The MYSTERY DISC is the re-release, on a single disc, of two CDs released with the Zappa Masters box set in the 80s. It was the first of many archival excavations made by Zappa after jumping on with Rykodisc. 10 tracks, about 30 minutes of material, appeared later, in some form, on AHEAD OF THEIR TIME, THE LOST EPISODES, and volume 5 of the YCDTOSA series. That having been said, that still leaves about 48 minutes of material that can only be found on this disc. In other words, still a good deal.

The disc follows the earliest years of Zappa's career, featuring some pretty interesting pre-Mothers material. Film scores (RUN HOME SLOWLY, DUKE OF PRUNES), recordings of Zappa in various rock ensembles, a strange miscellany of pieces recorded at Studio Z, and even a hilarious snippet of Zappa taking over a college radio station (THE UNCLE FRANKIE SHOW). (I believe) The first recordings of Zappa with the group that would later become the Mothers is also included (AT THE BROADSIDE), and the film they played as a background group in (MONDO HOLLYWOOD) when Herb Cohen discovered them. Captain Beefheart fans will also rejoice in some of the very earliest appearances of Don Van Vliet's persona (THE BIRTH OF CAPTAIN BEEFHEART, a small snippet of Vliet reading a portion of the script to Capt. Beefheart vs. the Grunt People). There's also some early FZ guitar noodling (BOSSA NOVA) and the theme to FZ's failed rock opera, I WAS A TEENAGE MALT SHOP.

The second half of the Disc has largely seen the light of day on the aforementioned albums. Some interesting material not found elsewhere include the studio version of AGENCY MAN, the (a)typical Mothers avant-garde tickle madness of SKWEEZIT SKWEEZIT SKWEEZIT, a 1972 interview snippet in which Zappa seeks to find the story behind Willie the Pimp, and goes straight the source (THE STORY OF WILLIE THE PIMP), and the Charva-like CHUCHA (FZ following his own advice again from track 11).

This material is anything but essential -- its for the curious or hardcore fans only. The casual FZ listener will doubtless find this too strange, or stupid, to bear. Fans of the early Mothers (or Beefheart), in particular, will find it pretty interesting. Regardless of who enjoys it, its a worthwhile audio documentary of the legendary cultural/musical phenomenon that was Frank Zappa.

Do not buy this for the cynical humor, the great guitar solo's or the great interaction with the public. Zappa is practicing his routines, tuning his instruments and his bands and developing a vision. Playground Psychotics documents the 200 motels lineup, this one documents his musical childhood. AS SUCH it is interesting.

The best thing I can say about this disc is that it proves even early on that Frank was a decent orchestral composer.

And if you've ever wanted a picture of the Mothers when Henry Vestine was in the band, it's here.

One of my favorite band line-ups is the Mothers Of Invention circa 1968. The first MOI album I heard was Freak Out! in 1972. I started my MOI album collection shortly thereafter. After many years of music listening and eclectic collecting I stumbled onto this gem. It covers Zappa from his roots to the end of the first line-up of the MOI. Read the dates concerning each cut and be astounded by the fact that Zappa was way ahead of his time. It made me realize that FZ actually invented styles and technique that wasn't commercially flounted for years to come. The man was a genius. This album will probably only appeal to old hard-core fans like myself. It's still great history.

Similar to "Lost Episodes" and in fact sharing some tracks, this is nonetheless packed with plenty of worthwhile material. Those who tire of the vignettes can use their program function for once. It just annoys me to hear people complain of filling a disc. Keep the obscure soundbytes a-comin'!