After kicking off September on a decidedly avant-garde note last week, it only feels natural to continue in that spirit this week by spotlighting another classic artist from the “Weirdo Wednesday” hall-of-fame, the late great Frank Zappa. But of course, lazily slapping a generic “weird” label on Mr. Zappa simply does not do justice to the extraordinary level of brilliant, highly prolific output he produced over the years. To quote the man himself directly: “I never set out to be weird. It was always other people who called me weird.”
Granted the man was full of eccentricities and reveled in pushing boundaries and buttons (literally and figuratively), but his remarkable talents as a composer, satirist, philosopher, not to mention his virtuosity on guitar, sometimes get overshadowed by his supposedly “weird” reputation. So today we’ll be focusing on those aforementioned virtuoso guitar capabilities by showcasing this raucous performance of “Muffin Man” live from 1977. After exchanging some high-fives with the rightfully enthusiastic crowd, Frank proceeds to strap on his guitar and deliver one of the most impressive guitar solos of his career (of which there are many, but this is a particularly fun one). Check it out:
