Frank Zappa: Apostrophe' (Side 2) REACTION & ANALYSIS | The Daily Doug (Episode 440)

Поділитися
Вставка
  • Опубліковано 4 сер 2022
  • #zappa #apostrophe #zappareaction
    In this #masterpiecefriday edition of #thedailydoug, I'm listening to all of side 2 from Frank Zappa's 5th studio album, Apostrophe'. We hear four relatively short songs on this quirky and unique listen, including: Excentifugal Forz, Apostrophe', Uncle Remus, and Stink-Foot. I really enjoyed myself, and I hope you do as well!
    Reference Video: • Don't Eat The Yellow Snow
    Daily Doug Merch: www.bonfire.com/store/the-dai...
    Catch up on my full album reactions at my Patreon!
    JOIN THE NEW EXCLUSIVE DAILY DOUG COMMUNITY!
    Patreon: / doughelvering
    Instagram: / doug.helvering
    Facebook: / helvering
    Twitter: / helvering
    Vimeo: vimeo.com/user146736659
    The Daily Doug Directory: docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...

КОМЕНТАРІ • 733

  • @johnwillis4706
    @johnwillis4706 Рік тому +108

    Can we get a round of applause for the musical genius that is Frank Zappa. And the legendary Jack Bruce on bass guitar.

    • @uncadoug2715
      @uncadoug2715 Рік тому +4

      👏👏👏

    • @hustler3of4culture3
      @hustler3of4culture3 Рік тому +4

      Yes. Yes we can...

    • @progger53
      @progger53 11 місяців тому +2

      He should have read the credits.

    • @BryanEddy09
      @BryanEddy09 5 місяців тому

      I was around 15 ...digging this and Roxy and Elsewhere ...then owned One Size Fits All.First concert I ever went to...would see him 5 times ..like ELP AND YES.

    • @FredShatta
      @FredShatta Місяць тому

      Just Jack .

  • @pablovandyck
    @pablovandyck Рік тому +150

    From Hot Rats (1969) to Apostrophe (1974) Frank put together a handful of albums that will echo through the ages. History will be very kind to Frank Zappa.

    • @HakanTunaMuzik
      @HakanTunaMuzik Рік тому +7

      I would say after 74 as well, hos output never waned whatever your personal favourites, his last album Civilization is mind blowing

    • @ChasBeauregarde
      @ChasBeauregarde Рік тому +14

      I agree, his creative sweet spot '69-'75

    • @SpaceCattttt
      @SpaceCattttt Рік тому +6

      Hard disagree. People tend to shit on his smutty lyrics in the late 70's (forgetting about the Flo and Eddie era...) not to mention that the 80's don't even seem to exist.
      But the late 70's saw Frank releasing some of his best work after being free from Warner Brothers. And apart from the, frankly, atrociously bad "Thing Fish", the 80's
      saw Frank embrace highly complex instrumental music. And he also toured with what was arguably the technically most accomplished band he ever had.
      And then he did some incredibly challenging work in the 90's as well. Probably the most difficult stuff he ever composed.
      I suppose you like the commercial Zappa more...

    • @sex6cult9revolution
      @sex6cult9revolution Рік тому +11

      I don't disagree with this sentiment but it's so hard to pin down when his genius began and when it ended because I don't think it really ever ended. That period is definitely a sweet spot, yet Frank never really lost that spirit of experimentation and the desire to remain outside the conventions and norms surrounding him. Personally, I'll never stop digging the early Mothers stuff. Freak Out is still a hoot and We're Only In It For The Money is great satire. And yet, I still listen to side 2 of Drowning Witch nearly forty years after I bought it in the mid-80's which features a really incredible Edgard Varese influenced jam. There's just too much genius there to confine in a small space.

    • @ChasBeauregarde
      @ChasBeauregarde Рік тому +4

      @@sex6cult9revolution You summed it up very well. Personal preferences aside I'll leave with a quote Frank re-quoted frequently, early on from Edgar Varese : "The present day composer refuses to die."

  • @leoscone4036
    @leoscone4036 Рік тому +35

    Thing is, that is EXACTLY how Frank WANTED his guitar to sound on the song "Apostrophe". And no one could just jam away like Frank.
    Blessings.

    • @patrickmurphy6602
      @patrickmurphy6602 Рік тому

      There was considerable debate in the hallowed halls of Southern Illinois University, in the mid 70's, as to the ranking of rock guitarists. FZ was something of a fringe artist many, but he always came up in the conversation!

    • @StringersLogic
      @StringersLogic 2 місяці тому

      In Apostrophe the guitar is an acoustic guitar through a Mutron auto wah and played through a Pignose amplifier.From a Guitar Player interview at the time.

  • @maxwelltalley612
    @maxwelltalley612 Рік тому +76

    Uncle Remus is one of my fav Zappa deep cuts. Tremendous piano, amazing backing vocals, biting social commentary, one of his best.

    • @leeroden7900
      @leeroden7900 Рік тому +8

      It is such a beautiful song. If you know Frank's teen years you can understand this is likely a song that was very close to his heart. It is almost romantic in how it is sung.

    • @findlayhobby-bell3415
      @findlayhobby-bell3415 Рік тому +2

      And that solo is one of my favourites of his

    • @vcolin
      @vcolin Рік тому +1

      Absolutely beautiful. Full blast.

    • @marlon-jl4ge
      @marlon-jl4ge Рік тому

      Zappa was filth

    • @jamescerone
      @jamescerone Рік тому +2

      Uncle Remus is literally one of his biggest songs lmao. “Deep cut”

  • @rickandgen
    @rickandgen Рік тому +115

    “The poodle bites, the poodle chews it” is carried over from “Dirty Love” on the previous album Overnight Sensation which was recorded basically in the same session and released a year earlier.

    • @tomwoliver
      @tomwoliver Рік тому +11

      He seems to like poodles. The monster in Cheepnis is "a large poodle dog". Great stuff!

    • @evervigilant
      @evervigilant Рік тому +11

      "Got a great big poodle thing, Got a great big hairy thing...."

    • @SpaceCattttt
      @SpaceCattttt Рік тому +12

      @@tomwoliver He was amused by the absurdity of shaving poodle dogs according to the specific taste of various rich, upper class ladies.

    • @craigfazekas3923
      @craigfazekas3923 Рік тому +19

      As to what the poodle bites & chews ? Gotta leave that one alone.....🚬😎

    • @brianvernon249
      @brianvernon249 Рік тому +7

      Thank you. When I made the comment about the two the poodle bites the poodle chews it songs in Overnight Sensation. my comment was avoided like the plague.

  • @a2ez767
    @a2ez767 Рік тому +78

    The crux of the biscuit is the apostrophe!

    • @jaquestraw1
      @jaquestraw1 Рік тому +7

      Words to live by

    • @leechild4655
      @leechild4655 Рік тому +2

      its saying ` the matter at hand is the matter at hand! `

    • @trueglove
      @trueglove Рік тому +9

      That's right. The apostrophe marks an absence. More precisely, is used as a contraction of the negative adverb "not" ("it doesn't, 'n you can't! I won't, 'n it don't! it hasn't, it isn't, it even ain't 'n it shouldn't ... it couldn't). Ben Watson wrote a ponderous book about Frank Zappa, "The negative dialectics of poodle play". Shortly before his death, Zappa invited Ben Watson to his home to read the book to him. Apparently, FZ found it entertaining, especially because of connections he had never thought of.
      According to Watson, Fido stands for Phaedo, "Platos' work on the immortality of the soul". And, talking about conceptual continuity, it's worth remembering the lecture on creation that FZ used as an introduction to Dirty Love during concerts.

    • @jaquestraw1
      @jaquestraw1 Рік тому

      Fascinating! I will have to read the book 👍

    • @jarleabelhaugeek1217
      @jarleabelhaugeek1217 Рік тому

      Hey thanks man!

  • @jpirard
    @jpirard Рік тому +22

    Zappa has referred to Bruce playing bass on the song in an interview: "Well, that was just a jam thing that happened because he was a friend of (drummer) Jim Gordon. I found it very difficult to play with him; he's too busy. He doesn't really want to play the bass in terms of root functions; I think he has other things on his mind. But that's the way jam sessions go.

    • @ahecks
      @ahecks Рік тому +6

      Jack Bruce is one of my favourite composers/musicians/singers. I like the free and open jam that is Apostrophe, especially the wild, distorted bass, but I can imagine how Zappa struggled with Jack's busy, nontraditional style. In light of Frank's comments, it puzzles me a bit that the final mix keeps the bass relatively loud. I can only assume that Frank must have quite liked the end result, even if he didn't enjoy the playing part. Uncle Remus, on the other hand, is an all-time favourite song of mine! Love that whole album.

  • @barrywilson1294
    @barrywilson1294 Рік тому +39

    Conceptual Continuity is the way in which Zappa ties his work together. The biting and chewing is a reference to another song.

  • @budje
    @budje Рік тому +16

    what I like about Zappa: Most musicians know how to surprise you every now and then. Frank surprises you several times in every song sometimes even more times every minute 🙂

  • @JoriDiculous
    @JoriDiculous Рік тому +54

    If you want more commercial Zappa, do Over-Nite Sensation. Brilliant album. Personally i prefer all of the albums songs in later live versions.

  • @markroberts1301
    @markroberts1301 Рік тому +31

    Jack Bruce on the Bass in the cut Apostrophe, Tina Turner and the Ikette's on backing vocals througout... amazing stuff!

    • @iluvj50
      @iluvj50 Рік тому +2

      Jim Gordon on drums!

    • @progger53
      @progger53 11 місяців тому

      @iluvj50 he died in prison awhile back.

  • @Deanrite
    @Deanrite Рік тому +23

    The "poodle bites poodle chews it" is a reference to the song, "Dirty Love" from the "Overnight Sensations" album. It really has a bunch of good songs including "Montana," "Zombie Woof," "I Am The Slime," Dinamoe Hum," and "Camarillo Brillo." It really is a great album. Not that I've heard everything he's produced, I'm mean who has time; he's produced like 50 or 60 of them, so yeah this is a good one.

  • @urielsmachine997
    @urielsmachine997 Рік тому +6

    Music is universal. Frank Zappa is the only composer/ musician to have two marine creatures named after him, both a fish and a jellyfish. Also a mollusc, a bacterium, a spider and even a planet. That is an honor reserved for the most influential people of our times and Frank has multiple honors from all across the world and different disciplines of science.

  • @Zopf-international
    @Zopf-international Рік тому +9

    I always do The Ikettes' dance moves when I hear Uncle Remus, as that's them on backing vocals. Absolute heaven.

  • @chenstormstout9456
    @chenstormstout9456 Рік тому +8

    Thank my dad for this being the only cd he brought on a long car trip. And I never thought I’d appreciate Frank as much as he does, but I do.

  • @hammalammadingdong6244
    @hammalammadingdong6244 Рік тому +13

    "Uncle Remus" is one of my favorite FZ songs, not to take away from any of his other fine work.

  • @steveford8999
    @steveford8999 Рік тому +20

    "Apostrophe" is Jack Bruce playing in Cream. Listen to some of the Cream jams. An absolute master of the bass.

    • @MatheusManzano
      @MatheusManzano Рік тому +4

      He himself denied it. But who knows if he was so drunk or stoned he just couldn't remember at all 😂

  • @jay_vero
    @jay_vero Рік тому +12

    uncle remus, such an under appreciated song. im glad you enjoyed it

  • @barrystanton6693
    @barrystanton6693 Рік тому +9

    Thanks for your informed insight.
    This era was Frank’s most accessible work and I love it.
    To me he was the Salvador Dali of rock.
    X

  • @mahatmadude
    @mahatmadude Рік тому +5

    The effect in Apostrophe is a Mutron. Still have mine. That plus a wah wah pedal (Frank loved those too) can give one some really great sounds. Corla Plankton is a play on words for Eric Clapton ("me an him can play the blues"). The Jack Bruce jam follows that reference. Frank's my hero since 1971, still is... Peace & love, Uncle Brother.

  • @williamburkholder769
    @williamburkholder769 Рік тому +19

    Frank is one of my favorite musicians of all time. He surrounded himself with truly talented professionals and held them to high standards. His humor was off-beat, but fitting for the times and circumstances. He and Joni Mitchell were neighbors for awhile in Laurel Canyon! I don't know whom I like to watch reactions to more, Zappa or Yes. Both can astonish people and leave them shaking their heads in amazement. Both were incredibly prolific.
    I would love to see you do some reactions to Jeff Beck. His concert, Live at Ronnie Scotts, is incredible. It features Vinnie Colaiuta on drums, Tal Wilkenfeld on bass, and Jason Rebello on keyboards, and showcases Beck's virtuoso guitar work as well as the others' considerable talents.

    • @todd8155
      @todd8155 Рік тому

      3 songs I like, at least 2 from that session:
      1) Jeff Beck featuring Imogen Heap - Blanket,
      2) 'People Get Ready' - Jeff Beck with Joss Stone (live 2007),
      3) Imogen Heap and Jeff Beck - Rollin and Tumblin live at Ronnie Scott's 2007 from BBC 4 TV special

    • @MUSICADELCENTRO
      @MUSICADELCENTRO Рік тому

      Master, sir William.

    • @marlon-jl4ge
      @marlon-jl4ge Рік тому +1

      Zappa was garbage

  • @HakanTunaMuzik
    @HakanTunaMuzik Рік тому +40

    The guitar solo on STINK FOOT is actaully played on an accoustic guitar, here is an excerpt from a 77 interview where he says how he got the sound:
    On "Stink-Foot" there's an interesting sound where I'm using an acoustic guitar with a magnetic pickup on it and a Barcus-Berry on the bridge. The Barcus-Berry is going into one channel, and the magnetic pickup is going to a Mu-tron and the other channel, so you have a sharp attack and an enveloped attack. It gives a lot of space.

  • @aisekauston
    @aisekauston Рік тому +2

    Uncle Remus is one of my favourite tunes on this too! Did you know that Tina Turner as part of the Ike-ettes did the background vocals on this LP? Frank has so much crazy albums, I love him so much. It's nice to have a music enjoyer like you to enjoy it with, thanks!

  • @martindiluca1573
    @martindiluca1573 Рік тому +7

    Uncle Remus is such an amazing piece of music, there is indeed a longer version, and you should 100% listen to it, it's amazing

  • @betterbusinessweb1196
    @betterbusinessweb1196 Рік тому +2

    I love this piece by Frank! I've listened to this for 40 years. Best at full volume :)

  • @frankbreuer8849
    @frankbreuer8849 Рік тому +2

    I like your academic approach, explaining what I'd never figure out. Yet, despite the complexity, I love the melodies and freaking emotionality of his music

  • @Nuclearmagenta
    @Nuclearmagenta Рік тому +4

    Interesting trivia: Excentrifugal Forz was the original title of the song Echidna's Arf (Of You), from the Roxy and Elsewhere album. At least, this is how he introduced that tune when I saw Zappa in November 1973 in New York.

  • @BattleAx342
    @BattleAx342 Рік тому +4

    I am 55 and my sisters turned me on to this album when I was in 6th grade been listening to him since. Frank Zappa is one of my heroes. I just cant get enough Zappa...

  • @Ninang363
    @Ninang363 Рік тому +17

    I am an ameteure bass player. This is my favorite song to play because it is so fun and funky simultaneously, and I once got to play it with Dweezil and two drummers. I played a 5-string so when we went to the B I took it down an octave...It was so much fun!

  • @jeffstclair9221
    @jeffstclair9221 Рік тому +2

    Thanks for that Doug . I have been listening to Frank Zappa most of my adult life , and seeing and hearing you talk about his work is wonderful. You in some way have made me understand more about why I like his music so much .. Thanks buddy .

  • @mikegalgano4567
    @mikegalgano4567 Рік тому +5

    I had a smile so wide to your reactions and your piano playing additions. This is a song I've known for well over 40 years Great stuff Doug!!!

  • @Timwit84
    @Timwit84 Рік тому +2

    For me zappa has been one of those musicians I couldnt appreciate in my younger days, then in my late 20s a record store owner recommended a live zappa in buffalo 1974 album when I asked for a recommendation d/t hendrix overdose. It blew my mind how amazingly tight, precise and complicated a "rock" band could be live. Ive been hooked for the last decade and whenever i feel my musical tastes are getting stagnant I just listen to a "new" zappa album live or studio and I gain respect for a new musical style everytime. Saint Zap

  • @pmar27
    @pmar27 Рік тому +9

    I still think it's pretty funny that my mom got this for me at 15 years old, based on the humorous Cosmik Debris single.

  • @johnstallings4049
    @johnstallings4049 Рік тому +6

    Just me and my Pigmy pony over by the dental floss bush!

  • @somethingbl
    @somethingbl Рік тому +31

    Doug: check out George Duke's version of Uncle Remus from his solo album "The Aura Will Prevail". It's much slower and soulful, you will love it.

  • @erico2948
    @erico2948 Рік тому +1

    Really enjoy your reviews. Love your observations and tidbits.

  • @kp3O5
    @kp3O5 Рік тому +7

    You were actually killing it on the piano on apostrophe in a good way

  • @zappafan3473
    @zappafan3473 Рік тому +4

    doug, the 'clothes - hose' lyric in remus refers to the protesters getting sprayed with water hoses in Birmingham, Alabama in April 1963.

  • @mocthezuma
    @mocthezuma Рік тому +11

    Fine album! And now that you've done this you absolutely have to do "Over Nite Sensation" as well. Those two are usually paired as Frank's stand out albums of this era of Zappa recordings. The "Classic Albums" series of documentaries paired them in an excellent episode as well.

  • @scotstevens5263
    @scotstevens5263 Рік тому +6

    Who you jivin’ with that Cosmic Debris? ☮️😎

  • @Markstun
    @Markstun Рік тому +32

    Please please do “The Adventures of Gregory Peccary”, amazing writing. As a music teacher I absolutely love your videos!

    • @tripelkrauz
      @tripelkrauz Рік тому +2

      Yeaaaahhhh please do that! That's probably the most incredible FZ composition. Not for everyone...

    • @devolve42
      @devolve42 Рік тому +2

      One of my all-time FZ pieces.

    • @jean-pierrebolduc2837
      @jean-pierrebolduc2837 Рік тому +1

      I second.

    • @themuffinman3135
      @themuffinman3135 Рік тому +1

      That would definitely throw Doug for a loop. Nothing else like it in popular music.

    • @wolfgangsimons9183
      @wolfgangsimons9183 Рік тому +1

      @@tripelkrauz But but but - before “The Adventures of Gregory Peccary” he has to learn about "Billy The Mountain " and hear THAT track !
      My suggestion: he hears one after the other.

  • @Desmomatschi
    @Desmomatschi Рік тому +1

    I love how you accompany with your piano

  • @johnduffy62164
    @johnduffy62164 Місяць тому +3

    The poodle is a reference to the song Dirty Love .

  • @auralfixxation6702
    @auralfixxation6702 Рік тому +8

    Mr Zappa is truly a gift to music. It's actually sad that he is not more well known. Many may know of his name but, not able to name a single song title. He truly explored the music theory universe while today, many barely skim the surface of stagnant water in search of a TicToc moment.
    I had to come back and add this, he was actually very intellectual too in his lyrics and song titles. Some just laughed them off because the meaning went over their heads.

    • @user-vn1zb9ov8d
      @user-vn1zb9ov8d 4 місяці тому +1

      I keep telling my son there's only two geniuses in 'pop' music Zappa & Eno. Unlike McCartney, Prince or Jackson etc they conquored all genres of music rather than mastered one (OK Zappa didn't do ambience and Eno is not known for his jazz but you know what I mean). Also they both have a sense of humour in their music to puncture their own pomposity. Heroes!

    • @auralfixxation6702
      @auralfixxation6702 4 місяці тому

      @@user-vn1zb9ov8d I'm in complete agreement with you.

  • @timconnecticut6263
    @timconnecticut6263 Рік тому +3

    I can't count how many good times with friends and family I've listened and sang along with this album.

  • @Kelters
    @Kelters Рік тому +4

    Great to hear how Jack Bruce was so much more than just Cream etc. The bass doesn't dominate. Bruce was an exceptional bassist, and Zappa knew it!

  • @vickiconley3638
    @vickiconley3638 Рік тому +4

    The 70's and their lyrical sounds of intellectualism. Love it, lived it.

  • @andreasghb8074
    @andreasghb8074 Рік тому +2

    This has been a favorite of mine since I was in 9th grade, and I appreciate your take on it. Made me appreciate it even more!

  • @jefffixesit60
    @jefffixesit60 Рік тому +1

    Love the show, and I love the expressions you make when trying to grasp the strange that Zappa's music embodies. If I start on Friday at lunchtime, and feed discs into my players non stop, I can get all the way through my FZ collection by dinner on Tuesday. I'm a fan, and so can you be too! That last line is paraphrasing a song lyric, can't wait to see you react when you find that lyric in your explorations

  • @bobmeyrick8264
    @bobmeyrick8264 Рік тому +4

    Having owned the album since it was released, something I'd never thought about was the "crux of the biscuit" being the apostrophe. Just recently I came across some comment which mentioned that fact that FZ goes on to list words (hasn't, isn't, don't etc.etc.) which contain apostrophes, a punctuation mark which a declining number of people know how to use correctly...

  • @eximusic
    @eximusic Рік тому +7

    Yes, Uncle Remus, Brer Rabbit. You never had the books growing up? Agreed, one of my favorite Zappa songs also. In the 60s and 70s lawn jockeys were actually popular on rich people's lawns. The guitar pedal used on the last song was a Mutron III envelope follower, often called an "automatic wah" effect.

    • @williamburkholder769
      @williamburkholder769 Рік тому +1

      In old-moneyed suburbs of Southern cities in the 1960s and '70s, cast-iron black servants - "lawn jockeys" - were common symbols of white racism and "supremacy." They shouted, "Sons and Daughters of the Confederacy live here." Knocking them over was a pastime of African American youth - who risked getting shot to do it.

    • @eximusic
      @eximusic Рік тому +2

      @@williamburkholder769 Interesting, thanks for the info. People also had them here in Beverly Hills. We used the knock them down (white kids) just because of the Zappa song.

  • @alldayadventures5418
    @alldayadventures5418 Рік тому +4

    JOYGAZUM....! B.T.W. Did you notice all the words with "Apostrophe's" in Stink-Foot.

  • @sandenson
    @sandenson Рік тому +2

    22:00 Apparently, in that solo Frank played an acoustic guitar with effects, which is what makes that weird but cool sound.
    Also, I always crack up when Zappa says "This is the dog talking, now". It's such a silly line.

  • @bellbrass
    @bellbrass Рік тому +2

    The Great Jim Gordon playing drums on "Apostrophe"...magnificent.

  • @garyring8306
    @garyring8306 Рік тому +1

    you will notice many of the greats in music played with zappa's band, allice cooper love him or hate him was promoted by zappa as a talent and cooper often refers and thanks Zappa for his help in his career.

  • @daveapple205
    @daveapple205 Рік тому +6

    "The Poodle Bites, the Poodle Chews it" is taken from a song of Frank's called "Dirty Love" on the "Overnight Sensation" album.

  • @davidedwards2477
    @davidedwards2477 Рік тому +3

    Hey Doug, I really enjoyed this one, Frank was indeed an incredible musician and composer and you're probably right he could have done pretty much anything he wanted to do, I really love his music, I have a lot of his albums and "Apostrophe" is a very good one. Also I think Frank was a very interesting and very smart person and I would reccommend you watch and listen to some of his interviews, there are many on you tube, they give you even more insight into the man. A lot of people thought he was zany and weird but he was actually very sane, I think its the rest of us that are that way, maybe, good luck and enjoy.

  • @MusicLover-rt4bs
    @MusicLover-rt4bs Рік тому +3

    Anytime someone reacts to the song Apostrophe, I always feel compelled to give a shout out to Tony Duran on rhythm guitar. He rarely gets mentioned. He is best heard starting at the 10:10 mark of this video.

  • @ryanjones4150
    @ryanjones4150 Рік тому +2

    Frank recorded Over-Nite Sensation and Apostrophe at Ike & Tina Turner's Bolic Sound Studios in L.A. . Tina and The Ikettes sing background vocals on a number of the songs on those records, The 2 on Apostrophe are Cosmik Debris and Uncle Remus. Ike thought the songs were weird and wouldn't allow Frank to credit them in the liner notes.

  • @AndyGrazianoNYC
    @AndyGrazianoNYC Рік тому +2

    The number with Bruce was done as a jam in the studio pretty much, Frank was not thrilled with it as he felt Jack was not willing to compose or blend in too much, it was all about the busy soloing and such. I thought it was great when my dad got it for me when I was 14 because I was into Cream at the time too! Great coincidence that helped develop my lasting FZ bond to this day (29 years later)

  • @jonnaah9683
    @jonnaah9683 Рік тому +3

    With all the suggestions you are offered, it feels silly to try to reach you with this, but there's good reason for my attempt. There's so much Zappa music, that you mustn't hang too long in 1970s, or you'll never get to his culminating album, his last completed, posthumously released Civilization Phase 3. The final work on this is called Beat The Reaper. I interpret this to be saying he's trying to finish this piece before the reaper comes for him. An amazing composition. You won't be sorry!

  • @brucekeller741
    @brucekeller741 Рік тому

    Actually loved seeing you play along side with the music on the keyboard. You should do that more. Specially with Zappa.

  • @PushSueAside
    @PushSueAside 6 місяців тому

    Doug, I’m a new viewer, subscriber, and fan. You’re mind and intelligence are fascinating and beautiful. Cheers

  • @vitakinesis
    @vitakinesis Рік тому +1

    Uncle Remus, is defintly my favorite song of Zappa, love the chorus.

  • @duster71
    @duster71 Рік тому +7

    If this is the first time you've heard Uncle Remus you haven't been living.There is an extended version here on YT. Tina Turner and the Iketts on background vocals

    • @HakanTunaMuzik
      @HakanTunaMuzik Рік тому +1

      the extended version is just not on youtube, it's on an official album called Crux Of The Biscuit

    • @duster71
      @duster71 Рік тому +1

      @@HakanTunaMuzik it's on YT, I just checked, it's 4 minutes long, the original is 2:50 minutes

    • @HakanTunaMuzik
      @HakanTunaMuzik Рік тому

      @@duster71 I know it's on youtube, what i meant is that it's a proper album release, who listrens to music on YT? i know I don't i prefer to listen to albums properly, so that's what i meant :-)

    • @duster71
      @duster71 Рік тому

      @@HakanTunaMuzik well what if all your albums and 500 cds went up in flames in a fire. Your assumptions make you sound like a fool.

    • @HakanTunaMuzik
      @HakanTunaMuzik Рік тому

      @@duster71 your assuming I have presumtions make you sound worse. As for your scenerio, i would then listen via spotify which is where I do most of my listening as you can listen to complete albums properly.

  • @ernburn3738
    @ernburn3738 Рік тому +7

    Proud owner of a Sears poncho...FZ altered my life.

  • @lambrosstambolitis5053
    @lambrosstambolitis5053 16 днів тому

    Great choice and for the title track, very much in the vein of post ‘68 Hendrix studio outtakes. Uncle Remus is also in my thinking Zaria’s nod to Charles Mingus and his music and constant references to the civil rights struggle within the embedded institutionalized racism whether he was playing in the states or abroad. You should give the original Eric Dolphy Memorial Barbecue a spun too, you’ll enjoy that one Doug 👍🙌

  • @briantowey4121
    @briantowey4121 Рік тому +2

    The song Apostrophe is just a jam session, but wow, what a chewy texture they created. Here's something about prog rock that might might not be obvious. It's a timbre-based aesthetic. We old-timers were as dazzled by the new possibilities in voicing and studio mixing as we were by the virtuoso playing.
    Creating a unique tone was half the battle. Sometimes the whole battle. It's true for synth bands, and it's true for guitar bands with effects boxes. So if the chord progressions, the key changes, the time signatures, and whatnot are dull, it's because they want your attention to be on the soundscape.

  • @Yokosteamer
    @Yokosteamer Рік тому +3

    "The poodle bites; the poodle chews it..." is an homage to Dirty Love from Zappa And The Mothers Of Invention album "Over-Nite Sensation." I believe you will enjoy the whole record.

    • @charlyhrs
      @charlyhrs Рік тому

      And was Frank's "Conceptual continuity" from album to album

  • @Civilizashum
    @Civilizashum Рік тому

    In the LA TV market there was a fixture on some venue there called Korla Pandit. Who wore a turban with a ruby at the center, and he played Hammond organ

  • @leechild4655
    @leechild4655 Рік тому

    I love your analysis of music i`ve listen to for decades not really thinking about what i was hearing in musical terms. Surprising to see he just goes off on a one or two chord vamp in a blues fashion and all the lttle fast notes and wildness is in the leadlines and solos. I didnt really notice before. lol

  • @ehsbe1056
    @ehsbe1056 4 місяці тому

    The funny thing i find is at 21:30 you mention that stinkfoot was inspired by a commercial for foot spray, and how unique that idea is. Well the suite at the start of the album, the yellow snow suite, was inspired by an advert for Imperial Margarine, in which a girl serves her boyfriend pancakes with "butter", exclaiming "Good morning your highness!" (ooooohhhh, i brought you your snow shoes)

  • @stevegreen364
    @stevegreen364 Рік тому

    Great video Doug.
    Glad you finally found Frank's music.
    Re: just one chord... most of Frank's guitar solos that I have heard have been over 1 chord vamps.
    Also... watch/listen to the live '74 versions of Stink Foot... they're even better.

  • @somersetcace1
    @somersetcace1 Рік тому +4

    I'm not sure, but I think George Duke originally wrote the progression for Uncle Remus, Zappa wrote lyrics to it and they turned it into a song. Either way, one of my favorites to be sure.

    • @guybrushthreepwood33
      @guybrushthreepwood33 10 місяців тому

      Exactly right. Duke had been toying with that progression. Played it for Zappa. Zappa liked what he heard and did the rest.

  • @liviomiraglia602
    @liviomiraglia602 Рік тому

    Zappa..it's a way of life..you'll love it❤ PLEASE DO JOES GARAGE!!!
    I dare you not to cry with laughter🤣

  • @imaspoon4522
    @imaspoon4522 11 місяців тому

    I first heard Stinkfoot when I was stoned. What the dog said made me laugh. I loved it.

  • @toniedeevs3925
    @toniedeevs3925 Рік тому

    I couldn't have found a better YT channel to revisit this gem from my high school days (I'll be 61 this month). And what you said at 24:11 - I'm with you sir.

  • @shawcunningham
    @shawcunningham 10 місяців тому

    I didn’t read through all the comments (so someone else probably already answered this), but the guitar effect Frank used here was an Envelope Follower - essentially a Low Pass Filter modulated (opened and closed) by the amplitude of his guitar signal. The envelope always closes the filter, but as you play louder, the filter will start more open. It’s a very dynamic effect.

  • @torch9t9
    @torch9t9 9 місяців тому

    I think the fine clothes depicted the marchers who got firehosed.
    Funny thing about lawn jockeys, they were used in the underground railroaded as secret messages to depict services available there (food, shelter, etc). Cool tune.

  • @robertfarrimond3369
    @robertfarrimond3369 Рік тому

    I remember the commercial with the dog keeling over. Saw Frank live at the Paramount theater.

  • @michaeldoldon9461
    @michaeldoldon9461 Рік тому

    Love that you are just jamming with FZ

  • @kellywhitty3050
    @kellywhitty3050 Рік тому

    "why isn't that song longer?".... I know that feeling, and that song brings it.

  • @swirll360
    @swirll360 Рік тому +1

    Doug I'm glad you've been enjoying your Frank Zappa sessions and I'm also enjoying your reaction to him. He truly was one of a kind. I just also want to mention something about Franks approach to lyrics. There aren't many songs that are taken seriously when the lyrics are odd, satirical or just plain funny. Frank knew this and I'd wager he viewed that as a challenge. I base this opinion or observation on a live album he put out appropriately called "Does Humor Belong In Music?" That title posed as a question to the listener is a challenge unto itself. Frank knew his lyrics were often tied to his music and due to his lyrics being filled with dark humor and satire a substantial amount of the public dismissed his music, including me before I went to college. So does humor belong in music?.....discuss. Keep up the great work!

    • @freak49
      @freak49 Рік тому

      You either love Frank Zappa or hate him. I had friends who were real Zappa freaks. I could never get into him.

  • @raymondregis6219
    @raymondregis6219 Рік тому +1

    The effect in question is an envelope follower also called a touch wah. I read that the guitar is an acoustic with a black widow pickup. My friend Matt introduced me to Zappa, elp, Moody blues, Beatles, yes, rundgren, Elton john and chicago in the early 70s before I was fully able to understand much of it.

  • @markjeffery3237
    @markjeffery3237 Рік тому

    Doug, your closing comments hit the nail on the head - the crux of the biscuit, as FZ would have it. The man was an an iconoclast. He could as easily have been president. A genuine genius. And thank you for your prescient analysis. Cheers from Aberdeen, Scotland 👍🏻

  • @DCronk-qc6sn
    @DCronk-qc6sn Рік тому

    Saw Frank and band on tour in this period. Stunning.

  • @alldayadventures5418
    @alldayadventures5418 Рік тому +13

    Billy Cobham's "Total Eclipse" is worthy of a Full Album Review. The entire album is a ride into space, and music like you have never heard before.

    • @duster71
      @duster71 Рік тому +5

      Crosswinds by Billy is great,and how can you not say Spectrum when you talk Billy.

    • @marlon-jl4ge
      @marlon-jl4ge Рік тому

      Zappa was garbage

    • @charlyhrs
      @charlyhrs Рік тому

      personally as a drummer myself over 50 years, Total Eclipse was one of Billy's finest and doesn't get the recognition it deserves

    • @marlon-jl4ge
      @marlon-jl4ge Рік тому

      Shit ugly zappa changed the World of boring assholes 🤣

    • @danielkobus1683
      @danielkobus1683 3 місяці тому

      @@marlon-jl4ge - Oh yea -- that's why the list of greats that have worked with Frank is so short - Sting, Tina Turner, Pink Floyd, Simon & Garfunkel, Alice Cooper, Steve Vai, Gene Simmons and the list goes on -- not to forget his address to congress supporting the 1st Amendment in Music. You might want to educate yourself.

  • @BalefulBunyip
    @BalefulBunyip 4 місяці тому

    Frank is the best musical comedian that ever existed. Brilliant music hilarious libretto !

  • @StringersLogic
    @StringersLogic 2 місяці тому

    In Apostrophe the guitar is an acoustic guitar through a Mutron auto wah and played through a Pignose amplifier.
    From a Guitar Player magazine interview at the time.

  • @markholm7501
    @markholm7501 Рік тому +6

    George Duke is possibly the best funk keyboard player, ever. Check out his Ten Mile Jog!

  • @cogs2937
    @cogs2937 Місяць тому

    Yeah, Uncle Remus could definitely be twice as long. Was glad you got into the lyrics too. Good take on the reference to looking sharp, being satisfied with superficiality.
    Just as relevant today.

  • @TheGravyTrainConductor
    @TheGravyTrainConductor Рік тому

    There is a FANTASTIC mix outtake for Uncle Remus which is extended from the posthumous “crux of the biscuit” album. definitely recommend.

  • @underwoodvoice9077
    @underwoodvoice9077 Рік тому +4

    Not related to FZ in any shape or form, but I would love to hear your reaction to any of Gentle Giant (perhaps Octopus?)

  • @Madman.60
    @Madman.60 Рік тому

    I had the great pleasure of seeing Frank live, at SIU and then at the Uptown theater in Chicago in 1981 and then I took my wife to see him at the Auditorium in Chicago in 1988. Sting was there and they performed " Murder by Numbers", which can be heard on the "Broadway the Hard way extended cd. He was a genius and the live performances were unforgettable

  • @SH-th4wy
    @SH-th4wy Рік тому

    Man! I haven't heard this in tooooooooo long! I LOVE this album!!

  • @josephadams7379
    @josephadams7379 Рік тому +1

    Watermelon in Easter Hay might be a good one to check out.

  • @QuantumBeeWellness
    @QuantumBeeWellness 11 місяців тому

    Such an incredible album, I'm so glad you found side 2! Dare we hope that Over-nite Sensation, Joe's Garage, or Sheik Yerbouti might be the next Zappa album listen? Once you go Zappa, you never go back!!

  • @MarkTitus420
    @MarkTitus420 Рік тому +1

    You my friend would be a great music teacher. I figure you’re either a professor of music or a composer or both. I love to hear you breakdown and analyze rock music that I love ❤️

  • @Nuclearmagenta
    @Nuclearmagenta Рік тому +1

    Uncle Remus was originally an instrumental tune written solely by George Duke. When Frank heard it he offered to write the lyrics.

  • @andykelly4056
    @andykelly4056 Рік тому +1

    Your explanation of uncle Remus was absolutely spot on. Knocking the jockeys of rich people’s lawns was trying to say that’s about the only little victories that the blacks were now claiming.