Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention
Ahead of Their Time

Progress!

What is "Ahead of Their Time"?

Progress!

Released a few months before Frank Zappa's death, the recordings actually date back to October 25, 1968, when the mustachioed composer organized a concert at the Royal Albert Hall, writing, moreover, almost everything found in the work in question, except for "Progress?" (Preston/Underwood/Gardner/Tripp/Sherwood/Zappa), "The Jimmy Carl Black Philosophy Lesson" (Black/Zappa) and "Holding The Group Back" (Estrada/Underwood/Zappa).

I wrote "almost everything" knowingly, because "Ahead of Their Time" is a work conceived entirely for a rock group and orchestra (not surprisingly, the Mothers are accompanied by members of the BBC Symphony Orchestra), and in it, we find not only music.

Divisible into two parts (from the "Prologue" to the "Epilogue" in the first, from "King Kong" to the end in the second), the Mothers and Frank in the first part have fun with an internal conflict in the band (those who want music leaning towards "progress!" and those who believe it is "full of shit, and besides it ain't be disciplined"), a situation that leads to entertaining sketches performed by musician-actors, even if unfortunately, several of these would need a video reference to be fully appreciated, but, alas, the most we have of that event is this recording. Among the sketches, our favorites include some wonderful compositions (the influence of Varèse is particularly felt, a hint of Cage, but also a touch of Stravinsky); the stunning "The Rejected Mexican Pope Leaves The Stage" and "Undaunted, The Band Plays On" are superb, and the "Epilogue" is truly sublime, leading us into the second part with "King Kong" exploding with an energy and force rarely, if ever, heard in other versions of this song. The atmosphere becomes decidedly more jazz-like, leaving room for improvisation, and the concert reaches one of its peaks here. Furthermore, several themes and variations, besides the main one, are inserted, making this version of the composition particularly successful and enjoyable. In truth, the entire second part of the album is performed perfectly, showcasing not only Frank's compositional skill but also the technical prowess of the musicians, who prove themselves as great improvisers. Particularly notable is "Oh No" and worthy of applause is the fact that the second part proceeds absolutely naturally like a great medley; thanks also to the cuts made by Frank Zappa later during mixing; the mustachioed genius then gifts us a great solo in "The Orange County Lumber Truck, Part Two," the final composition on the album.

It's a pity about the recording quality, decidedly not up to par, since there are no real missteps in the rest of the album: obviously, listening to theatrically flavored interludes has its limitations (there are likely comedic costume changes on stage, for example, which we can't enjoy), although the philosophy lesson by Jimmy Carl Black ("The Jimmy Carl Black Philosophy Lesson") is truly wonderful just to listen to. A small off-key note is the presence of "Agency Man" in the first part, representing Don Preston's revenge (ousted by the progressive side of the band and genetically mutated by his macrobiotic snacks) on the experimental music proposed until then by the rest of the Mothers (see the "script" written by Frank here); musically it's nothing special (as was the intention of the text), and it's not even universally comical; a prank that somewhat affects the listening experience.

Being released in 1993, it's not among the albums that have had great historical importance (as "Uncle Meat" or "Hot Rats," released the year after this performance, for example), but they testify to the Zappa genius's progression towards the synthesis of contemporary music, jazz, rock, and pop, in this album perhaps still a bit raw, but already at a very high level. Not published then, probably due to poor audio quality, it could have been something more even from a historical standpoint. An hour of music dedicated to those already familiar with Frank Zappa and have a grounding in 20th-century musical avant-garde and contemporary music, which never hurts.