This is an upgrade over the previous version I had posted. From the Opopoppa Special on Swedish television. The Band: Frank Zappa Jean-Luc Ponty George Duke Tom Fowler Ralph Humphrey Ruth Underwood Ian Underwood Bruce Fowler
I have watched this hundreds of times and every time it is still absolutely brilliant and spontaneous and everything great about guitar playing and rock and roll
Ok so you have no ear. I mean you literally "didnt hear what he was saying" Ane youu dont play music. You dont produce music. If you did you would understand cigarettes and cafe is more than enough. Are you projecting your own addiction to blow maybe? Cocai ne in your brain? Its silly to suggest being stoned or drunk or weird is a prerequisite to making music.
Totally agree. Frank had so many good drummers, but I always thought Ralph was criminally underrated. He is the master of keeping it simple, while never losing the groove.
I have a full hour of Frank's solos that I play for myself to delight in. This clip is one of my absolute favorites. He refused to play licks that were derivative or cliche. He played "at risk" . He would tear into a definite statement which led him somewhere else along the fretboard to something else then something else. Just exquisite.
@@anthonyfergerson2641 I know its been a good minute but if you'd still like to know. youtube channel "Br1tag" has some very excellent solo compilations, would highly recommend checking it out
Is it me or is this, not just one of Frank's really excellent solos, but, like one of his all-time epics?! In videos I've never seen Frank get sooo into a solo. One of the most baddest guitar solos of all the Universe.
That guitar solo is stunning on it's own, but laid on top of the band's accompaniment it rises to a level of thoughtful creativity that is beyond description.
i also like how a few minutes in, after frank really gets going, fowler and duke have this expression on their faces like, "listen to THIS mothafucka.."
JonP1961 even moreso, the way George (and the rest of them) seem to be a trance like state where they’re not only fully receptive, but also fully able to free associate or react instantly with whatever’s going on
A Monty python perhaps? Just kidding, this solo is one of the most incendiary I’ve ever heard!!!! Most of this show is on RU-vid here, it’s pretty poorly kept VHS like this but holy crap the music in it was one of my first introductions to Zappa. Completely changed my life’s trajectory.
This is the first exposure I've ever had to Frank Zappa, today for the first time, and that part was soooooo good. I came to find a live version after listening to the studio version. Replayed it like 10 times. Ahead of it's time no doubt.
As a lifelong guitar player, I've always noticed that Frank had unquestionably one of THE most unidentifiable soloing styles I've ever witnessed. After you've played for some time, you can almost always identify the musical influences of a musician. But not with Zappa. Zappa really honestly invented his truly own, 100% unique style, at least to these ears. Zappa sounded like Zappa, period (or there's a highly secret genre/style of music I haven't had the pleasure of discovering yet!!) So, having laid that particular gauntlet down, could anybody tell me who FZ's major musical influences were, if any? If I was hard pressed to categorize/describe his playing style for a deaf person or say, a visiting alien, I'd cautiously say it was/is a remarkably visionary combination of rock, funk fusion-broadway with the rare involuntary spastic tremor thrown oh so tastefully in for 'spice'!
The majority of his guitar heroes are old school blues players. The most influential guitar solo on him was in the song Three Hours Past Midnight by Johnny Guitar Watson. He enioyed plenty of composers, but the ones that he always mentions are usually Igor Stravinsky and Edgar Varese (although at one point he was pretty into Anton Webern). Both very experimental for their time, and very rhythmic which is where Frank Zappa's rhythmic intensity from his solos is probably taken from. Frank also would have a lot of planned improvisational moments in his music, which is obviously taken from jazz. In one article he said you want to learn how to play guitar listen to Wes Montgomery, and if you want to learn how to play piano listen to Cecil Taylor. His brother in an interview mentioned he got into free jazz for a while.
+powblockmaster thanks man, very informative. You know, I just thought of something, do you think Frank would have been as popular & well known if he had composed really basic 'anybody could write this!'Kiss level music? I'm referring to the difficulty/innovation level, absolutely NOT referring to the popularity of the music. Frank was a strange cat, as most genius's/extremely driven people are, no doubt. It took a greatest hits album I was forced to purchase (not forced to buy Zappa, forced to make a selection!) thru one of those old '1¢ for 12 albums!' Columbia House ads to finally appreciate & enjoy his unique style & myriad of eclectic & evolving songwriting talents & approach, & go out & learn/discover more. Thank you Columbia House!!
Maybe. He certainly said so himself that he could of been in the top 40 list constantly, and only write popular songs. Overall, I think that would of made him less memorable and he certainly would be less happy doing so. The great thing with Frank writing the music and playing the way he did was that no one really did what he did before him, so even if it's not as popular as something else he was the first guy to write his style of music which would influence guys like Vai, and even Weird Al. Plenty of lesser known prog bands took a page or two from him even, like Magma and Marsupilami.
i'm a straight guy whose fav guitarists are hendrix and zappa. frank's son dweezil is gorgeous (I've brought 8-10 diff girls to see him over the years) but i absolutely disagree with you. frank not good looking. his son and jimi good looking :>)))))))
Justin Greene as you said you're a straight man, so you very well wouldn't find him attractive would you? 😉 Beauty in the eye of the beholder, etc, right?
GENIO VANGUARDISTA SATIRO ..INCOMPRENDIDOS X MUCHOS ..SIN DUDA SENTO LAS BASES DEL ROCK EN TODA SU EXPRESIÓN .ES EN LO PERSONAL UN GENIO ... TODOS SUS DISCOS SON OBRAS MAESTRAS QUE DEJO UN GIGANTE LEGADO ...LARGA VIDA FRANK DESDE CHILE UN SALUDOS ALOS QUE COMPARTEN LA MUSICA DEL MAESTRO
Nice close-up of Ponty on the instrumental break, but Ruth Underwood has the biggest challenge, and we don't get to see her do her stuff. She's one of the most underrated mallet players around. Great performances all around, though.
L.A., Cali, USA by way of Jakarta Indonesia here. Listening 886 FZ tracks on my playlist on random. I stumbled upon this live MONTANA track today, and I love the solo - better than the album and the band is top notch! I shared it on facebook but only 1% of my actual friend base would actually like this song. I love the 1%, we rule!
Hands down my favorite guitarist of all time. Playing a particular version of this song which is just mind-boggling. Saw this video here on RU-vid for 1st time a few nights ago. I had to come back! Woot! FZ~
That man, he really masters his guitar. Not the other way around. I'm still new to his music, and am enjoying all the different versions of this song. This is notable for its lead guitar solo, but I like the other versions better.
The backup singers are in my head. "I'm ridin' a tiny horse, His name is Mighty Little. He's a good horse even though he's too little to put a big saddle or blanket on, anyway, anyway." (I might not have this exactly right but that is how i remember it.) Brilliant and funny stuff.
@BrainPolice5 I heard Frank once say in an interview. That he played a different solo each time it was Frank's solo. That he knew he had certain amount of time at a certain time to solo. That he would play a different solo each and every time he would play it different. Have seen him live several times and I do believe that to be very true. Have seen him get into a solo in a serious other world style and I would just be blown away. Guess what I'm really trying to say if this is the truth then each and everyone of his solos is a possible epic.
Check out his body language just after his guitar solo as he motioned for the band to kick back in on the reprise. It looks like he might have gotten upset because the horns were caught off guard and didn't come back in until the second stanza.
No. I see that he cues the xylophone back in. But right after the cue he appears to do an extra hard flourish with his arm that looks like frustration, then he loses his balance for a second. I've been watching this video a lot because I love the awesome guitar solo. Right after the solo when the band comes back in, it seems to me they didn't all come in when they were supposed to as the entrance back in sounds thin. Then in the second stanza the horns come in as if hey were caught off guard. This would make sense as I have read in several places how the band members in his bands had to always be on their toes because they never at any given time knew when Zappa would cue them to do something. T me he still looks like he's frustrated (for just a second) because the horns weren't paying attention. Not a big deal I imagine there were always all kinds of unexpected things like that with his live shows. Be that as it may, he makes an arm motion (after the cue) that still seems to me an indication of frustration then he loses his balance for a second, then everything is back to normal. I could be wrong.
man, frank just rocked the fuck out, and what i just experienced was wordless. lol, and i can't believe the crowd didn't start a fuckin riot after hearing that solo - one or two people just turned around and were like, "oh my, yes yes, quite good, no?" i'm gonna listen to this a few more times
It is worth listening to this performance a second time, focusing solely on the drummer. He is perfect all the way through. I hear some Bernard Purdie in there I think!
@mediawest The funny thing is, if you ever get to see the whole special, the house band plays on the main stage for about all of three minutes and the rest of the show is focussed on Zappa's band on the side stage.
@crowe The audio on this version is from a tape of the FM simulcast of the program. The audio on the other version was mixed for little tinny sounding TV speakers. Hence the rawer quality on the other.
I missed this talent the first time round :( But not now!! (p.s. I can't believe them Swedes sat there like lumps of lutefisk and didn't applaud like crazy after than incredible solo!)
