Frank Zappa Concert Film, ‘Cheaper Than Cheep,’ To Stream Free For Limited Time
Zappa’s previously-unaired 1974 special with The Mothers Of Invention is available to stream on YouTube for 72 hours.
A never-before-seen Frank Zappa concert film is coming to streaming for a limited time. Cheaper Than Cheep, filmed on June 21st, 1974 with The Mothers Of Invention, will be available to stream on the iconoclastic artist’s official YouTube channel for 72 hours starting today. Produced by Zappa and his longtime Vaultmaster Joe Travers, the film was directed by Zappa’s son Ahmet, who had been working on the project for over 12 years.
Zappa, who lovingly deemed the recording “the world’s cheapest television special,” took inspiration from other popular 1970s performance shows like “The Midnight Special” and “Soul Train.” The lineup on the special featured Zappa (guitar, vocals), Chester Thompson (drums), George Duke (keyboards, vocals), Jeff Simmons (guitar, vocals), Napoleon Murphy Brock (tenor sax, flute, vocals), Ruth Underwood (percussion) and Tom Fowler (bass). They played for over two hours to an intimate crowd gathered at their Hollywood rehearsal space at 5831 Sunset Blvd, performing tracks like “Cosmik Debris,” “Penguin In Bondage,” “Wowie Zowie” and the titular track, “Cheepnis,” against a no-fuss backdrop and with their standard touring setup. The set, which also featured segments with soon-to-be longtime Zappa collaborators like artist Cal Schenkel and director Bruce Bickford, was recorded using 2” Quad Videotape and two 16-track tape machines under the watchful engineering leadership of Kerry McNabb.
Watch the full concert film Cheaper Than Cheep now.
Despite the live success of the DIY taping, Zappa discovered after the fact that the recording’s audio and video were not synchronized, creating a serious barrier to release. By August, he had made a deal with Los Angeles-based PBS affiliate KCET to air a new special, The Dub Room Special—but for the next 51 years, Cheaper Than Cheep remained in the vault, labeled with a simple “June 21st, 1974.” Travers first discovered the special after digitally transferring the masters as part of Alex Winter’s 2017 ‘Save the Vault’ Kickstarter campaign.
In addition to its streaming premiere, Cheaper Than Cheep is also now available in a variety of formats. They include a limited-edition, Super Deluxe box set, complete with a Blu-ray version of the film, a companion stereo soundtrack on both 2CD and 3LP vinyl, and a comprehensive 12-page booklet with liner notes from Travers and heartfelt remembrance of Zappa from Underwood. The Blu-Ray disc includes multiple extras, including a blooper reel and an excerpt from Bruce Bickford’s long-out-of-print Claymation film The Amazing Mr. Bickford.
Speaking on Cheaper Than Cheep’s first official premiere in a press release, Ahmet shared: “This is more than just a concert film—it’s a thank-you note to my father, and a love letter to the fans who’ve kept his music alive. I hope longtime fans lose their minds when they see it, and I hope new fans get a sense of just how fearless and brilliant this band was. Cheaper Than Cheep is funny, chaotic, tight as hell, and joyously weird—everything a great Zappa experience should be.”
