mothers, so far removed from the original band that paved the way, clear back in 1965, but still a stellar example of how Frank Zappa's music is to be played on stage, per September 22nd, 1974. The music is complex, with lots of arrangements, and even though there are only six musicians on stage for this performance, it sounds at times like many more. There is silly interplay between the members of the band, and as I said earlier, there are no original members of The Mothers Of Invention on these two discs, but, as talented as they were, I believe most of this material does push itself past the capabilities of the original line-up. This is in no way to disparage the original band, I loved what they did, all of it, but the chops the members of this particular band display, are in a league all their own; the definitive jazz-fusion line-up. George Duke, Chester Thompson, and Tom Fowler are a complete jazz combo themselves, and when you add percussionist Ruth Underwood and lead vocalist Napoleon Murphy Brock, with his abilities on sax and flute, this is an intimidating roster of talent. Frank Zappa has always used outstanding musicians in his touring and recording ensembles, and as I have already said, this is no exception.

This volume of the series is unique, in the fact that this is the only installment in the whole series featuring one band, on one stage, recorded on one particular day. All the others feature various line-ups at different stages of Zappa's career. So you get to hear the momentum of the show (some say it's the best of two separate performances in one day; possible, given FZ's penchant for editing the best segments of various perfomances together).

The Mothers play Zappa's live standards such as Apostrophe's "Stinkfoot" with such ease, they make it sound like it's a mind-numbingly simple song to play. Not his most difficult, by any standard, but they show what true PROFESSIONALS they really were, because songs like "Stinkfoot" sound easy, and so do incredibly difficult arrangements such as "Echidna's Arf." Don't let the silly titles fool you; songs named "Tush, Tush, Tush," "Stinkfoot," "Cheepnis," and "Building A Girl," are only the names these selections have. They are incredibly intricate, complex arrangements that most bands, then and now, could not approach.

One priceless bit of FZ history is included here, the reason Zappa's band included "Whippin' Post" in their repertoire after this tour. Someone in the audience called out "Whippin' Post!" The band at this juncture didn't know this song, so Zappa toyed with the heckler, asking him to sing it, and cut him off after about one second. Some people really step into it when they don't know who they are messing with. This exchange is at the beginning of "Montana," and FZ changed the lyrics on the spot, to make references to the heckler's request for "Whippin' Post," and the rest is history. To hear the conviction that he covered this with, check out the last track on 1984's "Them Or Us." It's the 1984 touring band playing "Whippin' Post," and even though nobody can do it like The Allman Brothers Band, the arrangements played by Zappa's touring band at the time, are a phenomenal job. There is video of this song on "Does Humor Belong In Music?," the 1985 video, and it has some changes in the middle, but it all began with the guy in the audience at Helsinki, way back in 1974.

In all, this is the most consistent volume, as I have already said, because this is all one band, on one stage, on one day. It's many people's favorite, and I can clearly see why.

A little bit of research on the 'net will tell you that this is, regardless of what the liner notes say, likely edited - some Finnish fans who were at the concert say that the "Finnish Tango" was actually performed during the second day's show on the 23rd rather than during the show on the 22nd as stated here. It hardly matters, though. This was an incredible band, and the playing will leave you breathless. Some of the highlights that I think haven't been touched on by others include:

- The "Inca Roads" solo is beautifully melodic in a "conventional" sense and a perfect example of improvisational composition.

- "Cheepnis" is the single best song, with an incredibly funky middle section.

- George Duke has a great voice and, like everyone else in the band, is obviously totally committed to the music. Even better, everyone (including Frank) sounds like they're having fun. Check out the articles on the 'net from Finnish correpsondents - it's clear that, despite the hassle of touring (and towels), Helinski turned out to be a great experience.

- Poor Suzi Quattro.

- There are mistakes, or better, accidents. That may sound bad, but for me those can be the best thing about live performance. Best examples - Ruth can't keep up on the opening of "Montana" and Frank, after some surprisingly good-natured ribbing, slows the song down, and George changes "Tush Tush Tush" to "squeek squeek squeek" at the inadvertent feedback squeal going into "Stinkfoot."

- Finally, the band playing the "Finnish Tango" (they aren't sight-reading - a photo is published from rehearsals earlier that day that shows Finnish percussionist Matti Koskiali helping the band learn the song) absolutely straight, until Napoleon Murphy Brock enters with a horribly mangled vocal in bad phonetic Finnish.

Wow. Too much detail, maybe, but this is a great recording. If you get nothing else of Zappa playing live, this should be it.

I own just about every album Zappa released, and this one has become one of my favorites. Taken from the "Roxy and Elsewhere" tour. Newcomers to Zappa should get "Roxy and Elsewhere" first, but they'll want to get this one eventually for a number of reasons.

First of all, it's one of Zappa's best bands in top form. This includes early versions of RDNZL, Approximate, Dupree's Paradise, Token of My Extreme played with great virtousity. The "Room Service" skit is hilarious. The astute listener will recognize that the guitar solo on the "studio" version of "Inca Roads" is actually an edited version of the solo from this concert - he actually mentioned it in the liner notes of OSFA. Also of "conceptual continuity" interest is "Montana", which explains why Zappa performed "Whipping Post" 10 years later.

The version of "Idiot Bastard Son", while very different from the WIFM version, is absolutely wonderful.

I disagree with the editorial review that says that this version of "Village of the Sun" is the best. They play it too fast here and spoil it a bit. I much prefer the more soulful version on "Roxy".

Still, a must-have for Zappa fans.

A perfect concert, they jam, they do a finnish folk song for the folks in Helsinki, some hilarious montana hijinks, and proof that zappa could hold his own with weather rpt, return to forever, and mahavoshnu...make this you first live zappa disc. you will love it