But when im not in the mood for Zappa, he hurts, ill have to ask friends to take him of, and if he comes up at my system in a random play, ill often have to skip him, because if im not ready for Zappa, he is awfull.

Black Napkins

More often than not my mood gravitates toward much of the material from the early 1970s, anything from Waka, Wazoo, Apostrophe, One Size etc.  Though my personal history with Zappa began with the 60s Mothers stuff, I really have to be in the mood for it these days.  Every once in a while, though, Uncle Meat or Weasels are the greatest thing on the planet.  It takes quite a bit more for me to be in the mood for the late 70s stuff, when the sex gags seemed to predominate too much for my taste.  Still, every once in a while, Joe's Garage or Sheik Yerbouti is just about right.  

Re: other posts, I do like the classical material, but I don't tend to put the Flo and Eddie stuff on hardly at all.

I don't think anyone would give a damn if the lyrics weren't there ... and making fun of the seriousness that is so much of the progressive cults in music! ... with a lot less music value for most of those bands, than Frank gave us.

 

Just look at the man as a composer and artist. You may like one piece better than the other, but it does not lessen the value and amount of work that the man put together. And not all of it is scatalogical, unless that is the only thing you are looking for, or a certain group of officers many years ago! ... in which case the whole world is scatalogical and judges are not smart enough to know the difference!

 

Definitely don't miss 'Roxy & Elsewhere' and if you like that, get all his other classics from the 70s.

 

I feel the same way, I love everything I've heard from Frank - but those two were a mistake.  I can't even listen to most of Fillmore East '71 anymore...

 

And he left us Dweezil.

 

I don't know ... it's like listening to Gentle Giant 40 years later ... and the first thing you can say is ... wow ... you gotta be kidding me ... and please ... don't tell me that all your favorite bands only do a 4/4 or a 3/4 and usually have a lousy drummer that can only hit a smare drum every 4th beat to tell you that he's there!

The rational would hinge on those qualities that made Miles such an indelible character during his lifetime. Miles played with the top musicians of his day, influenced them & was influenced by them, redefined music genre's, created new styles, put out volumes of work, Zappa is in this same sphere, he surrounded himself with the top musicians, Zappa re-defined genre's & created new musical sphere's, his works stylistically were all over the place, he put out a TON of material & he was unique. I think it's interesting to listen to Miles solo with charlie Parker. Parker is a race horse that burns up the track. Miles doe not have the same technical ability, Dizzy G. is/was that guy (but not a junkie), so Miles puts a spin on his notes that color his solos making them of their own distinct quality. (a very bluesy feel early on) I hear that in Zappa's guitar soloing. Here he is, with guys like Vai (whom Zappa admits the reason why he asked Vai to join is because Vai could do things on guitar that he could not do) or Belew that could burn circles on the neck & perform guitar gymnastics beyond anything Zappa is capable of. The fact is, when I watch & hear Zappa solo for an extended period of time, like on Shut Up & Play Yer Guitar or Baby Snakes, I admit that he's not the greatest at solo's. He's a real "meanderer" or "noodle-er". He can be sloppy & sticks pretty close to modes & scales, throws in a few fast licks, bends notes like an old school player.  He sounds like a mixture between Iommi & many other players on his Gibson SG. But my point is that his greatest abilities I find are in his song writing, his arranging, his engineering of bands & ideas & brilliant album concepts & very entertaining shows like an opera or vaudeville productions, which is much more like a composer of yesteryear - which is very much again, like Miles Davis when you consider albums & with concepts like "Birth of Cool, Sketches of Spain, Porgy & Bess, Bitches Brew, Pangaea, Nefertiti". Davis is not nor ever claims to be the greatest trumpeter in a technical sense, but brilliant in many other facets that are more important than how fast one plays a scale (as in all the examples given for Frank). Also both artists early on had to work against a system that didn't want them, but they succeeded to influence what has now become the underground of music. If you haven't read "The Real Frank Zappa Book" by Frank Zappa w/Peter Occhiogrosso - I highly recommend it!

(out of topic ofcource)

 

Think about it, all of the grand moments Frank has given us...all those poor people inhabiting the FZ universe, I don't care if it's Suzy Creamcheese or poor Bobby with a head like a potato or some Mammy Nun or Father O'Blivion ripping through his sock or an Orange County Lumber Truck, or Tank C in San  Berdino, or that guy eating the trotters and the snouts down in the dungeon of despair, or I guess even  Bobby Brown who can take about an hour on the tower of power, as long as he gets a little golden shower, or that Goblin Girl, or them folks in France (that's where it's located...uh huh).

 

Think about it.  Electric Aunt Jemima.  Ronnie and Kenny.  That Fine Girl, who gets up in the morning and goes down in the evening.  She's Easy Meat. 

 

Steamroller!  Regardless, we'll all end up working in a gas station.

 

Sad to say, I don't even have to look at the albums or listen to the songs to quote this stuff.  It's all love hate, and if ya gonna have a relationship with FZ ya'd best get used to it.  I have.