AlanRatcliffe
Ah, no. I have over 60 albums and have subjected friend and foe, musician and mundanes alike to a broad range of Zappa, and I can say that the absolute best album to get for the Zappa newbie is Roxy and Elsewhere - live and a good overview of all the best material of the George Duke/Napoleon Murphy Brock version of the band, with choice bits from albums like Hot Rats. Some great solos and nice monologues too.
Otherwise both Apostrophe and Overnite Sensation. Jazzier stuff, but has all the elements of Zappa in a listener friendly format. Later large rock band material is well represented by The Best Band You Never Heard In Your Life.
Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar (as well as Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar again and The Return of the Son of Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar) focusses on the soloing, which is a bit esoteric to the neophyte. The more you learn the more you appreciate Zappa's "Air Sculpture", but it doesn't serve well as an introduction to his work.
Honestly, to get the complete overview of all his work, from the Dada, through Jazz and Rock to Classical would take 10 CDs at least...
Renesongs
Yeah - what's with all you young people digging up the 60's 70's heroes - didn't your parents warn you that this stuff could lead to serious antiestablishmentarianism, dellusion with civil society and a penchant for consuming canibus.
My favourite Zappa is Roxy and Elsewhere, although they all good except perhaps Jazz from Hell
Renesongs
Thats quite a snap moment, I hadn't seen Alans reply when I was typing mine 8)
AlanRatcliffe
Roxy and Elsewhere
Great minds...
they all good except perhaps Jazz from Hell
I
love Jazz From Hell ? It may be 99% synthesized, but that's because until the Ensemble Modern, no-one could play pieces like
G-Spot Tornado.
Thing Fish is the only one I don't like at all.
FatBoy
Yeah - what's with all you young people digging up the 60's 70's heroes - didn't your parents warn you that this stuff could lead to serious antiestablishmentarianism, dellusion with civil society and a penchant for consuming canibus.
Erm no they didn't! And now I have all the above symptoms, probably just in reverse order.
Manfred-Klose
Well if you wanna know where music is going, you first know where the music has been.
Almost like when mendelsonn discovered Bach.
old school had so much attidude in the music, there where no standards to follow, old school is what started it all.
does that answer your qeustion?
AlanRatcliffe
? Rene is right. You guys should be rebelling against this music that your parents liked. It's part of the natural order of things. Otherwise, how are your folks going to be able to say "We told you so!" when you finally discover just how cool their music is (about middle age - roughly the same time your kids are saying things like "Nirvana/NIN/RATM suck").
My 18 Y.O. girl and I just watched NIN together. She tried to shock me with Manson a while ago, so I showed her how Alice Cooper was doing the same shtick 30 years ago ? Then I introduced her to Diablo Swing Orchestra.
Wessel
It is a bit intimadating being 20 and talking about my favorite band's with older guys ? If I asked any Faceless fan's not so many people would have replied.Most people from previous genarations hate music with screaming vocals ? To me its just a more expresive way of doing vocals.Apart from the vocals and the guitar tones not much has changed.Its all about rebbelion and atitude.
AlanRatcliffe
Hell, my generation grew up with screaming vocals. Maiden, Purple, AC/DC, The Who, Ted Nugent, et. al. Janis Joplin was doing it while I was being born ('67) - James Brown long before. Motorhead invented real heavy - with only three guys.
I must be honest, there are very few newer bands that get me really excited. While much of it is good, the problem is I have heard similar before and often done better. It doesn't stop me looking though.
Manfred-Klose
Screaming vocals can be intimidating, though i heard songs where there is nothing but screaming and completly kills the vocals, then again i've heard amazing Death/Thrash/Black metal bands that have acomplised to make screaming apart of their music, and it is not irritating to listen to, I refer to bands like "Dimmu Borgir".
Do you think that this whole satan thing is a act that these bands do to scare old people?
Well it seems to be working!
I've got a few friends that are posing to be evil, but the fact they are friendly people and they wouldn't even hurt a bunny rabbit.
Renesongs
I kind of like most of the sounds my daughter,(15), plays me. Muse, Death Cab for Cutie, Seether, Panic at the Disco. (Rene ducks while Spyke prepares petrol bombs to hurl at a geriatric Emo, yes I have to confess I liked David Bowie as well back in the day ☹ ). I think the lyrics are really smart, rebellious, the music similar to 70's rock but with a lot more technology at their disposal , rhythms are generally fuller and thrashier, no risk of having to sit through 15 minute guitar/keyboard/drum solos or vocal screamathons
Renesongs
I love good lyrics, even sung badly, (Bob Dylan, Donald Fagan, Leonard Cohen), but the 3 lyrical styles I have no taste for are RAP, Opera, and effeminate screeching of a metal vocalist, kind of reminds me of an opera diva with the attitude of a rap artist.
Reef
Renesongs wrote:
I love good lyrics, even sung badly, (Bob Dylan, Donald Fagan, Leonard Cohen)
[me=Reef]splutters ? [/me]
Renesongs
Hey Reef why the splutter do you think these guys write bad lyrics or do you thing that they sing well ? ???
Reef
Its my gut reaction to criticism of Bob Dylan. Just when my therapist thought I was making progress too ... then you gotta go insult the Bob. Why René, why?!? [me=Reef]falls to ground in anguish[/me]
Renesongs
Hey I'm sorry man - I like Bob too - maybe if I lend you my copy of Martin Scorsese's "No Direction home" you will cheer you up, (in about 220 minutes), and won't have to go back into electro-shock therapy :-[
Reef
[me=Reef]runs from the room screaming "I'm not there! I'm not there!" [/me]
Midinut
Hell I feel a bit lost as a bass player amongst all you guitarist dudes!! But when you mention Zappa I am in!
I have the following shows on DVD and recommend the Dub Room Special for a good all round taste of Zappa.
Live Palladium - 1981 MTV Halloween Late Show
Baby Snakes
Does Humor Belong In Music?
A Token Of His Extreme
Classic Albums
The Dub Room Special!
AlanRatcliffe
Midinut wrote:
Hell I feel a bit lost as a bass player amongst all you guitarist dudes!! But when you mention Zappa I am in!
I think there's now four of you low end types condescending enough to lurk around here. ?
I have the following shows on DVD
Yup. Got all those. ? I have over 10GB of clips too. Bios, Interviews and sundry live snippets. The live archive footage they found recently of the Mothers in the BBC studio. Even the early (pre moustache!) clip where he plays a bicycle on he Steve Allen show.
Ever see
Video from Hell? Some stuff from Jazz from Hell and a great live version of
Stevie's Spanking, with a young Vai trading off with Frank. Also
You Are What You Is (studio version) and clips from
Uncle Meat and
200 Motels
Riaan
So I finally got around to listening to some Zappa (Overnight Sensation). I knew of him before but was not familiar with his music and I must say, IMO the man was a musical genius, judging from the bit I listened to this morning. A bit strange on the ear at first, almost like the first taste of a good single malt. The more I heard, the more I liked it. I was looking for new stuff to listen to, and I'm glad I was introduced to Zappa on GFSA!
