The Mothers 1970 is a 4-CD box set celebrating the 50th anniversary of the short-lived 1970 line-up of
Rock-band
The Mothers. It compiles 70 unreleased tracks recorded during this era of the band.[1]
Content
The album contains three discs of previously unreleased material, The first disc features studio recordings from
Trident Studios that would adventually evolve into
Chunga's Revenge. These studio recordings were engineered by a then-unknown
Roy Thomas Baker who would go on to be the producer for many famous bands such as
Queen,
The Cars, and
Alice Cooper among others. The remaining three discs contain live concerts from this era, The first two discs contain the first official release of the bootlegged "Piknik" live broadcast as well as live concerts in
Santa Monica, California, and
Spokane, Washington. Due to not being entirely recorded these concerts were put together in a hybrid concert. The third disc consists of live highlights that were recorded throughout the US occasionally broken up with candid moments recorded in dressing rooms, motel lobbies, and on stage. These were recorded by
Frank Zappa who took his
UHER recorder everywhere. All of these recordings were sourced from their original vault tapes and digitally compiled and transferred by Joe Travers in 2020.[2][1][3]
Reception
Writing for
Loudersound, Hugh Fielder liked the album. He states that the first disc is "somewhat tentative" and states how the live discs show that this band line-up is far better than the only album this line-up released,
Chunga's Revenge. He also states that the live concerts show the band moving towards what would eventually become
200 Motels.[4]
Track listing
Disc 1 – Trident Studios, London, England June 21–22, 1970
No.
Title
Length
1.
"Red Tubular Lighter"
4:51
2.
"Lola Steponsky"
3:29
3.
"Trident Chatter"
1:45
4.
"Sharleena (Roy Thomas Baker Mix)"
4:04
5.
"Item 1"
5:47
6.
"Wonderful Wino (FZ Vocal)"
5:12
7.
"“Enormous Cadenza”"
1:11
8.
"Envelopes"
8:23
9.
"Red Tubular Lighter (Unedited Master)"
9:25
10.
"Wonderful Wino (Basic Tracks, Alt. Take)"
4:56
11.
"Giraffe - Take 4"
8:12
12.
"Wonderful Wino (FZ Vocal, Alt. Solo)"
5:55
Total length:
63:09
Disc 2 – Live Highlights Part 1 – “Piknik” VPRO June 18, 1970 / Pepperland September 26, 1970
The Mothers 1970 is a 4-CD box set celebrating the 50th anniversary of the short-lived 1970 line-up of
Rock-band
The Mothers. It compiles 70 unreleased tracks recorded during this era of the band.[1]
Content
The album contains three discs of previously unreleased material, The first disc features studio recordings from
Trident Studios that would adventually evolve into
Chunga's Revenge. These studio recordings were engineered by a then-unknown
Roy Thomas Baker who would go on to be the producer for many famous bands such as
Queen,
The Cars, and
Alice Cooper among others. The remaining three discs contain live concerts from this era, The first two discs contain the first official release of the bootlegged "Piknik" live broadcast as well as live concerts in
Santa Monica, California, and
Spokane, Washington. Due to not being entirely recorded these concerts were put together in a hybrid concert. The third disc consists of live highlights that were recorded throughout the US occasionally broken up with candid moments recorded in dressing rooms, motel lobbies, and on stage. These were recorded by
Frank Zappa who took his
UHER recorder everywhere. All of these recordings were sourced from their original vault tapes and digitally compiled and transferred by Joe Travers in 2020.[2][1][3]
Reception
Writing for
Loudersound, Hugh Fielder liked the album. He states that the first disc is "somewhat tentative" and states how the live discs show that this band line-up is far better than the only album this line-up released,
Chunga's Revenge. He also states that the live concerts show the band moving towards what would eventually become
200 Motels.[4]
Track listing
Disc 1 – Trident Studios, London, England June 21–22, 1970
No.
Title
Length
1.
"Red Tubular Lighter"
4:51
2.
"Lola Steponsky"
3:29
3.
"Trident Chatter"
1:45
4.
"Sharleena (Roy Thomas Baker Mix)"
4:04
5.
"Item 1"
5:47
6.
"Wonderful Wino (FZ Vocal)"
5:12
7.
"“Enormous Cadenza”"
1:11
8.
"Envelopes"
8:23
9.
"Red Tubular Lighter (Unedited Master)"
9:25
10.
"Wonderful Wino (Basic Tracks, Alt. Take)"
4:56
11.
"Giraffe - Take 4"
8:12
12.
"Wonderful Wino (FZ Vocal, Alt. Solo)"
5:55
Total length:
63:09
Disc 2 – Live Highlights Part 1 – “Piknik” VPRO June 18, 1970 / Pepperland September 26, 1970