F.Z., Roy Estrada, Don Preston, Ian Underwood, Bunk Gardner, Jimmy Sherwood, Art Tripp and Jimmy Carl Black... what a line-up!

Music is a way to decorate time.

THAT MOMENT at 2:03 when you can hear what a really properly rehearsed band sounds like, just at the moment when you think they don't know what they are doing...mesmerising.

FIRST concert I ever saw , I was 15 and it was at the Royal Albert Hall, London. It hit me like a ton of bricks, not totally sure what happened but it changed my musical taste for ever. Thank you Mr. Zappa.

In my humble opinion there is nothing on KZfaq which comes within a million miles of the sheer brilliance of this amazing recording!

Frank stands alone as a mighty musical talent but so much of the early Zappa music owes a huge debt to the talent of Don Preston.

That this video exists just made my day.

Started listening to this and was really tired. Couldn't turn it off because even though it's a video it would've been rude of me to walk out on this incredible performance.

If you don't own Uncle Meat, RUN, don't walk, to your nearest used CD store and buy it. It's a top-5 album for FZ, and contains too many of his best songs in their original versions not to have in your possession.

A few years ago my g/f and I were walking down Sierra Madre Blvd one evening and as we approached this bar what do I hear? King Kong! It was the Don Preston Quartet. Piano, trombone, bass and drums. We spent the rest of the night enjoying some terrific music.

This stuff is still way ahead of its time

R.I.P. Ray Collins - 11/19/36-12/24/12. This is the stuff that really pissed off the Como/Welk crowd in the late 60's. We Loved It! Thanks for the incredibility!

"I'm Jimmy Carl Black; I'm the Indian of the group."

as much as I love his '82, '79 and '74 lineups, there was something special about 1968

They were one of the most hated bands ever, but still had a loyal fan base. And there's no such thing as a bad band led by FZ. The Mothers Of Invention were GREAT.

Absolutely. The years from 1964 to 69 were mind boggling. 30 years of progression in a few short years

Think of the typical entertainers you would have seen on TV back in 1968. Now imagine seeing THESE guys in comparison. Art Tripp and Ian Underwood look fairly American Bandstand-safe. But then you see a lanky Indian, an overweight squeaky-voiced Mexican, Larry Fine's mutant love child, Mr. Tambourine Man and Santa Claus, all being conducted by Satan. Zappa may have more virtuosos in future bands, but the Uncle Meat line-up had the greatest characters!

This is far and away (and I like Frank's records) far and away one of the more enjoyable live pieces I've seen heard from Zappa/Mothers.

A little free jazz, a little Schonberg, a little fusion, a little theater, Uncle Dada.

A masterpiece. Tapped from the inner depths of Southern California sound in exactly that timeline moment. Little tasties of Mark Volman humor with huge brush stroke touches of Mayall, Manzarek, Getz, and Coltrane. The chemistry, clarity, phrasing, intensity and perfection... pure Zappa.

I was on the flight to L.A. after this gig, Frank had a nice antique toy in a glass box that he had bought in London, we watched customs destroy it to find nothing inside, if looks could kill....

I like the way that despite having a huge ego, Zappa always put the spotlight on his band and what was happening around him rather than on himself yet remained central to the mayhem. Ego gets a bad press, rightly so in most cases but in its' proper place, not dictating for its' own glorification, it can be a marvelous part of the psyche.

Best version of King Kong ever. Thank you Frank

I got to stand floor level not 10 feet away and watch n listen to Frank and the Mothers play at a hall in Eureka California during the very early 70's. I WISH I HAD A CAMERA and always have. Feel very lucky to have been there.

Zappa was a real genius. Amazing!

From time to time it sounds chaotic, but actually Zappa demanded accuracy.

I met Don Preston on Oct 7 , 2016 in Ottawa , Canada. ..Age 84. Still could whip out those mini- moog solos....along with piano. He was performing with Ike Willis and Project Object. This is a real treat. Roy Estrada's laugh kills me...:)))))))

I have just finished listening this music and have come to the conclusion that it is probably the most advanced sound of it's time and perhaps even now.I can not think of anything in Pop or Rock music that really is as complex or intriguing as what Frank and his band were capable of..Kudos and thanks for the sound-Guys you Rocked!!!

from a jazz lover wow this is gooood

I was one of the lucky few to be at the Festival Hall for the concert 2 days after this. Also saw them at the Royal Albert Hall, the following year, and still have all my original vinyls of their early stuff. Just stunning, and I play it much more frequently than any more recent stuff.

I Love the outstanding musical tension buildup , nothing like it

Very professional. These are such great musicians! Zappa was a genius!

Someone in BeatleDelirium doesn't know jazz. It's called improvisation. It's all based on a theme, but you don't get verse chorus verse chorus in this sort of material. I was just amazed at the quality of the musicianship. I became a Zappa fan back in high school, and actually spent half an hour interviewing him for the Dallas Iconoclast when I was merely twenty, a baby. He was strictly genteel. Oh, and this song, King Kong, was voted the greatest jazz song of the 1960s in ... now someone refresh my memory, but it was a major magazine for jazz at the time, and a great many critics weighed in. As Zappa once said, "Jazz is not dead. It just smells funny." Live and learn.

A wah pedal on a sax?? Now I've seen it all

Arthur Dyer Tripp, (Ed Marimba / Art Tripp) is another legend in this long list of fine musicians, his work on Clear spot for Beefheart was unmatched to that point.

I didn't know what to make of these, way back when I was a mere teen, but now in my old age, you cannot but admire how audaciously, Zappa set about, to break barriers with his style of music...and so the legend lives on.......

the more i listen to it, the more I get it. great post..

Thanks for sharing this. I was exposed to this experimental stuff as an 8 yr old and didn't know what the fuck my brothers were into! Now, as a 55 yr old I appreciate every aspect. I am so glad Frank was filmed recording this early stuff for us to soak up. I love the guys who still keep his vibe alive, but this stuff shows where it started from and has a beauty of its own. x

My sister is 1 years old and she's dancing

This was a brilliant line up of musicians!!

Can't believe we lost Frank when we did. So much brilliance. 😔

Amazing quality for 1968, very sharp, nice sound. King Kong is no less a great choice of song, too.

14:15 Playing the sax through the effects box gives a sound which is very much like Jean Luc Ponty's electic violin in the early '70s lineup of the Mothers of Invention.

Zappa and The Mothers were freaking awesome in this performance!

King Kong forever! Zappa could play the guitar. His son is pretty good too, saw him not long ago. Guys remember this was 1968, rock was emerging wit The Doors, Jefferson Airplane, The Animals(second group) Hendrix, The Cream, The divine Janis, but This blew our minds!

frank plays a long solo and…… the camera is stuck on the tambourine

I was too busy unraveling 2001 A Space Odyssey at the time, but did catch up with these guys some time later.

I just realized, it must be insanely hard for the two drummers (JCB and ATIII) to keep in time with each other, especially for over 20 minutes. I can't imagine how much they must have practiced together

RIP FZ, Motorhead andJimmy Carl Black,

FZ has been the strictest conductor of his own music since the renaissance

In-bloody-sanely genius! -- A modern day Duke Ellington style arrangement in it's own hey-day with massive social commentaries - on the always human-detergent status-quo. --- Zappa is my musical hero of all time!

This is great! Also Bunk is the coolest looking guy ever.

shame no one wears striped trousers these days

My mentor was from same breed, I was lucky i wasnt natural by any means but he lallowed me to play with him....said I had one thing alot dony heart....Thank God...he opened my mind musically...made us practice sometimes 8 hrs......awesome...miss him dearly....R.I.P. Big Rick Storm Spradlin......Kenton,OH........

Yumper-guggy. Fiddle-dutch. Musical burlesque. The verve of youth was undeniable. RIP.

How can anyone say for ever more...I'm Jimmy Carl Black....and not add... I'm the Indian of the group?

Just fantastic !!! sure brings back memories ! I'm surprised i have any left ! Lol Great stuff.

There is no band like the Mothers!

I love this version of the Mothers. Love the little snarks, the avant guarde, atonal shit.

cant believe they didnt zoom in on frank on his solo

Had the honour of meeting J C Black, what a nice man He was and what BIG hands he had !!!

Wow...wow...wow............The Mothers at their best,this takes some beating....RIP Frank

Zappa, like everyone wasn't perfect, so I don't idolize him, but he had more than just music, he had an undisturbed attitude, satirical humour, critical common sense, he is still unique and produced very beautiful music

One of the great moments in My life was getting to talk to Jimmy Carl Black.

Excellent. The prison theme shown here appears again in 200 Motels. Clearly, as Barry Miles pointed out, Frank's early prison experience had a lasting impact.

I wannna hear Caravan with a drum solo

The man was a genus.Still figuring out what kind of genus he was.Like rain falling on summer snow :-)

I guess the cameraman should have asked before the session which one was Zappa.

Holy wow, Batman!! Finally complete!! And it doesn't hurt!! Actually, it heals!! Still best King Kong ever!!

Gotta love Jim Sherwood on the tambourine here. One cool cat!

I love Bunk and Ian's take on sax playing! Refreshing to hear some notes of conviction - as opposed to the endless stream; bezillions of notes... the damn sax can throw forth. Charlie Parker wouldn't like it but I do!

wow this is a very great display of musicianship ! Hard to even compare this to any "pop" music of this time.

It's always amazing to see that popmusic in the sixties made really a revolution, the Beatles and Stones made there world introduction just a few years earlier....

This is 1968 - NOBODY was even thinking this kind of music back then. But Zappa was already making it....

I discovered this today after seeing the movie "Eat that Question". Outstanding.

Is it me or has Frank always existed and will always exist! I think we have been graced by something otherworldly!

Man, such talented musicians, all of them.

CALL ANY VEGETABLE, CALL IT BY NAME !

Ain't nothing now or since like The Mothers of Invention. Definitely needed at the time...

Finally, music I can understand.

A very inventive bunch they are ;-). I love this early crew.

Big ups to Frank Zappa..Youre a hard act to follow...this is as good as it gets

Thanks for posting this! One of my favorite pieces!

Ahh Roy Estrada... And you were such a good bassist.

Best piece of Zappa video I've ever seen. I was too young to have seen the original Mothers live but the M.O.I. concert in 1974 in DeKalb, IL. including Don Preston, George Duke, Roy Estrada and Napoleon Murphy Brock remains to this day the best live concert I've seen in my entire life. He played most of Freak Out as an encore and Franks tape of the set were stolen. It Can't Happen Here.

I saw Jimmy Carl Black at the grocery store in Mill Valley years ago ('790. He was in line in front of me, complaining about his kids to the cashier.

i remember watching this....1 was 14 and thought it was wonderful......,my dad however was underwhelmed jim.

Damn, what a motley crew. Playing stuff that sounds better than Soft Machine's first few jazz-rock albums.

My new favorite music to make art to. Damn. Love this. Thanks for uploading.

Thanks tomfiddler1 for posting the entire performance of "King Kong" (if I'm not mistaken). Besides being incredibly good musicians who could switch widely varying styles on a dime, Frank Zappa and The Mothers were quite entertaining visually -- the part near the end was pretty funny. Some of the parts (for instance around 2:30 to 5 minutes remind me of Soft Machine during the period when they had the horn section in the early 70s). Does anyone know if Robert Wyatt era Soft Machine and Frank Zappa/The Mothers of Invention played any shows together, because in many ways, they seem to be kindred spirits (pioneering, experimental, use of humour in lyrics, critical of mainstream society).

Went to a Grandmothers show recently. Stuck around after the show and had a chance to chat with Don Preston (Napoleon Murphy Brock too). It was the coolest thing ever and I'll remember it for the rest of my life.

I really wish the cameras were on Frank while he was playing his solo!

"If we can't be free, at least we can be cheap" FZ dixit.

Ian Underwood really gets freaky! Mental institution screaming is very good. Zappa had his complete and exclusive method of directing the band. He was the master of puppets. Allways in control. Respect forever to the zappa family.

I did not know this recorded show. But it is definitely great. I played the Uncle Meat album to dust. Great musicians started in Zappa's Mothers. The sound is fine. Well recorded. Leave that to Frank :-)

Frank was the innovator of jazz fusion/ rock / acid rock slash jam band...Every one of these guys are as sober as a Rabbi on Saturday morning.

im 14 years old, and i like this kind of masterpiece i think my friend must have listen this great masterpiece, proud of frank zappa:v

I remember watching this on BBC2 at the time I was 16 I bet the BBC managed to lose the tapes

I met Ray Collins outside the Music Machine on Pico in West L.A. in 1990 after a Grandmother's gig. Still have the picture. Mellow guy.

I'm not sure which is more amazing. That these guys could play this stuff, or that Zappa wrote the score? One of them once said in an interview. "This music is extremely complex". Ya think?