Watch Frank Zappa’s Best Band At The Peak Of Its Powers

Every Frank Zappa fan has their favorite lineup from the many ensembles the legendary musician put together during his career, and for this writer, there’s no topping the outrageously talented band that backed Zappa between June and December of 1974. Recorded on August 27, 1974 at KCET in Hollywood, the concert film A Token Of His Extreme showcases the sextet consisting of Frank Zappa, keyboardist George Duke, saxophonist Napoleon Murphy Brock, percussionist Ruth Underwood, bassist Tom Fowler and drummer Chester Thompson.

Frank Zappa paid for the making of A Token Of His Extreme which includes animation by Bruce Bickford. Unbelievably, despite Zappa’s description of the film as “one of the finest pieces of video work that any human being has ever done,” A Token Of His Extreme wasn’t released commercially until 2013. The movie was aired in prime time in France and Switzerland in 1976 but American fans didn’t get a chance to see much of the footage until the bulk was used in 1982’s The Dub Room Special!.

In 1976, Frank Zappa appeared on The Mike Douglas Show where he discussed A Token Of His Extreme and screened a clip. “This was put together with my own money and my own time and it’s been offered to television networks and to syndication and it has been steadfastly rejected by the American television industry,” Zappa explained. “It has been shown in primetime in France and Switzerland, with marvelous results. It’s probably one of the finest pieces of video work that any human being has ever done. I did it myself.”

A Token Of His Extreme was filmed during a period when the extremely prolific musician released the commercially successful and accessible studio albums Over-Nite Sensation (1973), Apostrophe (‘) (1974) and One Size Fits All (1975). All three LPs were represented in the performance. Over-Nite Sensation’s “Montana” was played early on, Apostrophe (‘) cut “Stink-Foot” came in the middle of the 48-minute film and One Size Fits All was previewed by “Florentine Pogen” and “Inca Roads.”

Frank Zappa also released the amazing live album Roxy & Elsewhere in 1974 featuring a similar lineup to the one that performed at KCET. “Pygmy Twylyte” and “Son of Orange County” appear both on Roxy & Elsewhere and A Token Of His Extreme. Other highlights include the Brock/Zappa vamp “Room Service,” early FZ classics “Oh No” and “Trouble Every Day” and the titular “A Token Of My Extreme” that wouldn’t find a place on a studio album until 1979 (Joe’s Garage [Part II]).

Watch a playlist featuring each of the 11 tracks that make up A Token Of His Extreme: