Well, first of all. If you were chosen to play, record, or tour with any formulation of a Frank Zappa band, you had to have the ability to play the bass instrument. You could not fake it. And I have a feeling sir, that you were not ever in a band with Frank Zappa. And therefore, giving creditability to your rating style, which is basically, your opinion, you as a fan, or a listener, have a right to say what you feel. I however, was recruited by the composer, to basically, interpret volumes of his compositons. And I think, in my opinion, that Mr. Tom Fowler, was, as good as it got, and as good as it gets!!!!! I think I have listened to every bass player that has ever played with Frank, and again, in my opinion, if your ranking has to do with who was the best, to interpret, play, and perform this music of magic, his name is Tom Fowler. I will give you an example to listen too, to kinda get what I mean. From what I felt, heard, and was a part of it's interpreted resolve, the new release this year of the Endinboro 74' concert, should do the trick. One suggestion! Take a pause, shut out the rest of the reality around you, and LISTEN, with earphones; good one's!!! It's one thing to play his music, and total anotherr experience, to LIVE INSIDE THIS MAGIC, CALLED Frank Zappa Music. Hope that you and all those that you love are healthy and safe. Blessings. P.S. Try, Pygmy and Inca Roads. That should do it!!! Peace, NMB
I came in with O'Hearn then discovered Fowler on the "Roxy & Elsewhere" album. Mind blown, technique, groove and totally cool when all around him was 100 mph especially on Echidna's Arf (Of You). The rest of the band had something to do with it though. Cheers Mr. Hippie.
34 years to hold a grudge is a long time! LOL. You know I never really though of ranking the Zappa bass players. I like em all. I may just have to go and listen to more Zappa today, but with different ears.
Let me fix that for you Lol 1. Scott Thunes (Ijust love his choice of notes when Zappa solo's, also I got to see the 88 band twice lol) 2. Patrick O'Hearn (the purple lagoon, need i say more) 3. Arther Barrow (love his playing, don't know if you read his book, but he"s actaully a keyboard player first, he wanted to be in Zappas band and figured it would be easier to get in as a bass player then a keyboard player so he brushed up on that just to be able to play for Zappa) 4. I suppose it's got to be Tom Fowler as none of the ones that are left are any better than him, I don't get the love that band gets, Zappa 77 - 82 is way better then that band that everyone seems to worship :-) the rest I agree with, looking forward to vocals and hope the one person on there is also not mentioned name wise, but he seems to be getting a free pass from eveyone but he's crime was as bad.
I think O'Hearn gets my #1 spot. His playing is so slippery but also so in control. Watch him on the SNL 1976 appearance- its hilarious that he manages to keep it all together. Although I will say I was listening to 4/26/75 Providence the other day and Tom Fowler's playing on Pound for a Brown is killer. That Alembic tone! He could also be #1 for me on a different day.
One more thing, I saw FZ in 1988 in NYC. The rift with Thunes wasn't the only problem growing in the band as the tour went on. They felt very, very alone because of new management, FZ was sick and distant making them feel unsupported, but, yes, Thunes rubbed them the wrong way. Good news is that they've all made up and they all felt sorry upon hearing how good the '88 band recordings sounded. 😁
I"m back as my real self. Great job on the list. And Fowler did guide some musicians directly to Frank. NMB is one. I think your chat on Barrow was informative. Thanks.
Great list! Although O’Hearn and Fowler are so close on my list, I don’t know which I’d put first. Sheik Yerbouti was my first Zappa record, and I discovered Baby Snakes at the video store about a year later, so O’Hearn was the man for me for quite a while. But Fowler is amazing. And I never thought about it that way, but since I was planning to see Zappa on his 88 tour before it got canceled, I think I’ll blame it Tunis, too! From what I’ve read, it started with him, anyway. We were robbed by somebody, dammit! Cruel fate. Fun video! Keep up the great work
As a bassist myself, I think Barrow and Fowler would be jostling for the top two spots on my list. I do like O'Hearn (bass on Pink Napkins is amazing with its slides and harmonics) but I prefer the bass sound of the other two and they were both amazing players. Thunes was also incredible and very versatile but I think he would struggle to reach above number 4 for me as well.
No Erroneous? Not too sure that's how you spell it. Fowler, Thunes, and my favorite bass player, Frank himself. Great job on the picks. Fowler #1. I liked your, Phil Lesh comment. Very true. North of you in Hippo.
Well surprise surprise! . I like your analysis, pretty much how I see it but..Ohearn for me . Funny how Patrick hasn't reappeared in any other Zappa related projects . Keep em coming
Yes, Jim Gordon did indeed murder his own mother. But he was suffering from severe schizophrenia and was not sentenced to normal criminal prison, but a forensic hospital(a very well-known one in CA who's name escapes me) for the mentally ill/criminally insane.
1. O'Hearn (no competition) 2. Thunes 3. Fowler 4. Parlato 5. Pons 6. Simmons 7. Waste of oxygen Re Jim Gordon, there's also the fact that he wasn't of sound mind when he did it. Are you going to rank the keyboard players as well?
I have a growing respect for Thunes lately. While the chorus on his sound is a bit of a turn off. Even tho he's a monster, I always appreciated the criminal. So forgive me as I would have him higher up in my list. Fowler, Barrow, Thunes, the criminal, and O'hearn would be my top 5 favs.
So, Fowler is my #1 and O'Hearn my #5. O'Hearn definitely had the most unique sound with that fretless. And brought personality to boot. So he now #4, and you know who at #5. What was I thinking? 😵💫
Shaggy, I've always had a little 'game' and you're on the path. It is ' your ultimate Zappa band'. Of all the people FZ had, who among them would make your list of THE ULTIMATE ZAPPA BAND? 🤔👍🏻
Agree with Bass players ranking 100% although I love Dave Parlato just not enough work there Keyboards next ? That’s a tough one I mean can you really put Ian up against George ? Ian should be his own category and #1 Being a keyboard player I know who 1 is but with Don , Tommy , Peter , Eddie Jonson these are some tough choices And is Frank considered for synclavier albums
5. Jim Pons (LOVE his deep voice on their live stuff too) 4. Arthur Barrow 3. Roy Estrada (great musician/singer, sad sick person) 2. Patrick O’Hearn 1. Tom Fowler
Yes, that is coming today. I have a copy of the 22nd show, so I can comment on that (sound is crap, but discernible). Surprising choice but I’m excited.
I think Frank was to blame for the 1988 band imploding. He handled the situation badly. I also think that Thunes' supposedly not-jazz-enough bass lines in 1988 are a superb feature of the music, indeed they are a defining element of the sumptuous 1988 feel.
@@baerenonkel Scott crossed into some serious stuff but as the boss, Zappa, its your job to handle that kind of stuff. And it seemed that Zappa was so big at the time and was being all over the place when the band needed him.
My penny's worth... Tom Fowler Patrick O'Hearn Scott Thunes Arthur Barrow Dave Parlato Roy Estrada Jeff Simmons Jim Pons I totally get why you can't give the original MOI bassist the time of day.
Roy and JCB had very basic skills. It's amazing Zappa was able to become successful with them, and no wonder that he looked for super skilled musicians who could read, after he broke up the original MOI.
I wouldn´t mix behaviour with playing Jim Gordon poor guy he has a dramatic mental illness that was the reason of his crime. You will have a lot of problems not reviewing musicians for their personal live issues
RIP Tom Fowler.
Well, first of all. If you were chosen to play, record, or tour with any formulation of a Frank Zappa band, you had to have the ability to play the bass instrument. You could not fake it. And I have a feeling sir, that you were not ever in a band with Frank Zappa. And therefore, giving creditability to your rating style, which is basically, your opinion, you as a fan, or a listener, have a right to say what you feel. I however, was recruited by the composer, to basically, interpret volumes of his compositons. And I think, in my opinion, that Mr. Tom Fowler, was, as good as it got, and as good as it gets!!!!! I think I have listened to every bass player that has ever played with Frank, and again, in my opinion, if your ranking has to do with who was the best, to interpret, play, and perform this music of magic, his name is Tom Fowler. I will give you an example to listen too, to kinda get what I mean. From what I felt, heard, and was a part of it's interpreted resolve, the new release this year of the Endinboro 74' concert, should do the trick. One suggestion! Take a pause, shut out the rest of the reality around you, and LISTEN, with earphones; good one's!!! It's one thing to play his music, and total anotherr experience, to LIVE INSIDE THIS MAGIC, CALLED Frank Zappa Music. Hope that you and all those that you love are healthy and safe. Blessings. P.S. Try, Pygmy and Inca Roads. That should do it!!! Peace, NMB
Wow. If this the real Napoleon....
It was kind of a honor to read your response
You are an all time great frontmen.
Quote from Frank: " it wasnt enough for Ed Mann to hate Scott, he had to get everyone else to hate him"
Scott Thunes is my personal favorite. Dude was a machine and a flavorful one at that.
“Flavorful machine” is such an awesome compliment….
Fowler had the best tone ever, and was a killer player, Barrow was awesome, Thunes was a beast, O'hearn was amazing.
O"Hearn on the ocean is the ultimate solution
I came in with O'Hearn then discovered Fowler on the "Roxy & Elsewhere" album. Mind blown, technique, groove and totally cool when all around him was 100 mph especially on Echidna's Arf (Of You). The rest of the band had something to do with it though.
Cheers Mr. Hippie.
34 years to hold a grudge is a long time! LOL. You know I never really though of ranking the Zappa bass players. I like em all. I may just have to go and listen to more Zappa today, but with different ears.
I got lots of comments about ranking the players so…..why not.
RIP Tom Fowler. Ralph Humphrey recently arrived in FZ'Heaven. Have fun all together there !!!
Great review replete with your trademark insightful/passionate reasons for what you decide.
Thank you, sir. I appreciate the comment.
"Like, like, like, like, like, like" Valley Girl 😂
Let me fix that for you Lol
1. Scott Thunes (Ijust love his choice of notes when Zappa solo's, also I got to see the 88 band twice lol)
2. Patrick O'Hearn (the purple lagoon, need i say more)
3. Arther Barrow (love his playing, don't know if you read his book, but he"s actaully a keyboard player first, he wanted to be in Zappas band and figured it would be easier to get in as a bass player then a keyboard player so he brushed up on that just to be able to play for Zappa)
4. I suppose it's got to be Tom Fowler as none of the ones that are left are any better than him, I don't get the love that band gets, Zappa 77 - 82 is way better then that band that everyone seems to worship :-)
the rest I agree with, looking forward to vocals and hope the one person on there is also not mentioned name wise, but he seems to be getting a free pass from eveyone but he's crime was as bad.
You mean the Evil Prince himself?
Identical list to me. Nice video, thank you.
I think O'Hearn gets my #1 spot. His playing is so slippery but also so in control. Watch him on the SNL 1976 appearance- its hilarious that he manages to keep it all together.
Although I will say I was listening to 4/26/75 Providence the other day and Tom Fowler's playing on Pound for a Brown is killer. That Alembic tone! He could also be #1 for me on a different day.
The sound of those 75 Pounds is fantastic….maybe better than those Dunbar era Pounds.
One more thing, I saw FZ in 1988 in NYC. The rift with Thunes wasn't the only problem growing in the band as the tour went on. They felt very, very alone because of new management, FZ was sick and distant making them feel unsupported, but, yes, Thunes rubbed them the wrong way. Good news is that they've all made up and they all felt sorry upon hearing how good the '88 band recordings sounded. 😁
Damn you! You inspire me to do top 10 metal drummers
I"m back as my real self. Great job on the list. And Fowler did guide some musicians directly to Frank. NMB is one. I think your chat on Barrow was informative. Thanks.
Remark made at 12.42 - viewers, feel free to insert your own sarcastic laugh (in falsetto)
Tom was on Roxy and elsewhere, everyody was there are Number one
Great list! Although O’Hearn and Fowler are so close on my list, I don’t know which I’d put first. Sheik Yerbouti was my first Zappa record, and I discovered Baby Snakes at the video store about a year later, so O’Hearn was the man for me for quite a while. But Fowler is amazing. And I never thought about it that way, but since I was planning to see Zappa on his 88 tour before it got canceled, I think I’ll blame it Tunis, too! From what I’ve read, it started with him, anyway. We were robbed by somebody, dammit! Cruel fate. Fun video! Keep up the great work
Wow you got NMB to respond 😎😎😎💯💯💯🔥🔥🔥
As a bassist myself, I think Barrow and Fowler would be jostling for the top two spots on my list. I do like O'Hearn (bass on Pink Napkins is amazing with its slides and harmonics) but I prefer the bass sound of the other two and they were both amazing players. Thunes was also incredible and very versatile but I think he would struggle to reach above number 4 for me as well.
Agreed here! Thunes is probably the most technical and talented guy but has not the best feel. Some really crazy things on the 1988 tour
"Rating guitarists is a stupid hobby" - FZ
He’s not wrong.
No Erroneous? Not too sure that's how you spell it. Fowler, Thunes, and my favorite bass player, Frank himself. Great job on the picks. Fowler #1. I liked your, Phil Lesh comment. Very true. North of you in Hippo.
Erroneous never toured with Frank….just did studio work so…..
@@theopinionatedhippie470 That's correct. But where would you rate him for his ability?
Waka and Grand are two of my favorite albums so….probably right behind Parlato. Mainly because of the sample size.
Well surprise surprise! . I like your analysis, pretty much how I see it but..Ohearn for me .
Funny how Patrick hasn't reappeared in any other Zappa related projects . Keep em coming
POH left with Bozzio and Warren to start Missing Persons so…..an interesting little 80s band.
Yes, Jim Gordon did indeed murder his own mother. But he was suffering from severe schizophrenia and was not sentenced to normal criminal prison, but a forensic hospital(a very well-known one in CA who's name escapes me) for the mentally ill/criminally insane.
1. O'Hearn (no competition)
2. Thunes
3. Fowler
4. Parlato
5. Pons
6. Simmons
7. Waste of oxygen
Re Jim Gordon, there's also the fact that he wasn't of sound mind when he did it.
Are you going to rank the keyboard players as well?
Always a fan of Jim Pon's simple but direct basslines when he toured with Zappa in the early 70's.
I have a growing respect for Thunes lately. While the chorus on his sound is a bit of a turn off. Even tho he's a monster, I always appreciated the criminal. So forgive me as I would have him higher up in my list. Fowler, Barrow, Thunes, the criminal, and O'hearn would be my top 5 favs.
So, Fowler is my #1 and O'Hearn my #5. O'Hearn definitely had the most unique sound with that fretless. And brought personality to boot. So he now #4, and you know who at #5.
What was I thinking? 😵💫
I wouldn't rank the players myself, although I have to admit that Tom Fowler is my favourite.
Shaggy, I've always had a little 'game' and you're on the path. It is ' your ultimate Zappa band'.
Of all the people FZ had, who among them would make your list of THE ULTIMATE ZAPPA BAND? 🤔👍🏻
I am going to save that answer for a video :-)
Awesome! 👍🏻👍🏻 And keep up the good work. I just got a tripod and soon, I hope, my new channel will be up and I can join in on this kind of YT fun. 😁
Agree with Bass players ranking 100% although I love Dave Parlato just not enough work there
Keyboards next ? That’s a tough one
I mean can you really put Ian up against George ?
Ian should be his own category and #1
Being a keyboard player I know who 1 is but with Don , Tommy , Peter , Eddie Jonson these are some tough choices
And is Frank considered for synclavier albums
I do not know what to do with Ian….he, along with maybe Ruth, deserve their own video.
Ian was not a dyed-in-the-wool jazz pianist in the same sense as George. Of course his Sax playing was in definitely in the ballpark
5. Jim Pons (LOVE his deep voice on their live stuff too)
4. Arthur Barrow
3. Roy Estrada (great musician/singer, sad sick person)
2. Patrick O’Hearn
1. Tom Fowler
Can you tell us what to expect on the recently announced Zappa 75 zagreb release?
Yes, that is coming today. I have a copy of the 22nd show, so I can comment on that (sound is crap, but discernible). Surprising choice but I’m excited.
I think Frank was to blame for the 1988 band imploding. He handled the situation badly. I also think that Thunes' supposedly not-jazz-enough bass lines in 1988 are a superb feature of the music, indeed they are a defining element of the sumptuous 1988 feel.
Agree on the Thunes’ non-jazz notes being a good thing and yeah, maybe Frank could have stepped in and set things right. Hindsight is a helluva drug.
Maybe, but Scott definitely crossed a few lines
@@baerenonkel Scott crossed into some serious stuff but as the boss, Zappa, its your job to handle that kind of stuff. And it seemed that Zappa was so big at the time and was being all over the place when the band needed him.
ua-cam.com/video/8-dIqhtQehI/v-deo.html
@8min 40sec.
Who is that playing bass on Conehead?
ua-cam.com/video/qr6mTloYJJs/v-deo.html
One of my favorite Fowler performances
Arthur Barrow is playing bass on Conehead….
My penny's worth...
Tom Fowler
Patrick O'Hearn
Scott Thunes
Arthur Barrow
Dave Parlato
Roy Estrada
Jeff Simmons
Jim Pons
I totally get why you can't give the original MOI bassist the time of day.
Roy and JCB had very basic skills. It's amazing Zappa was able to become successful with them, and no wonder that he looked for super skilled musicians who could read, after he broke up the original MOI.
Who’s number 8
Roy Estrada
Scott Thunes is a genius.
Thunes got a bad rap- and it wasnt fair
100%….
I wouldn´t mix behaviour with playing Jim Gordon poor guy he has a dramatic mental illness that was the reason of his crime. You will have a lot of problems not reviewing musicians for their personal live issues