Some of the unused tracks from the Roxy shows circulate as bootlegs, as well as the entirety of the Edinboro show. The guitar solo on "Son of Orange County" is one of the few Zappa guitar solos edited together from more than one concert, in this case the Edinboro and Chicago dates. The opening track, "Penguin in Bondage", is edited together from performances at the Roxy and the Chicago date. The album primarily comprised recordings from three shows at the Roxy Theater in Hollywood, and featured tracks never before or thereafter released on any Zappa/Mothers album. The material taken from the Roxy concerts was later amended with some overdubs in the studio, while the "Elsewhere" tracks ("Son of Orange County" and "More Trouble Every Day") were recorded on May 8, 1974, at the Edinboro State College, Edinboro, Pennsylvania (and parts of "Son of Orange County" on May 11, 1974, at the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago, Illinois (late show) and do not contain overdubbed material. Most of the songs were recorded on December 8, 9 at The Roxy Theatre in Hollywood, California. Zappa fans rejoice! Let's hope this paves the way for many more Zappa DVD releases.Roxy & Elsewhere is a double live album by Frank Zappa and The Mothers, released on September 10, 1974. There are some minor flaws in the film stock, but the sound is spectacular on this overdue re-release. The packaging also contains a "secret dossier"-looking folder that has many of the credits, stills from the movie, and press clippings, as well as some copy that Zappa provided about the original release. There are also extensive credits both for the original release of the film as well as for the DVD, and some artifacts like the Motion Picture Association of America's certificate of an "R" rating.
The DVD adds only a few items to the full-length version of the film (running time over two and a half hours): the original film trailer, two television commercials that were prepared, and a tantalizing trailer for The Roxy Performances (curiously dated 1999). Baby Snakes does a great job of portraying the mixture of tightly rehearsed music, structured improvisation, and inspired spontaneity that made Zappa live shows such fun (and why many fans saw night after night of shows). This is the very young and very talented Sheik Yerbouti band, consisting of Patrick O'Hearn (bass), Adrian Belew (guitar), Tommy Mars (keyboards), Terry Bozzio (drums), Peter Wolf (more keyboards), and Ed Mann (percussion) in addition to Zappa on guitar and vocals. The film itself is a mix of concert and backstage footage, along with some rehearsals and lots of disturbing, surreal, and brilliant clay animation courtesy of Bruce Bickford. "A film about people who do stuff that is not normal" mostly refers to the rabid New York audience, although the bandmembers themselves and special deranged guest Roy Estrada also have their fun.
Just over a decade after Frank Zappa's premature death (December 4, 1993) comes the long-awaited release of Baby Snakes on DVD.
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