Playground Psychotics

Playground Psychotics
Playground Psychotics
Live album by Frank Zappa/The Mothers of Invention
Released	October 27, 1992
Recorded	September 1970 – December 10, 1971
Venues	Various locations, including: Fillmore East, New York City; Pauley Pavilion, UCLA; Rainbow Theater, London;
Genres	Progressive rock; art rock; comedy rock;
Length	132:35
Label	Barking Pumpkin
Producer	Frank Zappa
Frank Zappa chronology
The Mothers of Invention chronology

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Allmusic

Playground Psychotics is a two-CD live album by Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention. It was originally released in 1992 through his mail order label, Barking Pumpkin, and was re-released in 1995 through Rykodisc. The album features recordings of Zappa and his band, the Mothers of Invention, around the time of the film 200 Motels. The live material on Playground Psychotics is interspersed with excerpts from taped conversations among band members whilst on tour, and the release includes three conceptual sections: A Typical Day on the Road, Part 1, a collage of dialogue which opens the first disc; A Typical Day on the Road, Part 2, which opens the second disc and The True Story of 200 Motels, which appears at the end of disc two. The album also includes a live session with John Lennon and Yoko Ono, an alternate mix of which appears on Lennon and Ono's Some Time in New York City (1972).

Track listing

All words & music are written by Frank Zappa, except where noted.

Disc one

*A Typical Day on the Road, Part 1*
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"'Here Comes the Gear, Lads'"	The Mothers of Invention	1:00
2.	"The Living Garbage Truck"	M.O.I.	1:20
3.	"A Typical Sound Check"	M.O.I.	1:19
4.	"'This Is Neat'"	M.O.I.	0:23
5.	"The Motel Lobby"	M.O.I.	1:21
6.	"Getting Stewed"	M.O.I.	0:55
7.	"The Motel Room"	M.O.I.	0:29
8.	"'Don't Take Me Down'"	M.O.I.	1:11
9.	"The Dressing Room"	M.O.I.	0:24
10.	"Learning "Penis Dimension""	M.O.I.	2:02
11.	"'You There, with the Hard On!'"	M.O.I.	0:25

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
12.	"Zanti Serenade"	music: Ian Underwood, Don Preston, Zappa	2:40
13.	"Divan"		1:46
14.	"Sleeping in a Jar"		1:30
15.	"'Don't Eat There'"		2:26
16.	"Brixton Still Life"		2:59
17.	"Super Grease"	words: M.O.I., music: Zappa	1:39
18.	"Wonderful Wino"	Jeff Simmons, Zappa	4:52
19.	"Sharleena"		4:23
20.	"Cruisin' for Burgers"		2:53
21.	"Diphtheria Blues"	M.O.I.	6:19
22.	"Well"	Walter Ward	4:43
23.	"Say Please"	John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Zappa	0:57
24.	"Aaawk"	Lennon, Ono, Zappa	2:59
25.	"Scum Bag"	Lennon, Ono, Howard Kaylan, Zappa	5:53
26.	"A Small Eternity with Yoko Ono"	Lennon, Ono	6:07

An alternate mix of tracks 22 through 26, at times with different titles, appears on the John Lennon and Yoko Ono album Sometime in New York City.

Disc two

*A Typical Day on the Road, Part 2*
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Beer Shampoo"	The Mothers of Invention	1:39
2.	"Champagne Lecture"	M.O.I.	4:29
3.	"Childish Perversions"	M.O.I.	1:31
4.	"Playground Psychotics"	M.O.I.	1:08
5.	"The Mudshark Interview"	M.O.I.	2:39
6.	"'There's No Lust in Jazz'"	M.O.I.	0:55
7.	"Botulism on the Hoof"	M.O.I.	0:47
8.	"You Got Your Armies"	M.O.I.	0:10
9.	"The Spew King"	M.O.I.	0:24
10.	"I'm Doomed"	M.O.I.	0:25

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
11.	"Status Back Baby"		2:49
12.	"The London Cab Tape"	words: M.O.I.	1:24
13.	"Concentration Moon, Part One"		1:20
14.	"The Sanzini Brothers"	Underwood, Mark Volman, Kaylan	1:33
15.	"'It's a Good Thing We Get Paid to Do This'"		2:45
16.	"Concentration Moon, Part Two"		2:04
17.	"Mom & Dad"		3:16
18.	"Intro to Music for Low Budget Orchestra"		1:32
19.	"Billy the Mountain"		30:25

*The True Story of 200 Motels*
No.	Title	Length
20.	"'He's Watching Us'"	1:21
21.	"If You're Not a Professional Actor"	0:23
22.	"He's Right"	0:14
23.	"Going for the Money"	0:12
24.	"Jeff Quits"	1:33
25.	"A Bunch of Adventures"	0:56
26.	"Martin Lickert's Story"	0:39
27.	"A Great Guy"	0:30
28.	"Bad Acting"	0:10
29.	"The Worst Reviews"	0:20
30.	"A Version of Himself"	1:02
31.	"I Could Be a Star Now"	0:36
Total length:		132:35

Personnel

Musicians

Heard on the dialog portions

Performing on the Pauley Pavilion & Rainbow Theater cuts

Frank Zappa – lead guitar, vocal
Mark Volman – vocal
Howard Kaylan – vocal
Jim Pons – bass, vocal
Don Preston – keyboards, electronics
Ian Underwood – keyboards, alto sax
Aynsley Dunbar – drums

Performing on the Fillmore East cuts

Frank Zappa – lead guitar, vocal
Mark Volman – vocal
Howard Kaylan – vocal
Jim Pons – bass, vocal
Bob Harris – Wurlitzer
Ian Underwood – keyboards, alto sax
Aynsley Dunbar – drums

Mentioned in the liner notes

Bruce Bissell ("an industrious Reprise Records promo man") – arrangement for group photo ("The Living Garbage Truck")
Dick Barber and Howard Kaylan – conversation ("The Motel Lobby")
Aynsley Dunbar – keeping time on a bottle of Scotch whisky and a wooden table ("Diptheria Blues")
Howard Kaylan – vocals ("Diptheria Blues")
Martin Tickman ("the front office manager") – interviewee ("The Mudshark Interview")
Mark Volman – cassette recording ("The London Cab Tape"), pieces of tape ("'It's a Good Thing We Get Paid to Do This'", "'He's Watching Us'", "He's Right", "Jeff Quits"), Uher
Howard Kaylan, Jeff Simmons, Ian Underwood – planning for confrontation ("The London Cab Tape")
Frank Zappa – Uher ("The London Cab Tape")

Uncredited

John Lennon – vocals, guitar ("Well" through "A Small Eternity with Yoko Ono")
Yoko Ono – vocals, bag ("Well" through "A Small Eternity with Yoko Ono")
Roelof Kiers – heard on the dialog portions ("Martin Lickert's Story", "A Version of Himself")

Production

Frank Zappa – most of the dialog recordings, producer, liner notes
Spence Chrislu – remix engineer
Cal Schenkel – art

Uncredited

Mark Pinske – remix engineer
Barry Keene – Fillmore East, Pauley Pavilion and Rainbow Theater recording engineer
Bob Auger – Rainbow Theater recording engineer

References

↑ Couture, F. (2011). "Playground Psychotics - Frank Zappa & the Mothers | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved July 22, 2011.
↑ Zappa (1992). Playground Psychotics (Media notes). Barking Pumpkin Records. D2 74244.
↑ John & Yoko/Plastic Ono Band with Elephant's Memory Plus Invisible Strings (1972). Some Time in New York City ("Live Jam" inner sleeve). Apple Records. PCSP 716.
↑ "Playground Psychotics". Information Is Not Knowledge. Retrieved June 5, 2026.

External links

Release details

[1] Couture, F. (2011). "Playground Psychotics - Frank Zappa & the Mothers | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved July 22, 2011.

[2] Zappa (1992). Playground Psychotics (Media notes). Barking Pumpkin Records. D2 74244.

[3] John & Yoko/Plastic Ono Band with Elephant's Memory Plus Invisible Strings (1972). Some Time in New York City ("Live Jam" inner sleeve). Apple Records. PCSP 716.

[4] "Playground Psychotics". Information Is Not Knowledge. Retrieved June 5, 2026.