That was truly one of Frank Zappa's best tracks. Ruth Underwood on marimba,percussion, the late great George Duke on keyboards and vocals, Napoleon Murphy Brock on flute, vocals, sax etc. , Frank on guitar, Chester Thompson on drums, one of his best combos.
He made so much great music, and with so many wicked musicians it's really hard to pick favorites, but this lineup is way up there! Oh, and it's a vibraphone, not a Marimba! Ruth's brother Ian Underwood may have been off camera, or sick that night, but he was also part of that lineup on woodwinds and additional keyboards. I also second Runtt Wah: it's Tom Fowler on bass another hidden gem!
@@Bob-of-Zoid like you say, it's impossible to properly rate the lineups, but I've always been partial to the short lived Baby Snakes/Sheik Yerbouti lineup with Terry Bozzio and a pre-King Crimson Adrian Belew.
@@HisHowliness Yeah, that lineup too! Brain melting! I met both Terry Bozzio (Punky Meadows), and Belew, the latter along with Fripp, Levin, Brufford, Gunn, and mastelatto. I also met and got to know Zappa's publicist who offered me to meat him, but the stars never aligned just right before he got really sick. I was in the music business for a while and met a lot of good people, and even a few not so good ones.
I was fortunate to see them on this tour. Though being an ardent Frank Zappa fan, this song blew my mind , and has become one of my favorite Zappa tunes. Kudos to all of the musicians , especially Ruth Underwood. I think she has added so much to so many of the Zappa recordings.
It might be a good album and it might be worth checking out, but it doesn't really sound like Frank Zappa music. (The guitar sounds like Frank because it is Frank, the _compositions_ don't sound like Frank.) Actually, I wonder if that's the reason that music-critic types weirdly hold it above the rest of his discography.
Zappa's music is in a genre by itself. Zappa had the first double rock album released back in the mid '60s. Only the best musicians played for Zappa. Chester Thompson (drums) came out of Weather Report. Flo and Eddie came from the Turtles. Tom Fowler (bass) also played with his two brothers with Frank. I first saw them in '74. Tom, Bruce and Walt Fowler. Ruth (percussion) had to be one of the best in the business. NMB - In a class by himself. (Napoleon Murphy Brock) (not Neal Morse Band - Great Band) One time I saw Frank 5 times in one week. They played this song, Inca Roads. Each time the lead guitar was different, and the songs changed nightly. Where other lead guitar players take a lifetime to perfect a lead solo. Frank did a different one every night. The other drummer who teamed up with Frank and Chester was Paul Humphrey. He passed away last week. I think they're up to almost 100 albums released. Many are double, triple and quad albums. Frank had NO equal.
The reason they skipped over the discography was because it so extensive it would fill four or five pages at least. Zappa wrote songs in the style of 50's Be Bop, R & B, Hard Rock, Jazz Fusion, Musicals (200 Motels, Joe's Garage) Experimental Electronic, as well as music for Classical Symphony Orchestra. He was what you would call a Geniuses. He played a pretty good guitar as well. He had a High School buddy named Don Van Vliet who was leader of Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band. You might want to experience him as well. Later in life Van Vliet quit the music business and became one of America's top Abstract Expressionist painters.
Captain Beefheart is wicked cool too! I love brain melting music! "The worse thing that ever happened to me in my life was meeting frank Zappa!" -Captain Beefheart
@@kosta380 Put a link to your 100+ album discography, or even a single song! I'd love to see you do better than one of the highest rated musicians of the past century FOOL!
I first heard Zappa back in the late 70s , when I was 8 or 9 years old , loved it ! Now 45 years later , I have hours and hours of Zappa ! It might sound strange to some people , but Frank is in my top 5 of guitar gods ! He definitely knows how to play !
Back in the day in the mid 1970's my buddies and I used to do acid and listen to Mr Zappa. I was a music lesson kid, started lessons in 1965. Well you can imagine 👀. Frank Zappa, RIP. He never did drugs, or drank. Just smoked cigarettes. He released over 90 Albums, and has done many things that no one else has done, even beyond music. There's an amazing rabbit hole there, if you check out his life. He has a Son, Dweezel Zappa who tours and plays complete Albums of Frank's music. Warning ⚠️ Mind blowing territory. 😅 Enjoy 😉 ✌
Also....Think about ALL the work done frame by frame photography. THE DETAIL! The percision for it to all look and sound real. Remember...NO CGI back then! 👏 Wow!...Incredible!👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👍🏻😁😉❤
The wooden instrument Ruth Underwood was playing was a marimba. George Duke was the keyboardist. He and Ruth really put on a show! Man, that synth bit that George did was unreal! Other worldly! Frank's solo work was his usual out of body design.
Zappa was the one who got George (more of a classical/jazz pianist) into playing synth and singing, and George tried it reluctantly. This was not 2 years later, and obviously George can't get enough! So glad George could dig!!!
Frank Zappa and the Mothers had a lot of great musicians go through that band. Lots of great bands had members in that band, like Little Feat, The Turtles, Captain Beefheart's Magic Band, Steve Vai, Adrian Belew, Vinnie Colaiuta, etc.
One Size Fits All (the album that contains the studio version of this) was played constantly by an ex that I have. It was my first experience with Zappa. When the relationship ended, I took the album with me so I could have at least something good that came out of it.
Starting with that album, "studio" with Frank usually doesn't actually mean studio, it means live with overdubs. The basic track and also the keyboard solo on OSFA are taken from the performance above.
I know this song and this video very well, but it was fun seeing your reaction. And Frank Zappa always had exceptional musicians in his bands. This particular band was from the mid 70s.
"Most people wouldn't know good music if it bit them in the ass." -- Frank Zappa That's why I like the channel; you know good music when you hear it, and appreciate it.
Saw him in '74. Frank, Ruth, George, Chester, Ralph Humphrey, Walt, Tom and Bruce Fowler, Napoleon. What a band and performance. That was one of his best bands.
Excellent! A tricky but appropriate intro to Frank. Always appreciate when someone new to Zappa enjoys what he does. I'd recommend going back to Hot Rats or even We're Only in it For the Money (a wicked sendup of Sgt Peppers'). Enjoy and much appreciated. BTW, as far as I know, that animation was not made for this song/performance so its def distracting.
I love seeing peoples first reactions to Frank Zappa's music. I've got 105 + of Frank Zappa/ Mothers albums. As Steve Vai said. If you're ever awarded the magic of Frank Zappa's music. You will he rewarded for the rest of your life. No truer words have ever been said..
Ruth Underwood was playing marimba and either xylophone or vibraphone. And the rest of the percussion stuff. George Duke is the keyboardist and vocalist. He was primarily a jazz guy and it was Zappa who cornered him into to playing a synthesizer. Met George once. He was sitting in front of me at a performance of Zappa's compositions played by the 37 piece Abnuceals Emukkha symphony orchestra. Zappa was at the mixing board twelve seats away. George was coool. The claymation artist was Bruce Bickford who worked with Frank on multiple projects back in the '70's. A brilliant performance by all in this. Blessings.
Saw Frank in 1971 in Boston then later in the 70s with Floe and Eddy from The Turtles. Amazing! Thanks Frank...For the wonderful music and memories! A real virtuoso! A master composer!👍🏻😁😉👏
Directly into deep water with him. Best introduction to Zappa, believe me. This was his best line-up IMHO. And yes, the animation maybe a good thing in itself, but ike to see them play.
Mind blowing musicianship..... welcome to the genius that was frank Zappa, loved your reaction Salvo, genuine amazement! BTW I think the claymation was in place of lost footage from this concert.
What makes Frank Zappa totally unique is that if he never existed, it's certain we wouldn't have known what lurked in the deepest recesses of Laurel canyon
Frank pushed his players to their limits and beyond. A perfectionist through and through. His music is some of, if not, THE MOST complicated ever written. He only hired the best.
Zappa is a recognized classical composer. It would be refreshing for society to open doors to today's creative minds in music. In the 1990s, Zappa devoted most of his energy to modern orchestral and Synclavier works. Shortly before his death in 1993 he completed Civilization, Phaze III, a major Synclavier work which he had begun in the 1980s. In 1991, Zappa was chosen to be one of four featured composers at the Frankfurt Festival in 1992 (the others were John Cage, Karlheinz Stockhausen and Alexander Knaifel). Zappa was approached by the German chamber ensemble, Ensemble Modern, which was interested in playing his music for the event. Although ill, Zappa invited them to Los Angeles for rehearsals of new compositions and new arrangements of older material. In addition to being satisfied with the ensemble's performances of his music, Zappa also got along with the musicians, and the concerts in Germany and Austria were set up for the fall. In September 1992, the concerts went ahead as scheduled, but Zappa could only appear at two in Frankfurt due to illness. At the first concert, he conducted the opening "Overture", and the final "G-Spot Tornado" as well as the theatrical "Food Gathering in Post-Industrial America, 1992" and "Welcome to the United States" www.pcmsconcerts.org/composer/frank-zappa/
Zappa had different people in the band almost every tour .. Steve vai… Jean Luc ponte .. saw the band 4 or 5 times .. amazing .. he has out more albums then you would think.. and made a movie .. 200 motels .. which featured ringo Starr playing Zappa ( same nose ) please do more Zappa !
it's easy to forget you're listening to a live performance when you're watching the amazing claymation. This always going to be one of the greatest of all time.
One of the greatest composers of our time.He also has a band of beast musicians and with George Duke you can’t lose❤On Ruth!This song is a masterpiece of composition.Frank was truly a genius .Miss you Frank
Frank Zappa was a direct inspiration for Polyphia, whom are currently blowing up in popularity. They're an instrumental group that have a track featuring Steve Vai, who was a transcriber and future band member of Frank's group. The Polyphia track featuring a former member of Frank Zappa's band, Steve Vai, is called Ego Death. I highly recommend a reaction to Ego Death. It's an epic musical piece!
Keyboardist George Duke made his name as a classical pianist. When he joined Zappa's band, he had never sung or played a synthesizer; Frank bought him the latter and enticed him to play it with the teaser that he would be able to bend notes like a guitar might. He also told Frank, when asked to play some comic rock'n'roll piece, "I can't play THAT!" Obviously, he COULD and DID! The lyrics to this particular song obviously morphed as they went along, but the first verses are a verbatim recitation of Rod Serling's narration for the American made-for-TV film, "In Search of Ancient Astronauts," itself an adaptation of Erich Von Daniken's book, "Chariots of the Gods." This is one of many examples of Frank's expansive curiosity and encyclopedic knowledge; what the casual listener might assume to be pure silliness is often rooted in obscure facts. 🙏
I've known Zappa since 77 when I was a 14-year-old boy, and I can't even imagine what it would be like to hear him for the first time now in my 60s! Zappa is simply the BEST!!! ❤
And now , since 1987, I listen almost every day to Frank Zappa's outstanding, great songs.He is unique, so talented, so funny....and over all : true. I miss him so freakin' bad. like I miss my husband. Love to all FZ Fsns around the world. ❤
I LOVE it when someone hears this the first time. You will spend the next few weeks falling in love with it…so many amazing insane things going on. There’s always something more, and you realize how soulful this record is.
Ah, the memories of Zappa, whilst stoned in the 70's; time wS irrelevant, songs had loose beginnings and ends while you travelled through the imaginings of your brain. Wonderful 😊
I wish you could have seen and heard these guys live, as I did in '73 and '74 -- they were amazing. As it is, you have a wealth of studio recordings, live recordings, video recordings, and combinations of all of those (Zappa liked to pull his live solos out and drop them into "studio" records), which I did not have back in the day. Dig in!
Thank you covering FZ, you will be going down a great road!! The man was genius. One of my fav live is "Dupree's Paradise" live 1973 Stockholm. Jean Luc on the fiddle and FZ solo as usual Awesome.
Oh Yess... One of My All Time Favorite FZ Compositions... The Writing and Musicianship is Just Unmatched 😀😀😎👊👊❤️ Thanx a Mil for The Critique and Upload 😀😀😎👊💯
Inca Roads is one of my favorite songs by Frank Zappa. Hey, Salvo, if you want to have even more fun with Frank, react to his famous "Don't Eat the Yellow Snow Suite." It's a medley of interconnected songs that are hilarious and a treat to listen to. Just remember this advice from Frank, "Don't go where the huskies go, and don't you eat that..." I'll leave the rest for the song. Haha!
Yes, but please check out the full suite for context. As I teen, I introduced a musician friend of mine to this song as his first Zappa, and it was life-changing.
One of my favorites of all time, as far as social commentary is "Dumb all over"! Dang does that one draw a complete picture of the most dangerous ills of society: Politics and Religion!
That's a young George Duke on keys/vocals, Chester Thompson on Drums (Drummer for Genesis, Ruth Underwood (Vibraphone/marimbas), Tom Fowler on bass, Napoleon Brock on Tenor sax/flute/vocals ❤❤❤🎷🎸🎹🎶🎵
The claymation is taken from the movie Baby Snakes, which is a concert movie from Halloween at the Palladium in NYC '77. The whole show is interspersed with this guy's claymation and a little mini interview with him. The show is great, and the visuals are WILD!
When I met my fellow Capricorn in Boston in the '80s, I was already long a fan, and so whipped out some German lyrics from a Joe's Garage II deep cut, to indicate my actual interest. He was most charming, and my date most impressed. This song blows my mind every time. I saw him in Charlotte with the Mothers, back in the '70s. Check out his TV appearances from as far back as the '50s, I believe it was. Australian TV. He plays an upside-down bicycle on Steve Allen too as I recall. He is the US's greatest composer.
One of Frank's greatest tracks. The level of musicianship in the band in that era was absolutely top drawer and Frank specifically composed songs to take full advantage.
Being in Zappa's band was like attending Notre Dam or Stanford. If you have Zappa's band on your resume, people know you have your shite together. The number of musicians that went on to be considered elite artists and went on to other giant things. If you weren't cutting it, Frank had an interesting way of telling a musician they weren't cutting it. He would ask them, "Window or aisle"? Meaning, what is your preference on the airplane because if you don't get it together, you were on the next plane outta there. Zappa was a genius. So many greats in his band like George Duke, Ruth Underwood, Steve Vai, Chester Thompson, Terry Bozzio, Vinnie Colaiuta, Warren Cuccarullo, Bruce Fowler, Tom Fowler, Jim Gordon, Flo & Eddie, Tommy Mars, Patrick O'Hearn, Jean Luc Ponty, Jim Sherwood, Ian Underwood, and a litany of other first call session, people, stars in their own right, and future stars. It's a long list and Zappa only brought in the best who could manage to break the conventional bounds of what they had been taught previously.
Always excited to see people discover Frank. I own one of his tour road cases and a handwritten score used by his keyboardist in the early 70s. Feel free to fall into the rabbit hole of almost a hundred albums....
Thanks for the usual great reaction I had the pleasure of seeing Zappa 5 times 3 of them on Halloween in NYC I was also there for the taping of Zappa Live in NY. Frank did many live albums and as others have pointed out always got the best musicians to join the Mothers. Hard to believe 2 of the first mothers were Flo and Eddie formerly of the Turtles This is a very deep rabbit hole as Zappa has well over 100 albums. Back in the day I worked for a record and CD distributor and bootleg records of live concerts were big. Zappa started releasing a series of beat the bootlegs his own recordings of concerts. My favortie album is Overnight Sensation so many great albums like Apostrophe and Joes Garage Hard to believe Frank never did drugs in fact he always made fun of people inn the audience that did Cant wait to see your reaction to Dina Mo Hum :)
This group was one of many variations of Franks “Mothers of Invention” bands. All fantastic, if you loved the music I suggest exploring more. All the musicians that played with Frank were one of the best at what they did.
Zappa isn't just on lead guitar. If you look closely, Frank is also conducting. He had a whole system worked out where he could remix live performances on the fly. Everyone in that band is next level talent. They had to be or they couldn't keep up with that madman.
Mothers of Invention was the Pinnacle of a proper theatrical Orchestra pit... so many elements converging so artfully.. Roxy & elsewhere and one-size-fits-all are my two favorite albums... there's so much great Zappa
Welcome to Zappa! Might I request Billy The Mountain from the Mothers Live In L.A. album? You need some Flo and Eddie. BTW, that was George Duke on keys/vox. Ruth Underwood is the amazing percussionist. More Frank, please!👍🏼
Zappa happened! We took many a "trip" to his music in the 70's, especially his Freak Out album 😉🤪 Zappa is underrated as a guitarist! The weird thing is, he didn't do drugs and didn't allow drug use in his band
Talent and innovation. And pushing the limits. The things Zappa excelled at…like nobody else. That and naming his children…Moon Unit, Dweezil, Ahmet and Diva. Talent runs in the family. Check them *all* out!
That's my favorite incarnation of Frank. I grabbed this album when it came out. (One Size Fits All). The keyboardist, George Duke, was handed a synth by Frank, who told him to learn how to play it (George was mostly into trio straight ahead jazz when he joined Zappa, about three years prior to this). George was at first intimidated, then progressed into one of the most fantastic pioneers (along with Joe Zawinul and Chick Corea) of various synthesizers. Modern synths have tons of patches that mimic George's efforts. Napoleon Murphy Brock on sax and vocals was the newest member of that group at that time, and accepted the gig because he knew that incredible musicians like George and Chester Thompson (drums, from Weather Report--who would go on to back tons of artists, most famously being the rock behind Phil Collins' solo efforts through the 80s). My favorite album from the same incarnation of The Mothers is Roxy & Elsewhere. Excellent work from Tom and Bruce Fowler, with some overdubs by Walt Fowler. The Fowler Brothers are legendary musicians, who have composed for many productions, including a lot of movie work. Ruth Underwood (classical orchestra background) set the bar so high for percussionists, that the field has not been the same since. Jean-Luc Ponty and George Duke had their careers launched into the stratosphere by Frank. You owe it to yourself to check out the 70s output of them all.
For those of you who don't know, Frank played a bicycle on TV once. Yep, a bicycle. Saw Zappa 5 times in Chicago(Uptown Theater) in the 70's, tripping on acid every time. The tickets were 5-6 bucks. Frank was a musician's musician. He only hired the best. Check out his Sheik Yerbuti album, for some real fun.,
Extremely hard working musicians having a lot of fun! I like what George Duke (keyboard) said in an interview. He said that he still don't understand how they did some of the things they did in that band. You should check out George Dukes' music as well!
I grew up listening to this kind of music and a lot of other rock, prog. and other stuff. I actually kind of took it for granted assuming that there will always be new interesting bands coming on the scene...and them the 80's showed up.
For the discography you have to click the button that says "Frank Zappa discography" and takes you to a separate article. He has so many albums it's not worth making two copies and they just link to the discog article instead.
Introduced my (younger) wife to Frank’s music via a Dweezil Zappa tour date of his band playing his dad’s music. She was impressed at the musicianship that we went to see them the following year (not my birthday treat this time). Covid has spoiled our fun since. I was introduced to Frank zappa way back when (around 1965) when my 55 year old father found a European (Dutch I think) radio station playing something of his. Dad thought it interesting and challenging, liked it and we investigated the underground scene together thereafter.
not "all" of it: "The Dangerous Kitchen" & "Jazz Discharge Party Hats" are 2 examples of fixed lyrics with freeform "illustrative" accompaniments & many compositions include improvisational segments. too, there're the experiments with xenochrony (such as "Rubber Shirt") where unrelated tracks (bass & drums in the case of "Rubber Shirt") are superimposed to hear what happens: the initial tracks/notes may be (as Frank said) "more or less specified" but the results're not pre-scored.
Another artist who is very proficient at free-form jazz improvisation is Chick Corea (1941-2021). His stuff is just as innovative, incorporates a variety of jazz-fusion instruments, and is fairly progressive in nature. He's not as flashy and psychedelic as Frank, but he's definitely worth checking out.
![I.N "HALLUCINATION" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/n5B5q1Hwt_U/mqdefault.jpg)
That was truly one of Frank Zappa's best tracks. Ruth Underwood on marimba,percussion, the late great George Duke on keyboards and vocals, Napoleon Murphy Brock on flute, vocals, sax etc. , Frank on guitar, Chester Thompson on drums, one of his best combos.
And Tom Fowler on bass.
He made so much great music, and with so many wicked musicians it's really hard to pick favorites, but this lineup is way up there! Oh, and it's a vibraphone, not a Marimba! Ruth's brother Ian Underwood may have been off camera, or sick that night, but he was also part of that lineup on woodwinds and additional keyboards. I also second Runtt Wah: it's Tom Fowler on bass another hidden gem!
@@Bob-of-Zoid like you say, it's impossible to properly rate the lineups, but I've always been partial to the short lived Baby Snakes/Sheik Yerbouti lineup with Terry Bozzio and a pre-King Crimson Adrian Belew.
@@HisHowliness Yeah, that lineup too! Brain melting!
I met both Terry Bozzio (Punky Meadows), and Belew, the latter along with Fripp, Levin, Brufford, Gunn, and mastelatto. I also met and got to know Zappa's publicist who offered me to meat him, but the stars never aligned just right before he got really sick. I was in the music business for a while and met a lot of good people, and even a few not so good ones.
@@Bob-of-Zoid Ruth plays both a marimba and vibraphone on this song. Ian is her husband, not her brother.
Zappa was a musical genius and to be able to play his charts you had to be an incredible musician.
I know a guy who made the tryouts and then chickened out!
A genius of boring assholes 😂😂
I was fortunate to see them on this tour. Though being an ardent Frank Zappa fan, this song blew my mind , and has become one of my favorite Zappa tunes. Kudos to all of the musicians , especially Ruth Underwood. I think she has added so much to so many of the Zappa recordings.
"Peaches en Regalia" is another great jazz fusion classic from Frank and the Mothers. Worth checking out!
Hot Rats was actually Frank's first solo album. No mothers for Peaches!
It might be a good album and it might be worth checking out, but it doesn't really sound like Frank Zappa music. (The guitar sounds like Frank because it is Frank, the _compositions_ don't sound like Frank.) Actually, I wonder if that's the reason that music-critic types weirdly hold it above the rest of his discography.
Yes. And "Blessed Relief. "👍
It's a wonderful tune. And so much ahead of it's time.
Zappa's music is in a genre by itself. Zappa had the first double rock album released back in the mid '60s. Only the best musicians played for Zappa. Chester Thompson (drums) came out of Weather Report. Flo and Eddie came from the Turtles. Tom Fowler (bass) also played with his two brothers with Frank. I first saw them in '74. Tom, Bruce and Walt Fowler. Ruth (percussion) had to be one of the best in the business. NMB - In a class by himself. (Napoleon Murphy Brock) (not Neal Morse Band - Great Band) One time I saw Frank 5 times in one week. They played this song, Inca Roads. Each time the lead guitar was different, and the songs changed nightly. Where other lead guitar players take a lifetime to perfect a lead solo. Frank did a different one every night. The other drummer who teamed up with Frank and Chester was Paul Humphrey. He passed away last week. I think they're up to almost 100 albums released. Many are double, triple and quad albums. Frank had NO equal.
Right, but Bob Dylan's Blonde on Blonde was the first double to come out (one or two weeks early)
You are so lucky to witness this.
You forgot George Duke on keys!
@@daddyboy3546 Shame on me. Sorry George.
This comment was so cool to see I wish I could've seen as much as you have live. I swear I was born in the wrong generation
Vibraphonist Ruth Underwood is just incredible, his session players are always top-tier but she always astounds me with her precision and speed
And you can see she really loves playing all the intrincate parts Frank would write for her.
I want to marry her.
@@progger53 Her smile !!!
Zappas shit music without sense, is suitable for flushing the toilet 🤣 🤣 🤣
The reason they skipped over the discography was because it so extensive it would fill four or five pages at least. Zappa wrote songs in the style of 50's Be Bop, R & B, Hard Rock, Jazz Fusion, Musicals (200 Motels, Joe's Garage) Experimental Electronic, as well as music for Classical Symphony Orchestra. He was what you would call a Geniuses. He played a pretty good guitar as well. He had a High School buddy named Don Van Vliet who was leader of Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band. You might want to experience him as well. Later in life Van Vliet quit the music business and became one of America's top Abstract Expressionist painters.
Captain Beefheart is wicked cool too! I love brain melting music!
"The worse thing that ever happened to me in my life was meeting frank Zappa!" -Captain Beefheart
Zappa was garbage
@@kosta380 Put a link to your 100+ album discography, or even a single song! I'd love to see you do better than one of the highest rated musicians of the past century FOOL!
@@kosta380 🤣
I first heard Zappa back in the late 70s , when I was 8 or 9 years old , loved it ! Now 45 years later , I have hours and hours of Zappa ! It might sound strange to some people , but Frank is in my top 5 of guitar gods ! He definitely knows how to play !
Back in the day in the mid 1970's my buddies and I used to do acid and listen to Mr Zappa. I was a music lesson kid, started lessons in 1965. Well you can imagine 👀.
Frank Zappa, RIP. He never did drugs, or drank. Just smoked cigarettes.
He released over 90 Albums, and has done many things that no one else has done, even beyond music.
There's an amazing rabbit hole there, if you check out his life.
He has a Son, Dweezel Zappa who tours and plays complete Albums of Frank's music.
Warning ⚠️ Mind blowing territory. 😅 Enjoy 😉 ✌
Yes he did. He drank coffee as his drug. Lotsa coffee.
Also....Think about ALL the work done frame by frame photography. THE DETAIL! The percision for it to all look and sound real. Remember...NO CGI back then! 👏 Wow!...Incredible!👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👍🏻😁😉❤
And The 🎶 🎵!!!!!...Need I say more?!!!👍🏻😁😉❤👏👏👏👏
The wooden instrument Ruth Underwood was playing was a marimba. George Duke was the keyboardist. He and Ruth really put on a show! Man, that synth bit that George did was unreal! Other worldly! Frank's solo work was his usual out of body design.
Zappa was the one who got George (more of a classical/jazz pianist) into playing synth and singing, and George tried it reluctantly. This was not 2 years later, and obviously George can't get enough! So glad George could dig!!!
It's actually xylophone.
@@nazfrde It's a marimba. Specially modified by Frank to have a pick-up on every note.
My first Zappa album.. will always hold a special place in my heart. Thanks for checking this one out!
zoot allures was my first, rap like a dummy actually works.
@@yekimem👍👍 find her Finer. 😉
Frank Zappa and the Mothers had a lot of great musicians go through that band. Lots of great bands had members in that band, like Little Feat, The Turtles, Captain Beefheart's Magic Band, Steve Vai, Adrian Belew, Vinnie Colaiuta, etc.
One Size Fits All (the album that contains the studio version of this) was played constantly by an ex that I have. It was my first experience with Zappa. When the relationship ended, I took the album with me so I could have at least something good that came out of it.
"Hey! I want my album back!"
What I heard in my head! "Take the cat, leave Frank!"
Well, sounds like you made the right choice!😜
Starting with that album, "studio" with Frank usually doesn't actually mean studio, it means live with overdubs. The basic track and also the keyboard solo on OSFA are taken from the performance above.
I know this song and this video very well, but it was fun seeing your reaction. And Frank Zappa always had exceptional musicians in his bands. This particular band was from the mid 70s.
"Most people wouldn't know good music if it bit them in the ass." -- Frank Zappa
That's why I like the channel; you know good music when you hear it, and appreciate it.
Mind blowing for sure. Probably the best group in zappa history. He played with many musicians throughout the years.
Saw him in '74. Frank, Ruth, George, Chester, Ralph Humphrey, Walt, Tom and Bruce Fowler, Napoleon. What a band and performance. That was one of his best bands.
Excellent! A tricky but appropriate intro to Frank. Always appreciate when someone new to Zappa enjoys what he does. I'd recommend going back to Hot Rats or even We're Only in it For the Money (a wicked sendup of Sgt Peppers'). Enjoy and much appreciated.
BTW, as far as I know, that animation was not made for this song/performance so its def distracting.
We’re only in it, first album I ever bought, along with Lumpy Gravy…brilliant. From an old acid head.
I love seeing peoples first reactions to Frank Zappa's music. I've got 105 + of Frank Zappa/ Mothers albums. As Steve Vai said. If you're ever awarded the magic of Frank Zappa's music. You will he rewarded for the rest of your life. No truer words have ever been said..
Zappa was a genius. So many great musicians learned their craft from him. His music was incredibly complex.
Ruth Underwood was playing marimba and either xylophone or vibraphone. And the rest of the percussion stuff.
George Duke is the keyboardist and vocalist. He was primarily a jazz guy and it was Zappa who cornered him into to playing a synthesizer. Met George once. He was sitting in front of me at a performance of Zappa's compositions played by the 37 piece Abnuceals Emukkha symphony orchestra. Zappa was at the mixing board twelve seats away. George was coool.
The claymation artist was Bruce Bickford who worked with Frank on multiple projects back in the '70's.
A brilliant performance by all in this. Blessings.
I MEAN...Clay Figures! Are you KIDDING me!?! Should have gotten a Academy Award!👏👏👏👏👍🏻😁😉❤
Saw Frank in 1971 in Boston then later in the 70s with Floe and Eddy from The Turtles. Amazing! Thanks Frank...For the wonderful music and memories! A real virtuoso! A master composer!👍🏻😁😉👏
Directly into deep water with him. Best introduction to Zappa, believe me. This was his best line-up IMHO. And yes, the animation maybe a good thing in itself, but ike to see them play.
It's so funny seeing people+s first reaction to Zappa's work :)
You're just scratching the surface of Zappa's universe. Enjoy it.
Mind blowing musicianship..... welcome to the genius that was frank Zappa, loved your reaction Salvo, genuine amazement! BTW I think the claymation was in place of lost footage from this concert.
What makes Frank Zappa totally unique is that if he never existed, it's certain we wouldn't have known what lurked in the deepest recesses of Laurel canyon
SalvoG, you just passed the "acid test" with this video reaction. Zappa's musical art was unique. Sadly, Frank Zappa died way too soon.
You will be unpacking Zappa for the rest of your life. I’ve been listening for 35 years at this point and still hear new stuff every time.
Frank pushed his players to their limits and beyond. A perfectionist through and through. His music is some of, if not, THE MOST complicated ever written. He only hired the best.
Zappa is a recognized classical composer. It would be refreshing for society to open doors to today's creative minds in music.
In the 1990s, Zappa devoted most of his energy to modern orchestral and Synclavier works. Shortly before his death in 1993 he completed Civilization, Phaze III, a major Synclavier work which he had begun in the 1980s. In 1991, Zappa was chosen to be one of four featured composers at the Frankfurt Festival in 1992 (the others were John Cage, Karlheinz Stockhausen and Alexander Knaifel). Zappa was approached by the German chamber ensemble, Ensemble Modern, which was interested in playing his music for the event. Although ill, Zappa invited them to Los Angeles for rehearsals of new compositions and new arrangements of older material. In addition to being satisfied with the ensemble's performances of his music, Zappa also got along with the musicians, and the concerts in Germany and Austria were set up for the fall. In September 1992, the concerts went ahead as scheduled, but Zappa could only appear at two in Frankfurt due to illness. At the first concert, he conducted the opening "Overture", and the final "G-Spot Tornado" as well as the theatrical "Food Gathering in Post-Industrial America, 1992" and "Welcome to the United States"
www.pcmsconcerts.org/composer/frank-zappa/
Zappa had different people in the band almost every tour .. Steve vai… Jean Luc ponte .. saw the band 4 or 5 times .. amazing .. he has out more albums then you would think.. and made a movie .. 200 motels .. which featured ringo Starr playing Zappa ( same nose ) please do more Zappa !
it's easy to forget you're listening to a live performance when you're watching the amazing claymation.
This always going to be one of the greatest of all time.
One of the greatest composers of our time.He also has a band of beast musicians and with George Duke you can’t lose❤On Ruth!This song is a masterpiece of composition.Frank was truly a genius .Miss you Frank
Frank Zappa was a direct inspiration for Polyphia, whom are currently blowing up in popularity. They're an instrumental group that have a track featuring Steve Vai, who was a transcriber and future band member of Frank's group. The Polyphia track featuring a former member of Frank Zappa's band, Steve Vai, is called Ego Death. I highly recommend a reaction to Ego Death. It's an epic musical piece!
Keyboardist George Duke made his name as a classical pianist. When he joined Zappa's band, he had never sung or played a synthesizer; Frank bought him the latter and enticed him to play it with the teaser that he would be able to bend notes like a guitar might. He also told Frank, when asked to play some comic rock'n'roll piece, "I can't play THAT!" Obviously, he COULD and DID!
The lyrics to this particular song obviously morphed as they went along, but the first verses are a verbatim recitation of Rod Serling's narration for the American made-for-TV film, "In Search of Ancient Astronauts," itself an adaptation of Erich Von Daniken's book, "Chariots of the Gods." This is one of many examples of Frank's expansive curiosity and encyclopedic knowledge; what the casual listener might assume to be pure silliness is often rooted in obscure facts. 🙏
I've known Zappa since 77 when I was a 14-year-old boy, and I can't even imagine what it would be like to hear him for the first time now in my 60s!
Zappa is simply the BEST!!! ❤
Could shit Zappa play Guitar with his ugly Nose? 🤣
One of my favorite songs truly the best saw him 5times
A brilliant composition and arrangement. This ensemble had Frank's music in their blood.
Mind boggling performance by all.
I love it when young folks discover the great stuff we grew up with for the past 60 years.
And now , since 1987, I listen almost every day to Frank Zappa's outstanding, great songs.He is unique, so talented, so funny....and over all : true. I miss him so freakin' bad. like I miss my husband.
Love to all FZ Fsns around the world. ❤
I still play this track it's on my playlist glad you enjoyed it
Superb tune from a superb video & album with top musicians under a Master Musician/Composer's direction.
Ruth Underwood on xylophone and percussion, George Duke on keyboards/ vocalist, Napoleon Murphy Brock Vocals, flute, sax and extreme dancing.
Remember, this was all written. By hand.. No computers. Every note came out of his head and onto paper. Genius.
I LOVE it when someone hears this the first time. You will spend the next few weeks falling in love with it…so many amazing insane things going on. There’s always something more, and you realize how soulful this record is.
The unbelievable genius that is Frank Zappa!!
Ah, the memories of Zappa, whilst stoned in the 70's; time wS irrelevant, songs had loose beginnings and ends while you travelled through the imaginings of your brain. Wonderful 😊
I wish you could have seen and heard these guys live, as I did in '73 and '74 -- they were amazing. As it is, you have a wealth of studio recordings, live recordings, video recordings, and combinations of all of those (Zappa liked to pull his live solos out and drop them into "studio" records), which I did not have back in the day. Dig in!
Thank you covering FZ, you will be going down a great road!! The man was genius. One of my fav live is "Dupree's Paradise" live 1973 Stockholm. Jean Luc on the fiddle and FZ solo as usual Awesome.
He had different bands at different times. This was probably one of his most foundational line-ups. But it’s hard to pick just one. All unique
Oh Yess... One of My All Time Favorite FZ Compositions... The Writing and Musicianship is Just Unmatched 😀😀😎👊👊❤️ Thanx a Mil for The Critique and Upload 😀😀😎👊💯
..On Ruth On Ruth....That's Ruth 😀😀😎👊💯💯💝💝
Inca Roads is one of my favorite songs by Frank Zappa. Hey, Salvo, if you want to have even more fun with Frank, react to his famous "Don't Eat the Yellow Snow Suite." It's a medley of interconnected songs that are hilarious and a treat to listen to. Just remember this advice from Frank, "Don't go where the huskies go, and don't you eat that..." I'll leave the rest for the song. Haha!
Yes, but please check out the full suite for context. As I teen, I introduced a musician friend of mine to this song as his first Zappa, and it was life-changing.
Especially the performance from the Hammersmith with the "I want a garden" section.
One of my favorites of all time, as far as social commentary is "Dumb all over"! Dang does that one draw a complete picture of the most dangerous ills of society: Politics and Religion!
Without the shit ugly zappa, the music World would be much better 😂
........A LITTLE ugly on the side 😅
That's a young George Duke on keys/vocals, Chester Thompson on Drums (Drummer for Genesis, Ruth Underwood (Vibraphone/marimbas), Tom Fowler on bass, Napoleon Brock on Tenor sax/flute/vocals ❤❤❤🎷🎸🎹🎶🎵
That guitar tone is so wonderful. Zappa is a god.
The claymation is taken from the movie Baby Snakes, which is a concert movie from Halloween at the Palladium in NYC '77. The whole show is interspersed with this guy's claymation and a little mini interview with him. The show is great, and the visuals are WILD!
Loved seeing you experience that. What virtuoso heaven.
When I met my fellow Capricorn in Boston in the '80s, I was already long a fan, and so whipped out some German lyrics from a Joe's Garage II deep cut, to indicate my actual interest. He was most charming, and my date most impressed. This song blows my mind every time. I saw him in Charlotte with the Mothers, back in the '70s.
Check out his TV appearances from as far back as the '50s, I believe it was. Australian TV. He plays an upside-down bicycle on Steve Allen too as I recall. He is the US's greatest composer.
Welcome to the wonderful world of Frank Zappa. SO much great music. A true genius.
Ruth Underwood is phenomenal.
I never grow tired of watching Ruth play. There’s so much joy in her performances.
She's legendary!
Without the shit ugly zappa, the music World would be much better 🤣 😊
Well summed up with “Super Trippey!!” 👍🏼 Loving the tempo changes! 👍🏼❤️😍
In an interview, George Duke (keyboards and vocals in what you see here) said that this band "could play anything."
One of Frank's greatest tracks. The level of musicianship in the band in that era was absolutely top drawer and Frank specifically composed songs to take full advantage.
Being in Zappa's band was like attending Notre Dam or Stanford. If you have Zappa's band on your resume, people know you have your shite together. The number of musicians that went on to be considered elite artists and went on to other giant things. If you weren't cutting it, Frank had an interesting way of telling a musician they weren't cutting it. He would ask them, "Window or aisle"? Meaning, what is your preference on the airplane because if you don't get it together, you were on the next plane outta there. Zappa was a genius. So many greats in his band like George Duke, Ruth Underwood, Steve Vai, Chester Thompson, Terry Bozzio, Vinnie Colaiuta, Warren Cuccarullo, Bruce Fowler, Tom Fowler, Jim Gordon, Flo & Eddie, Tommy Mars, Patrick O'Hearn, Jean Luc Ponty, Jim Sherwood, Ian Underwood, and a litany of other first call session, people, stars in their own right, and future stars. It's a long list and Zappa only brought in the best who could manage to break the conventional bounds of what they had been taught previously.
May I also say that the legendary George Duke is killing it on vocals and keybords.
My reaction to first hearing zappa was pretty much the same, Frank was an amazing artist
Always excited to see people discover Frank. I own one of his tour road cases and a handwritten score used by his keyboardist in the early 70s. Feel free to fall into the rabbit hole of almost a hundred albums....
Thanks for the usual great reaction I had the pleasure of seeing Zappa 5 times 3 of them on Halloween in NYC I was also there for the taping of Zappa Live in NY. Frank did many live albums and as others have pointed out always got the best musicians to join the Mothers. Hard to believe 2 of the first mothers were Flo and Eddie formerly of the Turtles This is a very deep rabbit hole as Zappa has well over 100 albums. Back in the day I worked for a record and CD distributor and bootleg records of live concerts were big. Zappa started releasing a series of beat the bootlegs his own recordings of concerts. My favortie album is Overnight Sensation so many great albums like Apostrophe and Joes Garage Hard to believe Frank never did drugs in fact he always made fun of people inn the audience that did Cant wait to see your reaction to Dina Mo Hum :)
Attended five FZ concerts while during my time at Michigan State University in mid-70's. Phenomenal musicians all lead my incomparable FZ, may he RIP!
I enjoyed watching you listen to zappa I have enjoyed zappa since I was a teenager
This group was one of many variations of Franks “Mothers of Invention” bands. All fantastic, if you loved the music I suggest exploring more. All the musicians that played with Frank were one of the best at what they did.
it's really funny watching someone experience zappa for the first time
Zappa isn't just on lead guitar. If you look closely, Frank is also conducting. He had a whole system worked out where he could remix live performances on the fly. Everyone in that band is next level talent. They had to be or they couldn't keep up with that madman.
That's my all time favorite guitarist right there👆
Mothers of Invention was the Pinnacle of a proper theatrical Orchestra pit... so many elements converging so artfully.. Roxy & elsewhere and one-size-fits-all are my two favorite albums... there's so much great Zappa
As a prog fan, never considered Zappa prog. He's in a class by himself!!
Welcome to Zappa! Might I request Billy The Mountain from the Mothers Live In L.A. album? You need some Flo and Eddie. BTW, that was George Duke on keys/vox. Ruth Underwood is the amazing percussionist. More Frank, please!👍🏼
BTM is better on Playground Psychotics.
Zappa.....a different level
Zappa happened! We took many a "trip" to his music in the 70's, especially his Freak Out album 😉🤪 Zappa is underrated as a guitarist! The weird thing is, he didn't do drugs and didn't allow drug use in his band
He's not underrated.
George Duke on keys. Followed Zappa since the early 70's. Other world stuff. Love-fest!!!
Talent and innovation. And pushing the limits. The things Zappa excelled at…like nobody else. That and naming his children…Moon Unit, Dweezil, Ahmet and Diva. Talent runs in the family. Check them *all* out!
Of all the bands Frank had, this lineup was my favorite.
Frank Zappa - guitar, backing vocals
George Duke - lead vocals, keyboards, synthesizer
Napoleon Murphy Brock - flute, tenor saxophone, backing vocals
Tom Fowler - bass
Chester Thompson - drums
Ruth Underwood - vibes, marimba, percussion
That's my favorite incarnation of Frank. I grabbed this album when it came out. (One Size Fits All). The keyboardist, George Duke, was handed a synth by Frank, who told him to learn how to play it (George was mostly into trio straight ahead jazz when he joined Zappa, about three years prior to this). George was at first intimidated, then progressed into one of the most fantastic pioneers (along with Joe Zawinul and Chick Corea) of various synthesizers. Modern synths have tons of patches that mimic George's efforts. Napoleon Murphy Brock on sax and vocals was the newest member of that group at that time, and accepted the gig because he knew that incredible musicians like George and Chester Thompson (drums, from Weather Report--who would go on to back tons of artists, most famously being the rock behind Phil Collins' solo efforts through the 80s). My favorite album from the same incarnation of The Mothers is Roxy & Elsewhere. Excellent work from Tom and Bruce Fowler, with some overdubs by Walt Fowler. The Fowler Brothers are legendary musicians, who have composed for many productions, including a lot of movie work. Ruth Underwood (classical orchestra background) set the bar so high for percussionists, that the field has not been the same since. Jean-Luc Ponty and George Duke had their careers launched into the stratosphere by Frank. You owe it to yourself to check out the 70s output of them all.
For those of you who don't know, Frank played a bicycle on TV once. Yep, a bicycle. Saw Zappa 5 times in Chicago(Uptown Theater) in the 70's, tripping on acid every time. The tickets were 5-6 bucks. Frank was a musician's musician. He only hired the best. Check out his Sheik Yerbuti album, for some real fun.,
Extremely hard working musicians having a lot of fun! I like what George Duke (keyboard) said in an interview. He said that he still don't understand how they did some of the things they did in that band. You should check out George Dukes' music as well!
We have just waited for this... (and we know it will continue).
I grew up listening to this kind of music and a lot of other rock, prog. and other stuff. I actually kind of took it for granted assuming that there will always be new interesting bands coming on the scene...and them the 80's showed up.
For the discography you have to click the button that says "Frank Zappa discography" and takes you to a separate article. He has so many albums it's not worth making two copies and they just link to the discog article instead.
13:00 The lady is Ruth Underwood ...On Ruth on Ruth that's Ruth !
The keyboardist George Duke has many albums of his own...one of my favorite artists.
Introduced my (younger) wife to Frank’s music via a Dweezil Zappa tour date of his band playing his dad’s music. She was impressed at the musicianship that we went to see them the following year (not my birthday treat this time). Covid has spoiled our fun since.
I was introduced to Frank zappa way back when (around 1965) when my 55 year old father found a European (Dutch I think) radio station playing something of his. Dad thought it interesting and challenging, liked it and we investigated the underground scene together thereafter.
You’re in for a treat,
Little Brother!!😂
Frank was a creative genius and a GOAT on guitar.
Do a live of anything.
You can hear Zappa's influence on Mike Patton, especially in Mr Bungle.
Zappa was a genius. And all his music was scored. His musicians were fabulous.
not "all" of it: "The Dangerous Kitchen" & "Jazz Discharge Party Hats" are 2 examples of fixed lyrics with freeform "illustrative" accompaniments & many compositions include improvisational segments. too, there're the experiments with xenochrony (such as "Rubber Shirt") where unrelated tracks (bass & drums in the case of "Rubber Shirt") are superimposed to hear what happens: the initial tracks/notes may be (as Frank said) "more or less specified" but the results're not pre-scored.
A trip to Planet Zappa always gives good perspective.
The animation was done for video for song City of tiny lights, watch that brilliant track.
Another artist who is very proficient at free-form jazz improvisation is Chick Corea (1941-2021). His stuff is just as innovative, incorporates a variety of jazz-fusion instruments, and is fairly progressive in nature. He's not as flashy and psychedelic as Frank, but he's definitely worth checking out.