After more than 50 years locked in the vault, Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention’s 1974 television special can finally be seen by fans in the comfort of their own homes. In June 1974, Zappa and his band invited a small audience into a rehearsal hall in Los Angeles to film what would become Cheaper Than Cheep, a two-hour intimate concert performance.
In the 1970s, musicians in North America and Europe frequently performed on television variety shows, exposing their work to a new, wide audience. Zappa, always a master of the offbeat, never really fit into the conventional TV programming of the time. Zappa set out to create his own special, but when he watched the tape back, he discovered that the video and the audio were not in sync. Two months later, Zappa would record The Dub Room Special, fulfilling his desire for a television special, but sending Cheaper Than Cheep into the vault until recently.
Now, Cheaper Than Cheep will be released on Blu-Ray, CD, and vinyl. The Super Deluxe box set features all three, along with a 12-page booklet with unseen images and liner notes from Vaultmeister Joe Travers. The Blu-Ray will also include two performances, a blooper reel, and an excerpt from the Claymation film, “The Amazing Mr. Bickford” as bonus features.
A DIY spirit carries through the project, which Zappa self-funded and produced and which helped give the special its title. The homemade lighting notably made the set extremely hot, which drummer Ruth Underwood remembers in an essay for the booklet. “We had a long rehearsal and a detailed soundcheck that morning. With the lights set, and the photographers and audience crammed into our modest space, the heat in the room became extremely problematic,” she writes. Even if the filming was sometimes unpleasant, Cheaper Than Cheep will give Zappa fans a new look at some of the artist’s beloved tracks, including “Village of the Sun,” “RDNZL,” and “Let’s Make The Water Turn Black.”
Buy Frank Zappa’s Cheaper Than Cheep now.
