Frank Zappa - Yo' Mama (Reaction)

[@peterbartolomeo956]

Zappa is the true GOAT. HES FAR BEYOND ANYONE IN HIS LIFETIME. HE GOT BORED WITH HIS OWN MASTERY OF GUITAR AND MOVES INTO COMPOSING MASTERPIECE JOURNEYS. A BORN COMIC...GENIUS...WIZARD....His stuff will be looked at in wonder 500 yrs from now

[@iantuggle216]

All of Frank's solos were improvised. He never tried to repeat himself. He saw solos as a form of instant composition.

[@TeezMcGee]

Wooooooow I never knew this fam 🔥🔥🔥

[@Frankincensedjb123]

Air sculpture

[@richardarmstrong-finnerty3140]

@@TeezMcGee The solos were partly improvised. The basic structure was known and rehearsed, with sections set aside for true improv. The band would, though, often need to adapt to Zappa's playing if he drifted.

[@kosta380]

The disgusting music, without sense by shit Zappa, makes you throw up 🤣

[@fantaisium3894]

This is a jazzy behavior. You create as you play. But in fact there are some themes, just like in Keith Jarrett music for example.

[@sumofan5686]

You will never think of grandparents the same again. This is what we were listening to in our youth! Between Pink Floyd, Genesis, Jethro Tull and so much more, our minds were expanded. Love that you are impressed, accepting and exploring.

[@barrywilson1294]

Zappa recorded everything. He had a vault of recordings in his home. He recorded concerts and improvised solos all the time. Sometimes themes he improvised became the seeds of new songs. And when he put together albums he might take part of a song over other performances and splice it together. Or he may mix live and studio recordings.

[@barrywilson1294]

You should consider listening again to the song and that ¼ of his solo that you say you didn’t quite like. I have found that on the second (or third) listen it might click and suddenly make sense. When that happens you feel as if you are hearing the song for the first time again.

[@noquarter9700]

Xenomorphism

[@maine420grow]

Experimental jazz was a genre Frank went in and out of. And of course he was known for saying that jazz is not dead, it just smells funny.

[@itssimple7285]

the basic track and vocals were recorded in London, the guitar solo was live a couple days earlier in Neunkirchen, Germany, AND part of the backing track for the solo was from a month earlier also in London. Every show Frank improvised the solo. Every time, every show! Frank spent his time trying to push people into hearing sounds presented in ways that listeners are not accustomed to, so that they could learn new ways to listen. To expand people's horizons and get them to use their ears and brains in new ways. Because it IS good for us :) And yes, this is a SHORT solo compared to what he normally did live. He would edit them down for the records! Thanx fer listenin! Keep your ears warm! :)

[@masterofparsnips5327]

The ultimate "Air Sculpture"

[@rayrob11]

Killin it with the Zappa videos. Far more Zappa than any other reaction channel

[@soulbrotherno1708]

Zappa was a inventor of music in his days! Like Prince in his days! Very important and rare musicians!! Love both...

[@hansvandermeulen5515]

Zappa's keyboard player at the time Tommy Mars (playing the synth part at the end of the solo) forgot to learn a part of some song during rehearsals even though FZ told him to. Zappa didn't like that too much and wrote this song about Tommy. Adrin Belew was also in this band and during this tour he had secret meetings with David Bowie about Belew joining Bowie's band. When Zappa found out he sang this song on stage as "maybe you should stay with your David", while looking Belew. Adrian did finish this tour and then went on tour with Bowie and later joined King Crimson. Als

[@pechondelgado]

Love these Zappa reactions.

[@TommiBrem]

That's the tune I play whenever I encounter stupid drivers on the road.

[@TeezMcGee]

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂🤣🤣

[@edwilliams7463]

Well done Teez! Keep exploring Zappa! It will change the way people think and appreciate his music!

[@DWHarper62]

That Yo' Momma line was given to any musician in the band who couldn't deal with the music Zappa has composed...

[@jcf1963]

Tommy! I heard it was specifically composed for Mr. Mars.

[@vivalapsych]

I always figured it was about Roy Estrada. But I could be wrong.

[@jcf1963]

@@vivalapsych That actually makes more sense. Tommy is a f'in monster. Roy not so much.

[@Civilizashum]

@@jcf1963 Tommy believed it was for him, for coming in unprepared to play Little House I Lived In from memory one day. Estrada was nowhere in the vicinity at this time.

[@jcf1963]

@@Civilizashum So, I heard right after all!

[@vruth23]

Zappa bands are comprised of the most talented and skilled and technically advanced musicians. They change keys, time signatures, instrumentation, throughout one song several times.

[@digilux4017]

It’s stated we have rock, blues, jazz, disco, reggae, hip hop etc and we have Zappa. It’s a genre of it’s own

[@RichieG]

One of my favorite Zappa pieces. And that's saying a lot! Saw him dozens of times, most of what he did was go on-stage was the band knowing the basic form, but the performances were unique. I may have 6 or 7 versions of this song. I'd see him a 6-show run in NYC, never a duplicate set once early or late, or on whatever day. Yes, the polyrhythmic parts do throw some people but as He said he "writes for himself and if you like it, that's fine. No one is holding a gun to your head." Beg you to look at a Patreon request I sent in. It's not too long, and you'll love every bit of it!

[@mikepanza5802]

Thats exactly what Frank did in every solo he called it air sculpture that's why no one could ever copy Frank's guitar

[@zippydoodah1547]

Frank can play long solos they're always interesting. It's all about the melody. Miss frank

[@dougoneill7266]

The first Frank album that I heard. It changed my life. It is still in my top 3 Frank albums and is probably the album I have played most over the years. as with much music from that era. it doesn't transfer well to digital compression. The vinyl album on a decent system sounded brilliant.

[@zolaarczakle]

The CD on a decent system sounds brilliant too.

[@dougoneill7266]

@@zolaarczakle It did/does. much better than a Youturd file anyway.

[@digilux4017]

We all started here and at Joe’s

[@MarcusL1995]

Same here

[@geenadasilva9287]

i listen to all my fz on lossless format or vinyl. frank’s production was so good that every album has something for the audiophile. Sheik Yerbouti is REALLY something! You need a proper system to appreciate Bozzio, O’Hearn and co...

[@Peter-K]

You are getting Teez, that was a live show and you are right when you say he was improving, he absolutely was and always did in concert. He called them 'air sculptures' where he just played off the background musicians and let the guitar take him wherever it went. I got more coming your way....soon

[@geenadasilva9287]

can i just say that you are a TRUE music lover? it’s lovely to hear your openness. keep up the good work brother! xxx

[@simonpegge2843]

I never managed to see Frank live but have seen his son Dweezil carrying on his dad's brilliant work a few times !

[@RideAcrossTheRiver]

Did you see the vid of DZ trying to find the weird jingly sound effect on one of his dad's recordings?

[@Frustino]

I have listended to FZ since 1970's and this is one of my favourites. He would often drop different time signatures over each other because, well, Frank.

[@n0denz]

One of my favorite closing tracks on any album. Also I really appreciate you going into Zappa's music with an open mind. There are a lot of people who dismiss him early on saying he's immature, too experimental, pretentious, and long-winded, so I respect you for taking the time to listen.

[@blimbag]

I was in the audience. Amazing for a first Zappa concert

[@frozenbeefpie]

Here's a perfect example of Zappa's guitar feedback playing. Not so many guitar players mastered that type of playing

[@stevebinning977]

For a fine example of Frank's controlled feedback give "Them or Us" from the album of the same name, a listen.

[@chrisnealis4270]

The odd rhythms are just classic Zappa polyrhythms. I love that you are learning proper Zappa. It started off with a few of the more commercial songs, but you’ve progressed to the really good stuff. Keep it rolling! 👍🏻

[@stevedotwood]

He did high brow and low brow, and didn't care. It was all music to him.

[@joelheberlein9740]

The Pop/Rock Music format has purposely conditioned generations of consumers to expect/except short, 3min+- long songs, for both radio and other media packaging considerations. Zappa understood that. He also realized that the "free thinking", "anti-establishment", anything goes, sentiment of the late 50s/60s presented opportunities for him to hide, (if you will), his soaring avant-garde, masterwork(s), within obserdist storytelling, stage antics, bizarre dress, and cloaked in a rock 'n' roll format, precisely as a workaround for that. Zappa's music is a lesson that there is so, so, SO, much more your mind can comprehend than what is available in the standard cord progressions of a 3min. "tune" in 4/4. It does help, if you are someone who finds the ordinary, well, too Frick'n' ordinary. Anyway, he may not ultimately be your cup of tea, but you will only truly know by spending some time. P.S. Zappa makes angels dance on the head of a pin, if you talk over it, you might miss it right when they flash you their tits. :) Just say'n'.

[@twwtjohns]

During an interview in 1979 Frank described his music as a cross between "journalism and vaudeville"... He definitely had a comedic intent with many of his lyrics. And his experimenting with different timing signatures is what makes him such a brilliant composer.

[@johnroberts5637]

.....and then suddenly, around the four and a half minute mark, it becomes a totally different song.......

[@jaimescott3041]

Majestic. The fact that you stopped talking when the guitar solo started so as to absorb the totality of his real conversation i.e. bending them strings, is the key. 100% improvised, live, for the most part all the bands music handed to them written by him. Majestic

[@CVGuitar]

15:24 lol -- That's one of the best things I've heard somebody say about Frank's music -- yeah dude you're a Zappa fan

[@ger2827]

It is amazing and it is also a live show, in my life I heard a band that sounds so good live ...

[@edwilliams7463]

WOW Teez! you have amazing taste in music! Zappa was one of the most underrated composers and rock musicians in the history of rock music. A true and humble genius who loved music and had mastered his instrument in ways that enabled him to communicate with people from all walks of life and take the listener on a journey that improved the quality of their lives musically

[@mgordon1100]

Man, I just love your reactions solely for the Zappa. The more you hear, the more you'll recognize from other works. I don't know the exact quote, but Zappa said himself that his whole body of work is one single composition.

[@dromadrosis]

Gosh! I forgot how beautiful this song is. Thank you so much, Teez!!!!

[@TommiBrem]

To give you an idea of how Zappa would often build up his album versions (from Wikipedia), here is the puzzle pieces for this song: Vocal sections February 28, 1978 - Hammersmith Odeon, London, UK; Guitar solo: February 25, 1978 - Hemmerleinhalle, Neunkirchen am Brand, Germany; Part of the backing track for the solo: January 27, 1978 - Hammersmith Odeon, London, UK Plus overdubs.

[@RideAcrossTheRiver]

Can hear how early 80s Dire Straits glommed onto this--which is NOT a problem!

[@michaelthomas8592]

In these times, we were told: There's a NEW Zappa-Record! There was NO INTERNET, no promomotion in any way, without record-stores or Magazines. We ran into the stores, bought this new record (nothing to know about quality or shit), sat down at home AND LISTEN - and we were ALL TEEZ McGEE on the cheapy turntable! And Zappa always teared us outa sight... My first "headphone" was my flat at home (adults were OUT), the turntable was a 45 with two sound-boxes - ram it on the floor, ears between and GIVE IT A DEZIBEL!!! That were my glory "Headphones" and the sound to 'Stairway to Heaven', Frank Zappa and f.e. Supertramp! PLUS a little weed... No Shit! That was the way at this times...

[@wowwhywow]

TEEEEEEEZ !!!! Welcome to Frank Zappa guitar solo heaven. I have been waiting for one of the reaction Zappa people to come upon this one... And I'm prettty sure you're the FIRST! You get a huge heads up for that alone. Now... as far as that middle section of the solo is concerned... you may have already guessed this... but that part with the weird rythym that doesn't quite work?... well... remember Freindly Little Finger?--- Remember XENO-CHRONY? That's right, you guessed right... that weird middle part that seems out of phaze... IS out of phaze. It's the second attempt that he made at it. The album (Sheik YerBouti) also contains his THIRD attempt, and the one where he started to get better with it. That's a song called RUBBER SHIRT. Yo' Mama's guitar solo has a structure that takes it's listener on a JOURNEY. It is by far one of the most captivating and epic solos of all time. And even Frank was hard-pressed to recapture this particular smoke in a bottle. He comes very close on a number of occasions, some of which you have already heard. And some of which , some fans might consider better than Yo' Mama. But for me... Yo Mama is his best solo EVER. Having said that... here are 10 top contenders in my personal order. This list will not include songs you have already listened to, although some of those solos should be on this list. 10. Son of Orange County - from- ROXY AND ELSEWHERE 9. Truck Driver Divorce - from THEM OR US 8. Any Kind Of Pain - from BROADWAY THE HARD WAY 7. Ship Ahoy - from- SHUT UP AND PLAY YER' GUITAR SOME MORE 6. Sleep Dirt - from SLEEP DIRT 5. RDNZL - from - STUDIO TAN (I know you reacted to this song, but not this version, with THIS solo!) 4. Packard Goose - from - JOE'S GARAGE (any solo from Joe's Garage could be on this list, but this song has the added bonus of it's lyrics) 3. 9 Types of Industtrial Pollution - from - UNCLE MEAT 2. Stucco Holmes - from - THE RETURN OF THE SON OF SHUT UP AND PLAY YER' GUITAR AND NUMBER ONE... 1. Drowning Witch - from - SHIP ARRIVING TOO LATE TO SAVE A DROWNING WITCH Runner up: Easy Meat from TINSLETOWN REBELLION and there you go, Teez... more than you could ever possibly want to know about Zappa solos. I know you do your reactions for the patrons, and I understand that, but when any one of these songs ends up on your playlist (And most of them will) prepare yourself for another one of those journeys... some longer than others. CIAO.

[@Trac489]

Zapping us again, good stuff man. 😃

[@TeezMcGee]

☺️☺️☺️☺️ got you coming up tomorrow! Let’s go! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@Trac489]

@@TeezMcGee 🖖💙

[@rk41gator]

Would Zappa and Prince make an interesting combo! Wild.

[@stevebinning977]

I can detect some Zappa influences in Prince's guitar solos.

[@TheOverlordOfProcrastination]

Truly amazing track. This solo is peerless genius.

[@kellydelay18]

One of my fav

[@ulgn1964]

Another awsome guitar solo, one of the best. 7,32 best part.

[@maine420grow]

Great album

[@motioninmind6015]

Ppl commenting seem to think FZ just invented solos out of the blue on stage but that's far from reality. He had a very clear idea of what he was going to do beforehand and practiced a LOT before a performance. He was a control freak and no way would he just dive into something unprepared. And this is up with the absolute best stuff he ever produced ❤️❤️

[@michaelthomas8592]

teez: You are the only one I know til' now, who understands Frank's music til' now: "You' Mama' and your PREDICT about the refrain... THX to you!

[@mattlourer9692]

Frank was a genius. The magic is in the music.

[@Frankincensedjb123]

Frank called his music alternate entertainment.

[@timcardona9962]

The solo section was played to a drum track from an entirely different concert so thats why it sounded so weird THis is called "xenochrony" : taking tracks from separate performances and putting them together to create an odd sort of effect, like rhythmic displacement.

[@CVGuitar]

This is a classic track

[@geenadasilva9287]

this solo really earns its payoff... if you can follow the first part (took me decades) then the second part is like the sweetest summer rain. glorious. i always think that you really hear the inner frank most clearly in some of those signature solos: torture never stops/zoom allures/black napkin/enema bandit, inca roads, this one and, of course, Watermelon in Easter Hay...

[@jeffmartin1026]

Evelyn, A Modified Dog and Harder Than Your Husband - you need to catch those two. A lot of his work does take repeated listenings to get the drift of it. This song is deep dive indeed. From 1979 - 1981 Stevie Vai transcribed Franks concert solos for him so he could use them in later songs. You should dip into guitarist Adrian Belew as well. The Lone Rhinoceros, Fish Head, The Ideal Woman or The Rail Song are all good places to start.

[@keef7224]

Those 80’s keyboards always remind me of the Fletch soundtrack

[@thomasvieth6063]

One of Frank's favorite phrases was: "some of you with a musical education can tell..." Please, believe me, he never wanders too far away from the major theme. I make out three parts of the solo with a coda. Everything is completely structured!!

[@RideAcrossTheRiver]

When those Cheezmaster 1000 keys hit it's HEAVEN

[@AllardSocks]

The solo is out of this world 😎

[@T23000PLUS]

the 'yo mama'' guitar solo gets better with each listen

[@mmccormick1065]

Sheika Abuti...my favourite Zappa album...class...City of Tiny Lights & Nasty Little Jewish princess...its brilliant....Teeze got some great Fam with great vibes & love the variety....spice of life people....Music is such a Spice no 1 escapes from sampling...nursery rhymes & sesame Street lol....& the number 1 culprit...are own heart beats...from that beat of life comes are soul to deliver this beauty which is Music

[@fantaisium3894]

Yo'Mama is my favorite from FZ, along with Peaches in Regalia. Thx for this video.

[@billlanier203]

You hit the nail on the head.

[@mikepanza5802]

Thats why this is a masterpiece

[@b.buster.]

The solo was was from a live show, the rest was studio

[@trevorb6]

"4/4 time is the most unnatural time signature... You don't speak in 4/4." - FZ

[@mikepanza5802]

I think all the brothers and sisters should start listening to more Zappa and you'll all be more happier

[@emcsquare5045]

Have you reacted to flakes by Zappa yet? If not you really should.

[@michaelthomas8592]

YOU UNDERSTODD THIS...!

[@michaelthomas8592]

Within FZ's music NOTHING IS IMPROVED! - ALL is noted like Bach or Beethoven!!! That's it! And all of this music is recreated LIVE ON STAGE EVERY DAY!

[@bikingfencer]

yes at 6 it gets messy and then comes, at 6:20 his masterpiece

[@jeffbrett7849]

different time signatures going on at once......brilliant! Xenocraty

[@jandejongh]

Yo Mama, the three-stage rocket; Zappa makes you have to earn the third stage... Thanks for the vid.

[@TheUyotube]

He would also incorporate live recordings in studio recordings mainly his guitar....solos... I wish more artist would do that

[@bikingfencer]

improv with the tightest band in the world behind him

[@maine420grow]

You should never smoke in pajamas Teez.

[@timothyturner3396]

Highly flammable

[@louismarinrenaud416]

You should try to have a listen to « St Etienne » by Zappa. Arguably one of his most beautiful solos ever. It’s recorded live, the video of this performance also exists.

[@DukeofPrunes11]

all of his solos were improv!

[@malayali-appreciator-69]

Also for this songs solo, Zappa always used a Stratocaster which had a pickup sort of in the neck or under the fretboard. Lastly, it just wouldn't sound as good without the bass playing of Patrick O'Hearn

[@landrec2]

Dude, nice.

[@claykahn9752]

Check out the new documentary on him. It's called "Zappa" lol. Just watched it the other day.

[@pedrozappa]

On this one, Zappa used a composing technic that he called xenochrony. The guitar solo is taken from a different show and put on top. It is a surprising technic with very strange and very new results. Zappa used it quite a lot on the Joe's Garage record. kzbin.info/www/bejne/n5XZYp5qg5VmiZI

[@DonFormica]

Please try "You are what you is" and "Dumb all over". Ty

[@digilux4017]

Yes, try “Dumb all over”

[@digilux4017]

“You can’t run a country on a book of religion”

[@kosta380]

Shit ugly Zappa was filth

[@rk41gator]

Chester Thompson (Weather Report drummer, Genesis and Zappa) said he never rehearsed as much as he did with Zappa. (Thompson was on some of Zappa's best albums) He said maybe Genesis was as intense. There is a GREAT video with all the Zappa drummers having a reunion where they just sit a talk. Funny. Fascinating. Here is the link: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rnjIi3qof5Z8ebM

[@raytrusty8618]

8 tins of lager and a wee blunt...and this track is a fucking journey.....along with Rat Tomago.......

[@Grithron2]

Yes, Mr McGee, it's the traditional formula of "theme/long improvisation/theme again" - this is sort-of like jazz in its own peculiar way. And the song part of Yo Mama is a classic example of "the putdown-song which people actually want to be the subject of" - even though it's usually said to be dissing Tommy Mars (for a tour-rehearsal fuckup), Adrian Belew thought he might be the song's target (and actually, a few weeks later, in Brussels, he was!), whilst others have suggested that it's aimed at Frank's road manager. Nowadays everyone knows the story behind this guitar solo, or rather how it was edited/remixed...or do they? Well, to make it short, it's easy to imagine how - what with pieces of three unrelated live/rehearsal performances having been welded together - when it came to the overdubbing stage, Tommy Mars (who else!) was initially bewildered by the "harmonic-bridge-building" task awaiting him. This song was a fixture of the live act in 1978 and it got a handful of performances in 1981 - but really there's one other version, besides this-here one, which everyone agrees on as classic, and it's kzbin.info/www/bejne/epDZi3muqr95qK8 (It's not hard to see why the song was dropped relatively quickly in the '80s. It's an improvisational mini-guitar-concerto wherein, as usual, the drummer's input is crucial. And as you may have gathered both Terry and Vinnie were unstoppable monsters, exuding polyrhythms like radiation: pity poor Chad, he could do nothing but disappoint in these circumstances)

[@bikingfencer]

climaxing at 7 - you nailed it Teez

[@bikingfencer]

this inclusio pattern is used by Z Burnt Weeny Sandwich; beginning and ending with white bread songs around a burnt weeny sandwich.

[@blainweichel3888]

Zappa was the best. Period.

[@cd6914]

The best Zappa is himself

[@maine420grow]

You snuck this past me

[@mcleodkirk1]

Improv is right! Zappa was known for improv. He insisted his musicians improved as well

[@malayali-appreciator-69]

A guy called br1tag on KZbin has some decent collections of Zappa soloes like most Yo' Mama ones

[@doc2earth]

Dude!

[@deekay3944]

you need to listen to all of joe's garage bruh...that album is fukn nuts.

[@mattlourer9692]

Wasn’t any rookies playing with him. He was always writing music

[@DUBEE43]

Please listen to his BEST RECORDED CONCERT CALLED, THE BEST BAND YOU NEVER HEARD OF

[@michaelthomas8592]

Dear Teez, I give you a HINT for this song ('Yo Mama'), you'll get it: BEFORE the solo begins, you HOLD THE TIME (im Deutschen heisst das, den TAKT halten - you keep clapping in your head to the rhythm - and you will EVERYTIME end at point by the refrain (what you suggested!) at 'Yo Mama'!!! Test it! Frank Zappa is a metronome!

[@yoddeb]

Epic

[@richardmacphee2367]

I think he had like over a 1,000 songs he had written