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In Reply to: Re: "Where's that dynamo coming from"! Awesome FZ song. posted by kenster on December 19, 2005 at 17:56:08:
''Just goes to show that FZ had everybody's interest in mind and not using the available talent to further his own career''I had been following Zappa's career for a good while, bought most of his stuff, went to the shows, and read everything I could on him. And as much as I still adore his music, I believe the exact contrary.
When Zappa passed away, Tommy Mars said that, putting together his own band, he was following his ex-boss's advice to "go for the hungry". I am convinced that Zappa was an opportunistic and precisely did used the available talent of anyone who was around to further his own scope (and career obviously). Just a quick overview of the directions his music took precisely when specific key members were in the band should be edifying enough. This doesn't - as long as I don't have any proofs that he went as far as stealing away actual ''written'' material from these members, and I have never seen any - really diminish AFAIAC the masterful music and recordings creator I believe Zappa was. And a lot of those people (I am not referring to George Duke or Jean-Luc Ponty here) WERE the "hungry ones" and certainly benefited from being in such a ''popular'' vehicle as the Mothers (and the band later simply dubbed as "Zappa"), touring regularly and eveything.
So I'd say it was more a symbiosis than anything else.
Follow Ups:
Like anyone as driven and brilliant Zappa was a obviously very complex individual, but I think if he were primarily commercially or financially motivated he could have easily made geometrically more loot simply by toning down his lyrics, as well as writing music more in line with the current trends at the time.I also think that Musicians are quite often ego driven self absorbed and can even be Prima Donna's and recording industry folks traditionally are at times not unlike a species of Shark of the avaricious ruthless variety and even outright lowlifes on occaison.
I've heard numerous story's where just about any artist is said
to be either a prick or an asshole from different quarters, and I'd imagine envy as well as outright jealousy is often involved, I believe that's why they call them artists, no ? ;-)
''if he were primarily commercially or financially motivated he could have easily made geometrically more loot simply by toning down his lyrics, as well as writing music more in line with the current trends at the time.''I often wondered about this... By his own admission, the single "Big Leg Emma" was marketed with commercial pop in mind!! ...Can we imagine anything as remote from early 1967 pop as Emma?? Then come along Ian Underwood with girlfriend Ruth, and percussionist Art Tripp, and seemingly overnight we're wailing away in vast atonal scapes! I might be wrong but I think that Zappa was just too far away out there and inside his own thing to be REALLY savvy about what was "going on" (WHEN it was going on) in popular music and so be in a position to really have such a choice in the first place... And I'd say in the end his music was just the more zappaesque and precious for it.
...But how come someone as important as Ian Underwood sounds on an album as important as Hot Rats gets credited as one of the instrumentists only?
How come trombonist Bruce Fowler transcribes an improvised guitar solo, then harmonizes it for 3 or 4 horns - thus creating what is for a lot of the fans the musical paroxysm of ''Music for Low Budget Orchestra'' - and not receives credits as arranger? Or co-arranger?...
Same goes for trumpetist Sal Marquez in ''Big Swifty'' (etc? etc?)...
...Hey, this OT thread is bound to take us straight to Zappa's own birthday anniversary after all!!
Didn't Barry Manilow do a cover of Big Leg Emma on his seminal recording "I love so F#@king much I could just Shit LP ?Regards Fred
" She was my steady date until she put on wieght, she used to knock me out until her face broke out "
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