Was the guitarist and composer’s aesthetic fully formed out of the gate, from those ribald first works with the Mothers of Invention? Or was there some sort of galvanizing moment a bit later on, as Zappa’s skills fell into alignment with his ambition, when his intentions clarified and his options multiplied?

Listen closely to these recordings, and you can hear the sound evolving before your very ears, going right from that Hot Rats fusiony vibe to the Chunga feel. Actually, if you listen really closely, you can also feel the embryonic compositional palette Zappa fine-tuned further when Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan of The Turtles (a.k.a. Flo & Eddie) joined the band some months later. If you love Frank Zappa’s music and his work around the time of Hot Rats and Chunga’s Revenge, then Funky Nothingness is an absolutely essential spin for you. ’Nuff said. Disc Two includes a nearly 15-minute long unedited version of the full take of “Sharleena” which includes an alternate vocal part, additional overdubs and a longer guitar solo than the version first heard on The Lost Episodes collection!

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Funky Nothingness includes numerous extended jams and workouts in the spirit of Hot Rats, but with a different production aesthetic and a feel leaning more towards vintage R&B at times. All that ultimately makes this Funky music lean more toward the underlying vibe that would emerge on Chunga’s Revenge. While this set is bookended by 1967’s “Funky Nothingness,” a short piece of blues that was originally planned as the opening to an early version of the Chunga’s Revenge album, and ’67’s brief “Fast Funky Nothingness,” the rest of this material was recorded in February and March of 1970. With the Mothers having disbanded in 1969, Zappa brought together Mothers member Ian Underwood (keyboard, saxophone, rhythm guitar), violinist/vocalist Don “Sugarcane” Harris, and bassist Max Bennett, all of whom had played on Hot Rats, plus English drummer Aynsley Dunbar, who had recently relocated to Los Angeles with his invitation to join Zappa. At this point, even the Frank Zappa faithful have reason to be wary of another vault bonbon: There’s been a steady stream of historical and live-performance releases, many of them interesting primarily to collectors. Zappa was restless and impossibly prolific, and the sheer volume of material runs the risk of diluting his legacy. Because, let’s be real, not every posthumous title adds substantially to the understanding of an artist and his work. The title of Funky Nothingness is more than a bit misleading. While the music may be funky, it's certainly not nothing! In fact, it's quite something, but most especially for those familiar with this period of Zappa's music who will savor hearing the alternate and extended versions of "Chunga's Revenge," "Sharleena," "Transylvania Boogie," and "The Clap." One recommends a listen to both Hot Rats and Chunga's Revenge before digging into the gems here. Then...bring on the Funk with this latest vault expedition. Together the group recorded hours’ worth of original compositions, inspired covers and extended improvisations that drew from Zappa’s R&B and blues roots, while blending influences of the emerging jazz fusion scene. Largely instrumental, these recordings showcased the guitarist’s virtuosity, while offering what could have easily been the sequel to Hot Rats, had it ever been released.

Side one (presumably) ends with a lengthy workout of “I’m A Rollin’ Stone,” an old Lightnin’ Slim side. Over a slow, swampy groove, Zappa tears off some searing leads and jokes around: “Come in and make yourself comfortable… right over here by the Silvertone 45RPM imitation stereo record player,” his grin practically audible. Hosted by Travers, the first episode went behind the scenes and captures the vinyl cutting process with Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman Mastering, and the second episode includes a new conversation between Travers and Ian Underwood who discusses how he met Zappa and became one of his go-to musicians. THREE-DISC EXPANDED DELUXE EDITION CONTAINS OUTTAKES, ALTERNATE EDITS, AND UNEDITED MASTERS FROM LITTLE KNOWN RECORDING SESSIONS Ultratop.be – Frank Zappa – Funky Nothingness" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 2, 2023.

Funky Nothingness, Frank Zappa’s New 180g 2LP Set of Unreleased Studio Sessions, Traces His 1970 Sound Shift From the Jazz Fusion Core of Hot Rats to the Bluesy Rocking Undercurrents of Chunga’s Revenge

And then, in the middle of all this output, Zappa assembled another band and carved out time for something that might seem curiously extra: jamming. From here, one gets into the meat and bones of this set: two hours of alternates and outtakes. There’s a little bit of everything: unedited takes of “Sharleena” and “Transylvania Boogie” (which originally appeared in 1970’s Chunga’s Revenge), and alternate versions of “Chunga’s Revenge” and “Twinkle Tits.” The alternative version of “Chunga’s” has more heft than the take on disc one with strong soloing from Zappa; it also runs over 16 minutes, which is maybe why it didn’t fit in there. It’s of a piece with “Willie the Pimp” from Hot Rats in showing how Zappa’s guitar playing was growing with leaps and bounds in the late 1960s. With Dunbar’s drumming, it might even top that performance. The version of “Twinkle,” meanwhile, shows a more stripped down take – no overdubs, so it’s like being a fly on the wall at these sessions. Some of these songs will be familiar to Zappa devotees. "Chunga's Revenge," included in Funky Nothingnessin three separate versions, was refigured as the title song from Hot Rat's follow-up, a cover of 1950s bluesman Lightnin' Slim's "I'm a Rollin' Stone" transformed into "Stink-Foot" from 1974's Apostrophe and Chunga's Revenge's closing song "Sharleena" is featured inan earlier 12-minute version. Posthumous releases of Zappa's music have been a mixed bag, ranging from band rehearsals with less than high fidelity sound, expanded reissues which include works in progress prior to overdubbing and editing, expanded versions of previously issued albums and CDs or CD sets of completely unreleased (or mostly so) music. This collection falls into the latter category and is a release which long-time Zappa fans have dreamed of being discovered.