About Muffin Man: I stole this comment from another user on another clip, but it's too good to waste: "If I ever become exceedingly rich I'm gonna hire a top-end guitar player to walk behind me whenever I enter a room and play this riff."
UA-cam's algorithm is working fine. yesterday i listened Five Five Five (Soup 'n old clothes too-hell of a solo) and today this nice collection is brought to the shore.
He's is so underrated in the guitar community. When I was putting this together there were so many I had to leave out. Also, so many synth riffs that were awesome too
@pilesovinyl Cheers! I was considering Room Service, Father O'blivion, Don't Eat Yellow Snow and Broken Hearts Are For Assholes. Which ones would you include?
I am subscribing just because I see how much you love Zappa music. It's even more than I do. I wish I loved it enough to be able to play these riffs. Maybe I should shut up and play my guitar...
Nice! I had a friend (RIP) and we played a lot of these on acoustic guitars. We also did Peaches en Regalia, Lumpy Gravy Theme, Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance, Let's Make the Water Turn Black, etc. Miss those days.
555 is supposed to be played on the G and D strings as a pair of (double stops). I learned this from the Steve Vai transcription in the Frank Zappa Guitar Book. Good choice of riffs though :)
great top 10 list! And great Zappa-like tone. Dig your jammin' out on Apostrophe too! Although I think the main lick on San Ber'dino should be on this list - or maybe Zombie Woof - OK, I get it - too hard to just pick 10!
in that tone genre you nailed it. gotta say willie the pimp is my fav... something comically soothing rendered from the pairing of Ponte and the Captain, backed by that plucky rhythm.
I was watching the video under the assumption this was super popular video of a consolidated channel. It was surprising to notice it wasn't the case! Great job, man!
@@garstang-blues Oh, YT didn't notify me of this reply; so a little late but regardless: I haven't dug deep enough into his work to say I'm a big fan, but I've quite fancied what I've heard so far! Fully agree that he deserves far more recognition.
@@Leo_nbd Yeah it took me a while to get properly get "into" his music. I really enjoyed "Apostrophe'" and "Overnite Sensation" albums first. "The Grand Wazoo" blow my mind though - and still does!
So hard to choose 'cause soooo many songs and riffs, he's the boss !! I would also pick Watermelon In Easter Hay, Peaches en Regalia, Florentine Pogen, Zoot allures, black napkins, and the greatest song ever for me : inca roads especially the incredible solo. Nice job anyway, congrats !
I'd add San Ber'dino to that list too, and maybe Camarillo Brillo. The Orange County Lumber Truck is great too. This is the problem when you have a catalogue as big as Frank's. A top ten just isn't possible! Any Downers, there's another great riff. Damn.
@garstang-blues My pleasure. Send cash. The brass players have the first bite at the riff when it appears (after the first vaudeville segment of the song), but Scott Thunes soon takes it over and underpins my favourite FZ solo impeccably.
@garstang-blues The riff appears after the first vaudeville segment of the song (great bass here too). First it's played by the brass, then keys plus bass, and then it's just Scott Thunes underpinning my favourite FZ solo impeccably. (I thought I'd posted an earlier version of this but it seems to have vanished. If you see a semi-duplicate of the mini-post you are currently reading, apologies.)
Damn Transylvania Boogie is in outer space. To me, the layman, it almost makes no sense upon listening. But anything on chunga's Revenge would have been well represented
Someone once told me they thought Transylvania Boogie is "too noodly". To me it's one of the best guitar pieces from any guitarist, and I can't understand why some folks seem challenged by it. It's such a solid composition despite being improvised.
I had a Maestro, by Oberheim. Zappa used that on a lot of stuff. Wish I still had it, I traded a half ounce of shrooms for it and then sold it in order to move to NYC. Big mistake.
Frank's gear in general was awesome. I remember seeing a video of Dweezil in Frank's old studio going through all the gear he had and it was fascinating.
I’m less familiar with Five-Five-Five but I haven’t listened to the “Shut Up and Play Yer Guitar” series as much… still, I’d be harder pressed to list that and not list “Zombie Woof”… outside of that, I got no complaints.
Man, you like your fuzz tone. You can prob through some fretboard oil on that guitar and make the fretboard pop, should also play a bit better too. Magic fingers is a great pick
Really good player and love the riffs, missing Baltimore and Watermelon, but enjoyed, thanks! my only critique would be tone, pretty much the same throughout, sounded good but got old.
Zappa was never underrated. In his day, he was god of his world. He had a studio in his basement. His log cabin was the place to be for all of rock royalty.
Just those people who know what he sounds like on all those records; try and breathe... I wasn't criticizing your playing, just making a suggestion; a little less fuzz and more distortion.
Thanks for keeping the memory of Frank alive. Great riffs. Absolutely one of the most underrated guitarists ever. He was awesome.
He most certainly was awesome!
He was,and is the one and only! His guitar playing was unique, bar none.
Eat that question is a cool riff to play
You're damn right it is!
Zappa's guitar work was always amazing. Muffin Man is my favourite example of this.
Have you heard him play it at capitol theatre 1978? The solo there was pretty brilliant
@@garstang-blues I hadn't, but I just listened to it and it was great! the whole band sounds amazing there
Same. Love muffin man
About Muffin Man: I stole this comment from another user on another clip, but it's too good to waste: "If I ever become exceedingly rich I'm gonna hire a top-end guitar player to walk behind me whenever I enter a room and play this riff."
Dude, the first time I saw Dweezil, he brought Eric Johnson out and they did a 35-minute dueling solo version of Muffin Man! Unbelievable
My old band did Willie The Pimp and me and the other guitarist traded solos and it was one of my favorite experiences
It's awesome you chose some riffs from his MOST underrated album: 200 Motels!
I remember when the movie 200 Motels came out. I believe it was rated "X."
UA-cam's algorithm is working fine. yesterday i listened Five Five Five (Soup 'n old clothes too-hell of a solo) and today this nice collection is brought to the shore.
Glad you enjoyed it
Bringing back the genius work is always welcomed! I am waiting for the second part, and third, and fourth!! So many great riffs from FZ!
He's is so underrated in the guitar community. When I was putting this together there were so many I had to leave out. Also, so many synth riffs that were awesome too
Apostrophe's riff is absolutely monstrous
Nicely done. There are several more, but hard to complain with those and nicely played for this type of countdown.
@pilesovinyl Cheers! I was considering Room Service, Father O'blivion, Don't Eat Yellow Snow and Broken Hearts Are For Assholes. Which ones would you include?
This must have been the hardest Top Ten list ever….Duane 🇨🇦And totally agree with Eat ThatvQuestion
I am subscribing just because I see how much you love Zappa music. It's even more than I do. I wish I loved it enough to be able to play these riffs. Maybe I should shut up and play my guitar...
Nice! I had a friend (RIP) and we played a lot of these on acoustic guitars. We also did Peaches en Regalia, Lumpy Gravy Theme, Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance, Let's Make the Water Turn Black, etc. Miss those days.
That's awesome. Sounds like a cool jam session
Zappa was one of the best guitarists of all time. well done!
555 is supposed to be played on the G and D strings as a pair of (double stops). I learned this from the Steve Vai transcription in the Frank Zappa Guitar Book. Good choice of riffs though :)
Ah wow, that's both surprising and cool. Thanks for the heads up
There are 200 more. get busy! Ha! Good job, and I enjoyed listening to Frank done well.
Thank you very much kind sir!
great top 10 list! And great Zappa-like tone. Dig your jammin' out on Apostrophe too! Although I think the main lick on San Ber'dino should be on this list - or maybe Zombie Woof - OK, I get it - too hard to just pick 10!
in that tone genre you nailed it. gotta say willie the pimp is my fav... something comically soothing rendered from the pairing of Ponte and the Captain, backed by that plucky rhythm.
jean-luc isn’t the violinist on “willie the pimp”… that’s sugarcane harris…
excellent compendium - thanks for the heads up !
I was watching the video under the assumption this was super popular video of a consolidated channel. It was surprising to notice it wasn't the case! Great job, man!
Thank you! Frank Zappa is a really unique guitarist who doesn't get enough recognition. So making the video was a joy. Are you a big Zappa fan?
@@garstang-blues Oh, YT didn't notify me of this reply; so a little late but regardless: I haven't dug deep enough into his work to say I'm a big fan, but I've quite fancied what I've heard so far! Fully agree that he deserves far more recognition.
@@Leo_nbd Yeah it took me a while to get properly get "into" his music. I really enjoyed "Apostrophe'" and "Overnite Sensation" albums first. "The Grand Wazoo" blow my mind though - and still does!
@@garstang-blues Cool! I've only listened to songs on their own so far, but I'll give it a try with those!
Nice work bro 😎 keep up the great job 👏
Thank you!
So hard to choose 'cause soooo many songs and riffs, he's the boss !! I would also pick Watermelon In Easter Hay, Peaches en Regalia, Florentine Pogen, Zoot allures, black napkins, and the greatest song ever for me : inca roads especially the incredible solo. Nice job anyway, congrats !
Yeah early seventies Zappa was absolutely tremendous. It was definitely my favourite period!
I'd add San Ber'dino to that list too, and maybe Camarillo Brillo. The Orange County Lumber Truck is great too.
This is the problem when you have a catalogue as big as Frank's. A top ten just isn't possible!
Any Downers, there's another great riff. Damn.
five five Five goes so hard! Thanks man!
🎸
This rules. You really nailed all of them.
Thanks so much Jessica!
Zappa é demais da conta! Falta muita coisa ai...
Great work, thanks. I would add “can’t afford no shoes, 👞
Son todos buenísimos👏👏🎵🎶 A esa lista yo también añadiría Dirty love y Cosmic Debris.
Good shit, m'man!!
I knew before I clicked Willie the Pimp would be in there
How could I not include it!
Awesome
Thank you!
Thank you.
You're welcome!
I'm a little pimp with my hair gassed back
not bad, hard to choose, so many more that are just as good, FZ, Riffmeister Extraordinaire!!
Nice roundup.
Thanks Kevin, are you a big Zappa fan?
@@garstang-blues I would say I am.
Great work! Very cool!
Thank you! Cheers!
Eat That Question #1 hell yes
Every FZ riff is my favorite!
Don't stop at 10! ;)
Apart from Mystery Roach i think we on the same page. Would add Dirty Love, Don't Eat the Yellow Snow and Mammy Anthem.
no problem man i´ve got you
Great work, sounds really great ! Is guitar effect more like overdrive or fuzz ?
Thanks! It's a ehx big muff fuzz after a boss eq pedal (boosting high frequencies) played through a vox ac30.
sounds great @@garstang-blues
That last one sounds like CKY...aaand I looked it up and Chad Ginsburg listens to Zappa, yep, nice.
Sick tone
I'd like to put in a word for the earwormy bass riff in Advance Romance - especially as executed in the MAJNH version from 1988.
Thanks! I'll check it out!
@garstang-blues My pleasure. Send cash.
The brass players have the first bite at the riff when it appears (after the first vaudeville segment of the song), but Scott Thunes soon takes it over and underpins my favourite FZ solo impeccably.
@garstang-blues The riff appears after the first vaudeville segment of the song (great bass here too). First it's played by the brass, then keys plus bass, and then it's just Scott Thunes underpinning my favourite FZ solo impeccably.
(I thought I'd posted an earlier version of this but it seems to have vanished. If you see a semi-duplicate of the mini-post you are currently reading, apologies.)
No worries. I don't seem to get notified when people reply to comments, it's weird. Thanks for the info!
Where is Sinister Footwear
Abigail....great!!! ❤
Why does this only have 122 likes?
Because sadly, many guitarists don't know about Zappa's greatness. He was a riff machine!
Let him in peace I don’t understand why they try 3:35
That was the shit! I am the slime on yer radiooooooo 🤌🏻
Sequel vid please! Requesting Arf and Watermelon
Echidna's Arf is one of my all time favourite FZ tracks. It just builds and builds and gets better. And the musicianship is insane.
Some hot poop fur sure. If you let Transylvania Boogie crawl into your head, one of those other riffs might have to move to 11.
Damn Transylvania Boogie is in outer space. To me, the layman, it almost makes no sense upon listening. But anything on chunga's Revenge would have been well represented
Someone once told me they thought Transylvania Boogie is "too noodly". To me it's one of the best guitar pieces from any guitarist, and I can't understand why some folks seem challenged by it. It's such a solid composition despite being improvised.
They're all great, but hard to leave off "Stevie's Spanking".
I had a Maestro, by Oberheim. Zappa used that on a lot of stuff. Wish I still had it, I traded a half ounce of shrooms for it and then sold it in order to move to NYC. Big mistake.
I've just spent 30 minutes watching Maestro by Oberheim videos on UA-cam 🤣... it sounds absolutely epic.
Frank's gear in general was awesome. I remember seeing a video of Dweezil in Frank's old studio going through all the gear he had and it was fascinating.
One of my personal faves is My Guitar Wants To Kill Your Mama. Right down low on the fretboard. Great G3 version with Keneally on vocals.
Not one from Joes Garage?
I’m less familiar with Five-Five-Five but I haven’t listened to the “Shut Up and Play Yer Guitar” series as much… still, I’d be harder pressed to list that and not list “Zombie Woof”… outside of that, I got no complaints.
Man, you like your fuzz tone. You can prob through some fretboard oil on that guitar and make the fretboard pop, should also play a bit better too. Magic fingers is a great pick
Thanks for the advice!
Great list! (no watermelon in easter hay?)
I wasn't sure if it's a riff, a solo or a lick... It feels more like a lick, but I wasn't sure...
Amazing ! What effects were used? Thanks
Thanks! Compression, reverb and fuzz mainly! ( I have a EH big muffin pedal and an eq pedal which changes its tone)
Cool sound man! F.Z with a J.M😊. What's your fuzz? Zvex?
Thanks! No it's just a big muff... Although I put a EQ pedal in front of it which gives it massive range
Zoot allures?? Anyone??
You forgot the break on Solar Latex Beef.
The best riff of all time is Blue light on Tinsel town.
I'll have a full listen
nice jag.
Really good player and love the riffs, missing Baltimore and Watermelon, but enjoyed, thanks! my only critique would be tone, pretty much the same throughout, sounded good but got old.
Glad you enjoyed it Steve!
half of these are from my favorite zappa songs, ur fukn good
Cheers mate!
Are you sure it's not CKY?
Zappa was never underrated. In his day, he was god of his world. He had a studio in his basement. His log cabin was the place to be for all of rock royalty.
Magic Fingers!
Entonces?
You kept it greasy 🤌
Ignored by many. Loved by people looking for something original. No Mongolian string strangling here!
you need to drink a whisky or two and find some feeling if you're going to play this stuff.
glad to hear 555 in there anyway
I would of perhaps used a different guitar for this... but some good choices there ... 👍
To me these are actually heads to different songs. Different hooks to hang a groove on. I think of a riff as a single phrase of melody.
Bellissimo grazie
The ones you can play, you mean? 😂
Ouch 😂
@@garstang-blues I'm sorry. I've given you a thumbs up, to ease the pain.
Merry Christmas 😂 🎄
@@garstang-blues Thanks. Have a wonderful day x
Just those people who know what he sounds like on all those records; try and breathe... I wasn't criticizing your playing, just making a suggestion; a little less fuzz and more distortion.
Great, but the tone is awful
Leave it alone ,let him roast in peace ,you d suck but your treading water,give it. A break no one does FZ
Too much fuzz...
I found it deliciously muddy 🤤
Ratio
Are people not allowed to put their own spin on the sound? Besides, I think it sounds great
Too much Rasta
For some people maybe. Please post your video with the appropriate amount of fuzz. Thank you
Too much distortion
God that sucks!
Give it a break ,he’s a butcher
Not even close no one cover frank not even his son let him rest in peace
Bamboozled is all kinda cheap and wrong. Pretty good job though man Apostrophe is fantastic.
If you are trying to rate FZs riffs, you're wasting my time because you aren't a connoisseur of the master's works.
They're my top ten, but they may not be yours.
Why so harsh, that's pretty rude.
He is not wasting your time mate. You have agency.
If your time is wasted watching this, that's on you.
*You* are wasting your time, not him.
@@peterolbrisch8970Some people cannot help but put blame on others for their faults .
Such people are anal apertures.