Deeper into ONE SIZE FITS ALL | FRANK ZAPPA

'Why does this sofa fit me so well? Like a glove?' And so perhaps is our place in the Universe. Here I try and explain why I fit so well within Zappa'a Universe....
also...there is one mistake...at the end I meant to say 'Go listen to Lumpy Gravy and Civilisation Phase III'
This video raises more questions than it answers....if you have any drop them in the comments below.
Become a Patreon! / andyedwards
Andy is a drummer, producer and educator. He has toured the world with rock legend Robert Plant and played on classic prog albums by Frost and IQ.
As a drum clinician he has played with Terry Bozzio, Kenny Aronoff, Thomas Lang, Marco Minneman and Mike Portnoy.
He also teaches drums privately and at Kidderminster College

[@Alfred_Domke_antispace-sounds]

You Can‘t Do That On Stage Anymore Vol. 2 - The Helsinki Concert is the recording you‘re refering to. The guitar solo of the track Inca Roads from One Size Fits All is actually from this concert in Helsinki in 1974.

[@DWHarper62]

And the basic track recorded in Los Angeles at KCET studios with the phenonmenal George Duke solo...

[@ganazby]

Bloodshot Rollin’ Red is Captain Beefheart, I think.

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

ahhh yes!!!!i think you are right! Of course, Bongo Fury was the next album....

[@chrismorgan7494]

My favorite Zappa album. The fidelity alone is stunning. Discovered this in my dad's record collection as a wee lad in the late 70s.

[@ericarmstrong6540]

My favorite Zappa album and "Inca Roads" is my favorite song by Zappa. I remember playing it over and over when I first bought it. "Arf" she said...

[@scottbookman]

i had to watch this video for a second time because it's two times as good and i agree with everything stated.

[@blur5725]

The Simpsons comparison is spot on. Matt Groening have said that The Mothers of Invention is his favourite band, his favourite album was Trout Mask Replica wich he bought because he saw Zappa’s name on it

[@tomhenninger4153]

Amazing album! That’s been my #1 Zappa album since it came out. It’s slightly more serious than some of his albums. LOVE IT!

[@steliosposeidon6871]

“The stars are matter, we’re matter…but it doesn’t matter” Captain Beefheart Also, the younger Don Van Vliet was once a vacuum cleaner salesman, so maybe that was an in-joke. CB would sometimes have one on stage, atop the guitar amps theres some footage from ‘71. I say all this because he and Zappa were (just about though allegedly not for much longer) still friends and working together around ‘75.

[@winstonsmith8240]

It's the album that turned me on to Frank Zappa. I prefer the guitar solo on Inca Roads on a live version I've heard to the one on the album, so I often wonder why he didn't use that one, but it's just gotta be the work of a genius.

[@jeffmartin1026]

One Size Fits All was an in-band joke about the size of a mans "member". SOFA is and anagram of the first letters of the LP title. That's a chrome dinette floating in the universe. There was a serious economic depression in the early 1970's - inflation was running 12-14% at the time.

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

I should have done this video with you!!!

[@paulmartinson875]

I love Johnny guitar Watson

[@ornleifs]

Love Zappa, he was an absolute Genius - my favourite is also One Size Fits All - Not only are the compositions so great but the whole album is infused with passion and enthusiasm from all the players and also it's really well recorded, sounds so thick and warm.

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

I agree....and you are right about the production too

[@uncleernie7949]

andy is the best track

[@ganazby]

‘In the beginning was the word’, which of course is sound/vibration.

[@alessandroneri8929]

The best Zappa album for me. As simple as that. A Masterpiece.

[@richardwissing954]

I started listening to Frank in 1968 as a 13 Y.O. , I loved Mother Mania. I then heard Hot Rats which gave me Beef Heart, You had to work at some of it but it was always rewarding. The credits in Freak Out sent me to the library to learn American History of Music and crime. Inca Roads could be my favorite song, maybe, I read Chariot of The Gods which is real racist mess of claiming brown people couldn't do anything, must be aliens. I have heard reviewers claim they like the music but think his lyrics are "weird". You did a fantastic job with this video. I have never rambled so much on a comment. Excuse me. Thank You.

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

Mothermania never gets mentioned but it is my favourite album by the eraly Mothers

[@recordcollectornews]

One Size Fits All was my favorite FZ too. Now Waka/Jawaka Hot Rats is my number one. Zappa's catalog gives us an abundance of riches.

[@alancumming6407]

If I had to introduce someone to Zappa I would probably play them this. The master of melodic and rhythmic invention with hilarity thrown into the mix.

[@unityproject2279]

Great vid Andy. I have had this on repeat. I find myself replaying Inca Roads more and more and more

[@ianmuldoon2900]

Well done for coming up with a top 10! I agree with your no 1 choice, plus whoever can pull off a big red sofa for a cover deserves extra points and a foot stool to go with it!

[@mattmiller4917]

Damn right! Not only Zappa's best studio album, but one of the greatest, period. But if you count the live albums, I'm not so sure this would be at the top. Prolly Roxy. Not a fair comparison really, though.

[@Catrakai]

Great analysis . Thanks!

[@michaelfavreau7617]

I very much like these detailed album synapses, observations, emotions, narratives, experiences or whatever you may refer to them. Detail is the key to love. Focus on what we love and hear and know. So we can understand things we have trouble hearing the detail. Great work Andy. I`m still working on my Zappa appreciation. This episode brings me closer .

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

Thanks Michael...i am slowly moving towards something along those lines on this channel...yes music is about love

[@neilloughran4437]

Great album. Might be my favourite too.... miss George Duke a lot... I remember some years back hearing him on a few Cannonball radio broadcasts circa 1971 and his playing was really advanced (quartal voicings/intervallic structures) compared to the usual bluesy soloing from rock keyboardists that was the norm....

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

He is one of the seventies masters, along with Jarrett, Chick, Herbie, Zawinul, Hammer....

[@jazzpunk]

@@AndyEdwardsDrummer ...and Duke's vocals. So good. I saw him interviewed somewhere awhile ago. The most fun he ever had in a band was on the road with Frank. God knows what he witnessed.

[@neilloughran4437]

@@jazzpunk I missed getting a ticket to a gig at Nefertiti in Gothenburg (I was living in Oslo at the time) was sold out within an hour of it being advertised.. I'd love to have hung with George for an evening... one of the most down to earth musicians you could meet I would imagine.

[@blur5725]

James Youman was replacing Tom Fowler on the cant afford no shoes track because Tom broke his hand. ‘Bloodshot ‘Rollin ‘Red is Captain beefheart

[@MegaFrancescop]

Brilliant as usual !my fav is Roxy and...

[@dannyblaustein7352]

Hi Andy - Awesome analysis!Since I have time I wanted to give you feedback on this video and your channel in general. As with your others, this one was very well done. I really appreciate how much thought you put into all of your content. I will keep watching. I love these deep dives, like a window into your brain!, which is probably a scary place-but in a good way! Anyway take it easy. Obviously I love the Zappa content, but I align with your other musical choices too! Also checking out your music but not sure where to start.

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

Thanks Danny...if you like Zappa try here: andyedwards.bandcamp.com/album/daemon

[@guillaumechabason3165]

Andy is the Guacamole King !

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

= quintuplet king!!!!

[@bmboldt]

Hi. I didn't know you had a channel. I have watched you many times on Pete's shows. I enjoy hearing you discuss your favorite jazz and fusion albums.

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

Thanks for popping over here

[@syn707]

I miss Zappa too. And wished we coukd get his perspective on the state of the world. Some of his statements from the sixties I did not absorb. I just filed them in a special place only to realize in recent years how right he was. This was a very enjoyable video Andy. Wowie Zowie!

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

Thanks Robert

[@jazzpunk]

Yeah, he was right on a lot of things & was ahead of his time.

[@scoop1178]

Sofa is a piece of music from the 71 live band you prefer least. check the montreux concert to get the complete idea about the Sofa Suite. The lyrics have a big translation problem. Sentences translated in a wrong way english to german and than backwards again from german to english. BUT the german sentence "Ich bin dein verlorenes Metallgeld" is pure gold

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

Thanks for that Scoop. I see this KZbin as a repository of information and so comments like these are very important. This german/english translation thing also relates conceptual continuity wise to 'Stick It Out' off Joes Garage...and of course Joes Garage has a similar diagramatical artwork.

[@scoop1178]

@@AndyEdwardsDrummer btw "Stick It Out" is also part of the '71 sofa suite. First the Lord want for his well beeing after a hard days work a "Fussbodenbelag" = floor covering = Diwan under his sofa. later in the suite it is the same sofa again where the girl is warning "Don't get no jizz upon that sofa, sofa " = aber beklecker nicht das sofa,sofa With Ruth in the band only the elegant part

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

@@scoop1178 The endless depths of the conceptual continuity....

[@arnaudb.7669]

You didn't talk about Florentine Pogen and Andy.Maybe on part 2 ? What about doing a show about the link(s) between Zappa and jazz-fusion?

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

Yes, I avoided trying to explain the meaning of that one....

[@petertrotman7708]

I love to watch people reacting to "Inca Roads" and other tracks from this album thinking 'How the Hell have I not heard of this 'till now?'. "Excerpt from Lumpy Gravy" was the first Zappa song I'd ever heard (Hooked) but "Apostrophe" was my first album (Forever hooked) so I'd put that album slightly ahead. "Size" is a superb album though.

[@jeremykeens3905]

Overnight sensation to Zoot allures (+Bongo fury) were my Zappa period. And this album was the pinnacle. Got to see him in Sydney at the concert that is FZ:OZ Love the musicianship but the schoolboy/scatalogical humour got too much for me. Recently tried orchestral, which suits me more, and sampled hot rats.

[@matth268]

People always compare the band phish to the grateful dead. If i had to pick just one album thai i feel influenced trey anastasio's writing it would be this album and the zappa band from this era.

[@fubartotale3389]

There are no bad cuts, much less bad albums in the Zappa inventory.

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

He was either perfect or that statement is not correct...and I love the guy....

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

His dubbing of electronic drums and bass onto We're only In It For The Money was pretty bad...for example

[@marvinspira3491]

Bloodshot Rollin' Red was Captain Beefheart.

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

Oh wow...of course!!!!

[@FeloniusMonkInGSharp]

George Duke!

[@jedtulman46]

Chaos. A Modified universality parses the modified doilley of the Kamic fringe ..niceeties may rebound like some previously forgotten meal may once more be regurgitating ahh yes the taste of ZAPPA .. b.r.a.v.o. .

[@SeriouslyLarry]

I love an accent that pronounces "dadaist" as "dardarist". Lol

[@hermancharlesserrano1489]

Nice...when are you going to do a Beefheart vid ;)

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

Not sure yet...I would have to fill my knowledge out of a few albums

[@hermancharlesserrano1489]

@@AndyEdwardsDrummer yes, yes you will 😉 🤣 keep up the great vids, really enjoying them, mate

[@Targuer]

good evening I read ver de zappa on Monday and look at a lot of documents. and I think about the state of the world. on sept 11, obama, trump, poutine, internet the world as zappa would have started. and his archives how would he propose to us to discover them. f we miss zappa…

[@AndyEdwardsDrummer]

We need him so bad at the moment....

[@SeriouslyLarry]

I think he's clearly mocking things like astrology and ancient alien beliefs. Zappa has proven to have nothing but disdain for such nonsense.

[@jimmycampbell78]

Yes he was being satirical about spiritualism and obscure esoteric references in rock music at the time. Zappa was very cynical and ironic. Ideologically, he is on the opposite end of the creative spectrum to someone like McLaughlin, which is why I find it interesting that Andy is a huge fan of both.