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The Mothers Of Invention / Freak Out! 60th Anniversary reissue

5CD+Blu-Ray box with rare mixes, live tracks, demos and Atmos

By Jamie Atkins

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Classic debut expanded • Good value 5CD and Blu-Ray set

The Frank Zappa estate have announced a 60th anniversary super deluxe edition of his debut album with The Mothers Of Invention, Freak Out!.

In keeping with the Zappa estate’s recent run of 50th anniversary releases – Waka/Wazoo, Over-Nite Sensation, Apostrophe (‘), One Size Fits All and Bongo Fury – the reasonably-priced set is packaged in a neat clamshell box and features the original album, studio outtakes, demos, rehearsals, live tracks over multiple CDs, plus a Blu-ray featuring various mixes.

As with many Zappa releases, unpicking what’s already out there is tricky, with the period around Freak Out! already covered by a bunch of releases. Released in 1985 as part of The Old Masters: Box One, Mystery Disc was a compilation of early Mothers material compiled by Zappa himself. The following year a second volume appeared as part of the next Old Masters box and in 1998, Rykodisc combined the two to make a single Mystery Disc (reissued in 2012 by Zappa Records).

Joe’s Corsage appeared in 2004, a collection of early Mothers demos, interviews and live tracks recorded in late 1965 and early 1966. Two years later, the Zappa estate released The MOFO Project/Object, available as either a 4CD or 2CD set (the 2CD features seven tracks not on the 4CD – go figure). If you could prise the CDs from the packaging of the 4CD set, it was designed as an ‘audio documentary’ of the making of the album, by way of backing tracks, alternate mixes and edits, outtakes, live recordings and interview excerpts.

So what’s new on the 5CD+Blu-Ray Freak Out! (60th Anniversary) set?

Disc one features a new remaster of the original stereo mix by John Polito of Audio Mechanics. Disc Two has the first official release of the pre-master mix, an early version of the album from April 1966, newly mastered. And disc three features the original 1966 mono mix, first time available since 1969. Three songs – ‘How Could I Be Such A Fool’, ‘Who Are The Brain Police?’ and ‘It Can’t Happen Here’ – are taken from mono mix tapes in Zappa’s vault, the remainder are taken from a needle drop, mastered by John Polito.

Discs four and five are where things start to get complicated, they include:

  • The entirety of the two shows the Mothers performed opening for Lenny Bruce at the Fillmore, San Francisco, on 24 and 25 June 1966. Tracks from these shows have previously turned up on Mystery Disc (‘Band Introductions At The Fillmore West’ and ‘Plastic People’) and the 4CD MOFO. (‘Motherly Love’, ‘You Didn’t Try To Call Me’, I’m Not Satisfied’ and ‘Hungry Freaks, Daddy’).
  • Two tracks from a show that Zappa sleuths have surmised is the Fillmore, San Francisco, 24 February 1966. The version here of ‘The Downtown Talent Scout’ was previously released on You Can’t Do That On Stage Anymore Vol 5 (1992).
  • Full, seven-song rehearsal tape from early 1966 – snatches of conversation and ‘How Can I Be Such A Fool’ appeared on Mystery Disc, but this the first time the other tracks have been released.
  • Eight demos recorded on 20 October 1965 at Original Sound Studio. Three of them – ‘I’m So Happy I Could Cry’, ‘Go Cry On Somebody Else’s Shoulder’ and ‘How Could I Be Such A Fool’ were on Joe’s Corsage. Meanwhile, a brief section of the ‘Trouble Every Day’ demo was used in ‘Watts Riot Demo/Fillmore Sequence’ on the 2CD MOFO. All other tracks previously unreleased.
  • Five previously unreleased mono vocal reference mixes.
  • Three tracks from the final night of recording, the ‘freak session’. ‘Freak Out Zilofone’ was on the 2CD MOFO, the others appear to be unreleased, but time will tell. Any Zappa fans in the know, comment below.

The Blu-Ray will feature Atmos and 5.1 mixes alongside, 192/24 and 96/24 high-res audio of the album, plus the contentious-sounding bonus track ‘Groupie Bang Bang’.

The set also includes a booklet and a reproduction of the double-sided fold-out ‘Freak Out! Hot Spots Map’ by Zappa himself that was originally included in the November 1966 issue of the Los Angeles Free Press.

Freak Out! (60th Anniversary) is also available as a 5LP vinyl set, which includes the 1966 pre-master mix, the 1966 mono mix and a single-disc which collects highlights from CDs 4 and 5 of the super deluxe edition. There’s also a 2LP multi-coloured edition featuring the original 1966 stereo mix, which is currently only available from Zappa’s official shop.

Freak Out! (60th Anniversary) is out on 25 September 2026.

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Frank Zappa;The Mothers Of Invention

Freak Out! 5CD+blu-ray

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JPC de   69.99 Pre-Order
Rough Trade uk   66.99 pre-order
Rough Trade usa   75.99 pre-order
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Compare prices and pre-order

Frank Zappa, The Mothers of Invention

Freak Out! 5LP vinyl

Shop Price gbp Stock
JPC de   144.99 Pre-Order
Rough Trade uk   147.99 pre-order
Rough Trade usa   154.99 pre-order
Currency:

Tracklisting

Freak Out! (60th Anniversary) The Mothers Of Invention /

    • CD 1 – 1966 Stereo Mix (2026 Remaster)
      1. Hungry Freaks, Daddy
      2. I Ain’t Got No Heart
      3. Who Are The Brain Police?
      4. Go Cry On Somebody Else’s Shoulder
      5. Motherly Love
      6. How Could I Be Such A Fool
      7. Wowie Zowie
      8. You Didn’t Try To Call Me
      9. Any Way The Wind Blows
      10. I’m Not Satisfied
      11. You’re Probably Wondering Why I’m Here
      12. Trouble Every Day
      13. Help, I’m A Rock
      14. It Can’t Happen Here
      15. The Return Of The Son Of Monster Magnet
    • CD2 – 1966 Pre-Master Mix
      1. Hungry Freaks, Daddy
      2. I Ain’t Got No Heart
      3. Who Are The Brain Police?
      4. Go Cry On Somebody Else’s Shoulder
      5. Motherly Love
      6. How Could I Be Such A Fool
      7. Wowie Zowie
      8. You Didn’t Try To Call Me
      9. Any Way The Wind Blows
      10. I’m Not Satisfied
      11. You’re Probably Wondering Why I’m Here
      12. Trouble Every Day
      13. Help, I’m A Rock
      14. It Can’t Happen Here
      15. The Return Of The Son Of Monster Magnet
    • CD3 – 1966 Mono Mix
      1. Hungry Freaks, Daddy
      2. I Ain’t Got No Heart
      3. Who Are The Brain Police?
      4. Go Cry On Somebody Else’s Shoulder
      5. Motherly Love
      6. How Could I Be Such A Fool
      7. Wowie Zowie
      8. You Didn’t Try To Call Me
      9. Any Way The Wind Blows
      10. I’m Not Satisfied
      11. You’re Probably Wondering Why I’m Here
      12. Trouble Every Day
      13. Help, I’m A Rock
      14. It Can’t Happen Here
      15. The Return Of The Son Of Monster Magnet
    • CD4 – Live at the Fillmore Auditorium, San Francisco, CA,

      24 June, 1966

      1. Band Introductions at The Fillmore West
      2. Motherly Love
      3. Plastic People
      4. You’re So Fine
      5. Trouble Every Day#
      6. You Didn’t Try To Call Me
      7. I’m Not Satisfied
      8. Wedding Dress Song/The Handsome Cabin Boy
      9. Mothers Rock Out
      10. Coquette
      11. I’m A Rollin’ Stone
      12. Motherly Love
      13. Plastic People
      14. You Didn’t Try To Call Me
      15. I’m Not Satisfied
      16. Wedding Dress Song/The Handsome Cabin Boy
      17. Hungry Freaks, Daddy
      18. Go Cry On Somebody Else’s Shoulder
      1-8 – 24 June 1966; 9-11 – 24 February 1966; 12-18 – 25 June 1966

       

    • CD5 – Fillmore Auditorium Continued + Demos & Rarities
      1. Mothers Rock Out II
      2. The Downtown Talent Scout
      3. “Every Day I Have The Blues”
      4. Tick Tock
      5. 4 Mothers in Rehearsal
      6. Any Way The Wind Blows
      7. How Could I Be Such A Fool- False Starts
      8. How Could I Be Such A Fool
      9. The Story Of My Life
      10. Any Way The Wind Blows
      11. I’m So Happy I Could Cry
      12. Go Cry On Somebody Else’s Shoulder
      13. How Could I Be Such A Fool
      14. Trouble Every Day
      15. I Ain’t Got No Heart (Edited)
      16. Love Of My Life
      17. I’m Not Satisfied
      18. Motherly Love
      19. I’m Not Satisfied
      20. I Ain’t Got No Heart
      21. How Could I Be Such A Fool
      22. You Didn’t Try To Call Me (Edited)
      23. Freak Out Ad
      24. Freak Out GTR Solo & Screams 7/4
      25. Freak Out Zilofone
      26. Percussion Cue #3
      1-2 –Date unknown, most likely 24 February 1966; 3-9 – Original Mothers rehearsal 1966; 10-17 – Mothers demos; 18-23 – Freak Out – Mono Vocal Reference Mixes; 24-26 – Freak Out Session Outtake Collage
    • Blu-Ray
      Dolby Atmos, Dolby TrueHD 5.1, 192/24 & 96/24 PCM Stereo
      1. Hungry Freaks, Daddy
      2. I Ain’t Got No Heart
      3. Who Are The Brain Police?
      4. Go Cry On Somebody Else’s Shoulder
      5. Motherly Love
      6. How Could I Be Such A Fool
      7. Wowie Zowie
      8. You Didn’t Try To Call Me
      9. Any Way The Wind Blows
      10. I’m Not Satisfied
      11. You’re Probably Wondering Why I’m Here
      12. Trouble Every Day
      13. Help, I’m A Rock
      14. It Can’t Happen Here
      15. The Return Of The Son Of Monster Magnet
      Bonus track
      1. Groupie Bang Bang

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