Pure, unadulterated genius. There is no one, NO ONE who can even appear to come close to Zappa's genius and compositional diversity of skills. He always had the best musicians in town. As a matter of fact, many of the greatest musicians of the 70s / 80s passed through the Frank Zappa University of Song and Sensation. The guy wrote everything imaginable, but for beginners, best to go with some songs like Peaches en Regalia, Eat That Question, Zomby Woof, Village of the Sun, Echidna's Arf (of You), Don't You Ever Wash That Thing, and Inca Roads.
You had to be a MASTER MUSICIAN to be in Frank’s band. Very few people could play the complex music he wrote. And he wrote it. For every instrument, he sat down and also wrote classical music. He wrote Orchestral pieces, wrote the music for every instrument in the orchestra and would go to Symphony Halls and get up and then conduct the entire symphony. He truly was a genius.
ZOMG!!!! First time experiencing FZ and you got "Yellow Snow" and included "St Alfonso" !!!! You did it right, well done! Only 62 albums to go! ... LOL
Frank Zappa is the most rewarding musical rabbit hole that I can think of. His discography covers almost any music genre you can think of. Just incredible.
Your face throughout the whole thing... enjoyment amazement confusion... right there with you once I stopped roflmao! Searching for words to describe him - got this from wikipedia. "His work is characterized by nonconformity, free-form improvisation, sound experiments, musical virtuosity, and satire of American culture." -Uh Yeah!
He was a drummer before a guitarist. He was composing avant-garde classical music influenced by Stravinsky, Varese, and Webern since he was a teenager, but also listening to and performing a lot of doowop, blues, r&b, and rock n'roll. He worked for a guy named Paul Buff, who was an engineer that built the first 5 track studio on the West Coast (in Cucamunga, California), which Zappa took over mortgage payments on and he learned how to engineer and produce there. The Yellow Snow suite is obviously his my rock/funk style stuff, but he has albums that are closer to jazz and others that are modernist classical music and still others that are all electronic music and some that are all guitar solos....There is even one where the doowop influence takes over and the whole album is doowop stuff.
Zappa said about his music:" Either you get it, or you don't. If you don't you probably weren't supposed to." And you're definitely getting it. This album is really not a bad place to start. I think you'll like the song 'Inca Roads' too.
This entire Apostrophe album is just this good or better! Frank was a genius and that's an understatement. And there's nothing better than Ruth Underwood playing her electrified xylophone!
In 1985 Zappa addressed Congress on the Senate Hearing on Rock Lyrics, along with Dee Snider. He was well informed and meticulous. He died in 1994 of prostate cancer. R.I.P Frank Zappa.
Frank Zappa was strange, weird, unusual, but a musical genius. He was a master musician, guitar player, percussionist, composer, lyricist. He put out so much music that is way, way ahead of it's time. Probably still way ahead of time even now. A few things to check out, Peaches and Regalia, Your Mouth, and so many more.
Awesome. Frank only hired the best, technically proficient musicians. People like George Duke(keys), Steven Vai(guitars), Jean Luc Ponty(violins), etc. When he auditioned the crazy talented Vai as a youngster, Frank said "Do you know (such and such) song? Vai: yeah. Frank: OK. Play it in F sharp but in a minor tonality... and play it in 6/8 time, not 4/4. Then when he played it the way Frank asked, gave him no indication he had done it well. After much more grilling, Frank said that was enough and Vai went on his way. A week or two passed, and Vai assumed he did not meet the Frank's outrageous expectations. Then he got a call and Frank said "where are you?" Vai said at home. Frank said we rehearse every Thursday-get your arse over here...you're late. He had gotten the job with the Mothers.
You deserve high praise for playing the entire album side instead of a chopped-down piece like other reactors have done. You got the full experience and you really "got it". Liked and subscribed, my friend.
More Zappa recommendations: Stinkfoot Cosmic Debris I'm the Slime Camarillo Brillo Eccentrifugal Force Apostrophe ( with Jack Bruce from Cream on bass!!! )
Zappa was not just a master guitar player, he was also a brilliant composer with an absurdist sense of humour. He surrounded himself with very accomplished musicians and took a disciplined approach to practicing and playing; and doesn't it show! What a great introduction to the bizarre world of Frank Zappa; although be warned...your life is henceforth changed forever :D
Watching your jaw continually hitting the table was absolutely priceless! FYI- there is waaayyyyy more to Mr Zappa than Apostrophe. I hope you continue what will now be a lifelong journey into the mind of Zappa! Enjoy the ride!
Zappa was literally a genius. He defended your freedom of speech, and the right for artists to create whatever it is they have to express without censorship. Read about his court case and battle against Tipper Gore. You know those little, "explicit lyrics" stickers on albums and songs? Zappa helped craft those as a compromise to the strong censorship artists could have been facing. He's am amazing man with so many contributions.
Met Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention at Kent State in 73. We discovered that he was rehearsing at the auditorium Saturday afternoon. We knew some people who worked at the door. They let us in nobody was around . The gym was empty and Frank was rehearsing with the band on the stage. We were four guys from the radio station to see Frank Zappa before the concert started. He said, come on in sit on down. He said to us do you want to see the concert. He played the whole concert for four people with the light show. Never forgot that Saturday afternoon. I was close enough to the stage to see his guitar strings vibrating in front of me. Frank Zappa is the man. That's my story of Frank Zappa nobody believes me but it's true. Frank played the whole album that you're listening to for four people.
Zappa! Maybe the deepest, and weirdest, rabbit hole you could enter. Anything from the Apostrophe album is excellent, and a good starting point. And if you get bored with that there are only another 60 or so albums to try. 🙂
Zappa was a brilliant composer and eventually turned to composing classical music. My son collected everything Zappa recorded. Wouldn't listened to anyone else.
Zappa actually started by writing classical music and penned his first film composition in 1961 for the film "Run Home Slow"... He once said that he subsidizes his classical music by doing his "rock" albums... The new Zappa documentary drove this point home...
Frank Zappa was one of the best guitar player of his generation and that says a lot when in that period, there was Jimi Hendrix, Carlos Santana, Eric Clapton and many more. But more than that, he was a musical genius. He have done everything in music, blues, rock, jazz, satirical portrait of society, he even made an opera! The only constant thing in his carrer is that he will surprise you every time you listen to something new from him. I'm old enough that I have seen him live in the 70's but I don't remember much of the show (some kind of tobacco that is now legal where I live may have had a part in that), but I remember that it was a great show.
Zappa puts more musical content into one song than most musicians put into several albums. You can never get board of it and Zappa gets better the more you listen to him. I have been listening to Zappa for 45 years. Zappa Music makes you more intelligent.
Ah yes, welcome to the wonderful wacky world of Frank Zappa. This suite, and the album Apostrophe that it hails from, is an excellent diving-in point to the huge mountain of Frank's work - it has a sampling of everything Frank is about -- the wild mash-up of musical genres (he did everything from doo-wop to modern dissonant classical music in his time, and did them all well), his bizarro sense of humor, his don't-give-a-fuck crudity, his fabulous guitar skillz, and his recording/engineering perfectionism. His series of albums (under his own name and that of his group The Mothers of Invention) from this stretch of the 1970s is what I refer to as his "sweet spot" - he put out amazing stuff before and after, but the mid-1970s funk-flavored albums are IMO some of his consistently best and most accessible. Enjoy the trip!
FZ was beyond a musical Genius! His brain could go in many directions, yet being an entertainer, comedian, artist, and story teller all rolled up into a perfect Musical Package was his Greatest Gift! Had the fortune to see him live 3 times - his fellow musicians were the Best of the Best... yet, if he detected someone was off - he was not opposed to STOP the band mid-song and start over again!!! He demanded Perfection!!!! R.I.P Frank Zappa !!! 😊🎹🎤🎶🎸👍
I absolutely love watching first reactions to FZ. You are very astute when picking up on his theatrical, comical, versatile, etc… musical talent. He was a true master unto himself first. He struggled with record companies for radio air play which makes complete sense given his expansive library. Apostrophe was my first introduction (released 1974) to his wild creative mind. Sadly, he died short of his 53rd birthday in December 1993. However, recordings continue to be released posthumously numbering 118. Enjoy this wild trip of seemingly unlimited variations of his music.
Bravo! Great reaction my man. First time hearing Zappa huh? A very deep, very strange rabbit hole indeed. I been listening to Frank Zappa since high school. He blew me away then, blows me away now. What a musician, what a composer, what a producer. So bizarre, so funny. You must now hear Stinkfoot from Apostrophe, where we hear the line "the crux of the biscuit, is the apostrophe". His guitar playing/soloing in Stinkfoot is next level man. He gets a wa-wa tone during Stinkfoot that I've never been able to duplicate. Is very cool. I saw him live in the late 70s in Des Moines, Iowa and it was the best sound at a concert that i had ever heard. I still have not heard an electric band that can match Zappa, to this day. Incredible!
Frank is a musical master, while some are turn off by his lyrics, the complex compositions are tremendous. I have seen him twice in concert and never was disappointed.
Zappa is my generations Mozart. You did it the right way, you did the suite. I always looked forward to each new Zappa album: You always got bang for your buck. Multiple musical styles plus humor.
Right on my man!!!! I am a massive Zappa fan and I absolutely love watching reaction videos to his work, and you sir had the best reaction I have ever seen!!!! You actually get it!!! Most don't, enjoy your journey into Franks work, keep up the great videos!!! Cheers and good health to you and yours sir!!!
Frank was a genius. I've seen him perform over 50 times. You think it's amazing recorded? Seeing him live with the talent in the band pulling this stuff off was mind blowing.
Frank is definitely the absolute deepest of all rabbit holes. A composer first, lyrics were of secondary concern. He held authority and commercialism in disdain. He never really achieved the success/popularity here in the US that his talents deserved, due to censorship. In European circle he was absolute royalty. His live performances were memory makers and helped launch the careers of several notable performers including Adrien Belew and Steve Vai. He signed Alice Cooper to his own label after they bombed a live show. Per Alice, Frank said "Anybody that can clear a room that quickly, I have to sign." Frank was a talent for the ages.
Welcome to the FZ appreciation club. Your appreciation will grow I assure you once you delve into his music, and there is so much of it. I've been listening for over 50yrs.
Listening to Frank for over 40 years this seems so normal a song. One of my favorites! A very good song to hear as a first you see the amazing versatility. Genius Frank!~
love watching people hear Frank for the first time, first song I ever heard was "Yo'mama" played it 10 times in a row, couldn't beleive how beautiful it was.
I'm 5 minutes in to your reaction and I AM LOVING IT!! I love that you get the genius of FZ. The music, the story telling, the humor. Dive in brother, the pool is deep.
Zappa is my hero from when I first heard him as a teenager. His ability to shock his audience with not just his clever musical arrangements but his incredible humour were among his many signatures, I’m so glad you found him funny, a lot of people don’t. The look of amazement and bewilderment on your face was incredible. There is so so much of his music to digest, but here is a good place. Roxy and Elsewhere, one Size Fits All, Absolutely Free to name a few. Welcome to the world of Zappa! Freak out!😊
One of the only things I'm thankful for when it comes to my ex-wife, she brought this album into my life. I've heard Zappa before but we took a drive and listened to this entire album. I was in pure awe, Frank was a musical genius and it's sad not many people remember him.
You will never be the same! RDNZL is worth a listen. That band: Zappa, Chester Thompson, Bruce Fowler, George Duke, Ruth Underwood. Perfection. BTW Steve Vai’s 1st tour was with FZ on You Are What You Is.
Wow DramaSyed checkin out Zappa! FZ was a brilliant composer/guitarist who wrote music that spanned dozens of musical genres : jazz, classical, rock, R&B, reggae, electronic, chamber,blues, funk...all played by the greatest musicians on earth. He was at the forefront of studio recording techniques, practically invented sampling and managed to produce 60 albums of his own music in his lifetime. Zappa is an icon of 20th century music
Yes its deliberate haha - Zappa likes to interrupt the grooves with various musical interludes and interjections that seem to come out of nowhere, often in odd time signatures Essential Zappa: Village of the Sun, Montana, Sofa, Zomby Woof, Uncel Remus, Black Napkins, Watermelon in Easter Hay, Zoot Allures, Trouble Every Day...so many incredible pieces!!
This is easily some of my favourite of Zappa’s work. It never fails to make me laugh, and the playing is astounding. He created more technically impressive stuff and certainly could be more experimental but this record is a distillation for me of everything that made him great.
My university jazz band did an annual Zappa tribute for years (until covid) and we were lucky enough to catch the attention of Frank’s son Dweezil, who came down (along with Zappa alum Ikr Willis) and performed with us. It was great. And yeah, the music is insanely complex-just the time signature shifts alone are enough to set your head spinning.
45 years ago , this was the 1st Zappa tune I ever heard too. Huge fan! Owned nearly every recording Frank released (records,tapes,cd.s) Music genius...
This is a great selection to start your journey into the music of Frank Zappa. You have about 35 years of Zappa music to catch up on. And you're right, he brings it all, Rock, Blues, Jazz, Fusion, Do Wop, Orchestral, Avant Garde, Opera, even some country. Try looking into Inca Roads, Po-Jama People, Trouble Everyday or Willie The Pimp. There is only one rule in Zappa music...there are no rules.
I'm so GLAD you enjoy Frank Zappa' s extraordinary Music so much: this album was at one time one of my BIG FAVOURITES and I really appreciated your involvement in the hearing of LISTENING so carefully to this so complex but strangely entertaining masterpiece "Don't You Eat The Yellow Snow Suite" in the incredible album "Apostrophe"! 'Loved your reactions all through the "Suite", and your very smart & appropriate comments about the complexity of Frank's astounding constant changes in time signatures, wonderful story-telling gifts, amazing sound production - and guitaristic virtuosity, because F.Z. was not only a great composer but a GREAT MUSICIAN as well - take some time, if you find the opportunity, to listen to some of his most incredible guitar solos, (nearly always Blues-based with awesome improvisations and actually extra-terrestrial sound effects), you will certainly "get your rocks off" (as Frank Zappa used to say) on some or most of them, they are genuinely fantastic and always give me "goosebumps"!!! ...And Welcome To The Zappa Fans' Club, of course! (A French F.Z. Lover). Thanks a Lot!
His music is absolutely incredible, you young people should check him out. I guarantee you will not be disappointed. If you love guitar music, he's the man !
I recall in one year Frank released 12 modern classical albums and a jazz album. Hot Rats is the one where I first heard Peaches En Regalia but I recall my reaction to Susie Creamcheese and of course his album where he spoofed the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper album (even the cover) LOL
