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Playground Psychotics | ||||
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Live album by | ||||
Released | October 27, 1992 | |||
Recorded | September 1970 – December 10, 1971 | |||
Venue | Various locations | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 132:35 | |||
Label | Barking Pumpkin | |||
Producer | Frank Zappa | |||
Frank Zappa chronology | ||||
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The Mothers of Invention chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Allmusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Playground Psychotics is a two-CD live album by Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention. It was originally released in 1992 through his mail order label, Barking Pumpkin, and was re-released in 1995 through Rykodisc. The album features recordings of Zappa and his band, the Mothers of Invention, around the time of the film 200 Motels . The live material on Playground Psychotics is interspersed with excerpts from taped conversations among band members whilst on tour, and the release includes three conceptual sections: A Typical Day on the Road, Part 1, a collage of dialogue which opens the first disc; A Typical Day on the Road, Part 2, which opens the second disc and The True Story of 200 Motels, which appears at the end of disc two. The album also includes a live session with John Lennon and Yoko Ono, an alternate mix of which appears on Lennon and Ono's Some Time in New York City (1972).
All tracks written, composed and arranged by Frank Zappa, except where noted.
An alternate mix of tracks 22 through 26, at times with different titles, appears on the John Lennon and Yoko Ono album Sometime in New York City .
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "Here Comes the Gear, Lads" | 1:00 |
2. | "The Living Garbage Truck" | 1:20 |
3. | "A Typical Sound Check" | 1:19 |
4. | "This Is Neat" | 0:23 |
5. | "The Motel Lobby" | 1:21 |
6. | "Getting Stewed" | 0:55 |
7. | "The Motel Room" | 0:29 |
8. | "Don't Take Me Down" | 1:11 |
9. | "The Dressing Room" | 0:24 |
10. | "Learning "Penis Dimension"" | 2:02 |
11. | "You There, with the Hard On!" | 0:25 |
12. | "Zanti Serenade" (Ian Underwood, Don Preston, Zappa) | 2:40 |
13. | "Divan" | 1:46 |
14. | "Sleeping in a Jar" | 1:30 |
15. | "Don't Eat There" | 2:26 |
16. | "Brixton Still Life" | 2:59 |
17. | "Super Grease" (Mothers of Invention, Zappa) | 1:39 |
18. | "Wonderful Wino" (Jeff Simmons, Zappa) | 4:52 |
19. | "Sharleena" | 4:23 |
20. | "Cruisin' for Burgers" | 2:53 |
21. | "Diphtheria Blues" (Mothers of Invention) | 6:19 |
22. | "Well" (Walter Ward) | 4:43 |
23. | "Say Please" (John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Zappa) | 0:57 |
24. | "Aaawk" (Lennon, Ono, Zappa) | 2:59 |
25. | "Scumbag" (Lennon, Ono, Howard Kaylan, Zappa) | 5:53 |
26. | "A Small Eternity with Yoko Ono" (Lennon, Ono) | 6:07 |
Total length: | 62:55 |
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "Beer Shampoo" | 1:39 |
2. | "Champagne Lecture" | 4:29 |
3. | "Childish Perversions" | 1:31 |
4. | "Playground Psychotics" | 1:08 |
5. | "The Mudshark Interview" | 2:39 |
6. | "There's No Lust in Jazz" | 0:55 |
7. | "Botulism on the Hoof" | 0:47 |
8. | "You Got Your Armies" | 0:10 |
9. | "The Spew King" | 0:24 |
10. | "I'm Doomed" | 0:25 |
11. | "Status Back Baby" | 2:49 |
12. | "The London Cab Tape" (Mothers of Invention) | 1:24 |
13. | "Concentration Moon, Part One" | 1:20 |
14. | "The Sanzini Brothers" (Underwood, Mark Volman, Kaylan) | 1:33 |
15. | "It's a Good Thing We Get Paid to Do This" | 2:45 |
16. | "Concentration Moon, Part Two" | 2:04 |
17. | "Mom & Dad" | 3:16 |
18. | "Intro to Music for Low Budget Orchestra" | 1:32 |
19. | "Billy the Mountain" | 30:25 |
No. | Title | Length |
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20. | "He's Watching Us" | 1:21 |
21. | "If You're Not a Professional Actor" | 0:23 |
22. | "He's Right" | 0:14 |
23. | "Going for the Money" | 0:12 |
24. | "Jeff Quits" | 1:33 |
25. | "A Bunch of Adventures" | 0:56 |
26. | "Martin Lickert's Story" | 0:39 |
27. | "A Great Guy" | 0:30 |
28. | "Bad Acting" | 0:10 |
29. | "The Worst Reviews" | 0:20 |
30. | "A Version of Himself" | 1:02 |
31. | "I Could Be a Star Now" | 0:36 |
Total length: | 69:11 |
Frank Vincent Zappa was an American musician, composer, and bandleader. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa composed rock, pop, jazz, jazz fusion, orchestral and musique concrète works; he also produced almost all of the 60-plus albums that he released with his band the Mothers of Invention and as a solo artist. His work is characterized by nonconformity, improvisation sound experimentation, musical virtuosity and satire of American culture. Zappa also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed album covers. He is considered one of the most innovative and stylistically diverse musicians of his generation.
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