mcq wrote:"A box set of guitar noodling". I'm afraid I have to strongly disagree with you on that point, Dermot. Zappa is, along with Robert Fripp, one of my very favourite guitarists and this wonderful box contains some of the finest guitar-based improvisation I have ever heard. I remember Ben Watson (writing an article on Zappa for The Wire) comparing the polyrhythmic relationship that Zappa had with his best drummers (Bozzio and Colaiuta) to the work that Coltrane did with Elvin Jones in the early 60s (I think he referenced Impressions, to be specific). It's a tribute to Zappa's achievements that I consider that to be only mild hyperbole. He was also the only guitarist, after Hendrix, to really understand the importance of feedback and how to exploit it effectively on the guitar. Most importantly, he touches your heart more than any other guitarist and it is one of life's great pleasures to hear the man in the midst of a great solo. Canarsie, Ship Ahoy, The Deathless Horsie, Pink Napkins, Stucco Homes and Canard du Jour are personal highlights but the entire album is an absolute joy to listen to and should be required listening for all budding guitarists as well as those who associate Zappa purely with juvenile pastiche songs such as Valley Girl or Jewish Prostitute. The man was about so much more than that, even if he forgot himself from time to time, delighting in the self-righteous controversy such songs ignited in America among the far-right.cybot wrote:Final clue....
A box set of guitar noodling :-) Complete the saying "Necessity is the........." He also had the most iconic moustache in Rock history....
Check out these samples and be amazed.
The Deathless Horsie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKq1N9HaHw0
Treacherous Cretins: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67mJ91Rd ... re=related
Ship Ahoy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtNRS1r4 ... re=related
Return of The Son of Shut Up 'n' Play Yer Guitar: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Z3wmhBS5Vk
Pink Napkins: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYjHASih ... re=related
Canard du Jour (on bouzouki, with Jean-Luc Ponty): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5OVhUDGxyQ
And some favourite solo Zappa, not on the above album, but also mighty good:
Outside Now: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMusLdT9 ... re=related
The Black Page: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMnfoKCpcxo
Black Napkins: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKjd6L6n ... re=related
And finally, from Sleep Dirt, one of Zappa's most underrated albums:
Sleep Dirt: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDKs-SxG ... re=related
The Ocean is the Ultimate Solution: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ec2wiVk1 ... re=related
As the man once said:
Information is not knowledge. Knowledge is not wisdom. Wisdom is not truth. Truth is not beauty. Beauty is not love. Love is not music. Music is the best…
Amen to that.
Now now Paul, surely you do realise I wasn't being serious! Note the :-) symbol after the word "noodling". To anyone else who don't get it, it most definitely is "guitar noodling".....Anyway nice to see you back full of the sheer love and passion for this wondrous music. Looking forward to checking out the various links, thanks....
