Re: if anything, he was OVERRRATED!

Posted by KeneallyFan (A) on December 22, 2006 at 11:04:00

In Reply to: if anything, he was OVERRRATED! posted by Roscoe East on December 22, 2006 at 07:26:07:

I am not sure Frank was guilty of anything that everybody else wasn't doing in the early seventies. Who wasn't playing ten minute guitar solos in their concerts? I honestly don't see where Hendrix or Page were exactly paragons of restraint. Want to talk about 27 minutes of "Dazed and Confused"? "Machine Gun"? Whether you like it or not, the art of overrating guitarists was what rock fandom was all about.

As afar as the "Shut Up N Play your Guitar" set, maybe you are taking that a little out of context. It started out as a limited release available only via mail order. I don't see how it's any different than any other specialty product designed for completists, except that it sold enough units to be viable as a commercial release.

I can understand why you and J would take exception at the idea that FZ was underrated as a guitarist, but I can also see the other side of that coin. Maybe a better term would be underexposed. With Frank being pretty much blacklisted from air play for over two decades, there are a lot of people out there who have never really heard his music.

I used to hang out in this little bar in Poughkeepsie where the bartenders would occasionally play customer CDs on quiet nights. One bartender in particular was a Zappa fan, and I would bring in stuff for him to enjoy. One snowy night, he and I were in there alone listening to "You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore, Vol. 5". The second disc of this set is the 1982 band featuring Steve Vai and Tommy Mars. It's a favorite of mine as I caught this band several times during the tour, and contains killer versions of standard catalog tunes like "RDNZL", "Black Page No. 2", "Pound for a Brown", etc.

Anyway, a couple of twenty something guys come in and start playing pool about half way through the disc. The music ends when FZ stops the show due to people throwing stuff on stage, at which point one of the guys asks me, "Who was that playing?". I told him and he replied "That doesn't sound like Frank Zappa".

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Follow Ups Full Thread

Topic - Happy Birthday Frank - dwill123 15:23:32 12/21/06 (16)

June 25th 1966 at the Fillmore - LWR 08:03:40 12/22/06 (0)

Thanks - I went home and had a Zappa fest - geoff 05:49:43 12/22/06 (0)

underrated guitar player; one of the very best. - Duilawyer 18:50:36 12/21/06 (13)

I know what you mean... - JeffH 06:48:11 12/22/06 (0)

What? - J 19:49:18 12/21/06 (11)

if anything, he was OVERRRATED! - Roscoe East 07:26:07 12/22/06 (8)

Re: if anything, he was OVERRRATED! - Todd Krieger 20:38:41 12/22/06 (0)

"IMHO he gets way too much accolade for his guitar solos, and not nearly enough for his visionary scope." - markrohr 12:30:27 12/22/06 (3)

Double reduncy: "true, in fact" - Roscoe East 11:45:11 12/26/06 (2)

Re: Double reduncy: "true, in fact" - markrohr 12:00:04 12/26/06 (1)

Re: hanging w/ the astutes - Roscoe East 14:34:50 12/27/06 (0)

Re: if anything, he was OVERRRATED! - KeneallyFan 11:04:00 12/22/06 (0)

Was he a poor guitar player? - Sordidman 10:03:09 12/22/06 (1)

he was definitely not a poor guitar player. nt - Duilawyer 18:26:50 12/22/06 (0)

not that he wasn't good, but that he isn't mentioned - Duilawyer 20:02:39 12/21/06 (1)

Re: not that he wasn't good, but that he isn't mentioned - simon wagstaff 08:06:14 12/22/06 (0)

Follow Ups

Re: if anything, he was OVERRRATED! - KeneallyFan 11:04:00 12/22/06 (0)

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