Mark Smotroff is an avid vinyl collector who has also worked in marketing communications for decades. He has reviewed music for AudiophileReview.com, among others, and you can see more of his impressive C.V. at LinkedIn.)

Offiziellecharts.de – Frank Zappa – Funky Nothingness" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved October 2, 2023. While this set is bookended by 1967’s “Funky Nothingness,” a short piece of blues that was originally planned as the opening to an early version of the Chunga’s Revenge album, and ’67’s brief “Fast Funky Nothingness,” the rest of this material was recorded in February and March of 1970. With the Mothers having disbanded in 1969, Zappa brought together Mothers member Ian Underwood (keyboard, saxophone, rhythm guitar), violinist/vocalist Don “Sugarcane” Harris, and bassist Max Bennett, all of whom had played on Hot Rats, plus English drummer Aynsley Dunbar, who had recently relocated to Los Angeles with his invitation to join Zappa.a b "Frank Zappa's Incredibly Rare Recordings, Believed to Have Been Planned for a Potential Sequel to His Iconic Hot Rats Album, Have Been Unearthed from the Vault and Compiled as New Collection, Funky Nothingness". June 30, 2023 . Retrieved August 25, 2023.

Posthumous releases of Zappa's music have been a mixed bag, ranging from band rehearsals with less than high fidelity sound, expanded reissues which include works in progress prior to overdubbing and editing, expanded versions of previously issued albums and CDs or CD sets of completely unreleased (or mostly so) music. This collection falls into the latter category and is a release which long-time Zappa fans have dreamed of being discovered. If you love Frank Zappa’s music and his work around the time of Hot Rats and Chunga’s Revenge, then Funky Nothingness is an absolutely essential spin for you. ’Nuff said. This song is also, in many ways, a template for a completely different song that came later on Chunga’s Revenge, “Road Ladies” — a ripping electric blues with some comical, sexually charged lyrics not all that far removed from Slim’s original as played here, when you stop to think about it.

Tracklist

Funky Nothingness, as an album, is special in that it features at least three written compositions, three cover versions and multiple instrumental jam-oriented segments, all previously unreleased,” Travers explains. “It’s very rare to find that amount of music from one set of sessions that has gone unheard for such a long period of time.” Together the group recorded hours’ worth of original compositions, inspired covers and extended improvisations that drew from Zappa’s R&B and blues roots, while blending influences of the emerging jazz fusion scene. Largely instrumental, these recordings showcased the guitarist’s virtuosity, while offering what could have easily been the sequel to Hot Rats, had it ever been released. Music Superstar YOSHIKI Will Become First Japanese Artist to be Immortalized in Cement at the World-Famous TCL Chinese Theatre Hollywood Side one (presumably) ends with a lengthy workout of “I’m A Rollin’ Stone,” an old Lightnin’ Slim side. Over a slow, swampy groove, Zappa tears off some searing leads and jokes around: “Come in and make yourself comfortable… right over here by the Silvertone 45RPM imitation stereo record player,” his grin practically audible.

Funky Nothingness was produced and assembled by Ahmet Zappa (Frank’s son) and Zappa historian Joe Travers. “It’s very rare to find that amount of music from one set of sessions that has gone unheard for such a long period of time,” Travers notedin a press release.The title of Funky Nothingness is more than a bit misleading. While the music may be funky, it's certainly not nothing! In fact, it's quite something, but most especially for those familiar with this period of Zappa's music who will savor hearing the alternate and extended versions of "Chunga's Revenge," "Sharleena," "Transylvania Boogie," and "The Clap." One recommends a listen to both Hot Rats and Chunga's Revenge before digging into the gems here. Then...bring on the Funk with this latest vault expedition. Dutchcharts.nl – Frank Zappa – Funky Nothingness" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 2, 2023. National Music Centre to Present Panel of Indigenous Voices on National Day for Truth and Reconciliation Reed, Ryan (June 30, 2023). "Frank Zappa's Funky Nothingness Is Full of Meandering, Revelatory Jams". Spin. In the same vein as "The Clap" are a trio of brief pieces that close out the bonus discs. "Halos and Arrows" is a segment of a freeform, surprisingly relaxed, and gentle piece played by Zappa which was otherwise erased. "Moldred" was assembled by Zappa from the jams with Dunbar; he overdubbed himself on bass. The closing, under-a-minute-long "Fast Funky Nothingness" is just that - another blues-based piece at a faster tempo than the one which opened the first disc of the set.

Another awe-inspiring jam is “ Tommy/Vincent Duo II,” showcasing the magic between Zappa and Dunbar in their earliest days together. An unedited version, which stretches to nearly 22 minutes long, appears on Disc 3. Travers writes, “By 1970, Frank had worked with some great drummers between The Mothers and the L.A. studio scene…[but] Aynsley took things to another level. It’s easy to understand how Frank would be excited to see where their chemistry would take them musically. Here is audio proof.” In a way this explores a technique Zappa dubbed “Xenocrony,” which according to the Wiki “is executed by extracting a guitar solo or other musical part from its original context and placing it into a completely different song, to create an unexpected but pleasing effect.” Zappa/Hot Rats ’70: Session Masters & Bonus Nothingness” spans the second and third discs. Among these outtakes, alternate edits, unreleased masters of songs from the period, and improvisational recordings is “Tommy/Vincent Duo III (Unedited Master),” which finds Zappa and Dunbar squaring off on nearly 22 minutes of guitar/drum improvisation. With this welcome offering of three and a half hours of unheard studio Zappa that follows one of his most celebrated albums, one can’t help but wonder what else might eventually escape from the Zappa vault. ( www.zappa.com) The more I consider the contents of Frank Zappa’s new 2LP set Funky Nothingness, the more I realize these once-buried archival recordings are not just the components of a lost album, but really are an insightful transitional link into Zappa’s compositional mindset. Made in the aftermath of FZ’s October 1969 landmark jazz fusion masterpiece Hot Rats, this new album also connects many musical dots from there to October 1970’s Chunga’s Revenge — and beyond. Photo Gallery: Parkway Drive with The Amity Affliction, Northlane and Make Them Suffer at Toronto’s RBC Echo Beach

Some of these songs will be familiar to Zappa devotees. "Chunga's Revenge," included in Funky Nothingnessin three separate versions, was refigured as the title song from Hot Rat's follow-up, a cover of 1950s bluesman Lightnin' Slim's "I'm a Rollin' Stone" transformed into "Stink-Foot" from 1974's Apostrophe and Chunga's Revenge's closing song "Sharleena" is featured inan earlier 12-minute version. From here, one gets into the meat and bones of this set: two hours of alternates and outtakes. There’s a little bit of everything: unedited takes of “Sharleena” and “Transylvania Boogie” (which originally appeared in 1970’s Chunga’s Revenge), and alternate versions of “Chunga’s Revenge” and “Twinkle Tits.” The alternative version of “Chunga’s” has more heft than the take on disc one with strong soloing from Zappa; it also runs over 16 minutes, which is maybe why it didn’t fit in there. It’s of a piece with “Willie the Pimp” from Hot Rats in showing how Zappa’s guitar playing was growing with leaps and bounds in the late 1960s. With Dunbar’s drumming, it might even top that performance. The version of “Twinkle,” meanwhile, shows a more stripped down take – no overdubs, so it’s like being a fly on the wall at these sessions. The original material is similarly arresting. A hypnotic "Chunga's Revenge" recorded in the basement of Zappa's Laurel Canyon home and subsequent "Basement Jam" debut here; an edit of the recording was released in surround sound on the 2004 DVD-A release QuAUDIOPHILIAc. Indeed, much of the material here would make sense on an expanded edition of 1970's Chunga's Revenge. "Sharleena" closed that album. Former Turtles Flo and Eddie took the lead vocals, lending it their trademark pop sound. (That rendition was intended to be released on 45 RPM but the single never materialized.) The liner notes here reveal that Zappa described this Record Plant take as "the funky version." It's an apt tag as it leans more heavily into the blues than the released recording and features Sugarcane Harris' bluesy vocals. It's also nearly three times as long, featuring an extended improvisation with incendiary solos from Harris and Zappa before the proper song is restated. (This "Sharleena" was issued on 1996's The Lost Episodes in a remix; Funky Nothingness presents Zappa's original 1970 mix.) But for Zappa, things moved fast in those days. By May he’d thrown together a group with some of the Mothers and played a few shows in New York, then did a one-time performance with the LA Philharmonic at the end of the month. A month later, he’d hooked up with two-ed Turtles and was on a completely different path, one that’d lead to a movie and a near-death experience. This brief period in his career was maybe just a blip, but it’s nice to finally have more than just a few performances from it. | r milner