This was recorded for Swedish TV as part of a "pop program". This explains the quality. I was in the audience. It was outdoor and Zappa commented on the temperature... It is rather jazz fusion than rock. And Frank disliked hippies - and drugs. In the song "Flower punk" audio from 1968 he pays the hippies his "respect"... More Zappa!
Something to note, Zappa rarely, if ever, released a song on album until he had 'perfected' it, and this version is three years shy of reaching an album. And even though there are multiple 'versions' of this song, each one has a unique improvised guitar solo. When you asked 'how do you remember all that' when he was playing the solo, he didn't, it was spontaneous, something no other rock guitarist did. But he was not really a guitarist, he was a composer who played guitar on the side. He does not get nearly enough credit for his prowess on the guitar, he literally played thousands of guitar solos in his 30 year career, and not one was the same as any other. Incredible.
Yes, Frank is unique. The guitar solo’s was always improvised. There is a live recording (video) of the song ”Inca Roads” that is highly recommendable.
I agree Inca Roads is a must. However, the live video has some Claymation that takes up too much time but Frank was really into it at the time and it annoys me because I want to see the band playing live and Frank solo. I don't want to see Claymation of Frank fingers playing, ESPECIALLY if you're new to Zappa, but it's worth a watch because for me that band is the classic Zappa band incarnation and most loved. If the band has Napoleon Murphy Brock, Ruth Underwood , George Duke & Chester Thompson you can be sure you're going to get the best of Frank Zappa. I say best but pretty much most of his band members were not too shabby either. The man was a genius and I was emotional when he passed, and the sad part it didn't need to happen. He had been misdiagnosed for quite some time, by the time it proved to be cancer it had spread too far for any hope of recovery (at that time).
The lyrics describe the music. Listen carefully. It's not about Montana or dental floss it's about chord progressions and guitar solos. The horse is the galloping rhythm and the reason why he looked a little miffed when he said "gleaming in the moonlighty light" is because there's a particular sound that is supposed to go there and for once Ruth wasn't on it.
On a side note, if you have heard, and I imagine you would have heard "Smoke On The Water" by Deep Purple, it is about Zappa and the Mothers playing a gig and the Venue catching Fire and burning.
Loved your reaction! You get many suggestions in the commentaries... may I come up with just one more for you to consider? Muffin Man live at the Palladium. It is out of this world (I've been his fan for over 52 years 🙂
You have opened the door to a huge rabbit hole . George Duke on keyboards Jean Luc Ponty on violin . Zapoa never played the same solo twice he played within the structure of the song . Your coment about the humour of the song is spot on one of his more famous quotes was does humour belong in music . He comented on social movements society you name it it was fair game.
Very special, cool music played by highly skilled musicians is what you get with Zappa, all transcriped in "black pages" for the musicians, and Frank lets it go in his improvised solos! Zappa Lives!
@MetalLensReviews don't forget about Dimash, he's got another new video coming this month, it's called "SMOKE"! CANT WAIT! I've seen everybody!! Hendrix twice, Edgar Winter and Jethro Tull are great mind blowers! I will be watching ya!
Not Rock, not Jazz, not Blues, but a Mix called ZAPPA. Never seen this version. Few other lives ones of this tune, recorded much better. Don't get too hung up on his Lyrics. The words are only the avenue to the Middle of the song where the whole band gets serious. His album, "Does Humor belong in Music" explains this. Any song on Overnight Sensation, or Zoot Alluers, or One Size Fits All. 60+ Albums and a library of 1000 tunes. He covers all lanes...
Frank dfinately wasn't a Hippy. Some tracks you might want to check oot... "Watermelon In Easter Hay" (Studio Version from Joe's Garage), the last track on a 3 LP Concept LP. "Apostrophe''" from the LP of the same name. This LP also contains a Suite of 4 (?) tracks covering most of 1 side known as the "Yellow Snow Suite" which like many of his pieces tells a story best listened to as a complete track. "Willie The Pimp" from the Hot Rats LP which has Cpt Beefheart on Vocals. "Inca Roads (A Token Of His Extreme" which is live from 73/74ish. "Trouble Every Day" from his Freak Out LP.
great review and all I have to say is "You ain't seen nothing yet. I guarantee as you progress into his catalog (I believe 62 of them over 30 years or so during his life and countless others after) you're head will explode. This isn't even his best band lineup or his best guitar work. Here are some of the members who played with him. Steve Vai got his start with Zappa (Vai Idolizes Frank, check out the videos of him talking about Frank), Terry Bozzio on drums, Chester Thompson on drums, Adrian Belew, George Duke on keyboards (seen here), Jean Luc Ponty on electric violin (seen here) and so many more. Some of these names you might not be familiar with but all of them were master musicians of rock fusion. Zappa had musicians clamoring to be in his band. Also the guitar solo you saw there was short for Zappa and tame for him. I suggest you listen to the instrumental "The Ocean is the Ultimate Solution" (a clever play on words there) with Bozzio on drums. In that song he does about an 8-minute guitar solo (give or take) that is among his best, the song is stellar too. Zappa is well known for exceptionally long solos. And don't worry about your Zappa videos being long, trust me Zappa fans will watch the entire video, and many others will too. As far as his lyrics, don't worry about them. They can be silly but he also has songs with social commentary like "I Am The Slime" which is about crap on tv and marketing. Lastly as you go forward I think you'll see why Frank Zappa for me is the Bach, Beethoven, & Mozart of contemporary music.
A few Frank Zappa song/video suggestions: «Bamboozled By Love» (Barcelona, 1988) «Black Napkins» (New York, 1977) «Nig Biz» (New York, 1981) «Dickie’s Such An Asshole» (The Roxy, 1973) «St Etienne» (France, 1982) As a beginning.
Glad you chose this take of the song. Because this particular concert - with that unique 1973 instrumentation, and mostly instrumental material - is close enough to "pure unmediated Zappa" for me to recommend to relative newcomers. Best bit is the long medley that starts around here ruclips.net/video/BynKe8BjIxk/видео.htmlsi=QrwMw6VamZeVhmKd&t=3170
How does he remember that?....he doesn´t have to remember the guitar solo because he made them up as he went along! ;) ... ¨air sculptures¨ he called them
You should react to Dupree's Paradise from that same era. FYI I like your assessment of this song - but be warned Zappa is the deepest rabbit hole out there. He was his own genre, releasing 60+ full LP's before he died and his family trust has released more than another 60 more. He was a conductor, write and guitarist. He wrote all of the pieces for every song, hired the best musicians in the world, and didn't give a crap about what anyone else thought. All of his bands were a drug free zone at his insistence. The only thing that was ever improvised was solos, be it guitar, sax, piano, violin, whatever.
This Is not my preferred version of Montana. There Is an other One live where Frank's band fun togetherness and Joy were unpaired, to me, expecially in Ruth and the Singer/sax player (sorry I don't remember the name)
This was recorded for Swedish TV as part of a "pop program". This explains the quality. I was in the audience. It was outdoor and Zappa commented on the temperature...
It is rather jazz fusion than rock. And Frank disliked hippies - and drugs. In the song "Flower punk" audio from 1968 he pays the hippies his "respect"...
More Zappa!
Something to note, Zappa rarely, if ever, released a song on album until he had 'perfected' it, and this version is three years shy of reaching an album. And even though there are multiple 'versions' of this song, each one has a unique improvised guitar solo. When you asked 'how do you remember all that' when he was playing the solo, he didn't, it was spontaneous, something no other rock guitarist did. But he was not really a guitarist, he was a composer who played guitar on the side. He does not get nearly enough credit for his prowess on the guitar, he literally played thousands of guitar solos in his 30 year career, and not one was the same as any other. Incredible.
Indeed, compare this performance to that appearing on A TOKEN OF HIS EXTREME and there are more vocal parts, approximated instrumentally, here
Yes, Frank is unique. The guitar solo’s was always improvised. There is a live recording (video) of the song ”Inca Roads” that is highly recommendable.
I agree Inca Roads is a must. However, the live video has some Claymation that takes up too much time but Frank was really into it at the time and it annoys me because I want to see the band playing live and Frank solo. I don't want to see Claymation of Frank fingers playing, ESPECIALLY if you're new to Zappa, but it's worth a watch because for me that band is the classic Zappa band incarnation and most loved. If the band has Napoleon Murphy Brock, Ruth Underwood , George Duke & Chester Thompson you can be sure you're going to get the best of Frank Zappa. I say best but pretty much most of his band members were not too shabby either. The man was a genius and I was emotional when he passed, and the sad part it didn't need to happen. He had been misdiagnosed for quite some time, by the time it proved to be cancer it had spread too far for any hope of recovery (at that time).
@@swirll360 well said!
4:15 LoL 😂🤣 Yes, intentional.
Theater if the absurd typa 💩
🎶🎶🎵🎧🎸💯🌈✨
More Frank please...
The lyrics describe the music. Listen carefully. It's not about Montana or dental floss it's about chord progressions and guitar solos. The horse is the galloping rhythm and the reason why he looked a little miffed when he said "gleaming in the moonlighty light" is because there's a particular sound that is supposed to go there and for once Ruth wasn't on it.
On a side note, if you have heard, and I imagine you would have heard "Smoke On The Water" by Deep Purple, it is about Zappa and the Mothers playing a gig and the Venue catching Fire and burning.
All of Zappa's solo's are 100% improvised, every time every song he plays on.
Loved your reaction! You get many suggestions in the commentaries... may I come up with just one more for you to consider? Muffin Man live at the Palladium. It is out of this world (I've been his fan for over 52 years 🙂
You have opened the door to a huge rabbit hole . George Duke on keyboards Jean Luc Ponty on violin . Zapoa never played the same solo twice he played within the structure of the song . Your coment about the humour of the song is spot on one of his more famous quotes was does humour belong in music . He comented on social movements society you name it it was fair game.
Very special, cool music played by highly skilled musicians is what you get with Zappa, all transcriped in "black pages" for the musicians, and Frank lets it go in his improvised solos!
Zappa Lives!
Frank blew my mind at 14 years old, thank you for this, I found you because of Dimash, old lady metal head loves watching you, ❤from Vegas!
Thank you for checking me out :)
@MetalLensReviews don't forget about Dimash, he's got another new video coming this month, it's called "SMOKE"! CANT WAIT! I've seen everybody!! Hendrix twice, Edgar Winter and Jethro Tull are great mind blowers! I will be watching ya!
Not Rock, not Jazz, not Blues, but a Mix called ZAPPA. Never seen this version. Few other lives ones of this tune, recorded much better.
Don't get too hung up on his Lyrics. The words are only the avenue to the Middle of the song where the whole band gets serious. His album, "Does Humor belong in Music" explains this.
Any song on Overnight Sensation, or Zoot Alluers, or One Size Fits All. 60+ Albums and a library of 1000 tunes. He covers all lanes...
"Does humour belong in music?"
Nobody ever had a nastier electric guitar tone than Zappa. Absolutely filthy.
Tracks from Over-Nite Sensation or One Size Fits All would probably be a good place to go.
Zappa Lives!
Frank dfinately wasn't a Hippy. Some tracks you might want to check oot... "Watermelon In Easter Hay" (Studio Version from Joe's Garage), the last track on a 3 LP Concept LP. "Apostrophe''" from the LP of the same name. This LP also contains a Suite of 4 (?) tracks covering most of 1 side known as the "Yellow Snow Suite" which like many of his pieces tells a story best listened to as a complete track. "Willie The Pimp" from the Hot Rats LP which has Cpt Beefheart on Vocals. "Inca Roads (A Token Of His Extreme" which is live from 73/74ish. "Trouble Every Day" from his Freak Out LP.
He ridiculed hippies with their smelly blankets who looked like Donovan fans.
yellow snow suite
When it comes to FZ, I've got patience.
great review and all I have to say is "You ain't seen nothing yet. I guarantee as you progress into his catalog (I believe 62 of them over 30 years or so during his life and countless others after) you're head will explode. This isn't even his best band lineup or his best guitar work. Here are some of the members who played with him. Steve Vai got his start with Zappa (Vai Idolizes Frank, check out the videos of him talking about Frank), Terry Bozzio on drums, Chester Thompson on drums, Adrian Belew, George Duke on keyboards (seen here), Jean Luc Ponty on electric violin (seen here) and so many more. Some of these names you might not be familiar with but all of them were master musicians of rock fusion. Zappa had musicians clamoring to be in his band. Also the guitar solo you saw there was short for Zappa and tame for him. I suggest you listen to the instrumental "The Ocean is the Ultimate Solution" (a clever play on words there) with Bozzio on drums. In that song he does about an 8-minute guitar solo (give or take) that is among his best, the song is stellar too. Zappa is well known for exceptionally long solos. And don't worry about your Zappa videos being long, trust me Zappa fans will watch the entire video, and many others will too. As far as his lyrics, don't worry about them. They can be silly but he also has songs with social commentary like "I Am The Slime" which is about crap on tv and marketing. Lastly as you go forward I think you'll see why Frank Zappa for me is the Bach, Beethoven, & Mozart of contemporary music.
A few Frank Zappa song/video suggestions:
«Bamboozled By Love» (Barcelona, 1988)
«Black Napkins» (New York, 1977)
«Nig Biz» (New York, 1981)
«Dickie’s Such An Asshole» (The Roxy, 1973)
«St Etienne» (France, 1982)
As a beginning.
Glad you chose this take of the song. Because this particular concert - with that unique 1973 instrumentation, and mostly instrumental material - is close enough to "pure unmediated Zappa" for me to recommend to relative newcomers. Best bit is the long medley that starts around here ruclips.net/video/BynKe8BjIxk/видео.htmlsi=QrwMw6VamZeVhmKd&t=3170
How does he remember that?....he doesn´t have to remember the guitar solo because he made them up as he went along! ;) ... ¨air sculptures¨ he called them
You should react to Dupree's Paradise from that same era. FYI I like your assessment of this song - but be warned Zappa is the deepest rabbit hole out there. He was his own genre, releasing 60+ full LP's before he died and his family trust has released more than another 60 more. He was a conductor, write and guitarist. He wrote all of the pieces for every song, hired the best musicians in the world, and didn't give a crap about what anyone else thought. All of his bands were a drug free zone at his insistence. The only thing that was ever improvised was solos, be it guitar, sax, piano, violin, whatever.
This is great, but if you can listen to the album version you'll hear the amazing backing vocals of Tina Turner and the Ikettes.
Frank Zappa and the Mothers Were at the best place around
But some stupid with a flare gun Burned the place to the ground
He doesn't have to remember, most of his solos are improved.
This Is not my preferred version of Montana. There Is an other One live where Frank's band fun togetherness and Joy were unpaired, to me, expecially in Ruth and the Singer/sax player (sorry I don't remember the name)
Terrible solo
Dude. You have no idea, clearly. If you really want an entrance into this world you so obviously know nothing about, try Hot Rats.