Frank Zappa meets Pink Floyd (1969)

A teraz przedstawię zupełną ciekawostkę chociaż w przypadku takich wydawnictw zawsze się trochę waham. Mowa oczywiście o bootlegach, które prezentują czasem wątpliwą jakość i zamiast pomagać muzykom - szkodzą ich "imagowi". W tym przypadku jednak (i przyszłym) zdecydowałem się zaprezentować te nagrania z uwagi na ich archiwalną wartość i nie najgorszą jakość. Kto by przypuszczał, że Frank Zappa zagra kiedyś z Pink Floyd? A jednak zdarzyło się to w roku 1969 na Festival Actuel w Belgii w Amougies. Wspólne jam session spodobało się chyba wszystkim. Słychać w tym graniu spontaniczność i zabawę. Plik ma postać niepodzieloną na utwory i pochodzi z moich "wykopalisk".

Tracks:

01. Astronomy Domine
02. Green Is The Colour
03. Careful With That Axe, Eugene
04. Tuning Up With Frank Zappa
05. Interstellar Overdrive

Personel:

David Gilmour - guitar & vocals
Richard Wright - organ
Roger Waters - bass & vocals
Nick Mason - drums
Frank Zappa - guitar (4 & 5)

Release: 25.10.1969 concert "Festival Actuel", Amougies, Belgium

Just mention the word Amougies, and fans of Pink Floyd and Frank Zappa will immediately know what you are talking about. This was going to be the first ever rock festival in France. Europe's answer to Woodstock. It was originally going to take place in or near Paris, but French authorities forbid it and the marquee was eventually set up a few miles outside the French border, on Belgian soil and held at Mont de I'Enclus in Amougies in the Tournai municipality. The Actuel festival was organized by the publication of the same name in collaboration with the BYG record label. It took place over 5 nights, entertaining an audience of 15-20,000 to a unique mixture of progressive pop, free jazz and contemporary music including Pink Floyd, Ten Years After, Colosseum, Aynsley Dunbar, Freedom, Keith Relf's Renaissance, Alexis Korner, Don Cherry, Nice, Caravan, Blossom Toes, Archie Shepp, Yes, Pretty Things, Chicken Shack, Sam Apple Pie, Pharoah Sanders, Soft Machine, Captain Beefheart, East Of Eden, Fat Mattress, and many more. Frank Zappa was present at the festival in a twofold capacity. First, as Captain Beefheart's road manager; secondly, as M.C., assisting Pierre Lattes, a famous radio/TV presenter at the time (and the pop music editor for Actuel magazine). The latter task proved problematic given Zappa's limited French, the prevailing language among the audience, who themselves didn't seem to understand much English. Instead, Zappa relinquished his M.C. job for one of occasional guest guitarist. He plays with almost everybody, especially with Pink Floyd, Blossom Toes, Archie Shepp and Aynsley Dunbar, a fabulous drummer he will hire shortly thereafter. He introduces his friend Captain Beefheart and provides a powerful stimulant to all the other musicians. Most legendary, of course, is Frank Zappa's jam with Pink Floyd on a very extended "Interstellar Overdrive". The festival was filmed by Jerome Laperrousaz, and the film was to be called Music Power. Due to objections from various bands (most notably Pink Floyd) whose permission hadn't been properly secured, the film was never officially released.

This is an amazing find that I'm sure will delight fans of Frank Zappa and the bands concerned alike. A little background : the Actuel festival was organized by the publication of the same name (who, under different editorship, went on to become a prime mover of the French counterculture in the early to mid-70s) in collaboration with the fledgling BYG label. It was originally going to take place in or near Paris, but French authorities forbid it and the marquee was eventually set up a few miles outside the French border, on Belgian soil. It took place over 5 nights, entertaining an audience of 15-20,000 to a unique mixture of progressive pop, free jazz and contemporary music.

Frank Zappa was present at the festival (well, the first four days, it seems) in a twofold capacity. First, as Captain Beefheart's road manager; secondly, as M.C., assisting Pierre Lattes, a famous radio/TV presenter at the time (and the pop music editor for Actuel magazine). The latter task proved problematic given FZ's very limited mastery of French, the prevailing language among the audience, who themselves didn't seem to understand much English. Instead, FZ relinquished his M.C. job for one of occasional guest guitarist (...)

Most legendary, of course, is Frank Zappa's jam with Pink Floyd on a very extended "Interstellar Overdrive". Apparently, despite the wealth of Pink Floyd bootlegs in circulation, no one seems to have their Amougies set, so this will probably delight a lot of people. Browing various PF-related websites, there even seems to be a debate on whether the jam ever took place. Well, here is the final proof that it did.

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