The Muffins Box Set

[Dave (in MA)]

1976 is still 12 years earlier than the last tour where Zappa was playing Nixon-themed material.

[rcarlberg]

Well, Frank was known to be stuck in adolescence.

[Steve F.]

I have a small question on the set. Richard Milhouse Nixon resigned on August 8, 1974, yet the Muffins track "President Nixon's Retirement" (disc 3 track 3) was recorded October 2, 1976. I know the boys say they never had a TV in the band house, but did it really take two years for the news to reach them? It was kind of a big deal at the time.

I don’t know whose idea it was to use the tape of the resignation speech, but that track was definitely recorded 8/13/76.

And yes, they knew he had left 2 years earlier.

[Dave (in MA)]

Heh:

Cuneiform Records just released Baker's Dozen 1 [1975] by The Muffins, check it out here.

You received this because you bought Baker's Dozen by The Muffins, also on Cuneiform Records.

Cuneiform Records just released Baker's Dozen 2 [1975-1976] by The Muffins, check it out here.

You received this because you bought Baker's Dozen by The Muffins, also on Cuneiform Records.

I'm guessing that I might get 10 or 11 more of these.

[Steve F.]

Heh:

I'm guessing that I might get 10 or 11 more of these.

Thou art correct.

[GuitarGeek]

I got the same e-mail from Bandcamp, only mine said they were telling me about Bakers Dozen 1 because I had bought The Celestial Squid (which I completely forgot about).

[GuitarGeek]

Steve, quick question: on disc 7, is track number 8 supposed to end abruptly at 3:03?

[Dave (in MA)]

Disc 2, Track 6 is a typo at Bandcamp and in the .zip file.

"Courtest of Your Focal Interest Span/Please Do Not Open Dr. Fisher"

[Dave (in MA)]

Steve, quick question: on disc 7, is track number 8 supposed to end abruptly at 3:03?

https://www.progressiveears.org/foru...=1#post1128176
Steve said it was the only surviving rehearsal tape; maybe the tape ran out.

[JKL2000]

Heh:

I'm guessing that I might get 10 or 11 more of these.

The first one I saw was the one for Baker's Dozen 2, and I was like "What? So soon?"

[calyx]

Heh:

I'm guessing that I might get 10 or 11 more of these.

Who knows, you might even get a baker's dozen more of these!

[Steve F.]

Dave's thoughts on #7 [and now we are caught up with his postings]

Listening to Disc 7 from The Muffins Box Set “Baker’s Dozen”. At this point, The Muffins are approaching the <185> band sound, a marked change from their “Manna/Mirage” days. Tracks 1-8 were recorded at our 2nd band house at Portree Drive in Rockville Maryland, in the same band room where we recorded “Manna/Mirage”. Very nice live studio rehearsal recordings here for the first half of the disc. Featured here are two takes of Tom Scott’s composition “Horsebones”. I don’t mind saying that this tune was a tough nut to crack for me. But I am forever grateful to Tom for inserting that wild bari solo for me to go nuclear on in the middle of the piece. And again, those wild upbeat lines at the end that Billy Swann and Paul Sears were able to master and perform seemingly with ease. I would add that the Billy / Paul bass / drums rhythm section was not only the tightest rhythm section I’ve ever played with but one of THE best rock bass and drums rhythm sections ever. But I’m terribly biased. The composition “Zoom Resume” was directly influenced by Etron Fou’s 1st album. I loved the stripped down raw and honest sound that they got. The over-driven organ at the end is a tip-of-the-hat to Tim Hodgkinson from Henry Cow. “Boxed and Crossed” (a title, BTW, that we were considering at one point for this Box Set) is two separate compositions that Billy and I spliced together. Billy wrote the second half first and played it for me and then I wrote the first half and we blended them together. I asked Billy yesterday where he got the idea for it. He said this: “I remember using a cassette player that was plugged into my amp with a tape recording of the ocean. The tune is reminiscent of a Steve Miller track on the ‘Sailor’ LP called “Song for our Ancestors “, and the vocals / lyrics were just something to accompany the “trippy” music, since it originally did not have any lyrics.” Some great sounding / recorded live improvs round out the rest of the disc. And take note: Steve Feigenbaum appears on guitar on track 8, a tune titled “Bit Hand”, the title of which only Steve knows the answer to. So sorry that it runs out suddenly before it’s over; Ian Beabout says that it was just the end of the tape. Dang it! Just when it was getting good too. But proof that what you’re getting here is the real and raw stuff directly from the archives! I get to do a duet with myself on piano (left hand) and organ (right hand) on Track 10, another “Not Alone” solo (NOT ANOTHER NOT ALONE SOLO!!!). And we get to hear more from our dear friend Scott Raffel on alto sax. I would say that at times, we considered Scott a 5th member of our live performance band. “Through Shawn’s Lens” is a reference to another dear friend of ours, Shawn Pruitt, who also passed way too soon, too young. Shawn was responsible for many of the photographs in the Box booklet and was our unofficial band photographer for many years. It was her birthday the night that we recorded that. The disc ends with a composition that Tom wrote specifically for The Muffins Sax Quartet (Paul on soprano, Tom on alto, Billy on tenor, and me on bari) titled “Dirty Trousers”. We often opened up our gigs with the sax quartet marching into the venue playing a marching song as we approached the stage. We even busked for money downtown in Washington DC once.


I wrote:

I am really thrilled that I found that cassette recording (probably made on Billy Swann’s boom box) of the 1/79 rehearsal.
The sonics are only pretty good, BUT, there they are, on the only recording of it to have survived, doing what they did for 8 years. Practicing intently and with great purpose and elan for 3.5 or 4 hours FOUR or FIVE fucking nights a week.
I sort of realized then that I was truly witnessing something RARE and GREAT and SPECIAL every time I would visit and see them rehearse, but as Joni Mitchell completely accurately said, ‘Don’t it always seem to go, that you don’t know what you got ‘til it’s gone.’, I grew to understand and appreciate what I saw more and more as the decades passed.

[Steve F.]

Steve, quick question: on disc 7, is track number 8 supposed to end abruptly at 3:03?

The tape ran out right there.

[GuitarGeek]

The tape ran out right there.

OK, I was wondering about that. I thought it might have been that, but I thought it could have also been a mastering error, which is why I asked.

[Steve F.]

OK, I was wondering about that. I thought it might have been that, but I thought it could have also been a mastering error, which is why I asked.

Chris

The little bit with me on it came from the same cassette tape as the rehearsal tape (tracks 1-7). Was it the same night, and that’s why I/we ran tape? If so, why didn’t anyone flip the tape (the flip side is something else completely)? Is it a completely separate date?

I don’t know. It’s a nice little bit of an improvisation, and I like my playing on it, and I am glad that I am represented in the box. But beyond that, it’s a mystery…

[Steve F.]

I thought it could have also been a mastering error, which is why I asked.

I listened to this fucking box before sending all the files in way too many times. I am happy to state that everything on the CDs is exactly as it should be; no errors slipped through!!!

[Steve F.]

Disc 2, Track 6 is a typo at Bandcamp and in the .zip file.

"Courtest of Your Focal Interest Span/Please Do Not Open Dr. Fisher"

Thank you. I’ve fixed that!

[Dave (in MA)]

Question... NOT a complaint:
Will those of us who preordered the box and got the BC download code be able to play the entire box at Bandcamp, and not only the preview tracks. Thanks

[battema]

Yes, on the official release date. Until then the app and website will still only stream the preview tracks.

[rcarlberg]

Yes, on the official release date. Until then the app and website will still only stream the preview tracks.

Which was... yesterday?

[Steve F.]

Which was... yesterday?

Friday. 2 days from now.

[NogbadTheBad]

Sweet, I play a lot from the bandcamp app so had the same question.

[battema]

It's a quirk of the Bandcamp setup. I see it with some labels who put up an album for preorder but include all the tracks immediately (usually this is because the release date is for a physical version). So, on the day I preorder I get the whole album in a download, but streaming remains limited until release date.

[GuitarGeek]

I listened to this fucking box before sending all the files in way too many times. I am happy to state that everything on the CDs is exactly as it should be; no errors slipped through!!!

Excellent! But you and I both know accidents do happen sometimes, and that was my only concern. I'm glad that you stayed on top of that made sure everything is as it should be. Oh, and I'm certainly glad you're represented on the boxset also. We don't get to hear enough of your own playing.

[Dave (in MA)]

It's a quirk of the Bandcamp setup. I see it with some labels who put up an album for preorder but include all the tracks immediately (usually this is because the release date is for a physical version). So, on the day I preorder I get the whole album in a download, but streaming remains limited until release date.

Today's the day after the release date mentioned on the Bandcamp page. Another level of difficulty: We bought the preorder from an external site, Wayside.