YCDTOSA VOLUME I
the Little Bit of Everything tapes
NUMBER OF TRACKS- 28
NUMBER OF OTHERWISE UNRELEASED TRACKS- 5 (Florida Airport Tape, Ruthie-Ruthie, Babbette,
Rollo [part V of Yellow Snow], Sweet Leilani)
NUMBER OF DRAMATICALLY DIFFERENT ARRANGEMENTS OF RELEASED TRACKS- 1 (Mammy Anthem)
YEARS COVERED- 11 ('69, '70, '71, '73, '74, '78, '79, '80, '81, '82, '84)
DISC ONE
THE FLORIDA AIRPORT TAPE (1)- This 1970 "sociological extract" is amusing,
unlike the majority of the "Playground Psychotics" road tapes, and short, unlike
the majority of the Volume V road tapes. The inclusion of this track earns its point not
for these reasons, however, but for A) mentioning that "Easy Meat" had lyrics in
'70, and sending many of us searching for said version; and for B) mentioning that the
tour started in San Antonio, thus helping us fanatics piece together the incomplete info
concerning this tour.(1970)
BETTER SELECTION: No.
ONCE UPON A TIME (1)- This is the beginning of the "Sofa Suite" performed by the
Flo 'n' Eddie band. In its entirety, the suite consisted of 5 parts- "Once Upon A
Time", "Sofa", "Once Upon A Time Reprise", "Stick It
Out", and "Divan". (1971)
BETTER SELECTION: No.
SOFA #1 (1)- Part two of the "Sofa Suite". While both of these tracks are
available through "Beat the Boots", the improved sound quality on these versions
warrants their official release here. My only complaint is that Frank chose only to
release these two parts, and not the entire suite. [At the tail end of the '71 tour, Frank
encountered two rather catastrophic disasters- the Montreux "Smoke on the Water"
fire, and the London "Stop Looking at my Girlfriend" push. Some suggested that
this was Frank's "payment" for the blasphemous lyrics and ideas contained in the
"Sofa Suite". Could this be why he wouldn't go so far as to release the entire
thing?] (1971)
BETTER SELECTION: No.
THE MAMMY ANTHEM (1)- One of the better finds on the Stage series. This is an instrumental
version of "The Mammy Nuns", a track found on the "Thingfish" album.
This tune was only performed on the '82 tour, and served several weeks as the opening tune
for many of the shows.(1982)
BETTER SELECTION: No.
YOU DIDN'T TRY TO CALL ME (1)- This tune highlights the vocal talents of the Summer '80
band, which was undoubtedly their single strength. The Fall '76 and Fall '80 versions of
this tune are more interesting and would have been juicier releases, but this band's
version is different enough from the original to earn an official release.(1980)
BETTER SELECTION: Yes. Either of the two versions
mentioned above would have been more interesting.
DISEASE OF THE BAND (1/2)- Not all that interesting a release, this track earns its half
point due to the release of the opening vamp, which would later be used in "On the
Bus" on "Joe's Garage". Also, considering the purpose of these volumes (to
document his live experience), Frank needed to include some band introductions somewhere
in this first volume.(1979)
BETTER SELECTION: No.
TRYIN' TO GROW A CHIN (0)- This performance almost earned half a point due to the somewhat
chaotic ending, but lost it due to the inclusion of yet another "Tryin' to Grow A
Chin" on Volume VI. The only version of this tune possibly worth releasing would be
the Fall '81 version with Thunes singing, but even that deviates only slightly from the
"Sheik Yerbouti" version. (1979)
BETTER SELECTION: No. The Thunes version would
have been sweet, but a "Denny fucks up the lyrics" performance had to be
included somewhere in the series.
LET'S MAKE HARRY ORANGE (0)- At the time of its release, this track would have received a
full point. But now, thanks to the release of both "Ahead of Their Time" and
MAJNH, this track really has nothing new to offer. If he really wanted to release another
version of these songs, the Spring '74 vocal version of "Let's Make Harry" would
have been good, as would the ultra-funky Spring '75 version of just "Let's
Make".(1969)
BETTER SELECTION: Yes. See above.
THE GROUPIE ROUTINE (0)- There is no reason why we need another version of this (aka
"Do You Like My New Car?" from the Fillmore album). (1971)
BETTER SELECTION: No.
RUTHIE-RUTHIE (1)- This is an improvised event chronicling the conceptual continuity of
the Fall '74 tour. It is a "Louie Louie" homage/ripoff with improvised lyrics
describing the extra-curricular activities of this somewhat out-of-control band. This is
exactly the kind of material I figured Frank would release more of when I first heard
about the Stage series.(1974)
BETTER SELECTION: No.
BABBETTE (1)- This is another performance from the '74 era, and another excellent example
of what this series should have mainly consisted. This tune deals with Marty Perellis and
his appreciation for members of the canine species. (1974)
BETTER SELECTION: No.
I'M THE SLIME (0)- There is not much in this performance that cannot be found on OS, or in
the funkier ZINY version. I have a feeling Frank released this because he already had all
his Roxy tapes mastered and ready to roll, and thus very little thinking or searching was
required for this. (1973)
BETTER SELECTION: No. The '81 and '84 bands had
ineteresting arrangements of this tune, but neither are probably worth releasing.
BIG SWIFTY (1)- Not one of the best performances of this tune, but different enough from
both the "Waka/Jawaka" and MAJNH versions to warrant inclusion. It contains a
Duke keyboard solo and an FZ guitar solo, both of which are good but neither of which are
great. This track displays Frank's control over the music, and the manner in which he
would insert musical themes and motifs throughout the individual solos. (1973)
BETTER SELECTION: Yes. The Fall '74 band
performed some quite Monstrous "Big Swifty's", as did the Spring '73 band.
DON'T EAT THE YELLOW SNOW (1)- Four words- Poetry, Rollo, Ed Mann. The Poetry occurs in an
extensive audience participation segment that would live on as band folklore (see
"King Kong" Volume III). Rollo refers to the '78/'79 live conclusion to this
suite, not recorded as part of the original DETYS. And Ed Mann refers to Ed Mann's
impressive percussion display. (1979)
BETTER SELECTION: Yes. It would have been much
more interesting to hear one of the early versions of this suite as heard on the Spring
and Summer '73 tours. Even the Fall '74 version had some interesting changes not
heard here.
DISC TWO
PLASTIC PEOPLE (1)- The live versions of this tune work much better than the
"Absolutely Free" version. The constant edits ruin the album version for me. My
only complaint is that every live version I have of this song ends with a somewhat chaotic
closing improvisation. It would have been nice to hear a slice of this wilder side of the
early Mother's. (1969)
BETTER SELECTION: No.
THE TORTURE NEVER STOPS (1)- We really do not need any more versions of this song, but
this solo is just so damn good… This is further testament to the awesome prowess of
Frank's guitar playing. (1978)
BETTER SELECTION: No. But this song is like the
"Black Page"- it deserves to be released in its many incarnations. A Fall
'80 "Torture" complete with Frank/Vinnie/Tommy solos would have been a nice
treat.
FINE GIRL (0)- Essentially the same as the "Tinseltown Rebellion" version.
(1982)
BETTER SELECTION: No.
ZOMBY WOOF (1/2)- Again, this version is not that different from the other released
versions, but the tightness of the band, and Frank's over-the-top solo, help redeem this
track. (1982)
BETTER SELECTION: No.
SWEET LEILANI (1)- An excellent look at one of the many sides of the early Mothers. They
could go from innocent fifties music to blasphemous sixties noise with one subtle
cue.(1969)
BETTER SELECTION: No.
OH NO (1/2)- Unlike the Big Medley from disc 1, at least we get a cool solo with this
repeatedly released tune. (1969)
BETTER SELECTION:No.
BE IN MY VIDEO (0)- The sociological extract before the actual music is mildly amusing
(and quite sad), but nevertheless, this track is worthless. (1984)
BETTER SELECTION: No.
THE DEATHLESS HORSIE (1)- This '84 version is a little bit slower than the SUNPYG version,
and the solo is actually quite good. There are much better versions of this tune to be
found in both '78 and '79, but this one will do. (1984)
BETTER SELECTION: Yes. See above.
THE DANGEROUS KITCHEN (0)- This sounds okay coming out of the preceding track, but do we
really need another version of this? It almost earns half-a-point for giving us a reason
not to pull out our "Man from Utopia" CD, but thanks to "We Are Not
Alone", we are going to be pulling it out anyway. (1984)
BETTER SELECTION: No.
DUMB ALL OVER (0)- First, Franks excises the solo off of the YAWYI CD release. Then, he
appears to amend things with this release, but no, no solo here either. Thank goodness for
"Have I Offended Someone?" (1981)
BETTER SELECTION: Yes. Any performance with a guitar
solo would be better.
HEAVENLY BANK ACCOUNT (0)- Who cares if these tracks were broadcast live as part of an MTV
broadcast? So were a lot other, much more interesting songs. (1981)
BETTER SELECTION: No.
SUICIDE CHUMP (0)- How about releasing one of the slower, bluesier performances from the
Fall '78 tour? At least those contained some inspired playing.(1981)
BETTER SELECTION: Yes. The Fall '78 perfromance
were much more inspired.
TELL ME YOU LOVE ME (0)- Not much different than the "Tinseltown Rebellion"
version. How about an '84 performance of "Don't Be a Lawyer?", the missing link
between this and "Why Don't You Like Me?" (1982)
BETTER SELECTION: No.
SOFA #2 (1)- Twice on one volume, but who cares? This is not the definitive version (all
praise the '74 band, who sadly never performed this live), but the '82 band played it with
an emotional conviction seldom heard in the technically proficient '80's.(1982)
BETTER SELECTION: No.
TOTAL SCORE= 55% (15.5 out of a possible 28)
Songs earning a 1= 14
Songs earning 1/2= 3
Songs earning a 0= 11
While this volume barely scores over a fifty percent success rate, it still ranks as one
of the more enjoyable volumes because when it works, it is GREAT! "The Mammy
Anthem", "Big Swifty", "Don't Eat the Yellow Snow", "The
Torture Never Stops", and "The Deathless Horsie" all rank as some of the
best tracks of the series. More so than any other volume, this set also does the best job
of mixing up the years, jumping for '69 to '71 to'73 to '79, etc. Thus, if you are not
fond of a particular era or band, the odds of you enjoying this volume are much higher.
Diseases of the Fans
-who they are and what they are thinking
#1) Sean Gaffney rates this volume a 51.8% (14.5 out of 28)
Songs earning a 1= 11
Songs earning 1/2= 7
Songs earning a 0= 10
The only songs we completely disagreed on (with a whole point difference) were "The
Florida Airport Tape" (which I gave a full point to, he zero), and "Tell Me You
Love Me" (which he awarded a point to, me none). Otherwise, he awarded more 1/2's
than I did, and not as many full points.
#2) Jon Naurin rates this volume a 44.6% (12.5 out of 28)
Songs earning a 1= 6
Songs earning 1/2= 13
Songs earning a 0= 9
In all his ratings (except for Volume III, strangely enough), Jon was by far the harshest
critic (opting to give several tracks minuses, which I disallowed). He was consistently
generous with the 1/2's, and not as likely to dish out those 1's.
#2) Scott Maykrantz rates this volume a 48.2% (13.5 out of 28)
Songs earning a 1= 10
Songs earning 1/2= 7
Songs earning a 0= 11
For Scott's individual song ratings and comments on each song, follow
This link
CUMULATIVE SCORE: 50.0%
Onwards to Volume II
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