STREAM “PENGUIN IN BONDAGE (LIVE IN COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO)” TODAY!
EXPERIENCE THE VAULT FOR THE FIRST TIME
In anticipation of Frank Zappa’s Apostrophe (‘) 50th Anniversary Edition set to release on September 13, Zappa Records/UMe has unveiled an exciting preview with an early live rendition of the classic, “Penguin In Bondage (Live in Colorado Springs, Colorado).” Originally featured on the iconic live album Roxy & Elsewhere in September 1974, this track was already a staple in Zappa’s setlists by March 21, 1974, when The Mothers performed in Colorado Springs, likely at the Civic Auditorium. This recording showcases the band’s improvisational prowess, reflecting the unique character of each live performance. The selected concerts illustrate the evolution of the band’s lineup throughout 1974, all while the original Apostrophe (‘) album continued to gain traction on the charts.
Listen to “Penguin In Bondage (Live in Colorado Springs, Colorado)” and pre-order Apostrophe (‘): 50th Anniversary Edition here.
Additionally, a new video offers a rare glimpse into The Vault, Zappa’s legendary storage space housing his extensive body of work. For the first time, Vaultmeister Joe Travers provides an exclusive tour of The Vault, revealing master tapes and creative assets, including artifacts from the making of the celebrated album. Watch the video here.
To commemorate 50 years of Apostrophe (‘), an expanded edition will be released on September 13 through Zappa Records/UMe in several formats, including a six-disc (5CD/1Blu-ray Audio) Super Deluxe Edition featuring a total of 75 tracks. Produced by Ahmet Zappa and Joe Travers, this collection includes a 2024 remaster of the original album by Bernie Grundman, along with numerous session outtakes, alternate takes, and remixed tracks by Craig Parker Adams and remastered by John Polito. The package also features two live concerts from 1974—one from an unidentified venue in Colorado Springs and another from Hara Arena in Dayton, Ohio, recorded on November 20, 1974. Seven of these tracks were previously released on the limited edition collection, The Crux of the Biscuit, in 2016.
The Blu-ray disc offers the core album newly mixed in Dolby Atmos and 5.1 surround sound by Karma Auger and Erich Gobel at Studio1LA, the same team responsible for the acclaimed surround mixes of 2022’s Waka/Wazoo and 2023’s Over-Nite Sensation. It also includes Zappa’s original 4-channel Quadraphonic mix, available for the first time since 1974, alongside a hi-res stereo remaster at 24-bit/192kHz and 24-bit/96kHz. The lavish Super Deluxe Edition comes with a 52-page booklet featuring unseen photographs from Sam Emerson, who captured the iconic cover image of Zappa, plus liner notes and essays by noted British journalist Simon Prentis and Vaultmeister Travers.
In addition to the Super Deluxe Edition, there will be two vinyl releases: a 2LP + 7-inch single edition featuring 180-gram audiophile LPs on white vinyl with yellow-snow splatter, cut from the 1974 designated EQ copy master tape by Bernie Grundman. The 7-inch single of “Don’t Eat The Yellow Snow” reproduces the original 1974 single paired with “Cosmik Debris,” now on glow-in-the-dark cosmic vinyl with yellow-snow splatter. A standalone 1LP edition featuring the original album’s nine tracks on 180-gram Gold Nugget vinyl will also be available. The 2LP + 7-inch edition can be pre-ordered exclusively from Zappa.com, uDiscover Music, and Sound of Vinyl here.
The Super Deluxe Edition will also be available digitally, offering all 75 tracks in both hi-res 24-bit/96kHz and standard-res 16-bit/44.1kHz formats. A standalone Dolby Atmos mix of the core album’s nine tracks will be accessible on all Atmos-supporting streaming services.
As both a title and concept, Apostrophe (‘) initially emerged from a few 2-inch 16-track masters in The Vault, essentially Zappa’s “Build Reels” from 1971. These contain multi-track masters from Hot Rats sessions in 1969, Record Plant sessions from 1970, and live tracks from Fillmore East in 1971. It wasn’t until early 1974 that the fully realized album title Apostrophe (‘) was established, incorporating then-current session masters from Bolic Studios in Inglewood, California, alongside archived recordings from 1970 to 1972. The master tapes for the album were finalized on February 7, 1974, with vinyl acetates and mastering completed at Artisan Sound Recorders before the official release on March 22.
For the bonus live material featured across Discs 2-5, Travers aimed to encapsulate what Zappa achieved during his live performances in 1974, spotlighting shows from both the beginning and end of the year. The Colorado Springs tapes—believed to originate from Zappa’s March 21 show—offer several standout performances along with a quality recording. (Reel patches were sourced from The Mothers’ Salt Lake City show from March 18.)
Throughout the 1974 tour, Zappa introduced numerous new compositions. Notable tracks such as “Is There Anything Good Inside Of You?” (aka “Andy”) and “Florentine Pogen” debuted, while the seldom-played “Babbette” cleverly intertwined with the newer “Approximate.” As always, Zappa recorded every show on his ½-inch 4-track tape machine. Although the recordings are not pristine, they historically document variants of songs that never reappeared in subsequent tours.
The Dayton, Ohio show from November 20 is included for several reasons. The sound quality is commendable, despite intermittent distortion. By this point in the year, the band had transformed multiple times, culminating in a six-piece lineup featuring fan favorites like Zappa, keyboardist George Duke, saxophonist Napoleon Murphy Brock, bassist Tom Fowler, drummer Chester Thompson, and percussionist Ruth Underwood. This lineup is widely regarded as one of Zappa’s best, showcasing exceptional chemistry and musicianship. The Dayton show stands as a final testament to this talented group, with performances of tracks like “Penguin In Bondage,” “Dinah-Moe Humm,” and “Pygmy Twylyte” marking the end of a remarkable chapter in Zappa’s history.
By early 1974, Frank Zappa was riding a wave of success. His reinvention of The Mothers resulted in the critically acclaimed Over-Nite Sensation, which introduced many to the expansive Zappaverse. Following this, Apostrophe (‘) emerged as Zappa’s most commercially successful album to date, earning Gold status and peaking at #10 on the Billboard 200. The infectious single “Don’t Eat The Yellow Snow” also made its mark, reaching #87 on the Billboard Hot 100. Tracks like “Cosmik Debris,” “Uncle Remus,” and “Stink-Foot” solidified Zappa’s impact on popular culture, and even after fifty years, Apostrophe (‘) remains a cornerstone of his catalog and one of its top-selling titles.