Frank Zappa- Zomby Woof (REACTION//DISCUSSION)

[@manualboyca]

Overnite Sensation was written and recorded at the same time as Apostrophe, so they are 2 “companion” albums - it’s well worth a listen for your next Zappa album. When I bought Overnite Sensation as a kid, it was on one side of a cassette with Apostrophe on the other side, so they always seemed like one double album to me.

[@Rowenband]

I always saw them as 2 companion albums too.

[@lorrainemiller688]

Thanks for giving Zappa his due! He's unforgettable, forever!

[@rk41gator]

The couple of people who gave this a 'thumbs down' could NOT have stayed for the guitar solo. Oly Sht that thing is funky, solid soulful rock. These guys are Zappa GOOD.

[@manualboyca]

What amazes me about this song is what I call “five-lets”…it’s basically five evenly spaced notes to each beat. It comes up again and again in this song and everyone in the band hits them perfectly. It’s common to have 4 notes to a beat (sixteenth notes), or 6 notes to a beat (what I call “six-lets” or sixteenth note triplets), but the five-lets are strange and wonderful, and very memorable!

[@g33tarp3r50n]

I think the term you’re looking for is quintuplets?

[@manualboyca]

@@g33tarp3r50n that may be the proper term, but the word I was looking for was “five-lets” 😂

[@porflepopnecker4376]

"Quintuplets" reminds me too much of babies.

[@manualboyca]

@@porflepopnecker4376 😂

[@chrisogburn8240]

I like writing stuff so littered with them I just refer to them f*ckeduplets.

[@ithaliem]

This is one of my favourite Zappa-songs. The singing, the instrumentation, the solo! Even some Gentle Giantish bits just before the solo. Brilliant! Btw, the first singer with the low voice is Zappa. One song that would fit nicely with your Halloween-theme is Monster / Suicide / America by Steppenwolf. If your list is already full, please react to it in the near future. It's one of the cornerstones of American hard rock / prog.

[@frankpentangeli7945]

Luuuuuuuuv Steppenwolf!!!

[@Rowenband]

I also felt the GentleGiantish bits. No wonder zappa said good things about GG.

[@kdpflush]

We had this album in my house almost my entire childhood, and I think it's a great album that all kids would enjoy every song from. If anyone had a problem with 5 year old me singing Dinah Moe Hum, that's on them, not me.

[@rogerhennie8939]

The whole album is amazing!

[@frankpentangeli7945]

Maybe the FILTHIEST lead guitar tone I've ever heard. Zombie Heaven!

[@williamtaylor5193]

Dweezil has referred to Ruth's sounds on Zomby as "mysterioso."

[@kevinhodgson2990]

Zappa's Halloween shows are legendary. The 1981 MTV live concert was what hooked me on his music. Some good Halloween songs like Goblin Girl and The Torture Never Stops.

[@jfergs.3302]

As Frank goes, this's about as Frank as he and the guys can get :)

[@JustJP]

🤭

[@steveobrien9937]

Franks music is so chock full of character...its like some kind of animated zaniness that comes straight from his demented imagination, side saddled with his musical genius.....great stuff. Cheers from Canada....

[@twelvemonkeys8786]

The genius of Zappa.. Thanks JP

[@nj1639]

Another fun one from Frank is "Cheapnis " off his Roxy and Elsewhere live LP and "Village of the Sun", same LP, a song about a little town "I once lived in".

[@craigfazekas3923]

Nice choice, amigo !! I am going to watch FZ's The Roxy Movie today.... Barking 🎃, indeed- Happy Halloween, everyone !! 🚬😎

[@JustJP]

Ty Craig! Hope you had a nice Halloween :)

[@jcf1963]

Opening time signatures are 3/4, 10/16, 2/4, 5/4, 15/16.

[@dana_brooke_27]

There's so much going on in that song. This album is excellent. This album and Apostrophe are my favorites from Zappa.

[@gelsol]

RIP Ricky Lancelotti. His voice kills me. He's like a muppet or something. 50/50 is a great track with him. And I believe there's a version of Wonderful Wino with him.

[@gelsol]

And an absolutely bangin' Zappa solo.

[@mrfranksan]

I believe the Ikettes are uncredited? They certainly are essential.

[@Pjaypt]

Yes, they are uncredited because of Tina's husband!

[@fostercathead]

Your reactions are just fantastic! First, there are no unneeded interruptions. Second, the chosen material is totally fantastic! Third, I will have to wait until I come up with a third reason. As I ponder the significance of short-person behavior In pedal-depressed panchromatic resonance And other highly ambient domains ...

[@JustJP]

Haha ty foster :)

[@nj1639]

Love it!!! Frank is the bomb. The memories of seeing him shred that SG.

[@308V8HZ]

Blacknapkins , out of this world !!

[@jamespaivapaiva4460]

No more early mornings with the ladies of the meadow! My friend is finally home! Will miss the moo's & bleats of hungry cows and sheep, but if I hear howling tonight, I will defend with my guitar and not retreat! (unless it's an enterprising little soul, then they will get a re-treat.) Peace and pumpkins. Zappa forever.

[@davidbonner4556]

I think the singer came to L.A. wanting to be an animation Voice Over actor when Zappa discovered him. I think he eventually died of an O.D., if he's the guy I'm thinking of.

[@dougoneill7266]

I'm fairly convinced that Ike Willis does the vocals at the end of the track and frank at the beginning.

[@dougoneill7266]

@@HakanTunaMuzik You're correct. My bad. Ike is the Best band we never heard in our life. version.

[@markspooner1224]

What a great way to start my Sunday, brilliant!

[@unichusettsofmassadversity9705]

It's hard not to envy a new Zappa fan. You have quite a body of work to explore! Have fun.

[@stevedotwood]

"I might snatch you up screamin' through the window all nekkid an' do it to you up on the roof" Ralph Humphrey said of Rikki Lancelotti: "Rikki was really crazy, I don't know where Frank found these characters"

[@gammaanteria]

Classic Zappa track…love the rapid and intricate musical interludes that break up the vocals…I think my favorite live versions of this song are YCDToSA Volume 1 and Best Band You Never Heard in Your Life…

[@mackum16]

The whole album is phenomenal 50-50 is my favorite song. Wildest Zappa guitar solo ever

[@mlinderict]

Anything off Sheik Yerbuti. "Maybe You Should Stay With Your Mama" is usually my go to.

[@jeffschielka7845]

Great album. Cool song. Classic Frank.🐾🐺

[@maruad7577]

The best Halloween song you have played so far. Frank is always amazing. Any more treats for us today?

[@-davidolivares]

You have too many treats, your tummy gonna hurt!

[@johnclaeys9514]

Lady Likin' Lycanthrope

[@bobschenkel7921]

FZ, ever the composer, ALWAYS got what he wanted on tape. Having great musicians helps. A lot.

[@EdwardGregoryNYC]

One of my favorite Frank albums. I have this autographed from when he appeared on Midday with Bill Boggs.

[@Pcrimson1]

Happy Halloween indeed! I saw Frank at one of his famous Halloween shows when Zoot Allures came out, so amazing! IMO, his most scary song is off of the Zoot Allures album. The Torture Never Stops is super creepy, keep that in mind next year.

[@Guitar6ty]

As a multi instrumentalist who does a lot of recording Zappa never fails to impress. Musically he knew what he doing and then some.

[@fenderchamp8241]

Ghost of a Chance. By Rush. Very poignant lyrics. Beautiful song.🎃

[@RichieG]

BTW The backup singers are the Ikettes. The b/u on several FZ pieces. See: Tina Turner and the Ikettes with Frank Zappa kzbin.info/www/bejne/oGLUp5SKiaarnc0 OR Frank Zappa and the Ikettes Recording "Cheepnis" at Bolic Sound - 1973 kzbin.info/www/bejne/a17OiYd8iNiqgdk

[@seanjockel43]

Yes. When Ike Turner heard the songs they sang on he asked Frank " what is this shit?" He then instructed Frank not to give them credit on the album notes

[@RichieG]

@@seanjockel43 Ike also instructed Frank to pay them $25/day. FZ paid them $25/hour.

[@barrystanton6693]

Great job as usual. You really captured the spirit of this track, which I think is one of his best.

[@vicnorman7935]

Thanks JP, great choice! Happy Halloween. Keep up the wonderfull reactions!

[@JustJP]

Ty Vic!

[@RichieG]

I woke up this AM singing this song! Thanks!

[@timkaufhold4739]

Try blessed relief off the grand wazoo. Great reaction.

[@daveking9393]

Great tune. Thanks 👍😊

[@fairlyincomplete]

I love how Zappa integrated cultural references into his music. Some elements of "Zomby Woof" are an obvious nod to the popular song "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf" from the 1933 Disney cartoon "The Three Little Pigs". Genius.

[@rogerhennie8939]

Werewolves of London by Warren Zevon, the perfect Halloween Song!

[@georgedavis-stewart4225]

So much to take in when a Zappa band starts up, and the recording & production is really skilful. Yes, great fun, JP - this is is a band having fun, but it's not taking things easily. Great stuff, thank you.

[@stevious7278]

Did you ever wake up in the morning with the Zomby Woof behind your eyes....only to realize that the crux of the biscuit is the apostrophe?! peace from Australia ;-)

[@JustJP]

Lol!

[@AndyMmusic]

My interpretation of this song is that it is about sexual roleplay. The line "I was a Zomby for you little lady" supports this. And Tina Turner and the Iketes on backing vocals, but uncredited (due to the demand of Ike).

[@RedPillMode]

Yes, Overnight Sensation is incredible! I can not even tell my favourite songs, its this, Montana, Dinah Moe Humm or Fifty-fifty. Very Halloweenish, good choise.

[@aarongonzalez7482]

There's a story that Ricky Lancelotti auditioned for Zappa by submitting a tape where he impersonated a whole shitload of Looney Tunes voice impersonations at breakneck speed in under a minute. Zappa was apparently quite impressed and hired him. He then decided to celebrate by going out and getting wasted, and the night ended with him breaking his arm. They went on tour immediately after and he was in a cast the whole time. I love his voice. He's only on a small handful os songs, some more notable than the others (Fifty-Fifty, Zomby Woof, For The Young Sophisticate, Wonderful Wino). Otherwise he doesn't seem to have a very large discography or documentd history, but I was always fascinated by his unhinged performances. Wish there was more

[@kurtkish6970]

Franks best solo. No contest.

[@VerMaarte]

That's genius there....

[@masterofparsnips5327]

Funky as .... Love it !!

[@zombywoof849]

One of my all time favourite Zappa numbers. However - you really should check out the live rendition from 1982 on the "You Cant Do That On Stage Anymore" Volume one [CD2]. The guitar duel on this number is with his then 16 year old son Dweezil Zappa. Stunning.

[@progqueen6219]

I easily liked this more than anything on Apostrophe. It feels similar in form, feeling and execution to The Grand Wazoo, though not as jazzy. I hope you get to to do The Grand Wazoo (album) sometime.

[@egapnala65]

These two albums only give a microscopic glimpse into Zappa's full creative genius. You need to also check out the big band extended jazz tracks like "Big Swifty" "Grand Wazoo" "Waka Jawaka" "Little House I Used To Live In" to get another glimpse.

[@Hartlor_Tayley]

All the Frankness one could ever want. This is the song to play for peeps that don’t know Zappa.

[@focusstudios1296]

The great George Duke on keys! You should definitely check out his stuff, A Brazilian Love Affair is an amazing album

[@Wayner71]

There are a number of contenders for 'The Sound of the Early 70s'. Frank is right up there near the top if not at the top. ☮

[@kdpflush]

If you are looking for another one, I suggest "Ringo" by Ringo Starr and friends.

[@cometogether999]

Good morning, Justin! Happy Halloween! Hoooooow am I doing? (Lol) Just great thanks. Good song for the holiday.

[@zmbewolfable]

Funny I was just tapping my fingers to it one of my favorite tunes, this is only scratching the surface of awesome tunes from TMOI

[@kenhewitt7357]

Should have done "Steppenwolf" by Hawkwind, it would have been a perfect Halloween song, absolutely brilliant song in its own right though, musically and lyrically brilliant in all.

[@sicko_the_ew]

Frank Zappa's band members were employees, so major contributors, but not collaborators. I think it has to be that way with musical concepts that are this eclectic, maybe? There's already enough potential for everything to just unravel without adding "committee chaos" to the mix. And if you look at his output, Frank's head was already chock-full in practical "recordable" terms, so more anything would've probably just ended up being too much. He wasn't quite a micro-managing dictator. He hired great musicians, and trusted them to contribute the things they could contribute (but also insisted on any detail that had to be done his way, not theirs). But there's one vision behind it all.

[@Pjaypt]

Yep. Adrian Belew was the first musician he hired that could not read a sheet. I agree with you.

[@seanjockel43]

@@Pjaypt did Flo and Eddue and Jim Pons read music?

[@Pjaypt]

@@seanjockel43 if they were with Zappa before Belew, then yes.

[@joemaurone7923]

"Tina Turner and the Ikettes are back..." We're gonna have to get you onto some Ike and Tina Turner, soon! "Nutbush City Limits" will give you the stank-face, for sure...

[@kurtkish6970]

One can never be primed for this song. It’s just . . . no words.😐

[@markziva7038]

Have you checked out Montana from the same L.P.? PLEASE DO

[@BrianR.]

I'm really looking forward to your reaction to Dinah-Moe Humm..

[@Pjaypt]

He has to get out if he wants to get in! 😄

[@BrianR.]

@@Pjaypt haha, good one! Honestly, I don't think he'll ever do it, unless he doesn't listen to it first, but it would be hilarious!!

[@Pjaypt]

@@BrianR. yes it would! But you're right, with those lyrics it won't happen 🙁 Let's hope for 50/50 😉

[@robertallen6593]

FRANK ZAPPA IS THE BEST!!

[@Pjaypt]

My favorite Zappa record and the best lineup ever, in my opinion. Even Zappa drummers said this record contains the best drum parts of all is catalogue (along with '... 😏)

[@alldayadventures5418]

This is a very popular secret song....!

[@shemanic1]

"Apostrophe", "Overnite Sensation" & "One Size Fit's All" are all brilliant, you cannot go wrong with them as examples of the vast musical output of Frank Zappa. For Instru-mental delights, check out the "Hot Rat's" album. Enjoy.

[@shemanic1]

as a D.J. I used to dread Halloween Gigs, playing the same old tunes, Thriller etc; So I threw in a few of My tunes like "Zombie Woof" It did Not go down well with some people.

[@tszirmay]

Zappa was a genius and not just in music, as he was smart as a whip and a total slave master to his musicians , forcing them to play until the fingers bled (ask Steve Vai, Eddie Jobson and may others). Try "Dirty Love ", or "I am the Slime" , the lyrics are hilarious .

[@ianwilkinson4602]

There is a band called Zomby Woof who are pretty good. Loved the Mothers of Invention/Frank Zappa since the first album i bought called " Mothermania", just as crazed but more politically incorrect. The vocals on this sound like Arthur Brown.

[@MaxHoukes]

Here is the recreation of this song by blind multi-instrumentalist and prog goddess Rachel Flowers. kzbin.info/www/bejne/iZe6cqKiqr2nqqs And for the die-hard fans here is the lengthy video of Rachel actually live recording it track by track kzbin.info/www/bejne/j2i0pGhslMmpns0

[@gillesmorency6572]

it’s easy to understand Zappa music you have to look at this like a music for cartoon movie it’s theatrical ,

[@wowwhywow]

that insane beginni ng.... all those wild changes... tap your foot to it... it's in 4/4. The entire beggining until 4 bars before the singing is 4/4. Go back and count it.

[@JustJP]

Ty!

[@sicko_the_ew]

Just remembered another Halloween song by the O'Keefe Foundation kids. *No More Tears* by *Ozzy ... Ozford? ... they call him Ozzy nway* . kzbin.info/www/bejne/gYnOnIZqfad9bNE It has some undead fellow in it, anyhow.

[@zolaarczakle]

If you liked Ricky Lancelotti, try 50/50 !

[@wowwhywow]

I get the impression that a Zomby Woof is how Frank Zappa felt after he woke up in a hotel room after having fucked the millionth student from the millionth university in the town where he was playing... a sex hangover... "Did you ever wake up in the morning... with a Zomby Woof behind your eyes" Now... you may ask "why do I think the song is ABOUT Frank?"... wellll... any big Zappa fan will point you to the line in the song "My right foot's bigger than my other one is... like a regular Zomby Hoof" Zappa was thrown off a stage 2 years before he wrote this song... he sustained an injury that made his left leg shorter than his right, causing back problems for the rest of his life... which is why he sat down every now and then onstage. Another song where he references his injury is Dancing Fool.

[@John_Locke_108]

Have you done Catholic Girls?

[@davidbonner4556]

Interesting thing I noticed once... Catholic Girls and Jewish Princess fit together melodically almost perfectly.

[@wazoogrand1]

Yeah...definitely not mainstream. Mainstream sucks, this is real music. I know musicians who look puzzled hearing Frank's music. You either get it, or you don't. You have to listen to all of his stuff with patience. Try Inca Roads live, the dub room special. You will acquire a taste.

[@musicdroog4562]

He's a ladies likin lycan

[@JustJP]

I lycan it!

[@-davidolivares]

Didn’t really like it, am I glad I heard it, yes, so I’ll avoid it. I prefer less adolescent songs, there are a few I do like, Greggory Peccary, Lemme Take You To The Beach, etc., but mostly I like more composer instrumental type songs from Frank. Wish I could blame it on maturity, but no, been like this since the beginning. Friends would play these early albums and I was not as infatuated as they. Later, albums I loved mostly, still most had a goofy song here and there. Love the more serious stuff, sorry. Peace and Black Page Music

[@DukeofPrunes11]

dont pronounce woof like wolf. pronounce it like it is spelled. woof. then it rhymes. lol!