Composer Reacts to Frank Zappa - The Black Page #1 & #2 (REACTION & ANALYSIS)

Bryan reacts to and talks about his thoughts on The Black Page #1 // Frank Zappa (sheet music + audio), Frank Zappa - The Black Page Part Two (playalong video)
ORIGINAL VIDEO PAGE 1 // • The Black Page #1 // F...
ORIGINAL VIDEO PAGE 2 // • Frank Zappa - The Blac...
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0:00 Intro
0:43 Reaction: Page 1
5:30 Reaction: Page 2
9:07 Initial Thoughts
10:20 Analysis - Talking Through the Drum Solo
15:07 Small Aside Where I Feel Vindicated
16:40 Analysis - So. Many. Tuplets.
18:35 Analysis - What Is Supporting the Rhythm?
20:47 Analysis - Exploring Tuplets
22:15 Analysis - The Flow of the Song
26:42 Analysis - The Zappa Signature
28:54 Analysis - I Can't Even Feel This Out
31:02 Analysis - Why This Is Called The Black Page
32:50 Analysis - Getting Into Part 2
36:50 Analysis - Melodic Choices
49:23 Outro

[@talkingbasslessons]

Awesome breakdown. I wrote a 200 page thesis on Zappa's compositional style for my degree and uncovered a lot of stuff regarding his melodic style with some great insight from his band members and copyist David Ocker. I did a full breakdown of the melody in both Black Page versions. It's not random at all and the devices he uses are present throughout all his 'serious' instrumentals. To keep it as simple as possible, on a surface level he uses octave displacement and doubled notes to break up fairly simple scalar lines but under the surface he uses those displacements to create multiple background lines (within a single line) in approaching target notes. It all combines to give a 'faux serialism' style. He was very much into Anton Webern and has said he dabbled in serialism as a young composer (he composed for orchestra before anything else) but found it didn't work for him. The wide intervals and general sound of the serial composers appealed to him but he needed a different way of achieving that general vibe. That's why it has the gibberish feel you mentioned. You can tell there's an underlying cohesion but the language is all messed up. His melodies and rhythms are like simple constructions that have then been shattered, bent, pushed and pulled around to give that 'perverse' feel. Rhythmically, the tuplets and complex rhythms generally create tension around a simple pulse. He might use a 16th note quintuplet followed by an 8th note triplet to create balance in a line of 8 notes. You get that speeding up and slowing down effect that again is like a simple melody that's been thrown at the wall. I feel it's like trying to drive at speed down a road filled with obstacles. Acceleration. Stop sign. Cautious acceleration. Sharp turn. The Black Page is also a good example of how he treats rhythm and melody separately. He adored Varese and The Black Page drum solo is very much an ode to Ionisation. Also, check out the chords he uses. In his band stuff he uses '2' (or sus 2) chords a lot. Root, 2nd, 5th. The lack of a major or minor modality allowed him to play with the melodies quite freely. That said, his orchestral harmony is very different and his copyist told me about a reference book of chordal structures he'd made so he could number harmonisations for speed of writing. I could obviously talk about this all day but I thought it might be worth mentioning some of that stuff so you have something to listen out for in future Zappa reactions. Great analysis and reaction. Love the channel!

[@dago87able]

I could listen to you all day, thanks for the explanation.

[@CriticalReactions]

Thanks so much for all of this info. Serialization, or in this case faux serialism (as you stated), makes a lot of sense now that you mention it. It's not something I'm likely to pick up on a first listen but retrospectively it's so clear as day how that comp method informs so much of the melodic choices in these tracks.

[@talkingbasslessons]

@@CriticalReactions Cheers man. Also if you want a really great analysis of one of Zappa's other melodic devices, Chanan talks about his intervallic sequencing here with some fantastic written examples: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eKLcanVnhdOKq68. It's another way Zappa introduces atonality into his lines. The Varese influence is really strong.

[@Baribrotzer]

".....his copyist told me about a reference book of chordal structures he'd made so he could number harmonisations for speed of writing....." Somewhere I read about FZ creating a "chord bible". That must be what was meant - and it's a very practical idea, especially if you have a number of favorite harmonic structures. I also recall reading that this piece has a sort-of 12-tone chord progression at points: four sus2 chords, a minor 3rd apart.

[@mgordon1100]

Very well written. As long as you use proper paragraphs, I can keep reading all day about your Zappa observations. One thing really stood out to me. To lay it out simply for the average to understand, the lack of major and minor modalities means the average 🎶 listener will not care for Zappa's material. I don't know. Think that's true? 😉

[@audiolabstudios]

This was written by Frank for Terry Bozzio's Drum Kit, and recorded on December 28, 1977. He was the only drummer, and no electrons triggers were used. Terry is an amazing drummer, and he had to read the score. See Pg. 669 of the Big Note by Charles Ulrich.

[@jeanclaudesagot7030]

hello ! 1976. not 1977

[@no_notes1229]

31:55 Awesome that you figured out the naming of the song!

[@christianwilliamson9752]

Yes there's no triggers. This is learned and played live and the recording is on stage live

[@kpaasial]

There are definitely some overdubs done in the studio in the first part after the band comes in, in particular some of the additional percurssions are played by Ed Mann or possibly John Bergamo (source wikipedia).

[@danalawrence4473]

There are videos of Terry Bozzio playing The Black Page. You should check it out, because this is truly complex percussion music.

[@reidwhitton6248]

The Zappa Plays Zappa video is a great place to watch Terry play The Black Page. It's on KZbin.

[@ChuckyChives]

Speaking of having an excellent memory, in the later years his bands had to have three shows of material memorized. That’s approximately 6 to 7 hours of music. The later bands rehearsed 8 to 10 hours a day for 2 months. He would write the set list just before they went on stage.

[@squanto2]

Robert Martin said for the 1988 shows they had enough material to do 5 different 2 hour shows. Ten hours of music.

[@thewaldfe9763]

On the 88 tour you can see the brass section had sheet music up, the others usually didn't. However, most musicians in the bands could read really well. For Terry Bozzio it took just some days to play it well enough to show it to Zappa. Vinnie Colaiuta would probably sight read stuff like that...

[@petertrotman7708]

Frank does explain that Black Page 2 was the disco version of BP1. Ruth Underwood was FZ's percussionist/xylophonist. He would write for her as well, so all the parts you think are (and this is 1977 btw) triggered by the drum are actually played live with Ruth and possibly the keyboard player who could read the part as well. When the band kicks in she switches to the glockenspiel or marimba.

[@zykify]

I think that Frank would have loved to use triggers there but he had to wait quite a few years for them to be invented :) What they (basically simple microphones) do is that they create a MIDI signal with a note number (each drum/cymbal/etcetera has a different number) and the velocity (how hard it was hit). You then send them to a drum "machine" which makes the actual sound you want. Since it is MIDI, you can easily edit everything afterwards. MIDI was invented in 1982 and Frank recorded Terry Bozzio playing Black Page (for the first time) in 1976.

[@Ed-yu9xe]

Wikipedia says ""The Black Page #1" is a piece by American composer Frank Zappa known for being extraordinarily difficult to play. Originally written for the drum kit and melodic percussion (as "The Black Page Drum Solo"), the piece was later rearranged in several versions, including the "easy teenage New York version" (commonly referred to as "The Black Page #2") and a so-called "new-age version", among others."

[@PaulPadoan]

A fun piece to listen to, and there are a few pianist out there that make really nice interpretations of the BLACK PAGE.

[@progperljungman8218]

Wonderful selection(s)! Kudos to Jimmy! Yeah, "The Black Page" referres to the look of really advanced sheet music. This is his contribution to that "category" 😁 If you could spare the time and had the interest, some ten more listens might reveal the full beauty of this. It's a really great song(s) that I love immensely! Took me probably more than twenty listens to fully enjoy it. But then I started in my early teens and was never a music expert. I'm totally impressed by how much you followed - and REMEMBERED - from this first listen!

[@andyshan]

These are from 'Zappa in New York'. For the album release, Zappa had the live tracks overdubbed with extra instrumentation. Not unusual for Frank for official releases based on live performances. In this case the glockenspiel and other percussion was overdubbed on the drum solo in the first part. According to Wikipedia, Terry Bozzio played this live as a drum solo. Although Wikipedia doesn't mention overdubs, the overdubs on individual tracks are credited on the original album cover. Great in dept analysis. Thank You.

[@nesseq]

As far as I know, FZ wrote the BP especially for Terry Bozio. FZ knew exactly how far he could push his musicians.

[@spankduncan1114]

Frank wrote everything for himself. Terry happened to be his drummer on sight. He did know Terry could pull it off, AND would want to try. I agree, he knew how far to push. That's why he dissolved the original Mothers of Invention.

[@steveford8999]

IIRC, the story is that some session musicians would come into the studio and jokingly say "Oh no, another black page" because of the complex music he wrote. Frank said, "Oh yeah? I'll show 'em."

[@salsalzman2325]

I'm half way through, listening to you suggest that it's impossible that only one musician could have possibly played these drums and yet it's just one. Well may be hard for a "man", more like a drum God, Terry Bozio. Frank Loved testing his musicians to their limit and it did take a while for Terry to learn how to perform this.

[@antidote7]

No triggers, played live.

[@waterguyroks]

I loved your image of the waves crashing and receding from the shore. I also personally love the melody and find it has a yearning, searching quality to it I'm drawn to. I think on some level this track was written as an intellectual/rhythmic exercise but it still has a really beautiful emotional appeal to it

[@yoddeb]

Not only tuplets, but lot's of nested (multiple levels) as well. Beautiful really. Can you imagine the level of satisfaction for a musician when mastering it fully?

[@SalamaSond]

Frank described the feel of the tight tuplet groups vs doublets as akin to instantaneous accelerandos and decelerandos. I love the absurd mechanical feel that results; it's like watching a miniature grand puppet theater.

[@stevedotwood]

Why do they always leave out the Duke Ellington style intermezzo,? it's so fucking beautiful. It's needed to catch your breath after the amazing but overwhelming tuplets…

[@gerryk3114]

Remember, that was Performed and recorded LIVE !!!!!! I WAS THERE !!! TERRY BOZZIO PLAYED ALL OF THAT (NO ONE ELSE)

[@myhomeo429]

I was there too. In the sixth row one night and the balcony the next. We were watching history but we didn’t know it yet.

[@jeffbrett7849]

Frank's sense of composition comes from speech patterns. He spoke about how speech and conversations dictate his writing style. His rhythms were all speech influenced.

[@elizabethscott7660]

As a young teen in the '60's in high school I tried to get my music class interested in Zappa. I'd play some for them and be asking them, can't you hear what he's doing? Our teacher loved Zappa, but my classmates couldn't understand the genius he created. Their loss.

[@findlesplurb]

If you think this one is crazy, check out Approximate, another piece by Zappa. That one is REALLY wild. Next to that, even The Black Page sounds tame. (Not to take anything away from The Black Page, one of Zappa's most beautiful and enduring pieces.) This video shows a variation of Zappa's 'Roxy band' consisting of George Duke on keyboards and vocals, Napoleon Murphy Brock on woodwinds and vocals, Tom Fowler on bass, Ruth Underwood on percussion, and Chester Thompson on drums. They perform 3 versions of Approximate: the full band version, an a cappella version, and a 'danced' version where the band mimes playing the piece: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bmqvgYmOp9KSf8U

[@fuzzballzz36]

They did have it memorised. Zappa would drill his band with a few months' constant rehearsal before the show was taken on the road. You're right too, it is one drummer and one vibraphone/marimba player with additional percussion on hand. Sometimes other players also had hand percussion.

[@duster71]

He was the greatest musical mind to ever walk this earth. > saw him over 25 times in NYC from when I was 14 in 74 to 88

[@wignersfriend2766]

Not.

[@elizabethr.110]

Genius indisputable

[@duster71]

@@wignersfriend2766 who do you have to name,NOBODY!!!!!!

[@zardoz7900]

​@@duster71I personally liked Hendrix

[@dago87able]

This is the be-bop Even if you think it doesn't sound like that ;)

[@HakanTunaMuzik]

there is no triggering, it did not exist in 1976. also you missed the explanation at the beggining of part 2, he explains how he wrote the black page drum solo and then decided to compose the melody., it's worth checking out on the album. Forget all the technical stuff, what i love about all this is how it's such a beautiful melody. Drummer Terry Bozzio Percusion Ruth Underwood Percusion overdubs Ed Mann

[@reidwhitton6248]

The late John Bergamo, and Dave Samuels also played percussion.

[@hansvandermeulen5515]

Both Dave and Ruth did the shows and Ruth, John and Ed did overdubs. For Ruth it was the last thing she did for FZ on re ord, for Ed it's the first thing.

[@grahamokeefe9406]

The drummer in my old band did BP#1 with a marimbist for his senior recital at Berklee. Completely nailed it.

[@whycantiremainanonymous8091]

It was one drummer (Bozzio, if I'm not mistaken), obviously no sampling or triggers (the technology for that wasn't around in 1975). And the other instruments had to play the same rhythm too after the solo was over.

[@jeffbrett7849]

there are two great documentaries on Frank. Frank Zappa: A Pioneer of Future Music...and the best one for him talking about his compositional style is "Peefeeyatko" by Henning Lohner. ESSENTIAL.

[@bobgordon236]

I love Zappa's My Back Pages. Amazing drums and sax.

[@jonathanhenderson9422]

There's a video of Doug Helvering reacting to this, and even he had some trouble keeping the rhythm straight! IIRC the piece got its name from how bandmates would often joke about Zappa's "black pages" (filled with notes and notation) so Zappa, with his usual humor, decided to make that the title of this piece that would also serve as a kind of litmus test for musicians who were serious (and skilled) enough to memorize this much odd, complex music and be able to play it. It's not my favorite Zappa, but like all artistic exercises I do find it fascinating on a technical level, even though as a rudimentary (bedroom) musician I only half grasp what's going on. It is a bit easier if I put Zappa in the context of 20th century classical rather than thinking of him as rock, jazz, or prog; at least on pieces like this.

[@Frunobulax74]

@Jonathon Henderson - The actual story is about studio musicians being scared that they would get booked on a date and be presented with a page of music so complex that it would appear black with all the notes on it. When Frank heard this story, he decided to create his own "Black Page."

[@hansvandermeulen5515]

The musicians on Orchestral Favorites talked about their fear of a black page and drummer Terry Bozzio overheard them and mentioned it to FZ.

[@fredzep01]

It wasn't called the black page for nothing, Zappa's music makes life a little more bearable.

[@ryn5671]

Still got to do "Fantomas - Live in Montreux" w Terry Bozzio on 150 piece drum kit, Mike Patton of Bungle on Vocals / Keys, Trevor Dunn of Bungle on Bass, and Buzz Osborne of Melvins on Guitar

[@paulm7243]

Really interesting, but 26 minutes in before you got to how it made you feel. Me, i can't disguise the absolute joy that the combination of achingly pretty melody and logical underpinning structure gives me. And this is hands down my favorite version (though the satisfying bass of part 2 is so sweet too): kzbin.info/www/bejne/jJ-XfJWlr6l2gposi=njvYj8TmvDnksOK4

[@MrWaterpumpkin]

Okay... I am your professor. You don't remember my name, but neigther do I :) And I grade you A for that analysis. Seriously, very good, indept dissection of a favourite masterpiece. Though I like most the Barcelona live performance, more digestable somehow. Just mind that inbetween the so-called chaotic, but in fact very well constructed parts there are some really provocative sections, just to ttease or to test the listener... or so I feel it. Thanks!

[@Hapmorii]

Check out "Project X" on Zappa's "Uncle Meat" album. It was released in the late 60's. And to me, it sounds like Zappa's one and only attempt to write a folk song. It's an instrumental with no guitar solos--thank God--and like many of his compositions, it made laugh out loud. It's a humdinger!

[@yoddeb]

I can bet you that Frank's original chart is very very impressive, he was known for his notation.

[@alldayadventures5418]

Bozio Plays this Live... Just 1 person. Took him 3 days to learn it.

[@spankduncan1114]

3 weeks, 20-30 minutes a day. According to Terry.

[@duster71]

You'll never hear a Zappa instrumental played the same way,you have to have had decades of listening to him to detect the changes he makes at almost all show.Unfortunatly you never the chance to see him live.

[@Mister_Pedantic]

No, FZ never played on his planet.

[@spankduncan1114]

Just curious, are both of those from "Live in New York?" My favorite version of The Black Page #2 is from the "88" tour. To my ear it's the most relaxed, full, (love the horn section) version.

[@MrRezRising]

I believe that version wound up on Baby Snakes. Ed Mann on percussion....? It's been so long.

[@antidote7]

Most likely intentional melodically, in fact check out videos that analyze his melodies. Incredibly interesting.

[@CC-oi9mc]

I call this piece “drum hell”

[@frankappaz6624]

The World's Most Difficult Composition... I've seen FZ 13 times... And the Black Page a handful of iterations...

[@jeffbrett7849]

All recorded live......think about that!

[@frankappaz6624]

The Black Page is written for percussion and Terry Bozzio...

[@bwanna23]

It sounds to me like Frank caught up with Edgar Varese in another dimension and together they collaborated on these pieces.

[@MrRezRising]

If you want a laugh, look up Frank on the Ed Sullivan show. No band, just Frank. In a suit. Playing a bicycle. A _bicycle_ !

[@dcko1979]

Gergo Borlai makes it look effortless and into an actual banger. "2016 Gergo Borlai - TamTam DrumFest Sevilla - Gretsch Drums - Paiste Cymbals - Remo DrumsHead" (The Black Page starts at 6m49s, but the whole set is incredible) kzbin.info/www/bejne/eXLWioeZp8lkmcU

[@cparnaby]

youve obviosly never heard of terry bozio the little gay drummer

[@wesjenkins5160]

Props to the amazing Ruth Underwood, Frank's stalwart percussionist.

[@spankduncan1114]

Not sure that's Ruth on this recording, might be Ed Mann at this point. Correct me if I'm wrong, but this sounds like it's from Live in New York.

[@erock.steady]

it's harrowing at times. most of them. the times, that is. or, they are... quite. a bit.

[@Mister_Pedantic]

Welcome to Earth, Sir. I hope you enjoy our music, the things that you missed out on when you were living on your home planet.

[@jammygitt]

Musicians playing for Zappa must like actors playing for the Coen Bros

[@lamarcole9130]

Try to listen to Dweezil Zappa and Steve Vai play The Black Page. Incredible .

[@TheWhippinpost]

A then young lady, Lucy Landmore, played The Black Page on drums for the BBC's Young Musician of the Year Award in 2010, for which she won the final of the percussion category. kzbin.info/www/bejne/qqiVeXqHm5KWjZI That was very interesting, thanks. Regarding melody, I wonder if your opinion has shifted after repeated listening over time (assuming you have). It did for me (as with a lot of tunes he wrote). It can rattle around in my brain after listening to it these days - as is happening now after watching this.

[@frankappaz6624]

And Ruth...

[@Paul-hk7ue]

zappa seems over yer head

[@myhomeo429]

Every one of his assumptions was wrong.

[@thomasvieth578]

Terry Bozio is the only drummer in this piece. If you had made some research you would have known

[@stevedotwood]

When you have time - in your own time. This is a FB friend of mine - a Japanese guy who excells in playing Zappa. The piece is almost in the same league as The Back Page. Even Zappa's son left a comment, complimenting him for his skills. The piece is adorable really. It has to grow on you though. The song is a cover of Zappa's "Sinister Footwear": kzbin.info/www/bejne/oae0kIRof62FgKc

[@perttihaajanen5902]

white noise electric storm

[@kb4446]

Oh,.. wait,...

[@joshuabruner9676]

Good context here en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Black_Page

[@davidbonar5190]

i think you got the titles to the 2 tracks wrong, or rathe the creator of the sheet music vids. the first vid is black page 1 + 2, black page 1 is the intricate drum solo (i think bozzio), part 2 rest of the band joins in. the second vid with the funky bass is a different version of the black page totally, with chad wackerman on drums i think, probably a decade or so later - jokingly zappa refers to this version as the easy "kids" version :)

[@CyprusAve]

Not true. Both of the recordings are from the same show December 26, 1976 Palladium, New York City

[@davidbonar5190]

@@CyprusAve - they are not from the same recording, compare the first 15 seconds of BP2 in bryan's link with BP2 in the concert you mentioned (link for your reference kzbin.info/www/bejne/pXfGcn6vjNBpp9k). in the former zappa announces: "black page part 2 - the easy teenage new york version", in your BP2 there's some trumpet squealing instead. the quality of recording is also dissimilar. that means the context of both performances in the individual vids are not identical - the black page was originally written as only the drum solo, specifically for bozzio as a serious/not serious joke and a challenge, then later extended for drums + percussion group to make a performable "song" out of it after bozzio mastered it (pretty quickly). over the years the "solo" part has also been presented by duos and trios, by various zappa drummers, playing everything in parallel, unisono, and the second half has been presented in many mutations and styles over the years, since zappa kept changing out his band members and instrumentation the piece had to adapt to suit each band as well as test their limits and capabilities, forcing reinterpretations (since hardly anybody could match bozzio+underwood or ed mann at their peak). concerning zappa's strong sarcastic sense of humor, and his "love" for disco music for being so simple and danceable and pleasing to the masses, i'm not quite sure who he's aiming his barb at when he let's his band play a easy teenage "little disco type vamp" version of BP2.. is he humiliating his band for not being able to play a more complex version a la ruth+terry? is he making fun of the audience by assuming they'd prefer the "palatable" the disco version (dancing fools - it's your fault we're playing it like this! :D sarcastically conforming to the audience would be zappaesque)? there's some kind of tongue in cheek subtext going on there, seems like frank's venting some frustration... - wikipedia: "Originally written for the drum kit and melodic percussion (as "The Black Page Drum Solo"), the piece was later rearranged in several versions, including the "easy teenage New York version" (commonly referred to as "The Black Page #2") and a so-called "new-age version", among others. i think i've even come across a reggae version (palladium '81? wackerman?) - there is no definitive version per se of the black page, since all the permutations happened over time with varying intent and context. first it was only a joke, then a concept fermenting in frank's brain, and it's first iteration as bozzio accepting frank's composition as a challenge and proving himself. it started out as a joke by zappa's hired musicians ("one of these days frank's gonna let us sight read a page so dense its black..."), a concept zappa took to it's extreme by taking it serious. as sheet music, it was also a great tool to sort out musicians when zappa was hiring the best of the best - one had to be able to sight-read and play the black page to have a chance at joining. i consider the "zappa plays zappa" version as definitive (just my opinion), even though frank is long dead and couldn't give any input or perform,, since some of his definitive former musicians, all decades-long veterans at this point, came together with his dweezil to make their best interpretation of the black page, in memory of frank's prowess, perfectionism, and humor as a composer... and it's clearly not a teenage disco version :) check it out (kzbin.info/www/bejne/l3W0dmtoetGsgMk&start_radio=1), BP1 as a drum/percussion trio playing identically, BP2 with the medlodic line and the rest of the band. here, dweezil clearly announces the solo part "black page part 1", the rest (the section with so many iterations over the years) as black page part 2. i hear and accept you opinion, but i'm going with dweezil on this one ;)

[@andyshan]

@@davidbonar5190 They are taken from Zappa Live in New York released in 1978 from concerts recorded Christmas week, 1976 the Palladium, New York City. So possible from different nights.

[@davidbonar5190]

@@andyshan one also has to take in account: if FZ himself was the producer, he liked to tinker around with (live) recordings, cutting as well as overdubbing, inserting samples (ie live solo in studio version) etc before releasing the final cut of a music piece. so there can be edited and unedited (official as well as unofficial, like bootlegs) recordings of the same live song, concert etc... the song itself though needs exposition, since it has interesting stories surrounding it displaying how FZ in general kept pushing his hired musicians to their limits with almost impossible compositions and demands and how he often vented his frustration for not finding musicians that could play anything he wanted (see for example steve vai talking about his experience being hired...), leading up to his solo phases with synklavier etc. working completely without a band/orchestra. in addition he had the problem of having to repeatedly find new musicians that were able to play the relevant back catalogue as well as the former musicians AND anything new he flung at them - which (no surprise) often didn't work out as ideally as FZ desired :) (FZ mentions this frustration in a couple interviews, and former band members mentioned his snarky condescending attitude expressing his frustration as a form of discipline as well). the way he served bozzio this impossible song epitomizes his extremely demanding nature as well as his respect and appreciation for bozzio, not a "i don't think you can do it." but a "i wanna see you do this." and bozzio made zappa happy :)

[@kjetiloptun5177]

@@davidbonar5190 Zappa mixed the parts he liked best from different shows in the New York concert series. For example, the keyboard and guitar solos on I Promise I Won't Come In Your Mouth, on the LP, are from different shows. Well, why not, FZ was aiming for perfection.

[@jeffcullen6412]

Not triggered. Mind blown.

[@kb4446]

Add a comment...

[@joa2340]

To me it sounds like to parts of the same song. Great channel though.

[@davetothebeard]

Thats Terry Bozzio on drums and Ed Mann on marimba, vibes and other percussion delights.

[@HakanTunaMuzik]

Ruth Underwood was still in the band at this point and played all the live stuff here, Ed Mann was only on overdubs, who played what I don't know but we need to name check Ruth as well.

[@davetothebeard]

@@HakanTunaMuzik Thanks for the correction. Anyway, all hail Ruth!

[@thewaldfe9763]

The second part (Teenage New York version) is most probaby Chad Wackerman on drums and Ed Mann on Percussion.

[@seabertotter4325]

Blah Blah Blah....Who cares if he likes Frank or not?

[@kurtolsen7989]

It was written to test the drummer Vinnie Colaiuta and he can play it.

[@reidwhitton6248]

Terry Bozzio was in the band when Frank composed The Black Page.

[@yellowrain3747]

more touhou, reimu theme

[@redchthonic]

Good band that had nothing worth playing after Roxy and Elsewhere. By the late 70s he just was popular with first year uni students. Then he learnt (smart man) to knock out albums for either cash or ego or both.

[@spankduncan1114]

He was obsessed with writing music and finding musicians to play it to the best of their abilities. He never cared about what you think or that you exist. Regardless of what year you used to be.

[@redchthonic]

@@spankduncan1114 Well the early records are good but by the time he got to 'watch out where the huskies go, don't you eat that yellow snow" he was appealing to first year uni students and stoners. Roxy and Elsewhere is his last good album for ME. Just out of interest, how do you know he did everything for such honourable reason, did you know him? It will come as a terrible shock but I am allowed to think his later stuff is poor.

[@marlon8185]

Macht eure Augen auf, ihr ahnungslosen zappa trolle,hahahaha

[@spankduncan1114]

Who are you speaking to?

[@marlon-jl4ge]

With his partly nonsense songs, he fooled the people

[@spankduncan1114]

It's called entertainment, not "foolery".

[@clarkkent9634]

Lame

[@marlon-jl4ge]

And Thats a recognized composer? I laugh my ass off, hahahaha, hahahaha 🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣

[@HakanTunaMuzik]

it should be KZbinr reacts to composer Frank Zappa

[@marlon-jl4ge]

He fooled people with his partly nonsense songs

[@HakanTunaMuzik]

@@marlon-jl4ge sounds like you know nothing about Zappa, or maybe you're deaf who knows

[@alancumming6407]

@@marlon-jl4ge Fooled them how exactly? You mean like some sort of trap?

[@marlon-jl4ge]

He literally tooks several styles of music and mixed them together, he was very confident okay, but a genius? No thanks

[@Aldous944]

Great to analyze. Not so great to listen to. Zappa spent much of his musical career simply being uber clever. Not enough, in my book.