listening to zappa alot lately wondering if someone could steer me in the direction of sum good basslines

basslines? not much. usually very simple and jazzy, or high energy.

good zappa songs are all over the place. I love "Flakes" from Sheik Yerbuti, but only because i hate bob dylan

basslines? not much. usually very simple and jazzy, or high energy.

good zappa songs are all over the place. I love "Flakes" from Sheik Yerbuti, but only because i hate bob dylan

You wanna buy some mandies Bob?

"Trying To Grow A Chin" & "City Of Tiny Lights" also off Sheik Yerbouti are both good 'uns IMO.

I like the stuff from Apostrophe ('), One Size Fits All, and Over-Nite Sensation....

I have some of my faves on my transcription site (link below)... I tend to like the 'hard' orchestrated stuff rather than the 'funny songs' stuff though

Not a great bass tune but a great tune nonetheless, "watermelon in Easter hay"

You wanna buy some mandies Bob?

THA WON DO NOOTHIN, FRANKIE

And they charged me double on Sunday
*messy harmonica here*

"Fine Girl", "Dancin' Fool" are good ones.

"Tink Walks Amok" is a cool bass-oriented tune from "The Man From Utopia".

You could try "Willie the Pimp" from Hot Rats. Not a complex line but a good groover. Wouldn't mind trying that one myself now that I think of it.

If you can find Shut Up and Play Yer Guitar (good luck), you'll find some good lines, a lot of them from a very young Patrick O'Hearn. "The Deathless Horsie" or "Treacherous Cretins" might be fun.

I haven't heard Weasels Ripped My Flesh in quite a while but I believe most of the tracks on that one would be good to pick a bass to. "Orange County Lumber Truck" "My Guitar Wants to Kill Your Mohter" etc. Though "The Eric Dolphy Memorial Barbecue" might be one big avoid note.

I will second "Willie the Pimp" and also reccomend that you check out "I'm the Slime."

St. Alphonso's Pancake Breakfast from the Apostrophe album.

Bobby Brown!

Catholic Girls. I have a (musically) crazy version on one of those You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore discs. Also the Poodle Lecture leading into Dirty Love sounds like it would be fun to play. :)

"Cheapness" was always one of the hardest tunes to cover for me.

'Little Umbrellas' or 'Peaches en Regalia' on Hot Rats and '20 Small Cigars' on Chunga's Revenge, or the Jack Bruce freakout on 'Apostrophe'.

I have every Zappa album ever released (and some that weren't).

Look to the 1969 - 1977 era for some really good basslines and extended jams. The 80's stuff took a while to grow on me but Scott Thunes is a monster player and any of his lines are smokin hot. PM me with any Zappa questions k? I know a lot more than is probably healthy about Frank and his music.

inca roads

Oh man, Cosmic Debris, In France, Brown Shoes Don't Make It, Pick Me I'm Clean...:hyper:

Son of Mr. Green Genes! Very fun to hold down and have other musicians solo over.

Peaches En Regalia has some genius progressions as well.

"Blessed Relief" is a good song to jam on.

Anything off "Zoot Allures" album.

The best FZ album , covers all his "genre" , and a Killer band ;
The Best Band You Never Heard In Your Life


I'm a FZ bitch !

+1 to Shut Up and Play Yer Guitar

Check out some of the live stuff with Scott Thunes ("Broadway The Hard Way" and " The Best Band ..." etc). "Make A Jazz Noise Here" is the stuff, and for one individual tune how about "Valley Girl"?

'Little Umbrellas' or 'Peaches en Regalia' on Hot Rats and '20 Small Cigars' on Chunga's Revenge, or the Jack Bruce freakout on 'Apostrophe'.

Peaches en Regalia gets my vote also, its a fabulous line

inca roads

+1

Just get your hands on Roxy n Elsewhere. The whole thing is great with Tom Fowler on bass.

This was my first exposure to Zappa, and it changed my life and the way I listened to music.

Good Luck!

+1 to "Bobby Brown goes down"

Also check out "don't eat the yellow snow" from Apostrophe... that's a great bass line at the beginning, not terribly difficult, but a great sound.

St. Alphonso's Pancake Breakfast from the Apostrophe album.

psh. that song is so easy. he wants something actually challenging;)

psh. that song is so easy. he wants something actually challenging;)

How about "Echidna's Arf (Of You)" on through "Don't You Ever Wash That Thing?" off Roxy? :bassist:

Eat that Question-Grand Wazoo
Waka Jawaka-Waka Jawaka
Big SWifty-Waka Jawaka

Valley girl.

one of the very most challenging bass parts in the whole Zappa catalog (and let's face it, many of them are pretty challenging), is the line played by Arthur Barrow on the track 'Don't Eat The Yellow Snow' on 'You Can't Do That Onstage Anymore Vol 1 (Disc 1 track 14)'

on the disc, the track is listed as 'Don't Eat The Yellow Snow' but it's actually a 5 track medley of: Don't Eat The Yellow Snow, Nanook Rubs It, St. Alphonzo's Pancake Breakfast, Father O'Blivion & Rollo.. and it's in the 'St Alphonzo's' bit where Artie basically doubles the marimba & synthesiser line line on bass guitar

on the CD it's between 14:33 and 15:01

there's a good article about Arthur Barrow and this bassline here, by Bryan Beller, who's no slouch himself:

http://www.bassplayer.com/article/audition-absurdities-frank/apr-07/27062

Arthur Barrow ain't my favourite Zappa bass player (that'd be Scott Thunes) but his playing there is fairly jaw-dropping

"Tink Walks Amok" is a cool bass-oriented tune from "The Man From Utopia".

One of my personal favorites, also.
Check it out (with stupid video)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=5m0RRJ8JEco

The best FZ album , covers all his "genre" , and a Killer band ;
The Best Band You Never Heard In Your Life


I'm a FZ bitch !

+1!!! Great album!

I like the bass lines on Joe's Garage, but Zappa is the greatest rock musician ever, so any of his stuff is the best!

If you want to hear a different approach, check out Joe Palermo Big Band - Take Your Clothes Off When you Dance - a GREAT album with GREAT bass playing.

imp

The Ocean Is The Ultimate Solution from the Lather album.

How about "Echidna's Arf (Of You)" on through "Don't You Ever Wash That Thing?" off Roxy? :bassist:

Oh, are you talking about this? ;)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v639/alvabass/ZappaEtudeBass.jpg

That's my five-year old transcription, complete with fingerings. Now, if you want to try it with a trio, here's my transcription of the guitar part...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v639/alvabass/ZappaEtudeGuitar.jpg

...and drums.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v639/alvabass/ZappaEtudeDrums.jpg

:)

Oh, are you talking about this? ;)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v639/alvabass/ZappaEtudeBass.jpg



That's beautiful. :bawl: <---(tears of happiness) :D

thanks alot guys looks like im going to need a job to get all those cd's . i just got done learning St alfonzos pygmy twylyte comsik debris and i've known Willie the Pimp , Don't Eat Yellow Snow and Apostrophe for a while. Frank Zappa's music is like crum cake for my bass!

looks like im going to need a job to get all those cd's .

It was a lengthy process for me back in the second half of the nineties. I'm very fond of those days. A true labor of patience. :)

do any of you like Jazz from Hell? my friend showed me it once and i was not pleased maybe ill have to give it a second listen

For me, one of the great lines is Titties and Beer, from what I think is Zappa Live in New York. I also like Packard Goose, Wet T-Shirt Night, and Dong Work for Yuda from the Joe's Garage. Sy Borg from Joe's Garage is also a fav. I just love the line: "the golden shower must have shorted out his master circuit."

Alan

Good Zappa Songs? Where do you start? Most people dig Apostraphe/Overnite Sensation. It's a good mixture of FZ stuff: some satire, some crazy technical stuff and everything in between. But be careful, once you get into FZ it's like an addiction. Other albums to check out: Sheik Yerbouti, Joe's Garage.

By the way, Jazz from Hell was played completely by a computer that FZ programmed.

By the way, Jazz from Hell was played completely by a computer that FZ programmed.

With the exception of "St. Etienne", played by FZ, Steve Vai, Ray White, Tommy Mars, Bobby Martin, Ed Mann, Scott Thunes and Chad Wackerman.

Here's some info on that "computer". (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synclavier)

do any of you like Jazz from Hell? my friend showed me it once and i was not pleased maybe ill have to give it a second listen

not especially... I can appreciate what he was doing, and the music is a logical extension of his 'nested polyrhythm' thing, without the limiting factor of having to be playable by human beings... kinda like a Conlon Nancarrow for the mid 80's, but I didn't particularly enjoy listening to it

and the only enjoyable track, St Etienne had such little bass on it, that even the supposed presence of Scott Thunes can't persuade me to give JFH a listen nowadays

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHWnZtfgFys