In terms of blowing his cover generally, maybe. But likely not with Frank, considering that the album was bootlegged because Frank played it over the radio and encouraged people to bootleg it. He was really mad at Warner Brothers and was willing to sacrifice his recording investment just so they couldn't profit from it. Parts of one of these broadcasts can be heard in the actual bonus section of the 1996 release. It seemed to bother him when people would record things from the audience before he had the chance to release it, or when bootleggers would release things that had been outright stolen from him, or compile huge box sets that looked like legitimate products and make lots of money (in his eyes - it turns out this was rarely the case in reality). But he was amused by other things and flattered by fans fetishing and collecting them. This is why he took to the idea of "Beat The Boots", though I would argue that it was a terribly misguided idea (you aren't doing the fans any favors when you make them pay for the same crap you are complaining about with a vault full of master tapes sitting nearby). But as with many issues, there is a common misconception and misunderstanding about how he felt about bootlegs, and his reactions and "solutions" could also be strange or even seemingly hypocritical.
Joel Selvin writes about Jim’s time with Frank in his new book about Gordon. Frank had met Jim back in the 60’s at a session being produced by Tom Wilson and had been impressed with Jim’s ability to navigate some particularly difficult passages of the arrangement. It was Jim’s skill at sight reading that got Jim the gig on the ‘72 tour with Zappa. Jim found the demanding, dense, formal rehearsals for the tour stimulating. Zappa was impressed with Jim’s ability to move around the kit and still keep rigid time. Gordon’s strict insistence on keeping his drums properly tuned also appealed to the details oriented nature of Frank. When Jim and another member of the band were set up by the cops in Columbia, SC in a sting operation (some young girls came backstage and offered them some coke, and then the vice squad rushed in and beat the musicians over the head with flashlights and dragged them off to jail) Gordon was sure he’d be fired as he was well aware of Zappa’s hatred of drugs, but Frank distrusted the Southern police and although he was plenty angry, let it pass. Frank gave Jim the nickname “Skippy" for his blond hair, blue eyed, All-American good looks. It's apparent Zappa liked Jim and respected his musical talent. Here's a quote from Frank in a 1990 interview:“If a mental illness strikes somebody and they wind up doing something like this, there’s chemistry involved and that kind of gets lost in the shuffle in a lot of these situations.” He continued, “I’m not defending anybody who decides to go out and commit a murder, but if a chemical reaction in the brain can cause such a thing to happen, it could happen to anybody.”
Frank refused to be defeated and played the show anyway with the opening band's drummer. It did not go well at all, and Frank deleted the recordings. But the improvised encore turned out great so he kept it, mixed it for potential release and it finally came out on "Little Dots".
I can't fault him at all for turning the tables on them and taking ownership; only that he appeared to have left his bandmates out of the process with the same disregard for "his employees" that the pirates (who were supposedly doing it because of their appreciation for his work ), had for him. The Ark is as close to a cover appearing as something Frank would have done, it's practically a red flag all by itself. That he'd had a longstanding distaste for not only people making money off his own work, but their own longstanding intensity for doing so, is all you need to know about his position.
True, and it's understandable of course, but the irony is that the people making those "fake Bizarre" bootlegs actually lost their shirts. It was more a labor of love than anything. But he thought they were raking in piles of cash.
If it’s an import from Japan then that is normal. I haven’t heard of any other versions that have contained poly sleeves. I wish all versions contained the sleeves though because it would solve the problem of getting scratched/damaged CDs when buying the domestic versions.
The box is out of print at all major retailers. This offer is from a third party seller, and won't last long.
That pricing is roughly the same as what I paid at Amazon ... a year and a half ago (Oct 2022). Only 4 left when i just checked the page, so be quick!
