Classical Composer Reacts to Don't Eat the Yellow Snow Suite (Frank Zappa) | The Daily Doug (Ep 287) 

Frank Zappa belongs in the category of great American composers.

8:46 Doug: "This is storytelling in its finest, my friend" Zappa: *"Great Googly Moogly!"*

And I must say, anyone who can fit the words "unmitigated audacity" into lyrics, is a legend.

My dad raised us on this record. As kids, we thought it was the most hysterical thing we had ever heard. As we grew up and all became musicians ourselves, we began to recognize the musical genius behind the comedy. I totally remember being 6 yrs old dancing around the living room in our PJ's w my brothers to this opus! Great job, dad!

The entire album is incredible! Those who know, know... ♫ The crux of the biscuit, is the apostrophe ♫

Frank Zappa, an absolute musical genius, there will never be another like him.

I miss the Zappa effect... when you're trying to comprehend a complex musical phrase but all the oxygen in your brain is needed for laughing.

Ralph Humphrey delivers an absolutely underappreciated drumming masterclass on these tracks. It's absolutely epic, and incredibly difficult. Ralph is awesome.

Tightest band since Glen Miller. They rock, they swing, they samba, and that’s usually all in one song.

I'm glad you enjoyed this. Frank Zappa was a genius, funny as hell and is sadly missed.

TY Doug! "A composer is a guy who goes around forcing his will on unsuspecting air molecules, often with the assistance of unsuspecting musicians." ~ Frank Zappa

Lots of people get really lost in Zappa's lyrics, and it totally distracts from them listening to the music and studio wizardry going on behind the mirth... listen to it again, and listen to the genius of the percussion, the backing vocals...

Frank was a genius. Its great to see all these other fans of Frank on here.

Doug, as a composer, you should definitely check out Zappa's The Black Page.

As a general tip: Frank Zappa has made a LOT of music. What you're listening here to is actually NOT off the beaten track for Zappa standards. Things can get a lot, lot weirder. For instance: try the album Civilization Phaze III.

Frank Zappa......one of the most brilliant composers EVER !!

Ruth Underwood is one of my favorite musicians, of all time, Zappa was so fortunate to have stumbled across her

Fun fact: Frank passed on with enough music for nearly 70 albums in the vault that has never been on record.

The background singers on the album are Tina Turner and the Ikettes

Zappa was a gift. Humour and Jazz sensibilities. He will be missed.

Zappa was the best independent producer in the history of music 😎😎😎

Liked before watching, we need more Zappa on the channel! He deserves the analysis.

Love seeing a fellow trained musician be introduced to the genius that is Frank Zappa. The more you know his repertoire the more you can see the 'conceptional continuity' across his body of work. He is a fascinating artist to get to know through his music and written and video archives. Side note - he re-released all or most of his albums through Ryko disc in the years leading up to his death. Many of these albums have changes to solo section or other interesting things added or removed by Zappa himself. A Noteworthy change is the album Sleep Dirt, which was somewhat of a rock opera idea if I recall correctly, the original LP release did not have lyrics and was entirely instrumental however the re-release does have the vocals. Also interesting to learn about his history with record labels and censorship particularly as it pertained to US law. So glad I found your little corner of the internet today! Happy New Year!

Once you love and listen to Zappa, you will know every riff, lick and timing change. Its awesome.. such amazing structures and songs.. i.e. Here are the "Apostrophes" from the Album title: "It doesn't, and you can't, I won't, and it don't it hasn't, it isn't, it even ain't, and it shouldn't it couldn't" (within the last dozen lines on lyrics on the last track, "Stinkfoot") So clever..

The thumbnail is pretty much my reaction listening to the whole thing.

OUI: Is your sex life as weird as your music? ZAPPA: What makes you think my music is weird? OUI: Just a preconception that many of us have. ZAPPA: First of all, you have to get rid of your preconceptions. You’re talking to a human being who happens to be pretty intelligent, who works real hard to do what he does - and there’s nothing weird about that at all. Remember, I’m rational. I think you’re weird. What’s weird about my music? As an accurate journalist and a person with a conscience, it’s your job to bring the truth to the people of the world. There isn’t anything weird about my music. Weird is a skeleton in the closet, wearing a rubber mask with warts all over its nose, and all that kind of shit. That’s not what I do. The thing that makes my music unusual is that people only hear one kind of music all the time over the radio. It’s wallpaper to their lives. Audile wallpaper. There’s one acceptable beat and there are three acceptable chord progressions. There are five acceptable words: baby, love, tears, yat yat. Just because I don’t deal in those terms doesn’t mean I’m weird. So tell these people: I ain’t weird; I’m rational. I’m a person who can choose to write stuff like that, or choose to write stuff that includes all the notes on the piano played at once, followed by a cement truck driving over the piano, followed by a small atomic explosion. Nothing weird about that as long as you do it in a meaningful way.

‘Apostrophe!’ and the following album ‘Overnight Sensation’ were really a musical awakening for me when I heard them as a teenager. The orchestration, arrangements, the musicianship is next level but the humor and satire in the lyrics is also brilliant.

I love Zappa, and grew up listening to this album, Joe's Garage, and others. Thank you for giving this a listen. The review and commentary was priceless!

Would be fascinating to watcha reaction to one of Zappa's actual classical compositions.

You should react to the entire album. Apostophe is one of the best of all time. Check Uncle Remus out! it's amazing. George Duke piano is beautiful

Seamless jumps from one incongruous location to another, religious subtext, abrupt unresolved ending. This is how my dreams work too.

Oh man this took me back! My best friend's stepfather played this for us when we were about 11. It was my first introduction to Zappa & we were rolling hysterically! What a great flashback. I must say that Zappa's "The Adventures of Greggery Peccary" is also very funny & entertaining & would fit in well as a Weird Wednesday selection.

And I hope you get to the G-spot tornado eventually. I get exhausted just listening to it, wondering at the end what just hit me. I've been priviledged to be at a live performance of the complete Yellow Shark in the beginning of 2019 (played by Ensemble Insomnio), which included the ballet with G-spot tornado. Totally amazing.

Looking forward to this. Next up Joe’s Garage I hope 😂

"Nanook of the North" is an amazing silent film from 1922, which MUST Be Experienced!

Omg! This was top class, dude! 😂! Loving the vibes off you experiencing this. So jealous! Wish I could re-listen to Zappa for the first time again. My mind was blown off its hinges. 😎✌️

Watermelon in Easter Hay is, for me, the modern equivalent to Beethoven's 5th. An evocative, yet seemingly simple progression that cannot be forgotten.

Doug there is so much Zappa out there that will blow your mind. Grand Wazoo and Sleep Dirt are 2 orchestrated instrumental albums worth exploring.

"hit me with a dog doo snowcone" LMBO ahahaha and the doggy wee wee crystals

Frank is one of the best composers there is

Zappa felt most of the words in his compositions aren't all the deep/meaingful/what-the-song-is-about. It's the notes, intonation, composition, and timing. I love your reviews, but I was hoping for much more about the music and less about the story. There are some amazing drum fills with the vocals. Yellow Snow Suite is most often the intro to Zappa for eventual fans. I will recommend: "Muffin Man" from Bongo Fury as a storytelling, "Montana" from One Size Fits All for the humor and music talent, and 'Peaches en Regalia' from Hot Rats as a great instrumental work.,

Like metal Mondays, there should be a day of the week just for zappa and musicians that he played with.

When I first listened to it I was too young to understand it (both my music knowledge and my English were too weak) but now I realise than beyond his image Zappa was an amazing musician. Thanks for sharing.

excellent so glad you are loving this. Frank is sorely missed. I saw him twice live ..

The entirety of this album is absolutely fantastic. Every song hits.

"G-Spot Tornado" is a great thing to react to. But then, so are HUNDREDS of other Zappa's songs... :-)

It's fun to watch you discovering these gems! Thank you for reminding us of this great composer!

The live performances of this in it’s entirety crushes the album version in my humble opinion. Any performance but especially but also not limited to the Passaic New Jersey concert and the one where mr Tommy Mars forgets his queue to come in and Frank brings the whole band down to point it out and highlight him actually doing it

Long time Zappa fan here. I was lucky enough to see him live back in the 70's. Frank was a musical genius in a league of his own. Everything he did was out of this world. Some cuts are better than others (subjective) but everything is great and some are just spectacularly fun - this suite is one of them. You can't go wrong with Zappa - hope you get hooked and do more vids on him!

Cosmik Debris is a must listen on this album IMO. Love this album. Absolute Classic!

THE Plague of the Lighthouse Keeper...VanDerGraff Generator, slightly odd prog!!! Keep going down the Frank Zappa & Captain Beefheart rabbit hole...Many great gems to find and discover!! Joe's Garage album in its entirety is a treat to listen to...FZ ❤

Frank would appreciate this reaction👍👍

Nanook of the North is a well known silent film from 1922, so the name "Nanook" was kind of a stereotype that everyone would have recognized with the song came out.

Thinking maybe I ought to prepare a pancake breakfast in honor of St Alphonzo in order to accompany this video.

If you've never seen it, there's a great video of Ruth Underwood describing how Frank convinced her to let them drill holes in her marimba to make it electric so she could travel with the band. She also shows some of Frank's beautiful manuscript he'd write on the fly. The video is called The Mallets of Invention. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-YSavN19ZJ4g.html

I love coming across this and seeing you discover this for the first time... you really appreciate this and it shows.

The album that got me hook at 14 years of age. That guitar being tortured in the background, fat Bass, the quality of musicianship and Tina Turner singing harmonies? That's right folk's you get all that and a wide smile as well. Thank you FZ for being you and, Thank you for being you Doug.

The very first Zappa track I ever heard is The Adventures of Greggery Peccary. It’s 21 minutes of pure Zappa storytelling lunacy. It made me feel like I’m hearing the soundtrack to a lost claymation project. Zappa is more openly satirical than in Yellow Snow, but he’s also going to have you humming one of the many hooks sprinkled through the piece when it’s over.

I rewatched this reaction again. Glad you appreciated the storytelling and the humor. St Alfanzo's was always one of my favorite Zappa tunes not because of the humor but because of Zappa's incredible composition and the execution 'of Ruth and the other band members.

YAY Doug! Excellent. This is my Christmas Present. Thank you. Such fun memories.

Please read about The Shaggs and analyze “My Pal Foot Foot” for an upcoming Weird Wednesday.

This was the first Zappa song that my Dad played for me.....and i loved it......Hooked ever since

Just picked up on your Zappa investigations. Been a Frank Zappa fan since 82 when l first heard the Apostrophe album at the age of 14 and was hooked. So great to hear music professionals endorse Mr Zappa's true creative genius. He fell out with the UK establishment before my time so never got to see him in the UK once l discovered him. Peaches en regalia defo his party piece, outstanding composition. Be well all.

My Dad started me on this, I was a teen in the early 80s. Then I started playing Bass. To this day I still do, Yellow Snow was the first song I ever learned. self learned there was no internet back then. I didnt know it then, but Zappa was a Fckn Genius. Fired more musicians than Michael had hits. He is Edgar Allen Poe, and Norman Rockwell, Combined.

I listened to this album today myself! An eclectic man and musician, no doubt about it; that said, his genius cannot be argued and damn did he know how to pick out talented people to play with him.

The most original musician/composer of my lifetime (with all due respect to Miles Davis), Frank Zappa is from a reality apart from the one that most of us experience on a daily basis. It is just amazing to watch/hear what the human mind can do when the tethers that restrict us are loosened, and, in the case of Zappa, severed entirely. A brilliant individual.

It's great to watch you listening to Zappa, there's something totally wholesome about it.

It's so nice to hear a guy this brilliant that he doesn't need to stop the record to get in his comments he does it all at once commenting on the various things that he finds noteworthy.

You should revise the weird wednesday to Zappa wednesday. There is enough Zappa out there to fill a lifetime and a half of wednesdays for you to analyze!

Always happy to see a Zappa episode :) He is an American hero, you should be very proud of him.

Doug, that was priceless watching you appreciating the musical genius of Frank Zappa, thank you for this ! The 1st time I had heard this song I fell in love with it immediately but didn't know who it was. I found out right quick and have been hooked ever since !

I'm very happy to see that you enjoyed it. You seem like a very smart guy and the fact that you enjoyed it makes me very happy indeed. I've been a Zappa fan since i was thirteen I'm now forty one and I love Franks music just a much as I did back then. He put out tons of music over the years, over sixty almums or so I've heard. it's all very interesting and musically brilliant as well as hilariously funny.

I might be movin' to Montana soon....

Thank you for bringing back the joy of the 70's... Zappa, Rush, Pink Floyd... It's a bomb watching you listen to and critique in the best way... The compositions that you call out in a positive and amazed way, is not just informative, but fun as well. I'm going to subscribe "RIGHT NOW". Doug... I was classically trained. It's amazing to watch you discover, and take the compositions apart. Such a joy.

I've been a fan of Frank Zappa since the Freak Out! album in the 60's. Seen him live several times, too.

I'm having as much fun watching Doug discover Zappa's "Yellow Snow" in 2022 as I am taking a musical trip down memory lane.

Doug instructed me that the yellow snow taste great with banana daiquiris.

Hey Doug love the show. I think in an interview Zappa said that one of the reasons he created such entertaining songs lyrically was to trick people into possibly listening to more complex music.

Haha, I know this album so well, but listening this with you made me laugh out loud as if it was the first time again. Great program, thanks.

Welcome to a beautiful mind. I was fortunate enough to see him 6 times front row....every will amaze you and I know most of the band...I'm honored

If you're looking for more weirdness for future Wednesdays, I'd recommend The Claypool Lennon Delirium. They are Les Claypool (from Primus) and Sean Lennon (son of John and Yoko). They have two albums and an EP of covers. Their original stuff is pretty weird. Also, regarding today's Zappa, the name "Nanook" comes from a 100 year old documentary film called "Nanook of the North".

FYI: That crazy vibraphone solo in the middle of “St. Alphonso” is known as the “Rollo Interior”.

Long live Frank! Thanks for playing this.

I grew up on this. Really love your laughs. Saw him twice. Can you imagine what growing up with this.

While I was in college, I watched the Zappa film 200 Motels in an “altered state “. Accidentally saw it 6 times in a row. Whenever I hear Zappa now I have vague memories of that.

The track “Cheapness” from Zappa’s Roxy and Elsewhere is an incredible performance and very entertaining!!

The musicianship, all of Zappa’s pieces are intricately, composed, and expertly played by top-notch musicians from every realm of music. Look way more into his catalog, and really listen, not just to the lyrics, but to the music dog, and you will truly be blown away by the sheer genius of Frank.

it really is entertaining, i believe this suite is what made me want to discover the rest of frank zappa discography, such a treasure. keep on appreciating quality music sir

Zappa is always a win! Weird Wednesday is a perfect way to get more Zappa and the like.

I lived in Toronto, Canada for several years during the late 1980s and early '90s, and during that time the radio station Q107 played a lovely 15 minutes from 12:45 - 13:00 called 'The Friday Frank'. It was a must listen to for me at the end of my lunch, and a great way to get ready for the weekend.

All of Frank Zappa stories are extraordinary and detailed. Like the great Pedro Almodovar the stories always work and the music is sublime. The compositions are unlike any other. Time signatures and the mode of each piece is very special. And for all this thousands of people love this rich complex difficult music. The musicians were ecstatic at having the chance to play these pieces. Just magic. I hope you listen to Civilization 111.

Mr. Helvering is getting worked by Frank's Conceptual Continuity. It's a fun rabbit hole to dive into!

Interesting fact: I heard that Frank used to audition his bass players by having them play the xylophone solo in "St. Alfonsos" on the bass.

"Keep It Greasy" off Joe's Garage for weird Wednesday. I grew up listening to Zappa and getting high in my teens. Became a pro drummer due to the intense focus on detail while being high listening to Zappa, thanks Frank. Or, "Watermelon in Easter Hay" or, "Packard Goose". Actually, anything on Joe's Garage.

I swear, the drumming on all of this but especially the end is some of the best ever.

Classic! Thanks for sharing!

There is a live performance from Stockholm, Sweden. "Duprees Paradise" is the name of the song. You will be impressed I promise. Thanks for putting out more Frank. Your videos are the best. From one musician to another, Don't let your A B flat C.

There are about 10 LPs before Apostrophe. By Apostrophe things are getting really slick. Uncle Meat, Lumpy Gravy, Weasels Ripped My Flesh, We're Only In It For the Money, Burnt Weenie Sandwich. A world of fun with ideas pre- Nanook. Zappa's Straight and Bizarre labels are a good place to go for weirdness--The GTOs, Wild Man Fischer, Beefheart, Judy Henske. Elsewhere, Van Dyke Parks first album Song Cycle was a very wonderful orchestral record, highly produced, very expensive flop, but has a very large following. You will like it. thanks for your reviews.

Takes me back 50 years. Thanks.

I was fortunate to see him do it live while I was in College in Buffalo N Y. He opened up the show with that number after riding into the Aud on a dog sled. Incredible concert. Underwood was fantastic as usual. He never got any credit for his musical talent. Too many people only thought of him as a comedian, going back to his “just another band from L A” days. You might want to look at another favorite, Billy the Mountain, a Zappa Classic. Been a fan for years.