It makes me happy to see that younger generations are appreciating Frank Zappa. This album came out when I was in high school. It’s not for the “casual listener “ but for the attentive…… it’s one of the most interesting, complex, funny, absurd records of all time.
My brother bought this the week it came out and about a dozen kids listened to it for the entire summer in my friend’s basement at least twice a day. Then Nixon resigned. Great summer.
"The music is so serious but the lyrics are so ridiculous". That's pretty much the essence of Zappa. So glad you finally did this! I loved every minute!
The lyrics sound ridiculous at first blush, but they are a comment on the stupidity of our society. Stinkfoot seems like a stupid song, but it is a comment on consumerism and the power of pharmacy. What do you think Cosmik Debris is about? The only thing that's changed since the '70s is how extreme all of it has become since.
Zappa's lyrics often _seem_ ridiculous, but he was a very literate and intelligent person, and with close listening the lyrics usually make a lot of sense. The very first line of Don't Eat The Yellow Snow tells you "I dreamed I was an Eskimo", so most likely this whole story was an actual dream that Zappa had, and we all know how weird and goofy dreams can be. And his production on Nanook Rubs It, especially the "I can't see" part, is incredible.
Just love your reactions. I am a 73 year old Brit. When we wanted a party to end, play Zappa. Saw the Mothers in Bristol UK in 1969, about a 100 people in the audience, he invited everybody to the front to party. One of the best concerts ever.
My friend, a Zappa fan, named his dog Nanook, a samoyede (an all-white Syberian dog). Every time we listened to this suite from Zappa, his dog almost went crazy when hearing his name coming out of the speakers.
For a certain geezer faction, Apostrophe is the divide between beloved revolutionary early Zappa Mothers and later Zappa with amazing fast note players. Many young people enter Zappa at Apostrophe. There is lots of Frank for everybody.
I identify with those geezers. I had high school friends who were into the Mothers but I didn’t listen to them. But I was in the school jazz band as a drummer and one day our director brought in charts for Chunga’s Revenge. I bought the album just to listen to the drumming on that song. I never listened to any other tracks. When I got to college my freshman roommate saw the album amongst my other albums (mostly guitar greats like Clapton, Hendrix, Page, Jeff Beck and others from the era). He insisted we listen to the whole album. After that I decided I wanted to hear some more Zappa and that is when I got Apostrophe. That album convinced me to start collecting more Zappa and as you know once that starts you are hooked. But really at that time One Size Fits All, Apostrophe, and Over-Nite Sensation were his latest. But being in jazz band and able to read music and having friends who were horn players, it was really the Grand Wazoo which totally convinced me Zappa was something unique and much more than just a fantastic guitar player.
Bravo! Loved the review guys and the news your reviewing the whole album, Cant wait. I just need to say this however....RUTH UNDERWOOD IS AN AMERICAN TREASURE.
Ruth and George were i think his greatest collaborators, followed by Ruth’s ex, Ian. Ruth i think understood his music on an instinctive level on top of her peerless musicianship. George was a first class jazz great whose playing allowed frank to create what most fans regard as his golden period in the 70s. Ian … Hot Rats, 67-69 Mothers all the way through to here. MUSIC IS THE BEST
RUTH UNDERWOOD is the GODMOTHER OF PERCUSSION!!! She was not only on Vibraphone and others with - she took her drumming-ways around over BIG DRUMS (in german = PAUKEN) ruclips.net/video/wSuwWUytwaE/видео.html
I've only recently discovered this channel, and it's absolutely fascinating. I've been a lifelong Zappa fan (in my 60's now) and I could never imagine people really understanding him and getting into his music who weren't around while he was alive. However, you two really do seem to get what he's about, and it's a pleasure to watch you discover and enjoy the many sides to this musical genius. Keep up the good work, you're stepping where others fear to tread! 😂 PS. "The Gumbo Variations ' from the Hot Rats album would be a great choice if it hasn't been suggested already
Please note that Frank Zappa issued almost 100 albums with all sorts of music imaginable, so you barely scratched the surface. :-) If you want Zappa who is much more serious (although in a sarcastic way), please react to "Trouble Every Day" or "Dumb All Over".
Back when radio was a thing, hearing this on my local "underground" station after midnight, as an impressionable 14 year old, was such an eye (and ear) opening experience. I couldn't believe such a thing could exist, but so glad it did. Ended up getting pretty much every Zappa album that came out through the 70's. That crazy balance of serious musicianship with absurd lyrics kept me coming back for more. BTW, nice to see another guest appearance by the mysterious smoking device next to the AC!
I was at the famous ‘I want a garden’ poem gig at Hammersmith in 1979 as immortalised of YCDTOSA vol 1. Enforced recreation, live on stage on London. The sillier the lyrics, the more amazing the music. Ladies and gentlemen, Frank Zappa, there will never be another.
Ahhh....Mahavishnu Orch.Was the opening band for Zappa's Mothers. Zappa hired them, because he was fascinated by Jazz Rock Fusion. We tried to book them at Rutgers University, 1974, but the alummi wouldnt fund it because of Zappa's lyrics.
That is some black page shit. SO many notes. The arrangements, the meter shifts, the energy, insanity, complexity and musicianship. You can't NOT appreciate this on some level. This was my first exposure to Frank back in the 80s, and I thought it was the pinnacle, then I began listening to the rest of his material. Good lord, it leaves this in the dark. Genius, pure, unrelenting genius.
The weirdest thing about Zappa is that he didn't do drugs. I'm sure most of his fan base did back then. And he did get FM airplay, but FM was much more experimental and artistically focused back in the early 70s. Thanks for playing the entire piece uninterrupted, since the second song is introduced in the lyrics of the first. And thanks for laughing. Other reaction people have reviewed this song and didn't crack a smile. Something's wrong with that.
My son and I have always said that if we were stranded on a desert island and could only have the catalogue of one artist to listen to for the rest of our lives, we would choose Zappa. So much music over so many genres.
My gateway Zappa album Now, I know Dan often says the words dont matter cuz the music is so good but this is one instance where you kinda have to pay attention to Zappa's story as the music and lyrics are inseparable, as absurd as it sounds haha. Rub It!
3:01....Here's some Zappa trivia and music inside humor: In this song where the lyrics say " a fur trapper who was strictly from commercial", there is a decending musical riff played by the trombone. This riff is the melody from "Midnight Sun" (1954) ,an instrumental composed by Lionel Hampton and Sonny Burke and sung by Ella Fitzgerald. It is a musical joke on two levels, first the title Midnight Sun of course refers to the Arctic. Second is Zappa's dig at "commercial jazz" which is what tunes like Midnight Sun have become..for better or worse.
Not only a great guitar player , but he wrote everything for the band, revised and transcribed by Steve Vai even before he became part of Zappa's band. Kudos, you've got Zapped!
I saw Frank live when Steve Vai was playing with him and I had no idea who Steve Vai was at the time, I just knew Frank had another amazing player on stage with him. I was 14 and still learning then.
Awesome reaction. You are both such endearing characters showing real appreciation. Might I have the unmitigated audacity to suggest that it won't be long 'till you're ready for the adventures of Gregory Peccary?
I believe you two are musically schooled enough and mind opened enough to listen and enjoy Gregory Peccary. This is a Zappa composition that takes up all of side 1 of the original album named Studio Tan. It is Frank telling another absurd story with humorous concepts and the usual seriously complex music. After listening to the full Aposterphe (') album (which is filled with storytelling songs of a humorously absurdist nature), please consider doing either just Gregory Peccary as your next Zappa reaction. Thank you and can't wait to hear Cosmic Debris.
I've just seen in a TV-Quiz-Show that in the German town Dusseldorf (no fake, and the government city of Northrhein-Westphalia, where I live in) exists a real "Frank-Zappa-Strasse" ("Frank-Zappa-Street") ! Juhuuuu!
This was the 'suite' that changed my life when I was 16 and turn me seriously into and Frank and into music in general. I mean, seriously into music. This music sounded strange to me. All those crazy rhythm changes and turns. What the fuck was this? But somehow I was captivated. I listened it for the first time at a friend's home and I decided to buy the album (my first FZ album!). I'm 59 now and I'm still hooked. So many beautiful things to discover in this man's music. This is a great showcase for FZ as a vocalist/narrator to. This is a totally classical FZ song.(Almost) all the ingredients here. Serious music, rhythmic craziness, beautiful melodies, great musicianship, funny absurd lyrics, bluesy guitar and infectious grooves, and more. And you what? It works!
I just discovered your channel recently land I am damn impressed! I am a huge Zappa fan and I am so enamoured of the fact that you have chosen some of the best tracks to react to. Watermelon in Easter Hay, Ocean is the solution, Chunga's revenge, Andy..... DAMN! You have good taste. How about INCA ROADS or Pojama People? Billy the Mountain would be another great one. My thanks to you for bringing this music to the YOutube audience. Respect! I am subscribing to this channel!
Yellow Snow/Nanook/St. Alphonzo was a staple on the Sunday Night Doctor Demento Show on KMET in Los Angeles, 10 to midnight. You kids are too young to know, but KMET was a FM radio station. I bet there are some broadcasts floating around here if you look.
My mother would occasionally do 'You have the unmitigated audacity to doubt my veracity', I'd heard it before this. I guess a catch phrase from some byone era.
Great reaction and analyses. You guys really know what you are talking about. Enjoy all the Zappa you can. I wish I could unhear this and experience it for the first time again like when I was 14 in 1974.
which is yet another example proving, beyond all doubt, that whenever a majority of humans agree about something...they are wrong. the larger the majority and the stronger the agreement, the more ridiculously false, whatever they’re agreeing upon, is.
I've got to stop here for mine! And I've got to tell you: IT'S A REAL GOOD, NO... VERY, VERY PLEASURE TO WATCH YOU LISTENING TO GOOD MUSIC!!! IT'S A HAPPENING TO ME!!! really!
Having seen Zappa i concert, his music would flow from one to another without stopping; his "bridges" are musically amazing and a concert goes non-stop from beginning to the end
@@SightAfterDark Dr. Demento was a dj from LA whose show centered on satirical/comical zany music throughout phonographic history. He had a huge record collection that was just some of the wackiest stuff on the radio(or not) from the '20s-'30s-'40s-'50s-'60s. He got so popular his show was syndicated nation wide by Westwood One and was heard every Sunday night anywhere from 8-12 He was the first to play Weird Al Yankovic pretty much launching his career and the man who's record you are listening to now was a major inspiration for Barry Hansen(Dr. Demento)to launch the show. Frank was a frequent and honored guest on the doc's show. Yellow Snow Suite was played many times throughout the years along with many many other Zappa tunes. When Frank died Barry devoted his entire 2-hr show to his work in. It was a crazy way to end the weekend. You guys woulda' been sitting around eatin them gummy bears giggling all night long and loving it.😄
As usual, what gets lost in all this meandering thought process is the stellar musicianship going on during all the madness. There's never a second where something is being played, that hasn't been planned in advance. The band is tight. Non Zappaphiles don't usually grasp that. Every musician played a carefully designed & executed piece of that intricate puzzle. If there is such a thing, get a kareoke version of any Zappa piece, and listen to the precision, and skill of those performing the piece. Listen to interviews with those who've played with him. He was a tyrant for precision. Every note, break, riff & change, all done on purpose for the effect Frank wanted you to hear. I've been listening to this LP for DECADES, AND i always find a piece I hadn't heard before. Ruth Underwoods vibes, masterfully played in sync with the others...some day the world will really recognize the genius hiding behind the most absurd collection of lyrics ever put to paper. Listen to the studio version of "Black Napkins" (Zoot Allures album) . A straight up instrumental. You get an inkling of how great he was when he "shuts up and plays his guitar"
Remember running around the school yard in grade 5 singing yellow snow! My older Sister had bought Apostrophe. Our first Intro. We would play the hell out of that Album. Radio sucked back then. It was like there's commercial...then there's Frank and the journey continued right up to Joe's Garage Part 1+2. Pure genius. Just devastating when we lost him.
I saw Frank & Band in the early 1970's - before one of the songs he assigned the players for each of the 3 solo sections and changed the time signature for each one. I can't imagine any other band doing that especially live. Carry On!!
He injects little snippets, musical nuggets ... A riff ... A vocal ... a lyric... The great composers have been doing it for a long time... He was a GREAT composer. And yes, he loved fucking with our minds..... And we will always go back for more....
@@SightAfterDark yes great composer and I would have to say... One of the sharpest knives in the drawer. If you search some of his interviews, he is articulate, humorous, and a conservative/liberal*. *He had a lot of common sense. If you haven't done a reaction to Haystack .... It is one of his simply beautiful pieces of music. I miss artists who can surprise me. Frank could blow my mind in 5 seconds of a piece... Rush could do it too, but they hung it up after Neil passed away...... "But l know what it's like to have a graveyard as a friend... because that's where they are..." (Talking old soldiers.... Elton) Enjoy Frank's irreverent approach to music .... They don't make 'em like that anymore....
This was the first Zappa track I ever heard, in the spring of 1974, sitting on the floor of a HS buddy's bedroom, and listening through a Marantz turntable, a Pioneer amp and Klipsch speakers. We were quite stoned, and it blew me away! I had never heard ANYthing like it, and it changed my perception of what music could be for the rest of my life, most notably into the realms of progressive rock, jazz and fusion. There are a couple of Easter eggs in this suite: the line "...with a vigorous circular motion hitherto unknown to the people in this area, but destined to take the place of the Mud Shark in your mythology..." is a reference to an infamous incident that took place in the Edgewater Motel in Seattle in 1969. Look it up. The other is the line "Here Fido! Here Fido!" which is a reference to the song "Stinkfoot", on the same album.
I've been on the Zappa bus since 69,,,,, It's great to hear your views,, and your take on his stuff,,,, Keep em coming,,,,,, Well done folks,,,,,,,,,,,,
This is probably Zappa's most commercially successful album, and "Yellow Snow" even got some radio airplay. A good place to start, but I'm still lobbying for "Joe's Garage" to get the full album treatment one of these days. Many of his albums were thematic, and you have already done some of the songs individually, so it just makes sense to take in the whole to appreciate the songs in context. Plus, with Joe's Garage you get the added advantage of a narrator, the "Central Scrutinizer," to keep you from getting lost as the story unfolds. I love that you two are willing to commit the time to doing these full album reactions, as that was how we did it back in the 'day.' That was what brought you to my attention and caused me to get on board and subscribe to begin with. When I first stumbled across your channel, it was when you were doing "Feats Don't Fail Me Now" and Little Feat was one of my all time favorite bands. Once you had my attention, I found out you were flirting with becoming Zappa fans, and the hook was set. Anyway, thanks for what you do, it's great to hear actual musicians trying to wrap their heads around Zappa. Keep it up!
A los 17 años oí este disco, esto fue lo primero que oí del Maestro Zappa. Me dije "esto qué es, nunca he oído nada parecido". Me reía, alucinaba con los cambios, algo me atraía poderosamente. Desde entonces llevo más de 40 años sin abandonar mi devoción por este genio único. Si he de tener una especie de dios, ese es Frank Zappa.
Its also interesting to note who the "real" Nanook was. Nanook was the 'star' of the famous, 1922 pioneering documentary "Nanook of the North". It was the first doc to merge drama with documentary footage, a tactic employed to this day. So, Frank may have chosen this both for the sound of the name, but also because the film was very controversial. The director set up various scenes but showed them like they naturally occurred suggesting he was making much of this up. Zappa loves contradictory things like this the documentarian who wants to be an auteur. lol Love it guys! Great reaction.
The thing people forget about this song(s), and why it's so odd and seems to jump around, he's describing a dream he had. "I dreamed I was an Eskimo. The frozen wind began to blow..." I you think this was out there, wait till you get to the Over-Nite Sensation album and listen to Dinah-Moe Humm. You may even blush!
very nice react...I really enyoy your faces after sudden time changes, fill ins or when lyrics are "tricky"...I See you like FZ as much as I do... so nice to see ... good job ... thank you So much🙏
Frank was the best of the modern composers. He synthesized avant garde classical composition, with avant garde rock. For seriousness, see Trouble Coming Every Day.
Great review , a dream with absurd lyrics and brilliant music , I'm sure you will enjoy and appreciate the rest of the album....Cheers from down under..
What I love about listening to Zappa is that I'm constantly surprised, never bored, and often in rapture at the glorious sound and tightness of execution, or laughing out loud at the humor. Who else can, or probably ever will again, give you all that?
I second the suggestion that you should listen to the live You Can’t Do That On Stage Anymore Volume I Yellow Snow....20 minutes long, yes, but worth every second.
To like Frank Zappa's music you have to be pretty special. I like it because I like its versatility - he can do everything! But everything he do is also somehow special and not everyone can handle it. But for he was just brilliant and unfortunately I did realize it until later when I was a little older. Thanks for sharing and greetings from Hamburg (Germany)
Wow I had not listened to this suite for a long time, though we tend to raise our kids with the sentiment that the lyrics impart. My kids probably would have thought their dad was crazy if they heard the source of his wisdom. Thanks Frank… RIP
For me the best thing about this is the fact it builds up such tension (during "St Alphonzo") and then goes utterly wild and exciting and you just can't see any reason why it should have done so.
"This is never gonna be Top 40, this is never gonna be a hit." Ironically, this was Zappa's biggest (and indeed only) hit to date: Apostrophe went to #10 on the Billboard album charts and a single edit of the Yellow Snow Suite went to #86 on the Hot 100. In other words, this is some of Zappa's most mainstream "pop" music. You guys should check out his weird stuff sometime.
@@bwana-ma-coo-bah425 yes, I remember hearing it on the radio back in the day, but it was probably only the cool FM stations, which where I grew up (Milwaukee hinterlands) mean WZMF, WTOS. Spaced-out and laid back DJs, doing their own programming and reading the commercials from the local "head" shops and upcoming concerts.
That happened here in Sweden as well. I was 17 and on the "Kvällstoppen" (Lit. "Evening Top") chart they played a new track from Apostrophe each week throughout the summer. It was the "Gateway album" for me too. Look up the clip with Ruth Underwood as she plays "Rollo" 30 years later.
In my estimation, the combination of commentary on society, combined with intense musical talent and virtuosity, which is the definition of Zappa music, and which is apparent on "Apostrophe," is unparalleled in his vast catalogue. Great review!
One Size Fits All is at least equal to Apostrophe, and IMO a little better. I think it is Ruth's percussion section that puts it over the top for me, especially on Inca Roads...that final flourish at the end of the song became even more impressive when I saw what she had to do to play it on the video version...But the differences are slight...he was at his peak all through the seventies so much amazing stuff...
@@SightAfterDark trivia: Uncle Remus is the only song ever that Frank gave as least co-writing credit to a band member, George Duke in this case. Shows you the esteem with which Frank held George, and rightly so.
Incredibly bizarre talented individual. He said, back in the infancy of MTV, that music will suffer because of it. Within 20 years he was proven correct.
YESSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!! You guys really get it!!!! I loved Frank Zappa's music ever since my bro played them for me at age 8, and I was never the same since. I really loved your guys'es reaction. Much respect.
@@SightAfterDark You're welcome! Thankyou for these Zappa reaction videos!!! It's refreshing to know there's open-minded folks discovering these amazing songs these days. Cheers!
The crux of the biscuit is the apostrophe. Great reaction to some great tunes. PS. I'd check your audio input / output .. your video sounded like the songs had be put through a phaser/flanger or something .. sound quality wasn't great guys .. just sayin 😉
I second that. The earlier parts were awash with flanger/out of phase tone ( *that is not on the original album* ) AND the overall piece was somehow played too fast, the thing felt rushed by digital time compression. I have no idea if what we hear is the same as what you were listening to as you reacted. Check out your episode please, tell us if this distorted- sound, distorted -timing rendition is what you audited, or just what you put out.
Great reaction, to Dinna mo Hum, too, hilarious. Just a remark: Nanook the eskimo is the first American documentary film ever done, around 1926. It is partially a reference to this film, the song being about a dream. And I might add, that back in the late 70s and early 80s, with the then famous Midas company of mixing table, we use to do the sound for Zappa, so I got to see how he works in rehearsals everytime he prepared a European tour, in a venue in Camden Town, London. It was serious!!
At London Hammersmith Odeon, BIrmingham (UK) Odeon and other venues in the late 1970s, I am proud to say that I both 'pounced' and 'jumped up and down on the chest of a' during the audience participation section of the Yellow Snow suite. Good times! The was always audience participation at Frank's gigs.
If you liked this, be sure to check out our Frank Zappa podcast!
ruclips.net/video/qyOpmQ7p-DA/видео.html
Vigorous circular motion, hitherto unknown but destined to take the place of the mudshark in your mythology !
@@Zephyrmec That's what I always said!!!
It makes me happy to see that younger generations are appreciating Frank Zappa. This album came out when I was in high school.
It’s not for the “casual listener “ but for the attentive…… it’s one of the most interesting, complex, funny, absurd records of all time.
Absolutely
My brother bought this the week it came out and about a dozen kids listened to it for the entire summer in my friend’s basement at least twice a day. Then Nixon resigned. Great summer.
Same. When this started I was remembering having the 8 track tape in my friend's car. Played constantly.
"The music is so serious but the lyrics are so ridiculous". That's pretty much the essence of Zappa. So glad you finally did this! I loved every minute!
Lol he's the best
Frank Zappa is SERIOUS and SARCASTIC. It's Sound-Theatre for your brain!
High brow music mixed with very clever low brow lyrics. Perfect combo.
The lyrics sound ridiculous at first blush, but they are a comment on the stupidity of our society. Stinkfoot seems like a stupid song, but it is a comment on consumerism and the power of pharmacy. What do you think Cosmik Debris is about? The only thing that's changed since the '70s is how extreme all of it has become since.
Zappa's lyrics often _seem_ ridiculous, but he was a very literate and intelligent person, and with close listening the lyrics usually make a lot of sense. The very first line of Don't Eat The Yellow Snow tells you "I dreamed I was an Eskimo", so most likely this whole story was an actual dream that Zappa had, and we all know how weird and goofy dreams can be. And his production on Nanook Rubs It, especially the "I can't see" part, is incredible.
Just love your reactions. I am a 73 year old Brit. When we wanted a party to end, play Zappa. Saw the Mothers in Bristol UK in 1969, about a 100 people in the audience, he invited everybody to the front to party. One of the best concerts ever.
Thanks for watching Steve!
My friend, a Zappa fan, named his dog Nanook, a samoyede (an all-white Syberian dog).
Every time we listened to this suite from Zappa, his dog almost went crazy when hearing his name coming out of the speakers.
Love that!
For a certain geezer faction, Apostrophe is the divide between beloved revolutionary early Zappa Mothers and later Zappa with amazing fast note players. Many young people enter Zappa at Apostrophe. There is lots of Frank for everybody.
Nice
I identify with those geezers. I had high school friends who were into the Mothers but I didn’t listen to them. But I was in the school jazz band as a drummer and one day our director brought in charts for Chunga’s Revenge. I bought the album just to listen to the drumming on that song. I never listened to any other tracks. When I got to college my freshman roommate saw the album amongst my other albums (mostly guitar greats like Clapton, Hendrix, Page, Jeff Beck and others from the era). He insisted we listen to the whole album. After that I decided I wanted to hear some more Zappa and that is when I got Apostrophe. That album convinced me to start collecting more Zappa and as you know once that starts you are hooked. But really at that time One Size Fits All, Apostrophe, and Over-Nite Sensation were his latest. But being in jazz band and able to read music and having friends who were horn players, it was really the Grand Wazoo which totally convinced me Zappa was something unique and much more than just a fantastic guitar player.
@@barrywilson1294 I love all those, but Uncle Meat and Lumpy Gravy really ring my bell.
@@garlooroztox Apostrophe is post Mothers. Agree, Uncle Meat was the Mother's best album. Holds up better than the 1st 3.
Perfect. Geezer, here.
It's funny picturing these two fighting with wee filled snow cones in the middle of nowhere
☺️
The whole album is great, great compositions and great playing.
Greatness all around!
Oh, hell yes.
The song "Apostrophe" can melt your face.
@@donsylvester2372 Someone understand someone don't... :o)
@@donsylvester2372 MY face was melted - can you help me? Joke...
@@SightAfterDark :o)
Bravo! Loved the review guys and the news your reviewing the whole album, Cant wait. I just need to say this however....RUTH UNDERWOOD IS AN AMERICAN TREASURE.
Thanks for being here!
Ruth and George were i think his greatest collaborators, followed by Ruth’s ex, Ian.
Ruth i think understood his music on an instinctive level on top of her peerless musicianship.
George was a first class jazz great whose playing allowed frank to create what most fans regard as his golden period in the 70s.
Ian … Hot Rats, 67-69 Mothers all the way through to here.
MUSIC IS THE BEST
@@SightAfterDark Also...
RUTH UNDERWOOD is the GODMOTHER OF PERCUSSION!!!
She was not only on Vibraphone and others with - she took her drumming-ways around over BIG DRUMS (in german = PAUKEN)
ruclips.net/video/wSuwWUytwaE/видео.html
RUTH UNDERWOOD IS A GODDESS!!!
I've only recently discovered this channel, and it's absolutely fascinating. I've been a lifelong Zappa fan (in my 60's now) and I could never imagine people really understanding him and getting into his music who weren't around while he was alive. However, you two really do seem to get what he's about, and it's a pleasure to watch you discover and enjoy the many sides to this musical genius. Keep up the good work, you're stepping where others fear to tread! 😂
PS. "The Gumbo Variations ' from the Hot Rats album would be a great choice if it hasn't been suggested already
Frank is the best :)
Please note that Frank Zappa issued almost 100 albums with all sorts of music imaginable, so you barely scratched the surface. :-) If you want Zappa who is much more serious (although in a sarcastic way), please react to "Trouble Every Day" or "Dumb All Over".
Thanks!
yes,Dumb All Over
... a little ugly on the side!
This was his greatest commercial success, though. "Strictly from Commercial"...
Got to Mr Zappa a few times. Sensory overload live!!.
Back when radio was a thing, hearing this on my local "underground" station after midnight, as an impressionable 14 year old, was such an eye (and ear) opening experience. I couldn't believe such a thing could exist, but so glad it did. Ended up getting pretty much every Zappa album that came out through the 70's. That crazy balance of serious musicianship with absurd lyrics kept me coming back for more. BTW, nice to see another guest appearance by the mysterious smoking device next to the AC!
Hahaha for tobacco only ;)
We have a HILARIOUS reaction to Frank Zappa HOT RATS here!- ruclips.net/video/F85KpI3tn2o/видео.html 😂
I was at the famous ‘I want a garden’ poem gig at Hammersmith in 1979 as immortalised of YCDTOSA vol 1. Enforced recreation, live on stage on London. The sillier the lyrics, the more amazing the music. Ladies and gentlemen, Frank Zappa, there will never be another.
I went to see Zappa when Apostrophe was released. He was the opening band for The Mahavishnu Orchestra. Just an incredible show.
Ahhh....Mahavishnu Orch.Was the opening band for Zappa's Mothers. Zappa hired them, because he was fascinated by Jazz Rock Fusion. We tried to book them at Rutgers University, 1974, but the alummi wouldnt fund it because of Zappa's lyrics.
We have a HILARIOUS reaction to Frank Zappa HOT RATS here!- ruclips.net/video/F85KpI3tn2o/видео.html 😂
I am surprised it wasn't the other way around!
@@donnielsen154 It was as a matter of fact
Grande invidia
That is some black page shit. SO many notes. The arrangements, the meter shifts, the energy, insanity, complexity and musicianship. You can't NOT appreciate this on some level. This was my first exposure to Frank back in the 80s, and I thought it was the pinnacle, then I began listening to the rest of his material. Good lord, it leaves this in the dark. Genius, pure, unrelenting genius.
Genius to the max
HEAR!
The weirdest thing about Zappa is that he didn't do drugs. I'm sure most of his fan base did back then. And he did get FM airplay, but FM was much more experimental and artistically focused back in the early 70s. Thanks for playing the entire piece uninterrupted, since the second song is introduced in the lyrics of the first. And thanks for laughing. Other reaction people have reviewed this song and didn't crack a smile. Something's wrong with that.
Well, not the fun drugs. He had a serious nicotine addiction.
@@johnjannetti4326 caffeine too
lol idk how you could hear this and not laugh
The perfect reaction by two normal people first time hearing Zappa.
My son and I have always said that if we were stranded on a desert island and could only have the catalogue of one artist to listen to for the rest of our lives, we would choose Zappa. So much music over so many genres.
100 Percent! Can definitely agree with that
plus, you would have such stacks and stacks of albums and CDs, you could build a comfy raft after you got thru your 1st listen!
My gateway Zappa album
Now, I know Dan often says the words dont matter cuz the music is so good but this is one instance where you kinda have to pay attention to Zappa's story as the music and lyrics are inseparable, as absurd as it sounds haha. Rub It!
Lol yeah its all important here
there's never a dull moment with Zappa's music.
Yeah, man was genius.
And his view of societies back then still right on.
Thing fish was crap
@@jaceacekalgoorlie "he so gay", do you really want to hurt me ! no it was an amazing album.
Frank Zappa starts his career om late 50's TV - he played A BYCICLE! (with Drum-Sticks)
Thank you for doing the Suite!
Our pleasure!
3:01....Here's some Zappa trivia and music inside humor: In this song where the lyrics say " a fur trapper who was strictly from commercial", there is a decending musical riff played by the trombone. This riff is the melody from "Midnight Sun" (1954) ,an instrumental composed by Lionel Hampton and Sonny Burke and sung by Ella Fitzgerald. It is a musical joke on two levels, first the title Midnight Sun of course refers to the Arctic. Second is Zappa's dig at "commercial jazz" which is what tunes like Midnight Sun have become..for better or worse.
Nice!
Thx!
Great explanation (sorry) - now you know, why so many people don't understand Zappa! BUT: I understand YOU!
Frank was nothing if not prescient:
ruclips.net/video/Donhz2oEuGQ/видео.html
Txs
Thank you for doing the whole suite.
Our pleasure!
Not only a great guitar player , but he wrote everything for the band, revised and transcribed by Steve Vai even before he became part of Zappa's band. Kudos, you've got Zapped!
I saw Frank live when Steve Vai was playing with him and I had no idea who Steve Vai was at the time, I just knew Frank had another amazing player on stage with him. I was 14 and still learning then.
Awesome reaction. You are both such endearing characters showing real appreciation. Might I have the unmitigated audacity to suggest that it won't be long 'till you're ready for the adventures of Gregory Peccary?
Lol it’s possible!
Yey, like 20 min long =) but it´s a Masterpiece!
I believe you two are musically schooled enough and mind opened enough to listen and enjoy Gregory Peccary. This is a Zappa composition that takes up all of side 1 of the original album named Studio Tan. It is Frank telling another absurd story with humorous concepts and the usual seriously complex music. After listening to the full Aposterphe (') album (which is filled with storytelling songs of a humorously absurdist nature), please consider doing either just Gregory Peccary as your next Zappa reaction. Thank you and can't wait to hear Cosmic Debris.
Billy the Mountain is the right warm up to Gregory Peccary.
A mountain is something you don’t want to fuck with
@@zeppo9885 'Who is making these new brown clouds?'
FRANK ZAPPA GOES A LIFETIME!
Great googly moogly!!Welcome to the party kids! Music is the best..and ZAPPA is the best music 🎶
I've just seen in a TV-Quiz-Show that in the German town Dusseldorf (no fake, and the government city of Northrhein-Westphalia, where I live in) exists a real "Frank-Zappa-Strasse" ("Frank-Zappa-Street") !
Juhuuuu!
😄
This was the 'suite' that changed my life when I was 16 and turn me seriously into and Frank and into music in general. I mean, seriously into music. This music sounded strange to me. All those crazy rhythm changes and turns. What the fuck was this? But somehow I was captivated. I listened it for the first time at a friend's home and I decided to buy the album (my first FZ album!). I'm 59 now and I'm still hooked. So many beautiful things to discover in this man's music. This is a great showcase for FZ as a vocalist/narrator to. This is a totally classical FZ song.(Almost) all the ingredients here. Serious music, rhythmic craziness, beautiful melodies, great musicianship, funny absurd lyrics, bluesy guitar and infectious grooves, and more. And you what? It works!
Later in the album george Duke plays a beautiful zappa melody and Jack Bruce comes to town. Great channel. Keep well
Thanks!
"...even when it's winter and it's night you gotta wear sunglasses for protection... uhm, so anyway, we're Sight After Dark."
lollll
My favorite lyric in this whole sequence is the use of the word: temporarily
Loved your reactions to St. Alfonzo's 😂 great stuff
Thanks so much!
Great reaction. I look forward to watching you do the rest of the album. It should be fun.
Hope you enjoy the rest of it!
I just discovered your channel recently land I am damn impressed! I am a huge Zappa fan and I am so enamoured of the fact that you have chosen some of the best tracks to react to. Watermelon in Easter Hay, Ocean is the solution, Chunga's revenge, Andy..... DAMN! You have good taste. How about INCA ROADS or Pojama People? Billy the Mountain would be another great one. My thanks to you for bringing this music to the YOutube audience. Respect! I am subscribing to this channel!
Yellow Snow/Nanook/St. Alphonzo was a staple on the Sunday Night Doctor Demento Show on KMET in Los Angeles, 10 to midnight. You kids are too young to know, but KMET was a FM radio station. I bet there are some broadcasts floating around here if you look.
My mother would occasionally do 'You have the unmitigated audacity to doubt my veracity', I'd heard it before this. I guess a catch phrase from some byone era.
Great reaction and analyses. You guys really know what you are talking about. Enjoy all the Zappa you can. I wish I could unhear this and experience it for the first time again like when I was 14 in 1974.
Thanks so much for watching Windmill10! We can definitely relate with great songs from our childhood!
The whole album is a dream. He tells you in the opening line. "I dreamed I was an Eskimo." The album ends with him having a conversation with a dog.
Frank is just the best
I wonder if the dog with which he had a conversation was the husky whose wee-wee blinded the fur trapper...?
It's nice to see that you guys get Frank. A lot of people dismiss him as just being weird and don't see him for the great composer he is.
Haha all we can do is try
which is yet another example proving, beyond all doubt, that whenever a majority of humans agree about something...they are wrong. the larger the majority and the stronger the agreement, the more ridiculously false, whatever they’re agreeing upon, is.
Loved their interactions and her take on the whole thing.....nice, another sub here!
Thanks for watching!
I've got to stop here for mine!
And I've got to tell you:
IT'S A REAL GOOD, NO... VERY, VERY PLEASURE TO WATCH YOU LISTENING TO GOOD MUSIC!!!
IT'S A HAPPENING TO ME!!! really!
Frank can change what you listen to and how you listen to it.
Frank ALWAYS makes Sifa smile. Dan's always smiling. Must be because of Sifa.
😊
Having seen Zappa i concert, his music would flow from one to another without stopping; his "bridges" are musically amazing and a concert goes non-stop from beginning to the end
You two would've loved Dr. Demento back in the day.
What's that?
@@SightAfterDark Dr. Demento was a dj from LA whose show centered on satirical/comical zany music throughout phonographic history. He had a huge record collection that was just some of the wackiest stuff on the radio(or not) from the '20s-'30s-'40s-'50s-'60s. He got so popular his show was syndicated nation wide by Westwood One and was heard every Sunday night anywhere from 8-12 He was the first to play Weird Al Yankovic pretty much launching his career and the man who's record you are listening to now was a major inspiration for Barry Hansen(Dr. Demento)to launch the show. Frank was a frequent and honored guest on the doc's show. Yellow Snow Suite was played many times throughout the years along with many many other Zappa tunes. When Frank died Barry devoted his entire 2-hr show to his work in. It was a crazy way to end the weekend. You guys woulda' been sitting around eatin them gummy bears giggling all night long and loving it.😄
I first heard this way back when in the mid 70's. Little did I realize that at such a young age I was listening to music perfection...
Second side of Roxy and Elsewhere, Village of the Sun, Echina's Art of You and Don't You Ever Wash That Thing?....will sure make you smile again.
Thanks!
As usual, what gets lost in all this meandering thought process is the stellar musicianship going on during all the madness. There's never a second where something is being played, that hasn't been planned in advance. The band is tight. Non Zappaphiles don't usually grasp that. Every musician played a carefully designed & executed piece of that intricate puzzle. If there is such a thing, get a kareoke version of any Zappa piece, and listen to the precision, and skill of those performing the piece.
Listen to interviews with those who've played with him. He was a tyrant for precision. Every note, break, riff & change, all done on purpose for the effect Frank wanted you to hear.
I've been listening to this LP for DECADES, AND i always find a piece I hadn't heard before. Ruth Underwoods vibes, masterfully played in sync with the others...some day the world will really recognize the genius hiding behind the most absurd collection of lyrics ever put to paper. Listen to the studio version of "Black Napkins" (Zoot Allures album) . A straight up instrumental. You get an inkling of how great he was when he "shuts up and plays his guitar"
If you think we didn’t appreciate the musicianship, we’re really not sure what video you were watching
Remember running around the school yard in grade 5 singing yellow snow! My older Sister had bought Apostrophe. Our first Intro. We would play the hell out of that Album. Radio sucked back then. It was like there's commercial...then there's Frank and the journey continued right up to Joe's Garage Part 1+2. Pure genius. Just devastating when we lost him.
RIP
I saw Frank & Band in the early 1970's - before one of the songs he assigned the players for each of the 3 solo sections and changed the time signature for each one. I can't imagine any other band doing that especially live.
Carry On!!
Impressive!
He injects little snippets, musical nuggets ... A riff ... A vocal ... a lyric...
The great composers have been doing it for a long time...
He was a GREAT composer.
And yes, he loved fucking with our minds..... And we will always go back for more....
FANTASTIC composer
@@SightAfterDark yes great composer and I would have to say...
One of the sharpest knives in the drawer. If you search some of his interviews, he is articulate, humorous,
and a conservative/liberal*.
*He had a lot of common sense.
If you haven't done a reaction to Haystack .... It is one of his simply beautiful pieces of music.
I miss artists who can surprise me.
Frank could blow my mind in 5 seconds of a piece...
Rush could do it too, but they hung it up after Neil passed away......
"But l know what it's like to have a graveyard as a friend... because that's where they are..."
(Talking old soldiers.... Elton)
Enjoy Frank's irreverent approach to music .... They don't make 'em like that anymore....
This was the first Zappa track I ever heard, in the spring of 1974, sitting on the floor of a HS buddy's bedroom, and listening through a Marantz turntable, a Pioneer amp and Klipsch speakers. We were quite stoned, and it blew me away! I had never heard ANYthing like it, and it changed my perception of what music could be for the rest of my life, most notably into the realms of progressive rock, jazz and fusion.
There are a couple of Easter eggs in this suite: the line "...with a vigorous circular motion hitherto unknown to the people in this area, but destined to take the place of the Mud Shark in your mythology..." is a reference to an infamous incident that took place in the Edgewater Motel in Seattle in 1969. Look it up. The other is the line "Here Fido! Here Fido!" which is a reference to the song "Stinkfoot", on the same album.
Sorry the audio sounds a bit off. It sounded perfect when we were listening. We have no idea what happened, but will try to figure it out!
so many things, ideas: musical, lyrical, emotional capsulated in one piece
This show of this album tour was totally awesome live, such great musicians! Cheers!
You two, get it. And it makes me smile deeply.
Thank you so much for watching!
We smoked a lot of weed listening to Zappa back in the day.
Some things never change ;)
I've been on the Zappa bus since 69,,,,, It's great to hear your views,, and your take on his stuff,,,, Keep em coming,,,,,, Well done folks,,,,,,,,,,,,
I got the poetry stuck in my head now, i want a garden.
..."where I stole the margarine" best line ever!
This is probably Zappa's most commercially successful album, and "Yellow Snow" even got some radio airplay. A good place to start, but I'm still lobbying for "Joe's Garage" to get the full album treatment one of these days. Many of his albums were thematic, and you have already done some of the songs individually, so it just makes sense to take in the whole to appreciate the songs in context. Plus, with Joe's Garage you get the added advantage of a narrator, the "Central Scrutinizer," to keep you from getting lost as the story unfolds. I love that you two are willing to commit the time to doing these full album reactions, as that was how we did it back in the 'day.' That was what brought you to my attention and caused me to get on board and subscribe to begin with. When I first stumbled across your channel, it was when you were doing "Feats Don't Fail Me Now" and Little Feat was one of my all time favorite bands. Once you had my attention, I found out you were flirting with becoming Zappa fans, and the hook was set. Anyway, thanks for what you do, it's great to hear actual musicians trying to wrap their heads around Zappa. Keep it up!
Thanks for your perspective John!
Oh snap it begins!
Indeed!
The interplay between Ruth UndErwood on Marimba and George Duke on Synthesiser is a Zappa trademark
These are the best Zappa reactions on RUclips 👌
Thank you so much!
A los 17 años oí este disco, esto fue lo primero que oí del Maestro Zappa. Me dije "esto qué es, nunca he oído nada parecido". Me reía, alucinaba con los cambios, algo me atraía poderosamente. Desde entonces llevo más de 40 años sin abandonar mi devoción por este genio único. Si he de tener una especie de dios, ese es Frank Zappa.
Definitamente! Frank tuví un talento de dios!
You say SO MUCH TRUTH - RESPECT!
Thanks Michael!
Its also interesting to note who the "real" Nanook was. Nanook was the 'star' of the famous, 1922 pioneering documentary "Nanook of the North". It was the first doc to merge drama with documentary footage, a tactic employed to this day. So, Frank may have chosen this both for the sound of the name, but also because the film was very controversial. The director set up various scenes but showed them like they naturally occurred suggesting he was making much of this up. Zappa loves contradictory things like this the documentarian who wants to be an auteur. lol Love it guys! Great reaction.
Ohhh that’s interesting! Thanks for the info!
The thing people forget about this song(s), and why it's so odd and seems to jump around, he's describing a dream he had. "I dreamed I was an Eskimo. The frozen wind began to blow..." I you think this was out there, wait till you get to the Over-Nite Sensation album and listen to Dinah-Moe Humm. You may even blush!
that would be great. Frank describing a sex act without using any so-called dirty word
Makes sense!
very nice react...I really enyoy your faces after sudden time changes, fill ins or when lyrics are "tricky"...I See you like FZ as much as I do... so nice to see ... good job ... thank you So much🙏
Thanks Frank! We’re glad you’re here!
Frank was the best of the modern composers. He synthesized avant garde classical composition, with avant garde rock.
For seriousness, see Trouble Coming Every Day.
Great review , a dream with absurd lyrics and brilliant music , I'm sure you will enjoy and appreciate the rest of the album....Cheers from down under..
Can't wait!
He helped bring attention to the slaughter and the people that played in his band omg. Steve Vai , Jean - Luc Ponty etc …
would love to see you try Zappa's "Drowning Witch/Envelopes" from "Ship arriving too late to save a drowning witch".
The MOST INSANE best! 🤩
Love this album. You have go to St Alphonso to get your eyes fixed. The ad interrupted the story
Yeah we’re gonna go back and edit that out now
@@SightAfterDark "Strictly commerciaaaalll"
What I love about listening to Zappa is that I'm constantly surprised, never bored, and often in rapture at the glorious sound and tightness of execution, or laughing out loud at the humor. Who else can, or probably ever will again, give you all that?
Well said!
I second the suggestion that you should listen to the live You Can’t Do That On Stage Anymore Volume I Yellow Snow....20 minutes long, yes, but worth every second.
Thanks!
That version includes the fifth part Rollo.
To like Frank Zappa's music you have to be pretty special. I like it because I like its versatility - he can do everything! But everything he do is also somehow special and not everyone can handle it. But for he was just brilliant and unfortunately I did realize it until later when I was a little older. Thanks for sharing and greetings from Hamburg (Germany)
Thanks so much for watching Phonebone!
Wow I had not listened to this suite for a long time, though we tend to raise our kids with the sentiment that the lyrics impart. My kids probably would have thought their dad was crazy if they heard the source of his wisdom. Thanks Frank… RIP
My mom gave me this album when it came out,i was 12. I saw him in '88. Brilliant and cracking up is the proper response.
Hell yeah! Thanks for watching!
I have a special lemonade for makers of reaction videos.
We have one for you too ;)
Back in the day we had TV (off at midnight), we had music, and we had... Zappa... a mixture of all of it, of everything!
Love it
For me the best thing about this is the fact it builds up such tension (during "St Alphonzo") and then goes utterly wild and exciting and you just can't see any reason why it should have done so.
Lol yeah its super wild
Saw him live from around the release of this album - full band - amazing. Saw him later with small group - Live in New York album. Different amazing.
U folks have been coming up lately on the blue tube lots of Zappa . Good for you/ good for me... Ruth shines here
BTW Roxy & elsewhere. Is a treat
Thanks for watching!
"This is never gonna be Top 40, this is never gonna be a hit."
Ironically, this was Zappa's biggest (and indeed only) hit to date: Apostrophe went to #10 on the Billboard album charts and a single edit of the Yellow Snow Suite went to #86 on the Hot 100.
In other words, this is some of Zappa's most mainstream "pop" music.
You guys should check out his weird stuff sometime.
did radio play it, in America?
Very interesting. Thanks!
@@bwana-ma-coo-bah425 yes, I remember hearing it on the radio back in the day, but it was probably only the cool FM stations, which where I grew up (Milwaukee hinterlands) mean WZMF, WTOS. Spaced-out and laid back DJs, doing their own programming and reading the commercials from the local "head" shops and upcoming concerts.
@@yournamehere6719 wow! thanks. I don't live in the US.
That happened here in Sweden as well. I was 17 and on the "Kvällstoppen" (Lit. "Evening Top") chart they played a new track from Apostrophe each week throughout the summer. It was the "Gateway album" for me too.
Look up the clip with Ruth Underwood as she plays "Rollo" 30 years later.
the legend written on whatever it is they write on up there told him to go trudgin across the tundra to the parish of St Alphonso
HEY, i saw REACTONS !!! WHAT's that about!? I love you for this!
In my estimation, the combination of commentary on society, combined with intense musical talent and virtuosity, which is the definition of Zappa music, and which is apparent on "Apostrophe," is unparalleled in his vast catalogue. Great review!
Thanks for watching!
One Size Fits All is at least equal to Apostrophe, and IMO a little better. I think it is Ruth's percussion section that puts it over the top for me, especially on Inca Roads...that final flourish at the end of the song became even more impressive when I saw what she had to do to play it on the video version...But the differences are slight...he was at his peak all through the seventies so much amazing stuff...
FZ could sure do gut wrenching solos. The guy was a genius with some of the best musicians around.
For sure
This is great stuff. My favorite track on the album, though, it the beautiful "Uncle Remus." I used to have this album on 8-track cassette.
We’ll be checking it out soon!
@@SightAfterDark trivia: Uncle Remus is the only song ever that Frank gave as least co-writing credit to a band member, George Duke in this case. Shows you the esteem with which Frank held George, and rightly so.
Incredibly bizarre talented individual.
He said, back in the infancy of MTV, that music will suffer because of it.
Within 20 years he was proven correct.
"Nothing is like this."
You nailed it, sir. That's why.
We have a HILARIOUS reaction to Frank Zappa HOT RATS here!- ruclips.net/video/F85KpI3tn2o/видео.html 😂
YESSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!! You guys really get it!!!! I loved Frank Zappa's music ever since my bro played them for me at age 8, and I was never the same since. I really loved your guys'es reaction. Much respect.
Thanks so much!
@@SightAfterDark You're welcome! Thankyou for these Zappa reaction videos!!! It's refreshing to know there's open-minded folks discovering these amazing songs these days. Cheers!
The crux of the biscuit is the apostrophe. Great reaction to some great tunes. PS. I'd check your audio input / output .. your video sounded like the songs had be put through a phaser/flanger or something .. sound quality wasn't great guys .. just sayin 😉
I second that. The earlier parts were awash with flanger/out of phase tone ( *that is not on the original album* ) AND the overall piece was somehow played too fast, the thing felt rushed by digital time compression. I have no idea if what we hear is the same as what you were listening to as you reacted. Check out your episode please, tell us if this distorted- sound, distorted -timing rendition is what you audited, or just what you put out.
@@jamespuleo3269 Yep ... Something is amiss !!
We definitely didn’t hear it like that. Not sure what’s going on with that
Great reaction, to Dinna mo Hum, too, hilarious. Just a remark: Nanook the eskimo is the first American documentary film ever done, around 1926. It is partially a reference to this film, the song being about a dream. And I might add, that back in the late 70s and early 80s, with the then famous Midas company of mixing table, we use to do the sound for Zappa, so I got to see how he works in rehearsals everytime he prepared a European tour, in a venue in Camden Town, London. It was serious!!
At London Hammersmith Odeon, BIrmingham (UK) Odeon and other venues in the late 1970s, I am proud to say that I both 'pounced' and 'jumped up and down on the chest of a' during the audience participation section of the Yellow Snow suite. Good times! The was always audience participation at Frank's gigs.
Amazing!