Halloween 73

Throughout the ‘70s and ‘80s, the iconoclastic composer Frank Zappa put on a series of spectacular, now legendary, shows around Halloween each year to celebrate his favorite holiday. Before settling on New York in 1974 to host his annual costume-clad festivities, which would continue until he retired the tradition in 1984, Zappa, fronting an exciting new band, performed two rousing back-to-back Halloween concerts the year prior at the Auditorium Theater in Chicago. Whereas many of the NYC shows were not recorded due to the musician’s union charging exorbitant fees making it virtually impossible to allow Zappa to record the event, there were no such restrictions at the Chicago show – in true Zappa fashion it was of course taped.

Now for the first time ever, Zappa’s two complete Halloween shows recorded on the 31st October, 1973 in Chicago, will be released on the 25th October via Zappa Records/UMe, just in time for Halloween. These completely unreleased live recordings total more than four and a half hours and feature songs from across his prolific catalog, including his then just-released 1973 album Over-Nite Sensation and forthcoming 1974 record Apostrophe, as well as early arrangements of compositions like “Penguin In Bondage,” “Dickie’s Such An Asshole” and “Village Of The Sun” that would appear on later studio and live albums. Continuing the Halloween series that the Zappa Family Trust began in 2017 with the acclaimed Halloween 77 releases, Halloween 73 will be released as a specially designed, limited run four-disc costume box complete with a FRANKenZAPPA mask and gloves, housed in a display worthy box. Produced by Ahmet Zappa and Vaultmeister Joe Travers, the boxed set is rounded out with a 40-page booklet featuring detailed liner notes from Travers and Ruth Komanoff Underwood and Ralph Humphrey, Zappa’s bandmates who played in the shows, and a wealth of never-before-seen photos from the event.

Tracklist:

4CD

‘‘Happy Halloween To Each And Every One Of You’’ / Live – October 31, 1973 – Show 1
Pygmy Twylyte / Live – October 31, 1973 – Show 1
The Idiot Bastard Son / Live – October 31, 1973 – Show 1
Cheepnis / Live – October 31, 1973 – Show 1
“Another Assembly Of Items” / Live – October 31, 1973 – Show 1
The Eric Dolphy Memorial Babecue / Live – October 31, 1973 – Show 1
Kung Fu / Live – October 31, 1973 – Show 1
Penguin In Bondage / Live – October 31, 1973 – Show 1
T’Mershi Duween / Live – October 31, 1973 – Show 1
The Dog Breath Variations / Live – October 31, 1973 – Show 1
Uncle Meat / Live – October 31, 1973 – Show 1
RDNZL / Live – October 31, 1973 – Show 1
Village of The Sun / Live – October 31, 1973 – Show 1
Echinda’s Arf (Of You) / Live – October 31, 1973 – Show 1
Don’t You Ever Wash That Thing? / Live – October 31, 1973 – Show 1
Montana / Live – October 31, 1973 – Show 1
Dupree’s Paradise / Live – October 31, 1973 – Show 1
“Almost Up To Date” / Live – October 31, 1973 – Show 1
Dickie’s Such An Asshole / Live – October 31, 1973 – Show 1
“That Greatest Of American Holidays” / Live – October 31, 1973 – Show 2
Cosmik Debris / Live – October 31, 1973 – Show 2
“We’re Hurtin’ For Tunes” / Live – October 31, 1973 – Show 2
Pygmy Twylyte / Live – October 31, 1973 – Show 2
The Idiot Bastard Son / Live – October 31, 1973 – Show 2
Cheepnis / Live – October 31, 1973 – Show 2
I’m The Slime / Live – October 31, 1973 – Show 2
Big Swifty / Live – October 31, 1973 – Show 2
The History Of The San Clemente Magnetic Deviation / Live – October 31, 1973 – Show 2
Dickie’s Such An Asshole / Live – October 31, 1973 – Show 2
“Another New Event” / Live – October 31, 1973 – Show 2
Farther O’Blivion – Part 1 / Live – October 31, 1973 – Show 2
Farther O’Blivion – Part 2 / Live – October 31, 1973 – Show 2
“Pervert’s Special Holiday” / Live – October 31, 1973 – Show 2
Penguin In Bondage / Live – October 31, 1973 – Show 2
T’Mershi Duween / Live – October 31, 1973 – Show 2
RDNZL / Live – October 31, 1973 – Show 2
Inca Roads / Live – October 31, 1973 – Show 2
Medley: Song Of Mr. Green Genes / King Kong / Chunga’s Revenge / Live – October 31, 1973 – Show 2
The Eric Dolphy Memorial Barbecue / Rehearsal – October 21, 1973
Penguin In Bondage / Rehearsal – October 20, 1973
T’Mershi Duween / Rehearsal – October 20, 1973
Dog Breath / Rehearsal – October 20, 1973
The Dog Breath Variations / Rehearsal – October 20, 1973
Uncle Meat / Rehearsal – October 20, 1973
RDNZL / Rehearsal – October 20, 1973
Magic Fingers / Rehearsal – October 21, 1973
Inca Roads / Rehearsal – October 20, 1973
Farther O’Blivion / Rehearsal – October 21, 1973
Cosmik Debris / Rehearsal – October 20, 1973
Big Swifty / Rehearsal – October 21, 1973

1CD

“Happy Halloween To Each And Every One Of You’’ / Live – October 31, 1973 – Show 1
“Another Assembly Of Items” / Live – October 31, 1973 – Show 1
The Eric Dolphy Memorial Babecue / Live – October 31, 1973 – Show 1
Kung Fu / Live – October 31, 1973 – Show 1
Penguin In Bondage / Live – October 31, 1973 – Show 1
T’Mershi Duween / Live – October 31, 1973 – Show 1
The Dog Breath Variations / Live – October 31, 1973 – Show 1
Uncle Meat / Live – October 31, 1973 – Show 1
RDNZL / Live – October 31, 1973 – Show 1
Pygmy Twylyte / Live – October 31, 1973 – Show 2
The Idiot Bastard Son / Live – October 31, 1973 – Show 2
Cheepnis / Live – October 31, 1973 – Show 2
I’m The Slime / Live – October 31, 1973 – Show 2
Big Swifty / Live – October 31, 1973 – Show 2
The History Of The San Clemente Magnetic Deviation / Live – October 31, 1973 – Show 2
Dickie’s Such An Asshole / Live – October 31, 1973 – Show 2