Welcome to our 2026 Mother’s Day extravaganza featuring Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention. This year brings four new archival releases featuring the legendary Roxy-era edition of the band (joined by Captain Beefheart for his only tour with the Mothers) and the fondly-remembered 1978 Halloween concert (featuring violinist L. Shankar). Add in Marc-André Hamelin’s premiere recording of the decidedly non-rock-n-roll'ish composition Ruth Is Sleeping in its solo piano version, three very different versions of Dupree's Paradise (including one conducted by Pierre Boulez), plus a look back at the final canonical album of the original 60s Mothers of Invention, and you get a nifty two-hour spectacular with enough new material to satisfy Zappa devotees and enough exploratory edge to intrigue those who aren’t ordinarily big Zappa fans.
Global chart history
Top position held by this upload
Comments
Flotation Device 2026-05-10: Annotated playlist by host Michael Schell - PART ONE
Intro and SET 1: Late-stage classic Mothers [0:00]
1. [1:39] "The purpose of this evening is supposedly to make some recordings of the Mothers live in person" (Whisky a Go Go, 1968)
2. [1:56] Didja Get Any Onya?. From Weasels ripped my flesh (Bizarre/Reprise, 1970) with The Mothers of Invention: Frank Zappa (guitar), Ian Underwood (alto saxophone), Bunk Gardner (tenor saxophone), Motorhead Sherwood (baritone saxophone), Buzz Gardner (trumpet, flugelhorn), Lowell George (monologue, vocals, rhythm guitar), Don Preston (keyboards, electronics), Roy Estrada (bass), Art Tripp, Jimmy Carl Black (drums), Dick Kunc (recording engineer). NOTE: Recorded live March 2, 1969 at the Philadelphia Arena
3. [8:47] "If there's any of these questions you don't want to answer you just let me know." "Believe me I will." (MTV, 1984)
4. [8:52] Little Richard: Directly From My Heart To You. From Weasels ripped my flesh (as above) with Don "Sugarcane" Harris (vocals, violin), Frank Zappa (guitar), Don Preston (organ), Roy Estrada (bass), Jimmy Carl Black (drums). NOTE: Recorded July 30, 1969, TTG Recording Studios, Hollywood
5. [14:08] "Randomonium Take One" (Aprocrypha, 1968)
6. [14:11] Dwarf Nebula Processional March & Dwarf Nebula. From Weasels ripped my flesh (as above) with Frank Zappa (guitar), Ian Underwood (woodwinds, keyboards), Bunk Gardner (woodwinds), Art Tripp (drums). NOTE: Recorded December 1967–February 1968, Apostolic Studios, New York
7. [16:23] "The record company refused to have a group on the label called The Mothers, so I had to add 'of invention' on the end of it." (MTV, 1984)
8. [16:46] The Little House I Used To Live In. From Burnt Weeny Sandwich (Bizarre/Reprise, 1970) with Ian Underwood (piano), Jack Hunt, Cliff Goldstein (recording engineers). NOTE: Recorded July 18, 1969, TTG Recording Studios, Hollywood
9. [18:31] The Eric Dolphy Memorial Barbecue. From Weasels ripped my flesh (as above) with The Mothers of Invention: Frank Zappa (guitar), Ian Underwood (woodwinds, keyboards), Bunk Gardner (woodwinds), Motorhead Sherwood (baritone saxophone), Buzz Gardner (trumpet, flugelhorn), Don Preston (keyboards), Roy Estrada (bass), Jimmy Carl Black (drums), Art Tripp (drums, mallets). NOTE: Recorded June 1969, A&R Studios, New York
Flotation Device 2026-05-10: Annotated playlist by host Michael Schell - PART TWO
SET 2: Late-stage Roxy era I (Dupree's Paradise I) [25:24]
1. [29:36] Dupree’s Paradise. From Cheaper Than Cheep (Zappa, 2025) with The Mothers of Invention: Frank Zappa (guitar, vocals), Napoleon Murphy Brock (flute, tenor saxophone, vocals), Bruce Fowler (trombone, vocals), Jeff Simmons (guitar, vocals), George Duke (keyboards, synths, vocals), Tom Fowler (bass), Ruth Underwood (percussion), Chester Thompson (drums), Kerry McNabb (recording engineer). NOTE: Recorded June 21, 1974 at The Mothers of Invention Rehearsal Hall, Los Angeles
2. [38:56] Get Down Simmons. From Cheaper Than Cheep (credits as above)
3. [40:52] Approximate. From One Size Fits All 50th Anniversary Edition (Zappa, 2025) with The Mothers of Invention: Frank Zappa (guitar, vocals), Napoleon Murphy Brock (flute, tenor saxophone, vocals), George Duke (keyboards, synths, vocals), Tom Fowler (bass), Ruth Underwood (percussion), Chester Thompson (drums), Brian Krokus (recording engineer). NOTE: Recorded live September 28, 1974 at Sports Palace Ahoy, Rotterdam, Netherlands
4. [47:41] Ruth is sleeping. From Found Objects (Hyperion, 2025) with Marc-André Hamelin (piano), Oscar Torres (recording engineer). NOTE: Composed 1982–83, arranged for solo piano by Ali N. Askin
5. [53:29] Outro with The Girl in the Magnesium Dress (from The Perfect Stranger)
6. [57:09] Move On. From Zappa ’66 Vol. 1: Live At TTG Studios (Vaulternative, 2026) with The Mothers of Invention: Frank Zappa, Del Casher (guitars), Don Preston (keyboards), Roy Estrada (bass), Jimmy Carl Black, Billy Mundi (drums, percussion), Ray Collins (tambourine). NOTE: Recorded live October 1966, TTG Studios, Los Angeles
Flotation Device 2026-05-10: Annotated playlist by host Michael Schell - PART THREE
SET 3: Late-stage Roxy era II (Dupree's Paradise II) [1:00:45]
1. [1:02:45] Inca Roads. From One Size Fits All (DiskReet, 1975, reissued 2012 by Zappa Records) with The Mothers of Invention: Frank Zappa (guitar), Napoleon Murphy Brock (tenor saxophone), George Duke (keyboards, synths), Tom Fowler (bass), Ruth Underwood (percussion), Chester Thompson (drums, percussion). NOTE: Recorded August 27, 1974 at KCET-TV, Los Angeles with overdubs January–February 1975, The Record Plant, Los Angeles
2. [1:03:18] Evelyn, a Modified Dog - Session Outtakes. From One Size Fits All 50th Anniversary Edition (Zappa, 2025) with Frank Zappa (vocals), George Duke (keyboards). NOTE: Recorded February 26, 1975, The Record Plant, Los Angeles, CA
3. [1:03:36] Dupree's Paradise - Part 1. From One Size Fits All 50th Anniversary Edition (as above) with The Mothers of Invention: Frank Zappa (guitar), Napoleon Murphy Brock (sax, flute, vocals), George Duke (keyboards, synths), Tom Fowler (bass), Ruth Underwood (percussion), Chester Thompson (drums), Brian Krokus (recording engineer). NOTE: Recorded live September 28, 1974 at Sportpaleis Ahoy, Rotterdam
4. [1:09:34] "Can you tell us what's happening with Don Van Vliet (Captain Beefheart) these days?" (with Charles Amirkhanian, KPFA, 1991)
5. [1:10:31] The Torture Never Stops. From Bongo Fury 50th Anniversary (Zappa, 2026) with Captain Beefheart (lead vocals, harmonica, soprano saxophone), The Mothers of Invention: Frank Zappa (lead guitar, vocals), Napoleon Murphy Brock (tenor saxophone, vocals), Bruce Fowler (trombone), Denny Walley (slide guitar, vocals), George Duke (keyboards, vocals), Tom Fowler (electric bass), Terry Bozzio (drums), Davey Moire (recording engineer). NOTE: Recorded live May 20, 1975, Armadillo World Headquarters, Austin
6. [1:22:18] Duke's Things. From Bongo Fury 50th Anniversary (credits as above). NOTE: Recorded live May 20, 1975, Armadillo World Headquarters, Austin
7. [1:27:10] Pound For A Brown - Part I. From Bongo Fury 50th Anniversary (credits as above). NOTE: Recorded live May 21, 1975, Armadillo World Headquarters, Austin
Photo credits: Halloween ‘78, Mothers of Invention 1974 (George Duke, Jeff Simmons, Frank Zappa, Ruth Underwood, Chester Thompson, Tom Fowler, Napoleon Murphy Brock) by Sam Emerson, Mothers of Invention at Whiskey a Go Go 1968 (top: Jimmy Carl Black, Ray Collins, Art Tripp, Roy Estrada, middle: Ian Underwood, Bunk Gardner, Don Preston, Motorhead Sherwood, bottom: Frank Zappa) by George Rodriguez, Ruth Underwood and Frank Zappa in Cheaper Than Cheep, Frank Zappa and Captain Beefheart via Wikipedia, Art Tripp’s percussion setup via Percussive Arts Society, Frank Zappa and L. Shenkar via Zappa Records, Bongo Fury band (Tom Fowler, George Duke, Bruce Fowler, Captain Beefheart, Napoleon Murphy Brock, Frank Zappa, Denny Walley, Terry Bozzio) by Sam Emerson, Frank Zappa: The Girl in the Magnesium Dress, Marc-André Hamelin via Vancouver Classical Music.
Flotation Device features creative and improvised music from the Northwest and around the world with host Michael Schell, Sunday nights 10pm–Midnight Pacific Time on 91.3 KBCS-FM Bellevue/Seattle/Tacoma. Visit us online at https://linktr.ee/MichaelSchell
Flotation Device 2026-05-10: Annotated playlist by host Michael Schell - PART FOUR
SET 4: Halloween 1978 (Dupree's Paradise III) [1:29:22]
1. [1:32:50] "You're at The Palladium tomorrow night?" (with Mark Simone, WPIX, October 30, 1978)
2. [1:32:58] Thirteen. From Halloween 78 (Zappa, 2026) with L. Shankar (violin), Frank Zappa (vocals, guitar), Denny Walley (slide and rhythm guitar, vocals), Peter Wolf (keyboards), Tommy Mars (keyboards, vocals), Patrick O'Hearn (fretless bass, vocals), Arthur Barrow (bass, acoustic guitar, vocals), Vinnie Colaiuta (drums), Ed Mann (percussion, vocals), Joe Chiccarelli (recording engineer). NOTE: Recorded live October 31, 1978 at The Palladium, New York
3. [1:37:31] "You know, you look a lot like Frank Zappa" (WPIX, 1978)
4. [1:37:50] Dupree's Paradise. From Boulez Conducts Zappa: The Perfect Stranger (Angel, 1984) with Ensemble InterContemporain, Pierre Boulez (conductor), Didier Arditi (recording engineer)
5. [1:45:39] "Toodle-oo, and the hits keep coming at ya" (WPIX, 1978)
6. [1:45:46] Packard Goose. From Halloween 78 (credits as above). NOTE: Recorded live October 31, 1978 at The Palladium, New York
7. [1:52:30] Peaches En Regalia. From Halloween 78 (credits as above minus L. Shankar). NOTE: Recorded live October 27, 1978 at The Palladium, New York
8. [1:55:44] Outro with Black Napkins (from Halloween)