This is a bootleg album, released by Frank Zappa without enhancement, and also available as part of the Beat The Boots! #2 boxed set. It's a two-CD set that presents a nearly complete live performance by the 1970-71 "Flo & Eddie" edition of The Mothers, featuring lead vocalists Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman, and recorded December 4, 1971. As such, it begins with an extended instrumental introduction leading into "Peaches En Regalia," and then there is a combination of 200 Motels material and oldies like "Call Any Vegetable." Sound quality is good, and the performance level is high.

British prog rock act Skin Alley were a farsighted collaboration between Thomas Crimble (keyboards/bass/vocals), Alvin Pope (drums), Krzysztof Henryk Justkiewicz (keyboards), and Bob James (sax/guitar). Formed in the late '60s, they made inroads quickly and found themselves signed to CBS for their self-titled debut in 1969. That album, and its 1970 follow-up, To Pagham & Beyond, saw the band in top prog form – a pastiche of folk, jazz, and rock that, although well traveled by this time, managed to delight more than a few critics with its freshness and vitality. Crimble and Pope moved on later that year and were replaced by Nick Graham (formerly of Atomic Rooster) and Tony Knight (ex-Bronx Cheer), respectively. With new members in place, Skin Alley's sound took on a more polished, mainstream approach and began prominently featuring the complex string, woodwind, and brass arrangements of Graham. Their jazz-rock fusion sound was still there, but with decidedly more polish and sophistication.

Trey Anastasio Since co-founding the seminal improv rock outfit Phish in 1983, guitarist, composer, and songwriter Trey Anastasio has explored a wide variety of musical pathways ranging from atonal fugues and elaborate charts with Phish to adventurous free jazz on his first solo project, Surrender to the Air (1996), to collaborations with the likes of Tom Marshall, Les Claypool, Philip Glass, Stewart Copeland, and others. Anastasio pursued many of these projects during the 2000s, a period when Phish embarked on several extended hiatuses and breakups. After releasing a shiny, pop-oriented eponymous solo album in 2002, the guitarist formed Oysterhead – a group featuring Claypool and Copeland – and instituted a large solo band that supported him both on record and in the studio.

Having played straightforward hard rock with Mr. Big since the tail end of the '80s, bass virtuoso Billy Sheehan formed Niacin as an outlet for his jazz fusion and prog rock inclinations during the mid-'90s. The trio also featured keyboardist John Novello and drummer Dennis Chambers, both musicians who had crossed frequently between the worlds of jazz and rock during their careers. With Niacin, Novello devoted himself especially to the Hammond B-3 organ, a longtime mainstay of both jazz and prog rock.

Chemical Reactions is a joint album project presented by Gavin Harrison and Antoine Fafard. The original music on this album features a hybrid between the progressive-fusion sonic approach and the world of chamber and orchestral music. Fafard’s compositions highlight Harrison’s innovative drumming through this intense and unique journey of epic proportions.

Frank Zappa Composer, guitarist, singer, and bandleader Frank Zappa was a singular musical figure during a performing and recording career that lasted from the 1960s to the '90s. His disparate influences included doo wop music and avant-garde classical music; although he led groups that could be called rock & roll bands for much of his career, he used them to create a hybrid style that bordered on jazz and complicated, modern serious music, sometimes inducing orchestras to play along. As if his music were not challenging enough, he overlay it with highly satirical and sometimes abstractly humorous lyrics and song titles that marked him as coming out of a provocative literary tradition that included Beat poets like Allen Ginsberg and edgy comedians like Lenny Bruce. Nominally, he was a popular musician, but his recordings rarely earned significant airplay or sales, yet he was able to gain control of his recorded work and issue it successfully through his own labels while also touring internationally, in part because of the respect he earned from a dedicated cult of fans and many serious musicians, and also because he was an articulate spokesman who promoted himself into a media star through extensive interviews he considered to be a part of his creative effort just like his music.

Weather Report is generally regarded as the greatest jazz fusion band of all time, with the biggest jazz hit ("Birdland") from the best jazz fusion album (1977's Heavy Weather). But the group's studio mastery sometimes overshadows the fact that it was also a live juggernaut – so don't overlook the outstanding live and studio album from 1979, 8:30. This was a rare quartet version of Weather Report, with co-leaders in keyboardist Joe Zawinul and saxophonist Wayne Shorter. The bassist was the inimitable Jaco Pastorius, the drummer a young Peter Erskine. Pastorius is otherworldly on early gems like "Black Market," the breakneck "Teen Town," and his solo showcase, "Slang" (in which he quotes Jimi Hendrix's "Third Stone from the Sun"). Shorter is most involved on the CD's slower pieces like "A Remark You Made," "In a Silent Way," and his own solo piece, "Thanks for the Memory"; Zawinul and Erskine shine on the swinging version of "Birdland" and roller coaster ride of the "Badia/Boogie Woogie Waltz" medley. Four studio tracks (composing what was side four of the original album version) close 8:30 with a flourish – and some surprises.

Composer, arranger, pianist and synthesizer player…. Since his debut in 1971, he has produced numerous original albums and performed with his own bands. In the late '70s, he invited New York based studio musicians such as Steve Gadd(ds), the Brecker Brothers and Mike Mainieri(vibe) to Japan and they held live performances together at various venues. His album "Jun Fukamachi & the New York All Stars/Live" was re-released in 2002. In 1989, he became a Professor of the Department Music at Senzoku Gakuen College and was charge of establishing Japan's first course specializing in music synthesis. In 1996 he left the university and resumed his career as a musician. His recent live performances are mainly based on piano improvisation, exploring the possibilities of creating music of the Japanese origin for the world's audience.

Kip Hanrahan keeps assembling eclectic casts and creating unpredictable, unclassifiable sessions. No lead singer is identified, but it sure sounds like bassist Jack Bruce stepped forward to the microphone for a series of half-sung, half-spoken performances. They're a decidedly mixed bag, but the music is strong throughout. The cast includes pianist Don Pullen, Bruce, percussionist Andy Gonzalez, drummer Ralph Peterson and many other jazz and pop luminaries. Whether they're doing intense Afro-Latin, chaotic free jazz or rock-flavored material, what's happening underneath the vocals demands attention. There are enough intriguing moments on this disc to make it worth repeated listenings, if only to try and figure out just what Hanrahan's doing.

Third is a live and studio album by the English rock band Soft Machine, released as their third overall in June 1970 by CBS Records. It is a double album with a single composition on each of the four sides, and was the first of two albums recorded with a four-piece line-up of keyboardist Mike Ratledge, drummer and vocalist Robert Wyatt, saxophonist Elton Dean, and bass guitarist Hugh Hopper. Third marks a shift in the group's sound from their psychedelic origins towards jazz rock and electronic music. "Facelift" is a live recording by the previous line-up of the band, a five-piece with Lyn Dobson on saxophone and flute alongside Ratledge, Wyatt, Hopper and Dean. The remaining tracks are studio recordings by the four-piece line-up, augmented by a few session musicians.

Street Life is a studio album by the American jazz band the Crusaders. It was a top 20 album on three Billboard charts and represents the peak of the band's commercial popularity. The title track, featuring singer Randy Crawford, was a Top 40 pop single (No. 36) and became the group's most successful entry on the soul chart (No. 17). It was No. 5 on the UK Singles Chart. "Street Life" also hit the disco chart, peaking at No. 75, and was re-recorded by Doc Severinsen with Crawford reprising her vocal for the opening sequence of the noir crime drama Sharky's Machine, directed by Burt Reynolds in 1981. This faster-paced version was also featured in Quentin Tarantino's Jackie Brown, released in 1997.

Recorded in early 1975, Tale Spinnin', Weather Report's fifth studio album is filled with sunny textures of Latin and African flavors. During the '60s and early '70s Weather Report began to move towards a more cosmopolitan groove, and a melding of song with jazz in new and refreshing ways. The recording stands with anything recorded during the so-called "jazz-rock fusion" era, if only on the basis of the range of fresh, intriguing originals by the band's co-founders and principle composers, the keyboardist Joe Zawinul and the saxophonist Wayne Shorter. Zawinul's pioneering interest in what we now call world music is more in evidence with the exotic percussion, wordless vocals, and sandy sound effects of "Badia," and his synthesizer sophistication is growing along with the available technology. Wayne Shorter's work on soprano sax is more animated than on their previous albums and Alphonso Johnson puts his melodic bass more to the fore.

This CD is interesting on several levels. It is refreshing to hear EC branch out and try new and different things. Great driving music. Some really pretty things too. My Eric Clapton tribute band, Slowhand, uses Retail Therapy as warm up music and between the opener and main show. We usually get at least a few comments on the choice, nearly always favourable. This CD is a must for any serious Clapton collector.

Trey Anastasio Since co-founding the seminal improv rock outfit Phish in 1983, guitarist, composer, and songwriter Trey Anastasio has explored a wide variety of musical pathways ranging from atonal fugues and elaborate charts with Phish to adventurous free jazz on his first solo project, Surrender to the Air (1996), to collaborations with the likes of Tom Marshall, Les Claypool, Philip Glass, Stewart Copeland, and others. Anastasio pursued many of these projects during the 2000s, a period when Phish embarked on several extended hiatuses and breakups. After releasing a shiny, pop-oriented eponymous solo album in 2002, the guitarist formed Oysterhead – a group featuring Claypool and Copeland – and instituted a large solo band that supported him both on record and in the studio.

Rewinding to the 1970s and zooming toward the millennium, there were no musicians on the planet more respected and revered than brothers Mike, Jeff, and Steve Porcaro. For over three decades they reigned as the royal family of groove. They created music that not only made you marvel at its sophistication, they made you feel it deep in your soul. Mike Porcaro, master of the 5-string, had a transcendental connection to his bass. He and his instrument were one. With his eyes closed and bass slung high, Mike poured his heart into every note he played, laying down rich, beautiful foundations that were as liquid-smooth as they were solid. Jeff Porcaro, the man with the golden groove, was the king of his multi-platinum class. He was the one, the only, the best of the best. Everyone wanted a piece of Jeff, and it was easy to see why. His ability to absolutely nail it in the studio was legendary, and his grooves were ridiculously deep and musical. Steve Porcaro, the wizard, the superstar of synthesis, created multi-dimensional soundscapes, textures, and quirky-cool phrases that had never been heard before. Onstage and in the studio, Steve propelled the music with vibrant colors and kinetic energy. A true original.