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This song is from the famous JOE'S Garage (Triple album set). Joes garage Act 1 was the Zappa Introduction album for most folks growing up in the 70;s. The Title Track was played often on the radio. The narration you heard at the start of this song (Easter Hay) is the END part of an entire story line of Joe's life in Music. The First 20 Minutes of Act 1, is 100% off the Hook. Best Story Telling you ever heard. YOU NEVER HEARD a story like it in your life. The Background Music is off the Hook. The Subject Matter will make you laugh and maybe Blush too...! Totally an off the Hook Album. MUST BE PLAYED as one 20Minute Song. If broken up into parts, you loose 50% of the image he trys to paint. JOES GARAGE ACT 1 You won't regret it.
Yes it is freestyled. Frank wrote every note of the songs out for the musicians and then whooped the band into perfection and then would take it live and do improvised solos that he called "Air Sculptures." This is one such Air Sculpture.
if you haven’t heard Duprees Paradise Live from Stockholm you MUST check it out🤯,as in all of Zappas performances the solos are spectacular and in the category of those best on the 2nd listen 😁 and then it just gets better every time 👍,enjoy (i hope).
Always our end of night track..after the wonderful house party nights in Wrexham in beautiful North Wales.... Beautiful Friends.... Beautiful Zappa....Dioclch yn Fawr Frank..
The best thing about this is that we realize how much poignancy is added by the “silly” beginning. As a guitarist who played a bit professionally and had my time, but moved on, I find the idea of a “last imaginary guitar solo” to be heart wrenching. I’ve already told my daughter I want this played at my funeral. (Btw, I still play real guitar solos all the time, but you get the idea).
Zappa was a gobsmacking genius. Lucky enough to see him live a couple times and actually met him after a show. Joe’s Garage is one of my all time favorite albums. RIP Frank. Thank you for all of it!
A lot of Frank's stuff is "out there" and mostly just for music nerds, but this is pure poetry. So simple. So beautiful. Lots of folks get married and buried to this song. It's easy to hear why.
Thank you for reacting to Watermelon in Easter Hay by Zappa!!! It is one of my favorite pieces of music ever, and whenever I listen to it I immediately think of wonderful things: friends, love, joy, music, long summer days. Zappa's guitar work here is so soulful and intimate - you can really hear his LOVE of playing the guitar in this song! I would argue that some of Zappa's best music had no lyrics or singing. He even composed 12 tone, serialized musical pieces that are obscure yet fascinating.
He wrote this for his son, Dweezil. When Dweezil first played it live he played it for his mother she was in the front row at The Beacon Theater in NYC. He was crying as he was playing and the entire theater was there with him, and her. I have photos. It felt like the most intimate and personal moment I have ever had with an artist plus, several hundred others.
@@kosta380 “I have an important message to deliver to all the cute people all over the world. If you're out there and you're cute, maybe you're beautiful. I just want to tell you somethin' - there's more of us UGLY MOTHERFUCKERS than you are, hey-y, so watch out.” ― Frank Zappa
Certainly the man for his time and place. My favorite American, all time. Stunning intelligence, unparalleled work ethic, courage, honesty, HUMOR, owned all stages around the planet when he performed with all of his band. No other artist remotely similar
You gotta love a guy who is so determined to make a name for himself that he gets himself booked on the most popular late night tv show of its time to do a performance playing a bicycle.
So Zappaesque in it's simple, mournful beauty and with its tongue firmly in its cheek. This song always brings a tear to my eye. Thanks Frank, you'll never truly die...ever. Your reaction captured it, Polo.
No drugs for Frank! Frank said in an interview once that Watermelon was his favorite song that he wrote, his son Dweezil had tears in his eyes the first time he played it live after his dad died. I would like it played at my funeral. I'm asking you to listen to Fran'ks last great live solo from Prague in 91, it's called A Reggae Improvisation In A Major. Thanx for the reaction. "I write and play music for myself, my sole intended audience" ~ Frank Zappa
FZ didn't do illegal drugs. He tried pot once or twice but it just made him sleepy. He drank socially, which is to say he'd have a beer or a glass of wine sometimes. Not while he was working at home or on the road, though. And, of course, he smoked cigarettes pretty much all the time.
I seen zappa plays zappa his son playing this song in AC and he started to cry and kept playing and i looked to see the audience, and there wasn’t a dry eye in the place Long live Frank zappa.
@@jasonrutter1699 Zappa plays Zappa..Frank would have hated it.And Frank might have hated Gail for making his son go through the hoops that became ZPZ..instead of.. hey sure my kid can play my sh*t when im gone
Frank will go down in history as one of music's finest and greatest artists. He will be vaunted with the likes of Beethoven, Mozart and Bach. A level of excellence and creativity few, if any, modern day musicians could ever hope to reach. And having witnessed a number of his live shows, I firmly believe that he is the GOAT.
What I love about this track aside from the magnificent guitar is how he slowly and gradually added more and more ambiance, instruments, etc. If you listen really closely there's some kind of a phase going back and forth that sounds like wind. It's an epic piece. Not bad for an imaginary solo. 😏
This composition, which I have been listening to, time and time again, for decades, makes me realize the luck of having existed on this planet when Frank created this masterpiece. What a time to be alive.
I was lucky enough to see Frank for the Shut Up and Play Your Guitar tour in the early 80,s. Glad you enjoyed Watermelon In Easter Hay, it's one of my favorite Zappa songs. But then again I could name 10 Zappa songs that are my favorite.
In this performance, he is like David Gilmour - he's not trying to shred as many notes as possible into each bar, but allows each individual note to develop into the space he leaves for it.
For me, this is one of the most moving songs in the entire rock catalogue; it does instrumentally what Comfortably Numb does with words AND music. If you care to, check out his son Dweezil playing this in concert, some parts note-for-note, others improvised (as Frank would want it.) Dweezil is brilliant on guitar, despite crying all the way through the song - and I cried with him. I don't ask for much, but I want this played at my wake. 🙏
Such an emotional song. I remember this is what was on the Zappa hotline the morning he passed. Exicited to see other folks appreciating Zappa. Polly want a Zappa?
Holy cow! You have just made it to my favorite part of music. I create my own idea or interpretation of these instrumentals. This one's a particularly beautiful track.
Next to Paul Kossoff's Time Away (full version) no better example of an artist who can make a guitar cry. Pure gut level communication. I saw him in an amphitheater in Iowa around 1980. He played two "full out, I ain't stopping until I feel like it" solos. The first one was Illinois Enema Bandit. I have been playing guitar for 40 years and I don't think I can even describe the things he pulled off in the almost 20 minute solo that night. The second one, close to the end was this one which he broke into out of a quickie rendition of REUNZL. He had everyone broke down. I looked around my area and people were standing and weeping along with the guitar. It was STUNNING!
Yes, this was free-styled, in front of a live audience on a concert tour in Japan. In my opinion this is the best guitar solo I've ever heard, and I've heard hundreds if not thousands of them over my life. Apparently Frank loved it too and so he lifted the concert audio straight onto the album and had it represent the final act of real creativity in a world where music had been made illegal. It's a chilling story. Frank's voice in the beginning is him playing the main villain.
No doubt you’re going to get comments about context. This is from one of Franks epic operas, Joes Garage. It should be listened to front to back at once. From the mind of a self taught composer and guitarist, written and produced by him in his home studio, the UMRK (Utility Muffin Research Kitchen). Zappa was a force rarely seen in the world of music and is sorely missed. I’m very happy that you are enjoying this discovery and thank you for an excellent reaction! Cue marlon the troll.
Not recorded at Utility Muffin Research Kitchen. It didn't exist yet, except in his plans and in the songs Muffin Man and Little Green Rosetta. Recorded at Village Recorders "B," LA April-June 1979 Mastered (and additional recording?) at Kendun "D," LA This was the last album to be recorded in a rented studio. I Don't Wanna Get Drafted single was the last song recorded in a rented studio. Ocean Way Recorders, Hollywood February 1980
The album version you are listening too is probably the most pure guitar I have ever heard & remains a tune I will love forever. There are several live versions but this remains tops for me.
To this day- I can't make it through the opening motif without bawling. Happened the first time I heard it as a teen- such a sad resolve, set in a beautiful musical landscape. It touches all of the pain you think you got rid of.
Right up there with Roy Buchanan's "Sweet Dreams" and Stevie Ray Vaughn's cover of "Little Wing" as a transcendent and chill guitar-based instrumental.
Zappa actually was a total non drug person & discouraged it to his bands even at the height of the psychedelic music era where he was one of the pioneers of the strange, bazaar & trippy. My first encounter was at 14 visiting my Biology teacher's home in 1970. He was playing a tune with all talking, no music, repeating mostly "IT CANT HAPPEN HERE" over and over for 3 minutes. The strangest drug induced sounding thing I ever heard recorded.
This song is clearly a masterpiece. Sublime. Glad you liked it. I enjoyed your reaction. I've been listening to Zappa since 1969 and have all his recordings and saw him perform several times. Check out his son Dweezil who FAITHFULLY plays his dad's music. WIEH brings tears to my eyes most of the times I listen to it. Majestic. Timeless. Simple and superb. Zappa's catalogue is enormous and very eclectic. There's a lifetime of music to listen and grow with. Enjoy.
Frank was extremely “anti-drug use” ….difficult to digest but the only thing Frank was ever high on was massive amounts of coffee & cigarettes…….& the music!👍🏼🎸 Mad musician!!😆
FZ started as a percussionist in H.S. band. Required top players and rehearsed them into a place of singular perfection. Auditions were legendary in his home studio, where you might play anything over days of unreal time sigs. and instantaneous segues into a completely opposing genre of music: Doo wop...reggae...punk...r&b...NO MISTAKES
Love this one, another great Zappa solo Apostrophe!, Watermelon makes me think of marooned by pink Floyd another breath taking solo and in the same vain neil Youngs cortez the killer These are all amazing tracks hope you get to hear them some day
Possibly his most romantic guitar solo. After Watermelon, you might chose to hear Sleep Dirt; which is Frank Zappa on acoustic guitar playing a solo. Not a whole lot of those in his catalog.
NO LYRICS. It can bring you to tears.When FZ starts shredding fast...thats the improv part..he would record a bunch and pick the best ones.FZ is and will always be the BEST.❤🏁
Like I said in a previous comment,...don't forget to find "Bamboozled By Love" There are various versions. BUT If you research the 1988 band and find this LIVE...you'll love it trust me
his most introspective and heartfelt guitar solo it brings tears to my eyes every time I hear it. just like another person's comment last thing I want to hear before I leave this life
I once saw a Frank Zappa concert in Houston. The stage was set up with three levels. I saw Zappa climb the amplifiers to the highest level. He played a guitar solo. climbed down to the first level. Then he finished singing the song
GOTTA do Funkadelic's "Maggot Brain"! (1970, I believe.) Absolute brain-melting guitar work, often overlooked by "classic rock" fans not being aware that P-Funk rocked as well as they funked.
So mad at radio and record execs ...that shoulda been a number one record..instead i had to stumble on it 30yrs later.. Good Ghoughts , Bad Thoughts is every bit as good.Eddie Hazel should be acknowledged..
This piece is a reminder to all of us that sound alone ... without lyric can be emotional and compelling. Something Bach, Mozart, Beethoven and their many gifted contemporaries knew centuries ago. Sound has a beauty all its own. Makes me glad to be a human
This is the only completely instrumental song to make me cry..theres got to be some scientific explanation about that soaring high extended note he plays throughout the song that makes it hit so hard for so many..im sure there is but Frank knew..edit: i also bought it when it came out..a little steep for a 10th grader $12.99
@@chrisross-fd3fo I thought it was a dirty trick on FZ's part to lure us in with Pt I at regular album price, then force us to buy a double album (Parts II & III) to find out what happens to Joe. Ultimately, worth every penny. Well played, Frank... ;)
@@Panufo and also he didnt partake in Columbia Houses free samples..i used to love those ..so charitable,so giving although my parents say the still get stickers addressed to Marvin Danquechure 55 Oak St Apt 3b..and also i never listen to a songs words..just the vocals..took me a long time to make that happen..i know its about..some dude..franks lyrics have a way of seeping in tho..hes alright he dont seem like he's preaching like a ton of other music..hey waiiiit..now that i think about..nvrmnd..Im groovin to Don Hana
I saw Frank play it. I saw Dweezil play it. This has always hit me hard. There is such a feeling of peacefulness and calm. The solo is an emotional release that is so beautiful it brings tears to my eyes. I have to admit there are other Zappa recordings that do this to me. Live recordings are sometimes hard to listen too because I literally never missed any concert in the Detroit area from 1972 until he stopped. The world got cheated when he passed.....
A Great Concept Album , and as ALWAYS Filled with GREAT Instrumental pieces and sociopolitical commentary. It will be a VERY VERY VERY Long Time before we see an Artist of his Caliber. I've seen Frank a dozen times since the 70's (and got his autograph , still one of my Prized Possessions) Always a Great Show Never Disappointed even when he was not well in the late 80's . WE MISS YA FRANK !
There is a song Frank did that was embraced by the Jazz community to the point of it becoming a jazz standard. It is an instrumental called Peaches in Regalia. Want something that will drop your jaw, dude seriously take a listen to Peaches in Regalia. Sorry for so many comments but the only thing a Zappa Head loves more than listening to Zappa, is turning someone else onto Zappa! I will make this my last one promise, LOL.
Hey Polo, I’m new to your channel and really enjoying you getting turned on to the music I grew up with. As already stated,I’m old. I’m from the NYC area so I had the pleasure of seeing FZ many times. What you said about no words can lead you down a path to ,IMO, the best of Frank Zappa. He was a special unique composer. Thanks for letting me vicariously, experience the music of my youth again through you !!!
Your “prom beat” is actually a stately 9/4 time signature, which is why the band plays it so carefully…it’s neither natural, nor easy. Frank just flows over it on guitar, though 😎🎸👍
@@jazzzman8050 One thing I noticed about the time signature of this song is it seems to mimic human respiration at rest. Inhale, exhale then a short pause before inhaling again. It's my theory that that's what he tapped into to create such a soothing and beautiful composition. It's just comforting. Like someone coming to terms with their own death.
Frank wrote that song for his wife Gail when she was very sick and they didn’t think she would live. On his own deathbed he told her to sell his entire catalog of music, except Watermelon In Easter Hay because that was for her. His son Dweezil eventually played it in public and it’s perfect, but hard to watch because he’s choking back tears the whole time. Not just because of the history of the song, but he said it is the first song his father taught him how to play. To answer your question, no Frank wasn’t high lol that isn’t him speaking in the intro. Frank didn’t do drugs, and did not tolerate drug use in his band. He wanted them all fit to perform for the audience that bought tickets. His addictions were cigarettes and coffee, and his wife and their 4 children. RIP Frank. You did more to fight censorship in music than anyone and every musician should know your work and thank you for your efforts to keep music art, and not subject to censorship. He fought valiantly on Capitol Hill and everyone should watch the tapes of those hearings. He was a genius.
First, thank you for not stopping the music 40 times to comment on it, much appreciated. Second, I would recommend you watch his son Dweezil do this live. He nails his father's music so amazingly. And his looking up to the heavens at times while playing it - is beautiful and heart wrenching at the same time. Definitely channeling his Dad. RIP Frank, miss you much.❤
Frank always free styled his solos thats why it always sounds so raw I love driving to franks unique fluid style , I'm so glad his music and mentality still inspires.
I’ve been a Zappa fan since the 70s. Watermelon in Easter Hay, is one of my all time favorites along with Peaches En Regalia on Hot Rats and REDUNZL on Studio Tan!
I saw Zappa live in Champaign, Illinois, mid-80s. One never knew what to expect from his concerts. My one and only time to see him live featured Frank as a director of his band. He literally stood in front of a fairly large group of musicians with a baton, occasionally stopping to play a guitar solo. Frank rarely spoke during the entire concert.
This "song" is amazing for many reasons. 9/4 time isn't supposed to be lyrical. A two-chord vamp isn't supposed to hold your attention for this long. The clean tone, verging on Surf, isn't supposed to be this "deep." Yet all that is true, and a lot more that my pedestrian mind can't comprehend. If I have anything resembling a funeral, I want this played at it, on a loop. For as long as you're there, this is what I want you to feel. 🙏
Hi Polo! Really enjoyed your dip into a Frank. He is very unrecognized for guitar playing and conducting skills. Everybody is watching Frank for the cues. Check out Frank and the Mothers of Invention for early Frankie stuff. was cool hearing about your son. I can relate. Your honest reactions reflected my own in many ways. Thanks man!
Zappa was a musical genius and artist. I don’t say that about just anyone as much as I am into all genres. I look at music in only 2 categories… good or bad. It either touches your soul or it doesn’t.😎
You started with the last song of the album (A Little Green Rosetta might be the actual last tune...The Central Scrutinizer; Frank, sings it in his regular voice). The whole album is about Joe and his budding music career that began in his garage. It is simply brilliant. Please listen from the beginning, to understand what the listener is in for..."the white zone is for loading and unloading only!" Great reaction, btw!
“I never knew I didn’t need lyrics ‘til now” - Polo (June 2023) 7:18 Should make a TShirt out of that quote!!! Really enjoying your channel and your discovery of music! I’m sure you have a list of requests a million miles long but could you put the Black Crowes “Sometimes Salvation”, “My Morning Song” or “Cursed Diamond” on the list? 🍻🎶 Polo! (Studio version of My Morning Song, not all live versions have the backup female vocalists)
Frank played the Hartford Atheneum hall many years during the 80s, at Valentine's Day. I caught 4 annual shows and got tuned into his jazz style and orchestrational talent. I turned my son (29) on to it last year. Check out Michael Hedges, too.
Thanks for watching! Most of my requests come from here. To support the show here www.patreon.com/poloreacts or show your love for the channel by buying me a coffee www.buymeacoffee.com/poloreacts 🤞🏾
This song is from the famous JOE'S Garage (Triple album set). Joes garage Act 1 was the Zappa Introduction album for most folks growing up in the 70;s. The Title Track was played often on the radio.
The narration you heard at the start of this song (Easter Hay) is the END part of an entire story line of Joe's life in Music. The First 20 Minutes of Act 1, is 100% off the Hook. Best Story Telling you ever heard. YOU NEVER HEARD a story like it in your life. The Background Music is off the Hook. The Subject Matter will make you laugh and maybe Blush too...! Totally an off the Hook Album. MUST BE PLAYED as one 20Minute Song. If broken up into parts, you loose 50% of the image he trys to paint. JOES GARAGE ACT 1 You won't regret it.
Yes it is freestyled. Frank wrote every note of the songs out for the musicians and then whooped the band into perfection and then would take it live and do improvised solos that he called "Air Sculptures." This is one such Air Sculpture.
You should do "willie the pimp" next 😉
Zappas shit music without sense, is suitable for flushing the toilet 🤣 🤣 🤣
if you haven’t heard Duprees Paradise Live from Stockholm you MUST check it out🤯,as in all of Zappas performances the solos are spectacular and in the category of those best on the 2nd listen 😁 and then it just gets better every time 👍,enjoy (i hope).
this song brings tears to my eyes every time
Always our end of night track..after the wonderful house party nights in Wrexham in beautiful North Wales.... Beautiful Friends.... Beautiful Zappa....Dioclch yn Fawr Frank..
The best thing about this is that we realize how much poignancy is added by the “silly” beginning. As a guitarist who played a bit professionally and had my time, but moved on, I find the idea of a “last imaginary guitar solo” to be heart wrenching. I’ve already told my daughter I want this played at my funeral.
(Btw, I still play real guitar solos all the time, but you get the idea).
watermelon in Easter hay is the last thing I want to hear when I leave this life
ive already told my family this must be playeds at my funeral, including the central scrutiniser at the start
@@garymacdonald7866 the same
Same here
Yes
Joe’s Garage is a masterpiece. The production, the musicianship, the story. It’s a mind blower.
Best listened to in sides for UA-cam.
I did all the album's in order on 3 tabs of acid once😃
It’s one of my top 20 favorite albums of all time. Masterpiece is right.
Zappa was a gobsmacking genius. Lucky enough to see him live a couple times and actually met him after a show.
Joe’s Garage is one of my all time favorite albums.
RIP Frank.
Thank you for all of it!
A lot of Frank's stuff is "out there" and mostly just for music nerds, but this is pure poetry. So simple. So beautiful. Lots of folks get married and buried to this song. It's easy to hear why.
OMG! Who's cutting the onions? I'm not crying. You're crying.
Thank you for reacting to Watermelon in Easter Hay by Zappa!!! It is one of my favorite pieces of music ever, and whenever I listen to it I immediately think of wonderful things: friends, love, joy, music, long summer days. Zappa's guitar work here is so soulful and intimate - you can really hear his LOVE of playing the guitar in this song! I would argue that some of Zappa's best music had no lyrics or singing. He even composed 12 tone, serialized musical pieces that are obscure yet fascinating.
He wrote this for his son, Dweezil. When Dweezil first played it live he played it for his mother she was in the front row at The Beacon Theater in NYC. He was crying as he was playing and the entire theater was there with him, and her. I have photos. It felt like the most intimate and personal moment I have ever had with an artist plus, several hundred others.
After the applause, we all needed a moment. It was grande
Shit ugly zappa was an insult to other composers
@@kosta380 “I have an important message to deliver to all the cute people all over the world. If you're out there and you're cute, maybe you're beautiful. I just want to tell you somethin' - there's more of us UGLY MOTHERFUCKERS than you are, hey-y, so watch out.”
― Frank Zappa
"Watermelon in Easter Hay", full name "Playing a Guitar Solo With This Band is Like Trying To Grow a Watermelon in Easter Hay",[1] ~ Wikipedia
I had sex with E.T. (and a bunch of his friends!)
Certainly the man for his time and place. My favorite American, all time. Stunning intelligence, unparalleled work ethic, courage, honesty, HUMOR, owned all stages around the planet when he performed with all of his band. No other artist remotely similar
You gotta love a guy who is so determined to make a name for himself that he gets himself booked on the most popular late night tv show of its time to do a performance playing a bicycle.
I loved that.
LOL yes!
So Zappaesque in it's simple, mournful beauty and with its tongue firmly in its cheek. This song always brings a tear to my eye. Thanks Frank, you'll never truly die...ever. Your reaction captured it, Polo.
"It feels like a Zappa kind of day" ... wouldn't mind having that printed on my shirt and wear it proud!!!
I saw his Son, Dweezil play this on his Others of Intention tour.
Beautiful song.
Very hard to play.
Dweezil was holding back tears the whole time.
He wouldn’t play it for a long time and then when I saw him do it he was wiping away tears in between licks. Honored and amazed.
@@2032bick52 he refused to play it live, until he could get it perfect.
Which is incredibly hard to do.
The whole shit Zappa family, you can throw in the trash 😂
By the end of this song, I feel like I've just experienced one of the most wonderful days of my life in some beautiful setting!
I'm in tears. I didn't know Frank Zappa could write such incredibly beautiful music. Many blessings ya'll n thanx for makin my day just a bit better.
The greatest guitar piece ever recorded
That guitar can actually speak words better then any of us can. Specially his guitar
i heard this song and listen to it often but you said my goodness i said yesss he got it and at the same time i start to cry!!! TRUE
his shit gives yer bones goosebumps.
This is my all time fave Zappa song. Played it at my husband's funeral. Zappa is beyond. He's not from this dimension
No drugs for Frank! Frank said in an interview once that Watermelon was his favorite song that he wrote, his son Dweezil had tears in his eyes the first time he played it live after his dad died. I would like it played at my funeral. I'm asking you to listen to Fran'ks last great live solo from Prague in 91, it's called A Reggae Improvisation In A Major. Thanx for the reaction.
"I write and play music for myself, my sole intended audience" ~ Frank Zappa
Zappas shit music without sense , is suitable for flushing the toilet 🤣
Yeah, he was very anti-drugs, but imagine enjoying this on some fine bud. Must be a match made in heaven
Nicotine is a drug
@@rcgmpearson Many of Frank's videos should be referenced as......Where's Frank's Cigarette ?
FZ didn't do illegal drugs. He tried pot once or twice but it just made him sleepy. He drank socially, which is to say he'd have a beer or a glass of wine sometimes. Not while he was working at home or on the road, though. And, of course, he smoked cigarettes pretty much all the time.
I seen zappa plays zappa his son playing this song in AC and he started to cry and kept playing and i looked to see the audience, and there wasn’t a dry eye in the place Long live Frank zappa.
I realized I've never seen Dweezil play this. Looked it up... then had a completely normal manly cry on a Saturday morning
@@jasonrutter1699 Zappa plays Zappa..Frank would have hated it.And Frank might have hated Gail for making his son go through the hoops that became ZPZ..instead of.. hey sure my kid can play my sh*t when im gone
Franks only sad solo. The song everyone played when he passed, always makes me shed a tear 😢. So happy you’re enjoying it 😊
Hell, it's the song all of us will have played at our funerals.
Another one comes to mind, which is insanely beautiful: sleep dirt from the album sleep dirt. A shame the other guy's fingers got stuck
When the world ends this is the song that will be playing.
Frank will go down in history as one of music's finest and greatest artists. He will be vaunted with the likes of Beethoven, Mozart and Bach. A level of excellence and creativity few, if any, modern day musicians could ever hope to reach. And having witnessed a number of his live shows, I firmly believe that he is the GOAT.
A true artist can equate sorrow with beauty. This is a perfect example .....
What I love about this track aside from the magnificent guitar is how he slowly and gradually added more and more ambiance, instruments, etc. If you listen really closely there's some kind of a phase going back and forth that sounds like wind. It's an epic piece. Not bad for an imaginary solo. 😏
Frank probably was the smartest dude in the room, most of the time.
This composition, which I have been listening to, time and time again, for decades, makes me realize the luck of having existed on this planet when Frank created this masterpiece. What a time to be alive.
Wonderful reaction to Frank Zappa's beautiful guitar solo. Thanks so much.
I was lucky enough to see Frank for the Shut Up and Play Your Guitar tour in the early 80,s. Glad you enjoyed Watermelon In Easter Hay, it's one of my favorite Zappa songs. But then again I could name 10 Zappa songs that are my favorite.
In this performance, he is like David Gilmour - he's not trying to shred as many notes as possible into each bar, but allows each individual note to develop into the space he leaves for it.
He does shred in some parts
I heard this on the radio when it first came out. It launched me down the Frank Zappa rabbit hole. It remains my favorite guitar solo still.
Thank you Polo
My brother tragically died last week and he loved guitar and Zappa..... I needed this🙏🏻
I gotta hear more Zappa. This was beautiful.
Try 'black napkins' and 'orange county lumber truck'
Gotcha
Black Napkins AND Pink Napkins. Pink Napkins is Black Napkins after it has smoked a bowl of indica. …Quite a large bowl.
For me, this is one of the most moving songs in the entire rock catalogue; it does instrumentally what Comfortably Numb does with words AND music. If you care to, check out his son Dweezil playing this in concert, some parts note-for-note, others improvised (as Frank would want it.) Dweezil is brilliant on guitar, despite crying all the way through the song - and I cried with him.
I don't ask for much, but I want this played at my wake. 🙏
Feels like a Zappa kind of day. Quote of the day.
Every time I hear this the hairs stand up on the back of my neck. One of the great pieces of music of the 20th century imo. Great reaction
i loved seeing the look on your face during this piece. it looks like how i feel when listening to it. frank was a genius
Check out the entire album. Joe's Garage got me into Zappa.
"Stick It Out" is my fav lol
@@ianobrien3248 Aber beklecker nicht das sofa, sofa!😏
Me too. Sy borg brought me in. I was floored
"Cletus Awreetus-Awrightus" is a great (mostly) instrumental and lives on regular playback rent-free in my head.
Far and away one of Frank's most amazing compositions. A Hauntingly Beautiful Melodic Masterpiece, by the master of musical genius, Frank Zappa.
Such an emotional song. I remember this is what was on the Zappa hotline the morning he passed. Exicited to see other folks appreciating Zappa. Polly want a Zappa?
Holy cow! You have just made it to my favorite part of music. I create my own idea or interpretation of these instrumentals. This one's a particularly beautiful track.
Next to Paul Kossoff's Time Away (full version) no better example of an artist who can make a guitar cry. Pure gut level communication. I saw him in an amphitheater in Iowa around 1980. He played two "full out, I ain't stopping until I feel like it" solos. The first one was Illinois Enema Bandit. I have been playing guitar for 40 years and I don't think I can even describe the things he pulled off in the almost 20 minute solo that night. The second one, close to the end was this one which he broke into out of a quickie rendition of REUNZL. He had everyone broke down. I looked around my area and people were standing and weeping along with the guitar. It was STUNNING!
Yes, this was free-styled, in front of a live audience on a concert tour in Japan. In my opinion this is the best guitar solo I've ever heard, and I've heard hundreds if not thousands of them over my life.
Apparently Frank loved it too and so he lifted the concert audio straight onto the album and had it represent the final act of real creativity in a world where music had been made illegal. It's a chilling story. Frank's voice in the beginning is him playing the main villain.
No doubt you’re going to get comments about context. This is from one of Franks epic operas, Joes Garage. It should be listened to front to back at once. From the mind of a self taught composer and guitarist, written and produced by him in his home studio, the UMRK (Utility Muffin Research Kitchen). Zappa was a force rarely seen in the world of music and is sorely missed. I’m very happy that you are enjoying this discovery and thank you for an excellent reaction!
Cue marlon the troll.
Not recorded at Utility Muffin Research Kitchen. It didn't exist yet, except in his plans and in the songs Muffin Man and Little Green Rosetta.
Recorded at Village Recorders "B," LA
April-June 1979
Mastered (and additional recording?) at Kendun "D," LA
This was the last album to be recorded in a rented studio.
I Don't Wanna Get Drafted single was the last song recorded in a rented studio.
Ocean Way Recorders, Hollywood
February 1980
Zappas shit music without sense, is suitable for flushing the toilet 🤣 🤣 🤣
The album version you are listening too is probably the most pure guitar I have ever heard & remains a tune I will love forever. There are several live versions but this remains tops for me.
I've loved this since I first heard it over 40 years ago.
Loved the "prom beat" comment. I had never thought of it that way before.--but yes, it makes sense.
When I heard him say that, now it makes more sense to have that type of beat and ambiance for the end of Joe's Garage!
To this day- I can't make it through the opening motif without bawling. Happened the first time I heard it as a teen- such a sad resolve, set in a beautiful musical landscape.
It touches all of the pain you think you got rid of.
Reduces me to tears every time,e I listen to this
I love this reaction.
You really roll with it!!!
Right up there with Roy Buchanan's "Sweet Dreams" and Stevie Ray Vaughn's cover of "Little Wing" as a transcendent and chill guitar-based instrumental.
Zappa actually was a total non drug person & discouraged it to his bands even at the height of the psychedelic music era where he was one of the pioneers of the strange, bazaar & trippy. My first encounter was at 14 visiting my Biology teacher's home in 1970. He was playing a tune with all talking, no music, repeating mostly "IT CANT HAPPEN HERE" over and over for 3 minutes. The strangest drug induced sounding thing I ever heard recorded.
Sounds like the fourth side of the debut "Freak Out" album.
Joe's Garage is an amazing concept album! Had both 8-tracks lol! He freaked my parents out, but they had to admit the music was really good!
This song is clearly a masterpiece. Sublime. Glad you liked it. I enjoyed your reaction. I've been listening to Zappa since 1969 and have all his recordings and saw him perform several times. Check out his son Dweezil who FAITHFULLY plays his dad's music. WIEH brings tears to my eyes most of the times I listen to it. Majestic. Timeless. Simple and superb. Zappa's catalogue is enormous and very eclectic. There's a lifetime of music to listen and grow with. Enjoy.
I love watching people’s reaction to this tune…It’s extremely emotional!
Frank was extremely “anti-drug use” ….difficult to digest but the only thing Frank was ever high on was massive amounts of coffee & cigarettes…….& the music!👍🏼🎸
Mad musician!!😆
coffee, cigarettes, music, and his own gray matter.
Heard him in an interview say he tried weed once and all it did was make his throat hurt and he got tired so it wasn't for him
The whole zappa family, you can throw in the trash
@@kosta380 why be on this thread if that’s what you think? You are damaged. A whole family in the trash? Get psych help, please.
And hotdogs.
FZ started as a percussionist in H.S. band. Required top players and rehearsed them into a place of singular perfection. Auditions were legendary in his home studio, where you might play anything over days of unreal time sigs. and instantaneous segues into a completely opposing genre of music: Doo wop...reggae...punk...r&b...NO MISTAKES
Love this one, another great Zappa solo Apostrophe!, Watermelon makes me think of marooned by pink Floyd another breath taking solo and in the same vain neil Youngs cortez the killer
These are all amazing tracks hope you get to hear them some day
Possibly his most romantic guitar solo. After Watermelon, you might chose to hear Sleep Dirt; which is Frank Zappa on acoustic guitar playing a solo. Not a whole lot of those in his catalog.
NO LYRICS. It can bring you to tears.When FZ starts shredding fast...thats the improv part..he would record a bunch and pick the best ones.FZ is and will always be the BEST.❤🏁
No that's an actual song , one of the most beautiful I've ever heard , was lucky enough to see him 7 times enjoy
Legends like Zappa and Hendrix could make the guitar talk to you, so no need for vocals everytime
Like I said in a previous comment,...don't forget to find "Bamboozled By Love" There are various versions. BUT If you research the 1988 band and find this LIVE...you'll love it trust me
his most introspective and heartfelt guitar solo it brings tears to my eyes every time I hear it. just like another person's comment last thing I want to hear before I leave this life
I once saw a Frank Zappa concert in Houston. The stage was set up with three levels. I saw Zappa climb the amplifiers to the highest level. He played a guitar solo. climbed down to the first level. Then he finished singing the song
close your eyes and drift away to one of the greatest guitar solos ever recorded. what a gift frank gave us with this song.
GOTTA do Funkadelic's "Maggot Brain"! (1970, I believe.) Absolute brain-melting guitar work, often overlooked by "classic rock" fans not being aware that P-Funk rocked as well as they funked.
US old timers know!
So mad at radio and record execs ...that shoulda been a number one record..instead i had to stumble on it 30yrs later.. Good Ghoughts , Bad Thoughts is every bit as good.Eddie Hazel should be acknowledged..
I could listen to this all day, every day, and never tire of it. An absolute masterpiece.
This piece is a reminder to all of us that sound alone ... without lyric can be emotional and compelling.
Something Bach, Mozart, Beethoven and their many gifted contemporaries knew centuries ago.
Sound has a beauty all its own. Makes me glad to be a human
Joe's Imaginary guitar solo ! The best instrumental EVER !!!!!!!!
I bought this record in 1980. This track reduces me tears every. Single. Time. Glad you're on board.
This is the only completely instrumental song to make me cry..theres got to be some scientific explanation about that soaring high extended note he plays throughout the song that makes it hit so hard for so many..im sure there is but Frank knew..edit: i also bought it when it came out..a little steep for a 10th grader $12.99
@@chrisross-fd3fo I thought it was a dirty trick on FZ's part to lure us in with Pt I at regular album price, then force us to buy a double album (Parts II & III) to find out what happens to Joe. Ultimately, worth every penny. Well played, Frank... ;)
@@Panufo and also he didnt partake in Columbia Houses free samples..i used to love those ..so charitable,so giving although my parents say the still get stickers addressed to Marvin Danquechure 55 Oak St Apt 3b..and also i never listen to a songs words..just the vocals..took me a long time to make that happen..i know its about..some dude..franks lyrics have a way of seeping in tho..hes alright he dont seem like he's preaching like a ton of other music..hey waiiiit..now that i think about..nvrmnd..Im groovin to Don Hana
I saw Frank play it. I saw Dweezil play it. This has always hit me hard. There is such a feeling of peacefulness and calm. The solo is an emotional release that is so beautiful it brings tears to my eyes. I have to admit there are other Zappa recordings that do this to me. Live recordings are sometimes hard to listen too because I literally never missed any concert in the Detroit area from 1972 until he stopped. The world got cheated when he passed.....
A Great Concept Album , and as ALWAYS Filled with GREAT Instrumental pieces and sociopolitical commentary. It will be a VERY VERY VERY Long Time before we see an Artist of his Caliber. I've seen Frank a dozen times since the 70's (and got his autograph , still one of my Prized Possessions) Always a Great Show Never Disappointed even when he was not well in the late 80's . WE MISS YA FRANK !
Speechless. Such virtuosity. Zappa was off the planet talented.
Zappa WAS the smartest guy in the room, and is still the smartest guy in many rooms today.
There is a song Frank did that was embraced by the Jazz community to the point of it becoming a jazz standard. It is an instrumental called Peaches in Regalia. Want something that will drop your jaw, dude seriously take a listen to Peaches in Regalia. Sorry for so many comments but the only thing a Zappa Head loves more than listening to Zappa, is turning someone else onto Zappa! I will make this my last one promise, LOL.
one of the first songs recorded on i believe an 8-track?
Hey Polo, I’m new to your channel and really enjoying you getting turned on to the music I grew up with. As already stated,I’m old. I’m from the NYC area so I had the pleasure of seeing FZ many times. What you said about no words can lead you down a path to ,IMO, the best of Frank Zappa. He was a special unique composer.
Thanks for letting me vicariously, experience the music of my youth again through you !!!
Your “prom beat” is actually a stately 9/4 time signature, which is why the band plays it so carefully…it’s neither natural, nor easy. Frank just flows over it on guitar, though 😎🎸👍
Think it's 4/4 +5/4 no?
@@danielmoskowitz3060 you could well be right, probably so. Also a combination you’d have to pay attention to when playing : )
@@jazzzman8050 One thing I noticed about the time signature of this song is it seems to mimic human respiration at rest. Inhale, exhale then a short pause before inhaling again. It's my theory that that's what he tapped into to create such a soothing and beautiful composition. It's just comforting. Like someone coming to terms with their own death.
Frank wrote that song for his wife Gail when she was very sick and they didn’t think she would live. On his own deathbed he told her to sell his entire catalog of music, except Watermelon In Easter Hay because that was for her. His son Dweezil eventually played it in public and it’s perfect, but hard to watch because he’s choking back tears the whole time. Not just because of the history of the song, but he said it is the first song his father taught him how to play. To answer your question, no Frank wasn’t high lol that isn’t him speaking in the intro. Frank didn’t do drugs, and did not tolerate drug use in his band. He wanted them all fit to perform for the audience that bought tickets. His addictions were cigarettes and coffee, and his wife and their 4 children. RIP Frank. You did more to fight censorship in music than anyone and every musician should know your work and thank you for your efforts to keep music art, and not subject to censorship. He fought valiantly on Capitol Hill and everyone should watch the tapes of those hearings. He was a genius.
Indeed it is.
I’ve just fairly recently gotten into Zappa, it’s so awesome to see other “newcomers” with such an immediate appreciation. Awesome video man insta sub
First, thank you for not stopping the music 40 times to comment on it, much appreciated. Second, I would recommend you watch his son Dweezil do this live. He nails his father's music so amazingly. And his looking up to the heavens at times while playing it - is beautiful and heart wrenching at the same time. Definitely channeling his Dad. RIP Frank, miss you much.❤
A language all on it's own.genius is eternal!FVZ.LEGEND!!!!!
Frank always free styled his solos thats why it always sounds so raw I love driving to franks unique fluid style , I'm so glad his music and mentality still inspires.
Zoot Alures is a beautiful guitar song.
My personal favorite!
I’ve been a Zappa fan since the 70s. Watermelon in Easter Hay, is one of my all time favorites along with Peaches En Regalia on Hot Rats and REDUNZL on Studio Tan!
I saw Zappa live in Champaign, Illinois, mid-80s. One never knew what to expect from his concerts. My one and only time to see him live featured Frank as a director of his band. He literally stood in front of a fairly large group of musicians with a baton, occasionally stopping to play a guitar solo. Frank rarely spoke during the entire concert.
This "song" is amazing for many reasons. 9/4 time isn't supposed to be lyrical. A two-chord vamp isn't supposed to hold your attention for this long. The clean tone, verging on Surf, isn't supposed to be this "deep." Yet all that is true, and a lot more that my pedestrian mind can't comprehend.
If I have anything resembling a funeral, I want this played at it, on a loop. For as long as you're there, this is what I want you to feel. 🙏
I never heard this one before. The accompaniment seems to be in 9/4 time..keeps you off balance ... Makes the guitar even more incredible.
Frank was a trip. A hip, fun, silly, genius, who demands excellence and the absurd, simultaneously. You got it, perfectly.
Never saw Jimi but I got to see Frank many times, so there's that.
Hi Polo! Really enjoyed your dip into a Frank. He is very unrecognized for guitar playing and conducting skills. Everybody is watching Frank for the cues. Check out Frank and the Mothers of Invention for early Frankie stuff. was cool hearing about your son. I can relate. Your honest reactions reflected my own in many ways. Thanks man!
Zappa was a musical genius and artist. I don’t say that about just anyone as much as I am into all genres. I look at music in only 2 categories… good or bad. It either touches your soul or it doesn’t.😎
one of my favorite Favorites.
You started with the last song of the album (A Little Green Rosetta might be the actual last tune...The Central Scrutinizer; Frank, sings it in his regular voice). The whole album is about Joe and his budding music career that began in his garage. It is simply brilliant. Please listen from the beginning, to understand what the listener is in for..."the white zone is for loading and unloading only!" Great reaction, btw!
“I never knew I didn’t need lyrics ‘til now” - Polo (June 2023) 7:18
Should make a TShirt out of that quote!!!
Really enjoying your channel and your discovery of music!
I’m sure you have a list of requests a million miles long but could you put the Black Crowes “Sometimes Salvation”, “My Morning Song” or “Cursed Diamond” on the list?
🍻🎶 Polo!
(Studio version of My Morning Song, not all live versions have the backup female vocalists)
Frank played the Hartford Atheneum hall many years during the 80s, at Valentine's Day. I caught 4 annual shows and got tuned into his jazz style and orchestrational talent. I turned my son (29) on to it last year. Check out Michael Hedges, too.