Some of Zappa's solos from the album began life as improvisations from his earlier work. "Rat Tomago" was edited from a performance of "The Torture Never Stops", which originally appeared on "Zoot Allures" (1976); likewise, "The Sheik Yerbouti Tango" is taken from a live version of "Little House I Used to Live in", originally a "Burnt Weeny Sandwich" (1970) track. The song "City of Tiny Lites" featured an animation video made by Bruce Bickford which was featured on the Old Grey Whistle Test.