Zappa's earliest influences were 1950s pop and rock (such as doo-wop and rhythm and blues), and 20th-century classical composers including Igor Stravinsky and Edgard Varèse. His output was divided between adventurous instrumental compositions and succinct, catchy rock songs with ribald, satirical, or comically absurd lyrics. On stage he demanded virtuosity and spontaneity from his musicians, and employed many performers who would later go on to achieve fame in their own rights. He directed and released a number of films featuring himself, his musicians and entourage, including 200 Motels and Baby Snakes.
His career started in 1955. His earliest recordings date from the mid-1960s, and include collaborations with his school friend Captain Beefheart. In 1965 he joined a bar-band called The Soul Giants, quickly dominating its musical direction and rechristening it The Mothers. Their first release (as The Mothers of Invention; the name alteration requested by their record company) was the 1966 double album Freak Out!. The line-up of the Mothers gradually expanded to accommodate Zappa's increasingly ambitious and avant-garde music, but by 1969 he decided to work outside the band structure, focusing on his solo career, and effectively disbanding the Mothers in 1971.
The beginnings of his solo career in the late sixties and early seventies was characterised by a strong free jazz influence, with albums containing little, if any, lyrical content, such as Hot Rats, Waka/Jawaka and The Grand Wazoo. Towards the mid-seventies his albums became more rock-orientated, with a combination of Jazz Fusion instrumentation and Rock song structures. This more accessible sound bore reasonable mainstream appeal, especially with the release of the well-advertised albums Over-Nite Sensation and Apostrophe (') (which both went Gold), but Zappa's unpredictably eclectic output never led to solid mainstream recognition. He received uniformly lukewarm reviews from popular music publications such as Rolling Stone throughout his career. In his late seventies' output, the gulf between his humorous songs and more lengthy, complex instrumental music widened, and albums, such as Zappa in New York, Joe's Garage: Acts I, II & III, and Sleep Dirt displayed, by track, both sides firmly segregated.
Zappa saw a second run of success in the early eighties with the release of many albums with predominantly comedic rock songs, but later continued to experiment with virtually every style of music through the eighties, and was productive as ever until his death. His output in this later-career period included two albums of strikingly original classical music with the London Symphony Orchestra, an electronic take on 18th-century chamber music (written by the obscure Italian composer 'Francesco Zappa', no relation), an album of Synclavier compositions (misleadingly titled Jazz From Hell which garnered a Grammy award), a double-CD release of electric guitar instrumental music (the laconically titled Guitar) and a plenitude of official live releases, revisiting fan-favourites as well as showcasing Zappa's talent for reinventing the music of others; his version of Stairway to Heaven becoming a word-of-mouth favourite.
Zappa produced almost all of his own albums, spending many hours in the studio recording and manipulating tracks, and was always at the forefront of emerging technologies; from tape editing, collage, multitrack and overdubbing in the sixties to digital recording, electronic instruments and sampling in the eighties. Conversely, Zappa was also a obsessive self-archivist, recording virtually every one of his live performances, and often using live recordings of new material without needing to enter the studio. The archive of tapes at his family home in Los Angeles continues to be a source of posthumous releases for the Zappa Family Trust. He was also noted as a spotter of talent and his shifting line-up of musicians included Lowell George, Jean-Luc Ponty, Terry Bozzio, Chad Wackerman, George Duke, Mike Keneally, Adrian Belew and Steve Vai, as well as giving Alice Cooper his first break in music and working again with his old collaborator Captain Beefheart when his career was in decline.
In the late 1980s he became active in politics, campaigning against the PMRC's music censorship scheme and acting as culture and trade representative for Czechoslovakia in 1989; and considered running as an independent candidate for president of the US.
His death in Los Angeles, California, on 4th December 1993 came three years after he was diagnosed with prostate cancer.
Inca Roads
Frank Zappa Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Come from somewhere out there
Just to land in the Andes?
Was it round
And did it have
A motor
Or was it
Something
Did a vehicle
Did a vehicle
Did a vehicle
Fly along the mountains
And find a place to park itself
Or did someone
Build a place
To leave a space
For such a vehicle to land
Did a vehicle
Come from somewhere out there
Did a vehicle
Come from somewhere out there
Did the indians, first on the bill
Carve up the hill
Did a booger-bear
Come from somewhere out there
Just to land in the Andes?
Was she round
And did she have a motor
Or was she something different
Guacamole Queen
Guacamole Queen
Guacamole Queen
At the Armadillo in Austin Texas, her aura,
Or did someone build a place
Or leave a space for Chester's Thing to land
(Chester's Thing... on Ruth)
Did a booger-beer
Come from somewhere out there
Did a booger-bear
Come from somewhere out there
Did the Indians, first on the bill
Carve up her hill
On Ruth
On Ruth
That's Ruth
The lyrics of Frank Zappa's song "Inca Roads" seem to be exploring the idea of the unknown, the mysterious, and the inexplicable. Zappa poses a series of questions about the appearance of a possible vehicle that could have come from somewhere elsewhere in the universe or beyond, and the possibilities of such an object's existence and landing in the Andes mountains. He wonders if it had a motor, if it was round-shaped, or if it was something entirely different from a conventional vehicle. The song also delves into the idea of the unknown or the supernatural being connected with nature or indigenous culture, as Zappa talks about indigenous people carving into a hill, and a booger-bear, which is a name given to a mythological being in some Native American cultures.
The song also takes on an absurd and comedic tone, as Zappa introduces bizarre and seemingly irrelevant interjections like "Guacamole Queen" and "Chester's Thing." They appear to be random and meaningless, but they contribute to the song's playful and surreal atmosphere. Ultimately, the lyrics seem to be asking questions about the idea of the unknown and the strange and their relationship to human beings' understanding of the world around them, and whether we can ever truly comprehend the inexplicable.
Line by Line Meaning
Did a vehicle
Is there evidence of a spacecraft
Come from somewhere out there
Coming from beyond earth's atmosphere
Just to land in the Andes?
Was the Andes Mountains an intended landing spot
Was it round
Is the shape of the spacecraft circular
And did it have
Did the spacecraft contain
A motor
An engine capable of producing motion
Or was it
Could the spacecraft have been
Something
Some other type of technology
Different
Radically unlike any current human technology
Did the indians, first on the bill
Was there evidence of native people who had first-hand knowledge of the spacecraft
Carve up the hill
Did these native people create evidence of their knowledge by etching symbols or shapes into the hill
Did a booger-bear
Might there have been an extraterrestrial being or monster that was associated with the spacecraft
Come from somewhere out there
Could a creature from another planet have accompanied the spacecraft
Was she round
Was the being's shape circular
And did she have a motor
Did the creature seem capable of moving under its own power
Guacamole Queen
A reference to a restaurant or specific place associated with this extraterrestrial encounter
At the Armadillo in Austin Texas, her aura,
Additional details about the location of the encounter and the impressions felt by those who witnessed it
Or did someone build a place
Could the landing spot have been created or built by humans
To leave a space
Was a specific area cleared or designated for the spacecraft
For such a vehicle to land
Did the presence of the spacecraft seem intentional, suggesting a desire to land in a specific spot on the earth
On Ruth
A possible reference to a person named Ruth, who may have witnessed the spacecraft or been involved in the encounter in some way.
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: BURT F BACHARACH, HAL DAVID
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@marieblue
The lyrics to this 8:45 largely instrumental piece are not as nonsensical as they may appear at first listen.
It is very likely that Frank Zappa wrote “Inca Roads” some five years after the publication of Erich von Däniken’s “Chariots of the Gods” (1968).
Although the extraterrestrial hypothesis was discredited for the most part, it had and still has a deep influence on popular culture, including music. It notably inspired what might be the most original Christmas song ever : Chris de Burgh’s “A Spaceman Came Travelling” (1975). “Inca” might not be in the same league, but it displays some fine jazz fusion.
Interestingly, the tune includes some off-beat time signature. Also noteworthy : “Inca” has a skip in it. HAVE YOU EVER NOTICED⁉️ 💙🎼💚
May you rest in peace, Frank Vincent Zappa (1940 - 1993)… 🌹
@helfmeyerglenn491
Privileged to have seen Frank live !!!
@scottsargent3614
Saw him beginning in 72'
Came to Cincinnati and Dayton a lot
@g.g.4159
Me I saw him in Rome at Mattatoio the best performance I've ever seen and I've seen a lot
@bassplayer1966
I HAD A CHANCE IN HS IN THE EARLY 80'S... BUT I FKD UP AND DIDN'T GO!!! I did see Randy Rhodes live w/Ozzy though...did you see that??
@bokehintheussr5033
You know a lot of people don't rate Zappa as a guitarist, but here is one of the best examples of why he's one of my favourite guitarists of all time. That guitar solo is transcendentally beautiful, and filled with the kind of emotion that frank only really let us hear through his musical notes.
@t3hgir
the drop into the solo almost always gives me goosebumps
@blueshorecreative3146
I think he also got the most unique sounds out of his guitars too.
@impious837
Frank Zappa,Jimmy page,Jon Anderson, David Gilmour and, Kelly Shaefer my fave progressive/metal guitar players
@kirk8429
The question of great guitar solos came up and I replied with this one. It conveys emotion, is incredibly creative and takes us on a brief ride in the middle of the rest of the chaos.
@hbd3626
I love your love of his playing—I’m only disturbed by you saying most don’t rate him highly. Maybe he’s UNDER appreciated, but any guitarist (like myself) who knows Zappa knows he achieved something almost unattainable. He is what I would call a near perfect guitar player.