Back in 1974, Frank Zappa filmed a television special called A Token of His Extreme that has only been released in limited and bootleg form. Now, finally, that program will be coming to DVD in North America. It will arrive on June 4 through Eagle Rock Entertainment and the Zappa Family Trust.
The special was filmed at on August 27, 1974, at KCET in Hollywood. It features Zappa performing alongside a lineup of the Mothers of Invention including George Duke, Napoleon Murphy Brock, Ruth Underwood, Tom Fowler and Chester Thompson. It was edited by Zappa himself, who additionally co-mixed the album with Kerry McNabb.
Zappa said way back in 1976, "This was put together with my own money and my own time and it's been offered to television networks and to syndication and it has been steadfastly rejected by the American television industry. It has been shown in primetime in France and Switzerland, with marvelous results. It's probably one of the finest pieces of video work that any human being has ever done. I did it myself. And the animation that you're gonna see in this was done by a guy named Bruce Bickford, and I hope he is watching the show, because it's probably the first time that a lot of people in America got a chance to see it."
Amazon listings indicate that there has previously been some sort of a European DVD release, but an announcement calls this the "first official release." While Amazon commenters complained the prior European release was of poor quality, this official DVD was mastered in 2009.
A Token of His Extreme:
1. The Dog Breath Variations/Uncle Meat
2. Montana
3. Florentine Pogen
4. Stink-Foot
5. Pygmy Twylyte
6. Room Service
7. Inca Roads
8. Oh No
9. Son Of Orange County
10. More Trouble Every Day
11. A Token of My Extreme
The special was filmed at on August 27, 1974, at KCET in Hollywood. It features Zappa performing alongside a lineup of the Mothers of Invention including George Duke, Napoleon Murphy Brock, Ruth Underwood, Tom Fowler and Chester Thompson. It was edited by Zappa himself, who additionally co-mixed the album with Kerry McNabb.
Zappa said way back in 1976, "This was put together with my own money and my own time and it's been offered to television networks and to syndication and it has been steadfastly rejected by the American television industry. It has been shown in primetime in France and Switzerland, with marvelous results. It's probably one of the finest pieces of video work that any human being has ever done. I did it myself. And the animation that you're gonna see in this was done by a guy named Bruce Bickford, and I hope he is watching the show, because it's probably the first time that a lot of people in America got a chance to see it."
Amazon listings indicate that there has previously been some sort of a European DVD release, but an announcement calls this the "first official release." While Amazon commenters complained the prior European release was of poor quality, this official DVD was mastered in 2009.
A Token of His Extreme:
1. The Dog Breath Variations/Uncle Meat
2. Montana
3. Florentine Pogen
4. Stink-Foot
5. Pygmy Twylyte
6. Room Service
7. Inca Roads
8. Oh No
9. Son Of Orange County
10. More Trouble Every Day
11. A Token of My Extreme
