10 thoughts on “Worcester 68”

  2. Worcester brings back memories on my first MOI performence in Amsterdam 1968. But the playlist of Worcester is questionable. MOI played indeed in october in the UK, some time before Festival Hall on October 25th.
    According to some set/playlists (check the internet or your various books) it is more likely as follows:
    ??-Oct 1968, Worcester, England. A mix of the 3-Oct 1968 and 5-Jun 1969.

    3-Oct 1968, Tivoli Gardens, København, Denmark w/ Don Cherry (*).
    Improvisations, Hungry Freaks Daddy, Bongo Madness, God Bless America, King Kong, improvisations, Trouble Every Day, Absolutely Free (including There’s A Small Hotel, Rockabye Baby), Teddy Bears’ March, In The Sky, The String Quartet (incl Oh No, Transylvania Boogie), improvisations*, Octandres improvisations, Help I’m A Rock, Transylvania Boogie, The String Quartet, improvisations*

    5-Jun 1969, Guild Hall, Portsmouth, England
    Pound For A Brown story, String Quartet, Transylvania Boogie

    Bert

  3. This info should go into your gig list, Barry. It currently has no play list for worcester.

    I love them old Mothers, thanks to you & Gilles for posting this show

  4. Only date-based info makes it into (my version of) the gig list.
    KUR’s version doesn’t list any shows that are marked “??/month/year”.

    Can I/should I trust Bert’s information — even if I’m sure he means well with it?

    (No offense intended Bert, I’m sure you understand)

  5. Barry, Bert has got this right. His information about the actual likely dates is quite correct and the featured setlist is indeed questionable, or at to be more precise incomplete. The only copy of the so-called Worcester show that I have come across has the following track list:

    Return of the Son of Monster Magnet
    It Can’t Happen Here
    Help I’m a Rock w/guitar solo
    King Kong
    Trouble Every Day
    Absolutely Free (including There’s A Small Hotel, Rockabye Baby)
    Teddy Bears’ March
    In The Sky
    The String Quartet
    Improvisations (with Don Cherry)
    Octandres

    I have little doubt that this is indeed an amalgamation of the two other shows Bert mentioned (we know that Don Cherry appeared on 3 Oct 68). However, just to blur the issue, I notice Gilles is offering two versions of the String Quartet, and my list above only has one. Yet it was definitely played at both shows from which Worcester ostensibly comes. So it would seem that both my list above and Gilles current boot are from the two shows mentioned by Bert, with some tracks being exclusive to each. Did I mention that Monster Magnet is on both Gilles and my list, but not mentioned in the fzshows listing? Another time then…

    Right, hope that’s all clear now (yeah, as mud). Now Barry, aren’t you glad you asked…? Me, I’m off for a rest…

  7. Fellow Zappians,
    I sampled the nine songs into order of performence. It took me a while, but listening carefully to the beginning and end of songs this is the playing order:
    3. Return of the son of Monster Magnet
    4. Help Im a rock-Transylvania boogie
    1. Improvisation (song nr 3)
    2. King Kong
    5. Improvisation (song nr 5)
    6. In the sky
    7. The string quartet
    8. Improvisation (song nr 8)
    9. The string quartet
    To recognize tunes and songs a good reference is The String Quartet cd.
    Regarding the dates you can check the internet on dbentree or the zappa patio. In books the one by Greg Russo (titled Cosmik Debris) is fairly correct and there are even some notes in Ben Watson’s book.
    You have to combine information and draw a conclusion for yourself.

  9. You’re welcome Barry.
    But now I have a question for you, one that I can’t solve. Recently you made a link to Zappa.hu. From that site you can downlowd a fantastic soundquality of the KCET TV performence on August 6, 1974 having Trouble ev ery day as extra song and the playlist according to the gig. There are also 2 downloads from 1988 tour and a 31 min 51 sec version of Wilson Pickett’s “Midnight Hour”.
    Questions:
    Do you know from which show(s) the 1988 songs are?
    Is it possible (according to page 65 of The Real Frank Zappa Book – Ben Watson also refers to it-) that the Midnight Hour is played by The Soul Giants with FZ?
    Tanx

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