^^ Yeah! They all kind of go together with me: Over Nite Sensation through One Size Fits All.
Hot rats
Overnite sensation
Apostrophe
One size fits all
Lather
" je m'amuse à vieillir , c'est une occupation de tous les instants " Paul Léautaud
I pulled Carnegie Hall from the shelf today and spun all four hours of it (even the Persuasions opening set). Some excellent playing, and I love the version of King Kong, but man, most of Billy The Mountain is close to unlistenable for me, and that's almost entirely because of Flo & Eddie. I've never cared for all the little motifs either (Carson show theme music numerous times for two seconds, Suite Judy Blue Eyes, etc.) Oh well, different strokes! Give me Greggery Peccery any day.
Edit: The jamming stuff that is track 2 after the main song is amazing, classic Zappa stuff. But despite it all being lumped together and called a 47 minute version of Billy The Mountain, I don't really think of it that way.
Last edited by Progatron; 01-15-2020 at 05:37 PM.
Interviewer of reprobate ne'er-do-well musicians of the long-haired rock n' roll persuasion at: www.velvetthunder.co.uk and former scribe at Classic Rock Society. Only vaguely aware of anything other than music.
*** Join me in the Garden of Delights for 3 hours of tune-spinning... every Saturday at 5pm EST on Deep Nuggets radio! www.deepnuggets.com ***
Hurtleturtled Out of Heaven - an electronic music composition, on CD and vinyl
https://michaelpdawson.bandcamp.com
http://www.waysidemusic.com/Music-Pr...MCD-spc-7.aspx
Strictly looking at it from a neophyte just getting into Zappa, I would suggest:
1. Overnite Sensation/Apostrophe (available on 1 CD, contains many studio/radio greatest hits like Montana, Don't Eat The Yellow Snow, Cosmik Debris, Dirty Love, Stink Foot, Dinah-Moe-Hum, Camarillo Brillo etc.)
2. Hot Rats (virtually no singing or snark involved, save for a brief bit by Captain Beefheart, but excellent instrumentals like Peaches en Regalia, Willie the Pimp and The Gumbo Variations)
3. You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 2 (All live including the infamous "Helsinki Concert", featuring fine versions of Whipping Post, Inca Roads, Dupree's Paradise and Pygmy Twylyte)
4. We're Only In It For The Money (The Mother's political, cultural and satirical zenith of all things hippie in 1968)
5. Uncle Meat (a double albums described by critics as an "inspired monstrosity", "unfocused sprawl", and an "assault of glorious noise")
"And your little sister's immaculate virginity wings away on the bony shoulders of a young horse named George who stole surreptitiously into her geography revision."
Occasional musical musings on https://darkelffile.blogspot.com/
Interviewer of reprobate ne'er-do-well musicians of the long-haired rock n' roll persuasion at: www.velvetthunder.co.uk and former scribe at Classic Rock Society. Only vaguely aware of anything other than music.
*** Join me in the Garden of Delights for 3 hours of tune-spinning... every Saturday at 5pm EST on Deep Nuggets radio! www.deepnuggets.com ***
Without Billy the Mountain, I never would have been a Zappa fan all those eons ago.
My fave musical moment of the last three years is driving down Route 21 towards Newark to catch a show at the Pru and listening to BtM from Carnegie for the first time.... THE fucking best.
Death inspires me like a dog inspires a rabbit
Inspired by this thread, I bought Grand Wazoo and Over-Nite Sensation. What do you think about GW? I've heard most of the tracks on Roxy (not sure how), so know it's very good to excellent.
Last edited by mozo-pg; 01-17-2020 at 01:38 PM.
What can this strange device be? When I touch it, it brings forth a sound (2112)
I'm listening to GW now. Sounds quite decent so far.
What can this strange device be? When I touch it, it brings forth a sound (2112)
The Grand Wazoo is outstanding Zappa fusion stuff, one of my favourites actually. Even better than Waka Jawaka, which I also love. But the real must-have IMO is the 2-CD archival live release from the accompanying tour, simply titled Wazoo. Now that's a killer release! I've just pulled it from the shelf myself!
Interviewer of reprobate ne'er-do-well musicians of the long-haired rock n' roll persuasion at: www.velvetthunder.co.uk and former scribe at Classic Rock Society. Only vaguely aware of anything other than music.
*** Join me in the Garden of Delights for 3 hours of tune-spinning... every Saturday at 5pm EST on Deep Nuggets radio! www.deepnuggets.com ***
Last edited by mozo-pg; 01-16-2020 at 06:54 PM.
What can this strange device be? When I touch it, it brings forth a sound (2112)
The Grand Wazoo is arguably his very finest jazz-oriented release, although I'm extremely partial to the first two minutes of "Big Swifty" and the title track from Waka Jawaka.
I was in a band that used to do "Eat That Question", usually by was of one musician introducing the main riff during one of our free jams. That riff - along with "Hiram Afterglid" by Steve Hillage - was one of the coolest shortlick-themes I ever played on my Gibson SG; you could practically go on forever on that rumbling excitement alone. Ecstatic stuff.
"Improvisation is not an excuse for musical laziness" - Fred Frith
"[...] things that we never dreamed of doing in Crimson or in any band that I've been in," - Tony Levin speaking of SGM
I could never really tell apart Grand Wazoo from Waka Jawaka: in my book they are one double LP released separately. GW is more refined, Waka is wilder and more unpredictable. They constitute a high point in Zappa's oeuvre.
Eat that Question is a killer riff - and what a finale, with the gradual enter of brass, wind, piccolo flute, and even cowbell! - it blows you out of the walls. But Blessed Relief is also a masterpiece. That long musical phrase which seems to have escaped from Zappa's psyche ready-made, whole, complete, perfect is the mark of a composer who stands equal next to the classical guys (Stravinsky, Debussy, Satie etc)
The 2012 editions of Wazoo, and Waka sound beautiful. Big Swifty is a bit too much noodling for my taste. I prefer the Roxy version.
One of the standout tracks for me on Grand Wazoo (and indeed among all FZ music) is the non-fusion Cleetus Awreetus-Awrightus. Another one of those fantastically well put together Zappa instrumentals.
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There is a huge difference between the two, despite being almost the same musical adventure.
Wazoo features two horn sections (one in treble, the other in bass) that Waka doesn't . That's why Wazoo has a depth that no other Zappa album has, the same way that Bitches Brew and the Mwandishi albums did... Bass clarinet adds a lush & rich dimension.
But ultimately, the huge star in both album is Ainsley Dunbar, who keeps all of those dudes in line.
my music collection increased tenfolds when I switched from drug-addicts to complete nutcases.
Wazoo is a bit noodly yes, and Jim Gordon (although a great drummer) is not quite as interesting as Aynsley Dunbar.
But besides this, is nice to hear the tracks live.
My own approach would be to start by acquiring everything he recorded up to the end of 1972, select liberally from 1973 and 1974, and thereafter proceed with increasing caution.
Thinking about it, the overt crankiness might have started around the time of Sheik Yerbouti. He probably could have called that one Have I Offended Someone?
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