On the liner notes to Freak Out!, the 1967 debut album by Zappa's original band the Mothers of Invention, Zappa listed some seventy-two names on the liner notes and cited them as influences. The Freak Out List intends to explore who these artists are and what influence they had on Zappa's music. This listing encompasses all sorts of music, from classical composer Edgar Varese to R&B star Johnny "Guitar" Watson to jazzman Eric Dolphy to flamenco guitarist Sabicas. You can hear for instance, how the esoteric classical influence of Varese shaped Zappa's long-form epics like "Lumpy Gravy" or how Dolphy's instrumental prowess led Zappa to incorporate jazz-fusion on albums like Weasels Ripped My Flesh! (1970), which even included a song titled "The Eric Dolphy Memorial Barbecue." Interviews with various Zappa biographers and music historians as well as musicians George Duke, Ian Underwood, and Don Preston, all of whom played in the Mothers at one time or another, help add additional context.
This DVD features performances and interviews with some of the best drummers to ever work with Frank Zappa: Terry Bozzio, Chester Thompson, Chad Wackerman, Ruth Underwood, and Ralph Humphrey.
Rick Wakeman tells the story of the concept album from Woody Guthrie to the present day - a musical format usually based around a structured narrative that developed to become the equivalent of rock 'n' roll theatre.
Les Claypool and Sean Lennon of The Claypool Lennon Delirium perform live at House of Blues Boston. Featuring interviews with Claypool and Lennon, this concert film showcases the band in fine form.
The story of Yes is as controversial as their music. The twists and turns of band's career is now told for the first time in a series of exclusive interviews with Yes members past and present for this definitive and fully authorised documentary.
Solo live concert recorded in Brussels, April 12, 1992. Tracks: 1) On A Wedding Anniversary 2) Lie Still, Sleep Becalmed 3) Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night 4) The Soul of Carmen Miranda 5) Cordoba 6) Ship Of Fools 7) Leaving It Up To You 8) The Ballad Of Cable Hogue 9) Chinese Envoy 10) Fear Is A Man's Best Friend 11) Dying On The Vine 12) Heartbreak Hotel 13) Paris 1919 14) (I Keep A) Close Watch 15) Hallelujah
Through concerts and interviews, folk-progressive group Harmonium takes Quebec culture to California. This documentary full of colour and sound, filmed in California in 1978, recounts the ups and downs of the journey of the Quebec musical group Harmonium, who came to feel the pulse of Americans and see if culture, their culture, can succeed in crossing borders.
For a band with high standards, a perfect show is impossible, and an excellent show is rare. You hope that the norm is "good". To deliver a really exceptional, comfortable performance before a recording truck or film crew has been our unfulfilled dream of many years. Always it seemed that as soon as the machines started rolling, we forgot how to play and our equipment forgot how to work. But for these two nights, the gods smile. And the film becomes not just a concert, but a symbol - for the band a scrapbook, an autobiography, an era frozen in glacial clarity. For the audience, it can be an enduring souvenir, and if it can't quite capture what it was like to be there, it is a way of seeing through many pairs of eyes, of shifting one's vantage-point around and above the players in a way no mortal could. Hands perform, and hands respond. Hands gesture, and hands respond. A show of ears and eyes, a show of hearts and minds. A Show of Hands. - Neil Peart
A young writer struggling to create a good story meets a cute waitress and imagination and fantasy blossom.
Kosmische Brocken - Frank Zappa und die Deutschen
A whirlwind of improvisation combines the images of animator Pierre Hébert with the avant-garde sound of techno whiz Bob Ostertag in this singular multimedia experience, a hybrid of live animation and performance art.
Avant-garde composer John Cage is famous for his experimental pieces and "chance music" but temporarily branched into video in 1992 with this art film about meaningless activity. The work is composed of two segments that are supposed to be played simultaneously: "One 11" contains the artistic statement, and "103" is a 17-part orchestral piece. Also included is a revealing documentary about Cage and director Henning Lohner.
Zappa Plays Zappa is the name of a concert tour and band led by Dweezil Zappa, the oldest son of the late composer and musician Frank Zappa. The show is a collection of Frank Zappa's rock-oriented compositions from 1960s to 1980s. Features Dweezil on lead guitar, Napoleon Murphy Brock (sax, flute, vocals), drummer/singer Terry Bozzio and electric guitarist Steve Vai.
Following the release of 2021’s ambitious studio album ‘The Absolute Universe’, progressive[1]rock supergroup Transatlantic present ‘The Final Flight: Live At L'Olympia’. A document of the bands triumphant show in Paris, the last night of their tour in support of their most recent studio album, it sees Neal Morse, Mike Portnoy, Roine Stolt & Pete Trewavas (along with Ted Leonard) performing the entirety of „The Absolute Universe (The Ultimate Version)”, before returning to the stage to perform some of their extensive back catalogue. A night as special as they come, this audio/visual document presents the band at their most majestic. Mixed by Rich Mouser, ‘The Final Flight - Live At L'Olympia’ will be available as a 3CD+Blu-ray Digipak & as a Gatefold 180g 4LP Vinyl with LP-booklet, featuring stunning photos from the evening. The Blu-ray features the entire concert film, plus 5.1 surround sound mix option.
Boing, We'll Do It Live! is the first live album of The Aristocrats, released on December 10, 2012. Footage and sound for this release were recorded in two concerts held at Alvas Showroom in Los Angeles, California. During those concerts the band played material from their debut album as well as songs from each band members' solo projects. The album was released on double-CD and DVD. The deluxe edition consists of both the DVD and the two CDs including two bonus tracks not featured on standard editions.
Documentary tribute to what VH1 called “the single greatest rock omnibus program ever aired” and Brooklyn Vegan named “the most consistently weird and awesome thing on cable television in the ’80s.” This ‘Best Of’ episode features some of the most memorable moments of Night Flight's near-decade long run including restored interviews and segments from Kate Bush, New Wave Theatre, David Lynch, Prince, Wendy O Williams, Divine, Billy Idol, Johnny Rotten, and much more Night Flight treasures from the archive.
Steve Hackett - The Total Experience Live in Liverpool (2016) - Acolyte to Wolflight with Genesis Classics Setlist: 01.Corycian Fire intro 02. Spectral Mornings 03. Out of the Body 04. Wolflight 05. Every Day 06. Love Song to a Vampire 07. The Wheel's Turning 08. Loving Sea 09.Jacuzzi 10. Icarus Ascending 11. Star of Sirius 12. Ace of Wands 13. A Tower Struck Down 14. Shadow of the Hierophant 15. Get'em Out by Friday 16. Can-Utility and the Coastliners 17. After the Ordeal 18. The Cinema Show 19. Aisle of Plenty 20. The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway 21. The Musical Box 22. Clocks 23. Firth of Fifth Recorded at the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall on 2015-10-23
A surreal musical comedy set in a world where the avant-garde and the mainstream are reversed.
The Dreamer That Remains is a documentary produced by Betty Freeman and directed by Stephen Pouliot in 1972. Here is the director’s original cut along with his commentary. If you’ve never seen Partch or his instruments before, this is the place to start.
"Heart-wrenching cry about the physical suffering caused by the AIDS plague being compounded by the shameful arrogance of self-appointed moralists."