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This ia a really good intro to prog, I hope you keep doing this kind of stuff!

I am a huge Zappa fan (I love Ween too), and I agree with your general assessment. However, I think a huge detail is overlooked in any comparison or summary of Zappa is he fought his whole career for some of the things we take for granted. Yes, he was a pioneer, but his means to that was his aggressiveness. His first album was in 1966, which contained a song about the (now forgotten) Watts riots, and he made it into the first double album in Rock & Roll (if that label applies). He, in fact, fought to crank out 5 records out of a 3- record deal. On those albums, he verbally fought The Conservative Right (Pigs = cops etc.) and the mindless drug, drug-addled Left (Ponies = phony hippies). He fought to own the rights to his music (almost never done back then and rare today). He fought to not be labeled in any one genre. He fought to film the very first full-length movie on videotape (unwatchable as it is, but 200 Motels was the first). He fought the Democratic Party Wives who started Lyric Warning labels and then told people to vote for them because the Republicans were worse. I think Zappa was smarter than most, but he also was committed to breaking the system of stupidity. He never finished, but we are better for his commitment and the actions of those who listened. I can imagine that once you surround yourself with enough people who agree with you, reality is out of touch. I assume that he was surrounded by people who were as upset as he was and opted to stay angry. One of the people Frank worked with was Lenny Bruce, who killed himself to avoid going to jail for pushing the edge of his right to free speech. Like Lenny, Frank changed things that we have no idea used to be the norm. I say he earned the right to be an asshole.

Any band that allows humor in their songs, but doesn't meet the definition of a comedy band is, in fact, a human band.

This was dooooope!!!!

Rush: Gryffindor Yes: Hufflepuff Genesis: Ravenclaw Pink Floyd: Slytherin

It's interesting how close Progressive Rock and Classic Heavy Metal were in the beginning, the two genres basically evolving from heavy psychedelic rock, and in the early days some bands swam between them before falling on one side or the other, like Deep Purple (and arguably even Led Zeppelin).

Gryphon - Red Pawn to …queens heart? Or something like that. Featuring bassoon to great measure

It's pronounced Vinnie Colly-Yuta.

You are too narrowly defining progressive rock. Evidence of this, is that you are ignoring the earlier Yes albums, all of which were Progressive rock. You even skipped over Close to the Edge, the greatest Progressive album of all time. And of the ostensibly progressive-adjacent bands, he left out some really obvious ones like Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, and Black Sabbath. Also, I think you're sort of cheating by just using the word prog, and thus being able to pretend like the progressive metal bands at all deserve to be treated as part of the movement. Prague metal is all technique and affectation, without the sincere artistic ability and feeling of 70s Progressive rock.

OK, I can’t handle you. You’re boring.

I agree with Bill. He didn’t like it. I don’t like it.

Too long on ships in the night, the song sucks

I like a lot of weird music, but Zappa has like 3,4,5 good moments in songs. Maybe one good song from start to finish. I can picture myself being a kid in the 70s, with way less music available and falling for that music......because I had nothing else to stimulate my senses (and our taste does become a product of what we get used to)................but yeah, Zappa is one of the most overrated artists of all time. I love to hear his thoughts as a person in interviews, I like many of his views, but his music is just grating most of the time. It's nice as a "statement".....but the actual melodic quality is lacking most of the time. It doesn't allow me to FEEEEEEL. It's too cerebral....and I don't mean Dream Theater kind of cerebral (as in technical or planned).....it's just a mess. I never listened to Ween while high, but they make music made to flow with. As for the lyrical content.....it's filled with irony.......but it does feel very much like the OPPOSITE of Zappa.....in that it's not trying to make a statement....it's just telling stories.

Listened to you for about half of your post . Alas no mention of my fav Gentle Giant

Anyone who, in the past 50 years claimed we were heading toward a "fascist theocracy" was a retard, including Frank Zappa.

Surry is like a contraction of " let's hurry" to the picnic, slurry to the picnic!!!

Frank Zappa just has to point his finger somewhere on a map and those people will be automatically in C.A.S.H. Church of American secular humanism of a unique planetary alignment called the harmonic convergence so this 15th on friday let the super blue moon spark your creativity with a fiery passion desire to create whatever music that is you play and sing your heart out

I can’t think of the right metaphor but this just hit me! This isn’t exactly why I don’t like Zappa, too! I think he’s really persevered in musical abilities and has good political standpoints, but his songs just feel fake.

Nelson sounded a little like Bowie, but their song structures were very different. Nelson's guitar work is much more intricate than Mick Ronson's.BBD's drum lines were different as well.

Very deserving tribute to a band that should be recognized by so many British Artists that were obviously influenced by them; Cocteau Twins, Duran Duran, and Oasis to name a few. I saw them in October 1976 in Madison with Blue Oyster Cult. I was 16 yrs old, and little did I realize at that time that this concert would be remembered as one of my all time favorites..... So memeorable....Like I was there last week. Charlie Tumahai was one of the most underrated bassists, as well as Bill Nelson.

I love Ween and I love Zappa and I respected his strong political views. I had a meeting planned with him in 1985 but he cancelled when he found out I was at the time, a Christian. I don’t blame him but I’m sad I never got to be in his presence. His world view informed everything about him. You can’t have one without the other. He was a very wise man with an uncanny prophetic ability. BTW I’m no longer a Christian, but not because of Frank.

They’re one of the bands I regret never seeing live. I wish there were more concert videos of them available.

16:14 yes, Junk Control, exactly...

I like both

Operatic vocals? Huh? Greg Lake was never operatic.

Are you a Menber of Winged Pegasus Sir?

Sounds like the Ween dudes haven't heard the great Zappa records. Also, they sound shit.

Frank didn’t want to express vulnerability through lyrics, he left his guitar to do that. Listen to a little more Zappa but don’t force yourself. Try One Size Fits All, often considered a gateway album. This is coming from a massive, massive Ween fan too. Stay brown ☮️

The word that describes this garbage is “schmaltzy” Just overly sentimental with no redeeming artistic value

Not a joke band... they just write good songs. Doesn't matter how they package it.

Based, Zappa sucks.

I'm just sick and tired of hearing this song. You know they played at every right wing presidential stumping campaign event. Thankfully I don't attend those types of things. But I'm just so sick of it and it just makes this country sound so backward and provincial.

I absolutely adore Ween. Though I have big respect for him, I just can't stand Zappa. Their dislike makes perfect sense to me.

Drastic Plastic is one of all my time favourite albums. I bought it on Vinyl in 1978. Bill Nelson's Red Noise's Sound on Sound is also a superb album.

Ween are a non band; don't even mention Frank in the same article.

Zappa wanted to be a band like Ween, but failed at it because he tried too hard. Ween > Zappa but I respect Zappa as a musician and person

this video's length is worthy of a prog song

Brian's talent is redemptive, this song is a triumph of the human spirit

Two pieces Seven by Seven - New Grass Revival System Seven - Bela Fleck

It's also simply called emphasis. We do it just about everytime we speak. Don't let these new bits of jargon throw you.

Ah takes me back. probably just never found their groove or camp. The Denim guys would never accept suits and neat hair cuts. Certainly not the glam camp nor Bowie, more Roxy if anything. Bill Nelson is a fantastic guitarist, Sister Seagull is the top song for me.

super enigmatix, there’s one hiding in the attic… Chris Carter plays them now and then…

A genre that was never properly understood and the more it gets talked about the more it gets totally misunderstood. somethings just are so. oh well thats life

Such a great band, led by Bill Nelson, the best guitarist most of us Americans have never heard. I was lucky to have seen them in Chicago several times, always as an opening act. They usually got polite or tepid applause from the Chicago audiences that were traditionally nasty to openers. The Chicago Treatment it was called, but BBD was never boo'd, just met with a lot of blank stares. As a friend once said, "I love Be Bop Deluxe, but they're too fucking British for a bunch of REO Speedwagon fans".

Saw them live for only fifteen dollars and they fucking played for over three hours!

In defense of Axe Victim/Bowie comparisons... The songs on the album were all ( except for "Darkness") written more than a year prior to the recording of the album. Bill Nelson had already started writing songs for what would become the Futurama album, but EMI was insistent that they record the songs that were drawing large crowds at their gigs. FYI....you can find early recordings of "Jet Silver" & "Night Creatures" from around 71/72 on a Bill Nelson compilation titled "Electrotype". 👍🎶

Beatbox Deluxe was one of the greatest bands ever! I can't believe how overlooked they were! Live in the air age is the best example of them

Bill lived round the corner from me . Saw them live in Wakefield.

OBVIOUSLY a white man

I am an old 80's metalhead guitarist and I absolutely worship at the altar of Bill Nelson. Your video is spot on and LONG overdue! Every rock player should listen to Live In The Air Age, especially on headphones. And the different tones and solos...god gawd! True story: back in the mid 80's my old band were good friends with and shared a rehearsal room with a now well known metal band, and a certain infamous red-headed guitarist/singer and I were partying at my place, and I put on the live version of Adventures In A Yorkshire Landscape. Told him that this was my favorite guitar solo. Needless to say he was blown away. No one was very familiar with Be Bop Deluxe back then and I felt that they were all mine! Their music is indescribably epic. Sadly I missed seeing Be Bop Deluxe live in the 70's because Bill Nelson intentionally broke them up. I saw Bill Nelson live at a club in Hollywood (Roxy?) solo, in the eary 80's and it was a religious experience. Long live Bill Nelson, and thank you Praxis for the terrific post!