The Evening Frank Zappa Jammed With Pink Floyd … and Captain Beefheart Too (Belgium, 1969)
Latestly an previouser musician acquaintance informed me he never “bought into ‘Interstellar Overdrive’ and all that,” referring to the “first main area jam” of Pink Floyd’s profession and the subsequent explosion of area rock bands. I discovered myself a little taken aback. Although I used to be born too late to be there, I’ve come to see “’Interstellar Overdrive’ and all that” as some of the interesting issues in regards to the finish of the sixties—the coming of Captain Beefcoronary heart and the Magazineic Band, of The Mushy Machine, of Hawkwind and other psychedelic battleriors.
Too oft overregarded within the popular Woodeninventory/Altamont binary briefhand for fin-de-sixties rock and roll, these bands’ model of prog/jazz/blues/psych-rock experimalestalism bought its due in Amougies, Belgium, in a 1969 festival meant as Europe’s reply to the three-day “Aquarian exposition” staged in upstate New York that very same yr.
Sponsored by Paris magazineazine Actuel, “The Actuel Rock Festival” featured all the bands malestioned above (besides Hawkwind), together with Sure, Pharoah Sanders, Don Cherry, and lots of extra. MC’ing the occasion, and serving as Beefheart’s manager, was none other than impresario of bizarre himself, Frank Zappa, who sat in with Floyd on “Interstellar Overdrive,” delivering his considerready lead guitar prowess to their darkish, descending instrumalestal.
Simply above, hear that Zappa/Floyd performance of the tune. The dwell audio documenting is fuzzy and a bit hollow, however the playing comes by way of perfectly clear. Zappa, in truth, jammed with close toly all of the artists on the roster, although only some documentings have surconfronted, like this one from an audience member. Of their collaboration, Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason stated in 1973, “Frank Zappa is actually a kind of uncommon musicians that may play with us. The little he did in Amougies was terribly correct.” I believe you’ll agree.
Dangerous Minds data lots of Zappa’s recollections of the occasion, including a characteristically sardonic account he gave in an interview with The Simpsons’ Matt Groening during which he complains of really feeling “like Linda McCartney” and in regards to the scourge of “slumbering euro-hippies.” Zappa apparently didn’t remember jamming with Floyd however “the photos don’t lie and neither does the documenting.” He does recall playing with Captain Beefcoronary heart, who says he himself “loved it.” You may hear Beefcoronary heart’s set with Zappa above.
According to a biography of discovereding Pink Floyd singer and guitarist Syd Barrett—gone by the point of the competition—footage of the Zappa/Floyd jam exists, a part of an unreleased documalestary of the occasion by Gerome Laperrousaz. That movie has but to surface, it appears, however we do have the movie above—slipping between black-and-white and colour—of Pink Floyd playing “Inexperienced is the Color,” “Careful With That Axe, Eugene,” and “Set the Controls For the Coronary heart of the Solar.” It’s a must-watch if just for Roger Waters’ bone-chilling screams within the second tune.
The festival is notable not just for these early performances of the brand newly Gilmour-fronted Pink Floyd, but additionally for the seemance of Aynsley Dunbar, future Zappa drummer and journeyman musician additionalordinaire. Allegedly Zappa met Dunbar on the festival and was fairly impressed with the latter’s jazz chops (although Dunbar first joined Zappa’s band on guitar earlier than moving to drums). You may hear Zappa jam together with his eventual star drummer’s band, Aynsley Dunbar’s Retaliation, above.
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Watch Frank Zappa Play Michael Nesmith (RIP) on The Monkees–and Vice Versa (1967)
Psychedelic Scenes of Pink Floyd’s Early Days with Syd Barrett, 1967
Josh Jones is a author and musician primarily based in Durham, NC. Follow him at @jdmagness.
