Frank Zappa Holy Grail – ‘Roxy: The Movie’ Due Out In October

By Scott Bernstein Aug 31, 2015 • 8:45 am PDT

Frank Zappa

Frank Zappa fans have been waiting over 40 years for a video release from the legendary guitarist’s epic three-night stand at The Roxy in Hollywood, California, which took place on December 8 – 10, 1973. Zappa was backed by arguably the best band he played with, including keyboardist George Duke, multi-instrumentalist Napoleon Murphy Brock, Ruth Underwood on percussion and Chester Thompson on drums.

These performances were shot on film by multiple cameras and multi-track recordings were made from the audio. 2003’s Baby Snakes DVD featured a three-minute trailer for a DVD called The Roxy Performances, but all these years later we’re still waiting for what’s considered by many Zappateers The Holy Grail. According to a number of listings Roxy: The Movie finally has a release date: October 30.

Frank Zappa & The Mothers Roxy The Movie Poster

Website evo88 is one of the retailers listing Roxy: The Movie. Both Blu-Ray and DVD/CD versions of Roxy: The Movie are available for pre-order. While the good news appears to be that Roxy is finally on the verge of release, the bad news is that it won’t be as comprehensive a release as many fans wanted. Both versions feature a run-time of 116 minutes according to EVO88’s listings.

The Zappa Family Trust recently announced Ahmet Zappa would be taking over day-to-day operations from his mother and Frank’s wife Gail Zappa. Roxy: The Movie was one of the future releases mentioned by Ahmet last month. For now, there has been no official announcement from the ZFT about Roxy: The Movie though other sites back up the October 30th release date. Stay tuned!

00:04:51
00:10:49
luciano nardi
Frank Zappa (See 42 videos)

Here’s the text accompanying the Roxy: The Movie listings on evo88 as well as the tracklistings:

Frank Zappa’s concerts at the Roxy Theatre in Holywood in December 1973 are legendary. Frank and the Mothers played three nights on December 8th, 9th & 10th and these shows formed the basis of the “Roxy & Elsewhere” album that was released in 1974. However the performances were also filmed in 16mm and this footage has been sitting in the Zappa vault ever since. Now fully restored by the Zappa Family Trust this live concert film is being made available for the first time. It captures Frank and the Mothers at the height of their powers and includes material that is unique to these performances. This is a highly anticipated release for Zappa fans who have waited many years for the concert footage to finally be released.

Roxy: The Movie Tracklists

BluRay

  1. Cosmik Debris
  2. Medley: Penguin In Bondage / T’Mershi Duween / The Dog Breath Variations / Uncle Meat / RDNZL
  3. Inca Roads
  4. Medley: Echidna’s Arf (Of You) / Don’t You Ever Wash That Thing / Cheepnis – Percussion
  5. Cheepnis
  6. Medley: I’m The Slime / Big Swifty
  7. Be-Bop Tango (Of The Old Jazzman’s Church)
  8. Don’t Eat The Yellow Snow
  9. Father O’Blivion
Bonus Features Additional tracks:
  1. Medley: Pygmy Twylyte / The Idiot Bastard Son
  2. Dickies’s Such An Asshole

DVD

  1. Cosmik Debris
  2. Medley: Penguin In Bondage / T’Mershi Duween / The Dog Breath Variations / Uncle Meat / RDNZL
  3. Inca Roads
  4. Medley: Echidna’s Arf (Of You) / Don’t You Ever Wash That Thing / Cheepnis – Percussion
  5. Cheepnis
  6. Medley: I’m The Slime / Big Swifty
  7. Be-Bop Tango (Of The Old Jazzman’s Church)
  8. Don’t Eat The Yellow Snow
  9. Father O’Blivion

CD

  1. “Something Terrible Has Happened…”
  2. Cosmik Debris
  3. Medley: Penguin In Bondage / T’Mershi Duween / The Dog Breath Variations / Uncle Meat / RDNZL
  4. Medley: Echidna’s Arf (Of You) / Don’t You Ever Wash That Thing / Cheepnis – Percussion
  5. Cheepnis
  6. Be-Bop Tango (Of The Old Jazzman’s Church)
Bonus Features Additional tracks:
  1. Medley: Pygmy Twylyte / The Idiot Bastard Son
  2. Dickies’s Such An Asshole
JamBase Collections