I listened to this piece from when I was 16 when I bought One Size Fits all. I wasn't a musician then, but it excited me so much, and it still does after all these years. It has changed my life.
As an old drummer, I always appreciated Chester Thompson's playing on this and other Zappa tunes. He has quite an illustrious history. Thanks for the reaction, Claudio. I always enjoy listening to the maddening genius of Frank Zappa. He is totally unique. Frank is beaming like a proud "Papa" during George's solo.
Great reaction. Your right Zappa is a musicians musician. Ruth Underwood on percussion is always amazing as are all the musicians he used in his long career, I saw him on his final tour and he played 2 hours, took a 20 minute break and did another 2 plus hours. What I really love about his guitar playing which really sets him apart from the rest is he never practiced his solo's every time he played a song the solo was different to the last time. He recorded almost everything he did and was instrumental in developing multi track recording methods back in the late 60's and 70's. I love him and have 71 of his albums and they are all different. Shut up and play your guitar, son of and guitar are a real way into his guitar work. You can see in this him conducting the band and he always did to get the time signature changes, stops and the rest perfect. The last last work he did was orchestral (The Yellow Shark) and brought him a lot of respect from the classical music world as well. He was simply a genius.
Frank Zappa's song "Inca Roads" holds a special place in his musical journey. Frank Zappa, known for his avant-garde approach, created "Inca Roads" as the opening track of his 1975 album, One Size Fits All. The song features intricate time signatures, unusual lyrics, and captivating vocals. "Inca Roads" playfully explores stereotypes of aliens encountering the Incan civilization. Zappa's lyrics mock the forced profundity found in many progressive rock albums of that era. The UFO landing in the Andes Mountains becomes a whimsical backdrop for Zappa's satirical commentary. The song's mixed meter includes various time signatures, from 2/4 to 11/16. Zappa's percussionist, Ruth Underwood, shines with her marimba-playing. George Duke contributes an equally complex keyboard solo. The song ends with the lyrics "On Ruth, on Ruth, that's Ruth!"-a nod to Underwood's marimba prowess. Frank Zappa's irreverence and musical genius shine through in "Inca Roads." Sources: - [Wikipedia: Inca Roads](en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inca_Roads_%28song%29) ¹ - [RU-vid: A Token Of His Extreme](ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-wqp71DOJ3aY.html) ² - [Spotify: Inca Roads](open.spotify.com/track/0hQ2fcduPhFCQd2ZAsp0Nw) ³ (1) Frank Zappa - Inca Roads (A Token Of His Extreme). ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-wqp71DOJ3aY.html. (2) Frank Zappa - Inca Roads (Visualizer). ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-CbQjHb8iaMc.html. (3) Inca Roads. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-vAGVQM6IAKk.html. (4) Inca Roads (song) - Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inca_Roads_%28song%29. (5) Inca Roads - song and lyrics by Frank Zappa | Spotify. open.spotify.com/track/0hQ2fcduPhFCQd2ZAsp0Nw. (6) Inca Roads - song and lyrics by Frank Zappa | Spotify. open.spotify.com/track/5hjw909wPiopqQAqhKzoZ4. (7) undefined. www.samsungtvplus.com?action=play&target_tab=discover&target_id=GBBD3000004VR&target_type=1. (8) undefined. smarturl.it/FrankZappaTokenDVD.
"Inca Roads" is the opening track from Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention's 1975 album, *One Size Fits All*. The song is a captivating blend of progressive rock, jazz fusion, and art rock. "Inca Roads" features intricate time signatures, including 2/4, 3/4, 4/4, 5/4, 6/4, 3/8, 7/8, 3/16, 5/16, 7/16, 11/16, and possibly more. Zappa's lyrics playfully explore stereotypes of aliens encountering the Incan civilization. The song begins with dominant vocals, drums, and marimba. Ruth Underwood's marimba playing takes center stage, adding a unique texture to the composition. Zappa himself delivers a guitar solo, and later, George Duke contributes an equally complex keyboard solo in 7/16. The song ends with the lyrics "On Ruth, on Ruth, that's Ruth!"-a nod to Underwood's marimba prowess. Source: (1) Frank Zappa - Inca Roads (A Token Of His Extreme). ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-wqp71DOJ3aY.html. (2) Frank Zappa - Inca Roads (Visualizer). ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-CbQjHb8iaMc.html. (3) Inca Roads. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-vAGVQM6IAKk.html. (4) Inca Roads (song) - Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inca_Roads_%28song%29. (5) Inca Roads - song and lyrics by Frank Zappa | Spotify. open.spotify.com/track/0hQ2fcduPhFCQd2ZAsp0Nw. (6) Inca Roads - song and lyrics by Frank Zappa | Spotify. open.spotify.com/track/5hjw909wPiopqQAqhKzoZ4. (7) undefined. www.samsungtvplus.com?action=play&target_tab=discover&target_id=GBBD3000004VR&target_type=1. (8) undefined. smarturl.it/FrankZappaTokenDVD.
Prior to joining Zappa, George Duke had no interest in synthesizers or singing. Frank wanted George to learn to play the synth and it took a little prodding. Frank bought a synth for him, set it up on his keyboard rig and told him to just play around with it in his spare time. George did and became intrigued with the possibilities of bending pitches, etc. We all know that he became well known for his work with synthesizers. Frank wanted George to sing, as he does here on Inca Roads. George said, "I don't sing, Frank." Frank fed him one line at a time. "Sing this." and gave him a little more. Before you know it, George is singing and becoming a master of the synth. Frank had a talent of hiring already well accomplished musicians and pushing them further, outside their comfort zone, and making them even better musicians for it. Ruth said that Frank wrote percussion parts that scared the shit out of her to first read it on paper, but after practicing it, loved the complex music. Ruth's entire career can pretty much be summed up around Frank. After he didn't need her any longer in 1974, and only bringing her back to play for the NYC end of year 1976 gig that made up Zappa In New York, Ruth played on a couple of other jazz artists records, but not very much to her discography. I suppose that after playing the music that Frank wrote for her and demanded of her, everything else seemed too trite.
Well, saying "Frank didn't need her" is a bit inaccurate. She left after the Roxy shows in December 1973 for personal reasons, came back for the Summer 1974 tour, and left again at the end of the tour, again for personal/family reasons. She came back for the 1976 New York shows, and there were talks for her to join the 1977 band. She backed out at the last minute before/early in the rehearsals, and Ed Mann took her place. I think that if she asked Frank, she would have been able to come back anytime she wanted.
@@mrgreengenes04 I didn't know that she was considered for the '77 tour. I'm surprised she didn't continue with Frank because she surely loved his music and him. The Sheik Yerbouti/Baby Snakes band was really a different direction for sure and Ruth was really part of that Nappy-Ruth-Duke "jazz" lineup. Somehow I see her as out of place in that lineup, although she could play anything Frank required of her. I think she will be regarded as the greatest Mother of them all.
