Album Reviews

In the aftermath of The Mothers’ September 1973 hit LP Over-Nite Sensation (Footnote 1), Frank Zappa — the legendary composer, singer, guitarist, social documentarian, political rights advocate, and film-making artist — began a process of trying to capture his amazing band on video for a hopeful television program. It took the better part of a year to eventually accomplish the task, however, as two trial efforts were deemed unusable at the time. Thankfully, modern restoration techniques have helped salvage these historic works in these 21st century tymes (sic), and that second session — now officially titled Cheaper Than Cheep — is being released by Zappa Records/UMe today, June 27, 2025, as a 180g 3LP set (in addition to a few other versions that we’ll detail in just a bit).

A little more background now. The first session was recorded at Los Angeles’ famed Roxy Theatre in December 1973, the music eventually celebrated in the fantastic fan-favorite September 1974 double-live album, Roxy & Elsewhere. The visual counterparts to that live recording were never usable until recent years. Once sync’d up, the film was eventually released as a fine Blu-ray video experience in October 2015 titled Roxy: The Movie, not to mention an expanded audio soundtrack released a year before in March 2014, the 2LP Roxy by Proxy collection. (An even more fully expanded 7CD set, The Roxy Performances, came out in February 2018.)

But now, back to Cheaper Than Cheep, upon which the results are anything but low budget. Unbeknownst to most everyone in the Zappaverse except the most insider of insider fans who were there at the concert as well as members of Zappa’s band, the filming attempt was made in 1974 at the band’s own rehearsal studio in Los Angeles. Sadly, it was shelved for decades after technical problems were discovered, and it was virtually forgotten and essentially lost in Zappa’s massive archive (known to fellow deep fans as “The Vault”).

Fast-forward more than a few decades later, where Zappa archivist and official Vaultmeister Joe Travers connected the dots between mysteriously labeled audio and video reels to institute the restoration process. Beginning around 2015, he and co-producer Ahmet Zappa began assembling the film, professionally syncing audio to the video using modern digital technologies.

Before I go deeper into this review, here is a quick snapshot of what to expect from this fascinating project, via the official press materials: “Cheaper Than Cheep will be available in a variety of formats, including a special, limited edition multi-format Super Deluxe box set featuring the concert film on Blu-ray with Dolby Atmos, 5.1 surround and stereo mixes, a companion stereo soundtrack presented on both 2CD and 180-gram 3LP black vinyl, plus an extensive 12-page booklet with rare, unseen images and informative liner notes from Travers alongside a detailed and heartfelt remembrance from musician Ruth Komanoff Underwood, who performed percussion that evening. The set will be housed in a telescoping slipcase and include four bonus lithographs. [. . .] Additional options include a standalone soundtrack on 180-gram 3LP black vinyl and a limited edition 3LP picture disc Super Deluxe box set.”

As far as the Cheaper Than Cheep DNA goes, we know that the audio was transferred to hi-res digital by Vaultmeister Joe Travers and Rodney Pearson at UMRK 2015 (Utility Muffin Research Kitchen). The album mix and mastering was driven by Erich Gobel and Karma Auger of Studio1LA. Chris Bellman handled the cutting/mastering at Bernie Grundman Mastering in Hollywood, California, and the deep-black, well-centered 180g vinyl was manufactured at Optimal in Germany. Each of the three discs in this set comes housed in its own audiophile-grade plastic-lined inner sleeve.

The SRP for the standalone Cheaper Than Cheep 3LP set is $79.98, while the Super Deluxe Edition noted above runs $149.98, and the limited edition of that latter box — in which the 3LPs are picture discs — runs $179.98. The core 3LP set is available at Music Direct here, and/or via the link graphic that appears at the end of this review above the tracklisting section. If MD happens to be sold out at the time you click on the link, that 3LP edition, plus the two Super Deluxe options, are all available from Zappa’s official site store here.

The Cheaper Than Cheep project took on special significance for director/co-producer Ahmet Zappa, in part because the recording was made right around the time he was born. Numerous challenges around his birth made the completion of Cheep even more personal for Ahmet to follow through on his father’s dream. It is, in effect, a celebration of their lives together. Again, from the official press release, this extended quote from Ahmet underscores this project’s personal significance: “Finishing this film was a personal mission. He saved me. So I did the best I could to save this. For me, this is art and not commerce, and I did not take a fee to direct and produce. This was a pure labor of love, and I poured myself into every frame, every audio match, every restoration choice. It was brutal at times — we had to fight through decades of decay, glitches, missing pieces — but I wanted to do it right. I probably drove the team crazy with how meticulous I was, but that’s the only way I know how to work when it comes to honoring my dad.” (Footnote 2)

Cheaper Than Cheep is no doubt a dream snapshot of — and, for many, peak-period — Zappa in action, close-up and personal in a very intimate live-in-studio environment. When Zappa starts out the show somewhat comically deriding the program, it is anything but: “Ladies and gentlemen,” he says at the very outset of LP01, “we’d like to welcome you to the world’s cheapest television special, which is being manufactured for your edification right here in the midst of our Mothers of Invention rehearsal hall at 5831 Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood, California. Can you all turn around and look at each other so everybody who’s watching this can tell where we are, and what the inside of this place really looks like. As you can see, it’s cheaper than cheap.”

As a lifelong Zappa fan, I’m personally thrilled with Cheaper Than Cheep, as it is a truly wonderful, metamorphosis-in-real-time aural document, with parts of the iconic Roxy band reconfigured into an even tighter, smaller, ever-more-mobile unit. The group at this moment in time was far from rusty, yet we get to hear them getting realigned into a fine-tuned, badder-still super-powered music machine, performing Zappa’s compositions at a remarkably ultra-steady pace, more akin to actual studio recordings than a staged concert.

Why does this matter? Well, deep fans revere Zappa’s Roxy-era ensemble for their amazing progressive jazz-rock prowess. These players all possessed mad music-making skills, a factor which was often showcased by just how fast they could play the songs. Hyper-bebop-level playing was one of Zappa’s ongoing guilty pleasures, dating back as early as his work on August 1967’s Lumpy Gravy — as confirmed on video by Wrecking Crew legend and percussionist Emil Richards, who played on it — but probably earlier still.

By the time of the third filming session in August 1974 — which was ultimately broadcast on San Diego’s KCET-TV and officially released as November 2013’s A Token of His Extreme — the ostensible Zappa/Mothers band were playing quite a bit faster, but not as fast as they would get! There also exists a legendary Zappa concert from Helsinki, Finland, recorded a month later in September 1974 — formally released on October 1988’s 3LP (and 2CD) set You Can’t Do That On Stage Anymore Vol. 2 (The Helsinki Concert) — during which the band is playing much of this same material so fast to the point where it’s almost ridiculous! But I digress.

Now, let’s take a moment to put what we’re hearing on Cheaper Than Cheep in perspective to the times. The 1970s were a time when progressive rock and jazz-rock fusion was actually riding high on the pop charts. Musicians were delivering deep displays of ultra-fluent instrumental bravado not really heard since the heyday of bebop jazz, when the likes of Charlie Parker wowed audiences with his lightning-fast runs. John Coltrane’s 1960s “sheets of sound” technique was another likely touchstone for the prog movement. The point is, there was precedent and context for such speedy spectacle from Zappa and his band (many of whom traversed the prog-rock and jazz-rock-fusion universes regularly themselves).

Fortunately, on Cheep, we get to hear Zappa’s music played at an almost pupal stage of development, with the music methodically, steadily, and quite beautifully at a pace — like a caterpillar’s transformation to a colorful butterfly crawling out of its chrysalis — that is arguably easier to digest before it all takes off in full frenetic flight. In short: I like it! Here on these 3LPs, you’ll hear these musicians periodically work through Zappa’s very complex motifs, repeating certain sequences slower, then faster. It is fascinating to hear these crazy mad riffs that usually whiz by at light speed being played in sonic slow motion.

Another significant difference (and benefit) I noticed in this recording is in the vocals and playing of lead singer, tenor saxophonist, and flautist Napoleon Murphy Brock. An underappreciated front-line hero, Brock and his contributions have sometimes been overlooked in the Zappaverse, simply because some of us are perhaps a bit more focused on the wow-inducing wizardry of percussionist Ruth Underwood, drummer Chester Thompson, keyboardist George Duke, and of course Zappa himself.

Here on Cheaper Than Cheep, Brock stretches out his voice to quite amazing effect. He is in terrific form all throughout, and you can feel — and, if you get the Super Deluxe version with the corresponding video on BD, see! — him enjoying that extra space to simply soar, more like Marvin Gaye or Otis Redding, in letting those long lovely notes resonate just that extra bit that makes a difference.

This is particularly apparent on some of the FZ “oldies,” such as “How Could I Be Such a Fool” (LP02, Side Four, Track 1), which is played at a tempo that pays (perhaps unintentionally) homage to the original Mothers of Invention. (Footnote 3) Brock delivers some of the best live versions I’ve heard of Zappa’s later bands doing this early material. These are, of course, not exactly the same as the ’60s studio takes, but the pacing is on target, and the performances sublime. (Faster isn’t always better!)

Cheaper Than Cheep also contains a wealth of original Zappa compositions that were not officially released until years later. Some of these compositions were no doubt bootlegged by eager fans over the years for unauthorized releases, but we didn’t really ever get to hear high-quality studio and live versions like those we’re getting here.

That said, some of these musically momentous standout moments for me on Cheaper Than Cheep include “Dupree’s Paradise” (LP03, Side 6, Track 1). “RDNZL” (pronounced “ree-duhn-zuhl”) (LP01, Side 2, Track 1), and “T’Mershi Duween” (LP2, Side 3, Track 3). These beautiful, complicated compositions showcase the bandmembers’ and Zappa’s skills respectively. But again, because they’re performed at a slightly more (ahem, shall we say) human pace, it is arguable that listeners new to Zappa’s music may be able to better appreciate the music from these particular versions. I know that I myself am appreciating many more detailed nuances I’ve been able to pick up from these steadier performances.

For example, there is a great version of “Apostrophe’” here (LP03, Side 6, Track 2), the song that is, of course, the title track to Zappa’s March 1974 Top 10 hit LP. (Footnote 4) This version had been previewed on the soundtrack to Alex Winter’s excellent 2020 documentary Zappa, yet it is great to hear it in the context of this actual concert performance. (Footnote 5) Be sure to read the included booklet for powerful inside perspective from percussionist Ruth Komanoff Underwood (who’s using her full name in the liners), revealing what was happening onstage during this moment.

“Village of the Sun,” as originally performed in 1973’s concert recording for Roxy & Elsewhere that was released in September 1974, was initially arranged as a funky, quasi-smooth-jazz groover. Later, Zappa completely reconsidered the tune as more of a comedic pop-country comic presentation, which was perhaps more in line with the quirky lyrical storyline — which was, in part, about turkey farmers! While I think I prefer the Roxy arrangement, it is still fascinating to consider the differences we hear on this Cheep take (LP01, Side 2, Track 2).

I think, by now, you get the idea that there’s a lot of really good stuff on Cheaper Than Cheep that you’ll want to hear. The 3LP vinyl set sounds pretty terrific, with a round warmth undaunted by the necessary digital stages. The recordings do have a somewhat unique sonic footprint (if you will) worth noting. While Zappa hired the legendary Wally Heider Studios Remote Truck for the recording (outfitted with two 2in 16-track analog recorders, and no doubt they were using good microphones too), the reality is the band was effectively playing in an acoustically imperfect rehearsal hall. Thus, there is a distinctive flavor to these recordings, which is certainly fine once you get accustomed to it — in effect, it is neither a live concert stage nor formal recording studio vibe, per se.

The packaging for Cheaper Than Cheep is exemplary, with the 3LP set housed in a high-quality, glossy-printed triple-gatefold design with many band images in tow. The album-sized booklet features more pictures of the group, and insightful new essays from Travers and Underwood. Underwood offers poignant and, at times, tear-inducing backstory explaining what was going on at that time in Zappa’s life — including the challenges of Ahmet’s birth — as well as her own personal hurdles. Underwood was such a vital part of Zappa’s sound at this time that getting her perspective here is especially significant.

As for the ratings (which AP editor Mike Mettler tells me he agrees with, 100 percent), I give Cheaper Than Cheep an easy 10 for the Music for all the reasons stated above. As for the Sound, Cheep deserves at least an 8.5 (also for the reasons cited above), which rounds up to a solid 9 on our trusty dial-a-rating icon seen at the top of this review.

Cheaper Than Cheep is out today, so if you haven’t purchased/ordered it yet, what are you waiting for? Don’t delay. Get your copy today! Operators (somewhere) are standing by to give you all the Zappa cheepnis you heart desires!

Author bio: Mark Smotroff is an avid vinyl collector who has also worked in marketing communications for decades. He has reviewed music for eCoustics, among others, and you can see more of his impressive C.V. at LinkedIn.

Footnote 5: Mike Mettler again, for one final time: I happened to review that film’s companion audio release, the Zappa: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack – Deluxe Edition 3CD set, over on our sister site Sound & Vision here on February 26, 2021 — though I did also soon enough obtain, and thoroughly love, the companion 5LP smoke-vinyl edition that was released a few months after that collection. Completist, thy name is mine own. . .

FRANK ZAPPA
FRANK ZAPPA’S CHEAPER THAN CHEEP
180g 3LP (Zappa/UMe)

LP01, Side One
1. “Cheaper Than Cheep”
2. Cosmik Debris
3. Inca Roads

LP01, Side Two
1. RDNZL
2. Village Of The Sun
3. Montana
4. Duke Goes Out

LP02, Side Three
1. “Get Down Simmons”
2. Penguin In Bondage
3. T’Mershi Duween
4. The Dog Breath Variations
5. Uncle Meat

LP02, Side Four
1. How Could I Be Such A Fool
2. I’m Not Satisfied
3. Wowie Zowie
4. I Don’t Even Care
5. Let’s Make The Water Turn Black

LP03, Side Five
1. Oh No
2. Son Of Orange County
3. More Trouble Every Day

LP03, Side Six
1. Dupree’s Paradise
2. Apostrophe’
3. Camarillo Brillo