Grandmothers - A Mother Of An Anthology (1993) {One Way Records} [rel. Frank Zappa]

In the early '80s a loose aggregate of musicians -- many of whom were former Mothers Of Invention (MOI) -- began performing as the Grandmothers. The band centred on the talents of seminal Frank Zappa sidemen Jimmy Carl Black (percussion/vocals/Indian of the group), Bunk Gardner (sax/trumpet/flute) and Don Preston (keyboards). At various points prior to this union the trio were joined by a laundry list of relatively unknowns as well as other Mothers such as Denny Walley (guitar), Elliot Ingber (guitar), Ray Collins (vocals) and Jim "Motorhead" Sherwood (bass) as well as ex-Love member Tjay Cantrelli (sax/flute) plus (should one wish to further the Zappa affiliations) both Tom Leavey and Andy Cahan (drums) from Flo & Eddie's band . This 21-track compilation includes recordings made primarily in the early '70s from a number of MOI alumni and their respective collaborators.

The vast majority of the material can be traced to the R&B heavy garage rock combo Geronimo Black. There are also a few of the rare recordings from the trio of Bunk Gardner (piano) and Buzz Gardner (brass/woodwind) joined by John Balkin (upright bass) -- under the guise of Ménage A Trios. Comparisons between any incarnation of these rockin' teen combos to the Zappa fuelled Mothers is both inevitable as well as futile. What these sides reveal is much of the reason Zappa hired them in the first place -- their collective and individual musical abilities. Some of the more developed originals include the Native American anthem "Trail Of Tears," "Low Ridin' Man" and Sherwood's mini-epic "Going To Idaho"." Less successful are the forced contrast and juxtaposition of spoken word fragments a la the Musique Concrète style of Zappa's early masterworks Lumpy Gravy (1968) or the score to 200 Motels (1971). In retrospect it only seems to lessen the legacy of their MOI tenure. A primary example being "Thunderbuns VS The Kumb Nut" from Cantrelli. When the Grandmothers regrouped in the '80s, many of these tracks were also revived for the Welcome Back (1980) long player. Much to Zappa's dismay, the band also began to recreate some MOI material that they reclaimed as their own -- such as Black's "Lonesome Cowboy Burt"." A Mother Of An Anthology (1993) is mostly recommended for the insatiable Zappa enthusiast, while the more tempered listener might find some of the sides a bit contrived.

01 - '59 Chevy [04:20]
02 - Trail of Tears [03:56]
03 - We Don't Feed No Livestock Here [03:06]
04 - Mary Jane (Previously Unreleased) [01:55]
05 - My Love Has Gone [06:08]
06 - Gingerwail [04:57]
07 - Mayonaise Mountain [03:53]
08 - Teenage Credit (Previously Unreleased) [02:33]
09 - Low Ridin' Man (Previously Unreleased) [04:30]
10 - Let Us Live (Recorded Live) (Previously Unreleased) [04:57]
11 - Big Boss Man (Recorded Live) (Previously Unreleased) [05:24]
12 - Moterhead's Bumble Bee [01:14]
13 - Thunderbuns vs. The Kumb Nut (Previously Unreleased) [04:48]
14 - The Fight Out [01:41]
15 - One For The Girls [03:49]
16 - Dona [02:55]
17 - Going To Idaho [04:05]
18 - A Bit Blue [03:35]
19 - Qualude to Chaos and Fine [04:08]
20 - Lovesick Blues (Previously Unreleased) [02:45]
21 - Basement Theme Downstairs [01:25]

Músicos.
Denny Walley (vocals, guitar, tambourine); Lil' Johnny (vocals, guitar); Jimmy Carl Black (vocals, trumpet, drums); Ray Collins (vocals); Ira Ingber (guitar, washboard); Tom Leavey, Elliot Ingber, Jerry McGee, Larry Taylor (guitar); Andy Cohan (12-string guitar, piano, organ, keyboards, drums); Johnny Dyer (harp); James Harman (harmonica); Bunk Gardner (recorder, clarinet, bassoon, saxophone, trumpet, flugelhorn, horns); Tjay Cantrelli (clarinet, saxophone, hand claps); Jim Sherwood (saxophone); Sid the Kid (tenor saxophone); Jim McKenna (trombone); Don Preston (piano, Moog synthesizer); Danny Newmark (electric piano); David Trent (drums, percussion); Meatball, Don K. Matic, Andy Cahan, Richie Hayward (drums); Keith Olsen (bass drum).

Parte 1
Parte 2

Mirror 1