Zappa Records/UMe have released Zappa/Erie, the latest audio treat to be excavated from Frank Zappa’s vast and legendary vault. The project brings together an exciting trio of shows that the Maestro performed in Erie, Pennsylvania and the surrounding area between 1974-76.
Available now, the new six-disc boxed set/digital collection contains more than seven hours of unreleased, electrifying live performances from Zappa and three different lineups of incredible musicians from this peak period. Of the 71 tracks, only 10 minutes have been released before, on Zappa’s classic 1974 live album, Roxy & Elsewhere, outside of the bootleg recordings that have been passed around on the bootleg/tape trading circuit.
Zappa/Erie is available with a limited edition poster illustrated and designed by Fantoons that features various Easter eggs from Zappa’s unparalleled and uncompromising career exclusively via Zappa.com or without the poster at your favorite local or online music retailer.
Overseen by the Zappa Trust and produced by Ahmet Zappa and Zappa Vaultmeister Joe Travers, Zappa/Erie boasts detailed liner notes about the shows and recordings from Travers, along with Erie, Pennsylvania journalist, Dan Schell, author of the encyclopedic book, 9 Years Of Rock: The Story Of The Concerts At The Erie County Fieldhouse, who provides some illuminating, behind-the scenes insight into the shows and venues.
The package features front and back cover photos of Zappa by David Rountree Smith, images of the original tapes, and include original concert fliers, a newspaper review of one of the shows, and a scathing rebuttal to the review from a passionate fan. The audio, which was professionally recorded on 4-track tape by Zappa’s team of engineers Bill Hennigh, Brian Krokus, Davey Moire, and Claus Weideman, was newly mixed from the original tapes by longtime Zappa Trust associate Craig Parker Adams at Winslow Ct. Studios and mastered by John Polito at Audio Mechanics, who both also aided in restoring the audio as needed, to present these historical concerts as cleaned up as sonically possible.