From its first introduction in 1967, Frank Zappa‘s “King Kong” was a composition made for solos – horn solos, keyboard solos, drum solos, guitar solos. “King Kong” had them all. It was also a vehicle for extensive jamming. So, no matter the tour, no matter the particular ensemble, Zappa was there to determine exactly how structured the piece would or wouldn’t be, and what kind of atmosphere the particular solos would create – thus making “King Kong” a fan favourite whether it was performed by the original Mothers of Invention, the Hot Rats Band, The Roxy Band, or any of Zappa’s ensembles from the 1980s. (more…)
Like a lot of other North American listeners, my first exposure to the progressive rock group, Yes, was via their edited for radio version of “Roundabout” from their fourth album, Fragile. Albeit a small hook, given the edited version, yet like everyone else I, too, was blown away by the sheer prowess of the full length version, as well as the rest of the album. For the rest of the 1970s, the album Fragile was in nearly every record collection I ever looked through. Now, if that isn’t a gage of a truly classic album, I don’t know what is. (more…)
The choice of this week’s Sunday Big Note was an easy one as it is also one of our webmaster’s favorites as well. Indeed, it put a smile on my face to learn that he had this very recording in his own private collection for a long time now. On Friday, October 22nd, 2010, in his post entitled “Hey Nineteen“, Barry said: (more…)
On more than one occasion, upon seeing the colossal size of my Frank Zappa music collection, I’ve been asked, “How many versions of Zappa songs do you really need?” Of course, to someone who isn’t a fan of Zappa’s music, or is new to the maestro’s music, wouldn’t understand. Especially in regards to live versions of Zappa’s work. (more…)
As I chose today’s Sunday Big Note Listening Session, I was struck at how, over time, the details of many of these concerts and broadcasts are either lost or omitted by successive trader, poster, torrenter. Venue. Date. Location. Line-up. Important details. Indeed, most of the live music I have collected throughout the years has lacked some, if not all, of these details. Almost as important a hunt than that of the music, itself, are the details behind each concert. So was the hunt for the details behind today’s Sunday Big Note. (more…)
I had a completely different artist in mind for this week’s listening session before the sad, untimely passing of poet, painter, musician and all round iconoclast, Don Van Vliet (aka Captain Beefheart). (more…)
From the very start, Led Zeppelin was a band whose essential ingredients were a ”crushingly loud interpretation of the blues”, “heavy, guitar-driven blues-rock sound”, a style that crossed many music genres, and their unbound male sexuality. It pulsed beneath the surface of every Zeppelin album. Unlike the plethora of hard rock and heavy metal bands which would rise from their wake in the 1980s – none would possess any of the mystique of Led Zeppelin. (more…)
In the above clip (short as it is), Frank Zappa expounds on what an Australian concert goer might expect from one of the various shows on his 1973 Australian tour. For some FZ fans, this particular ensemble is their favorite incarnation of the Mothers (right next to the Roxy band). (more…)
