Frank Zappa - Stairway To Heaven

[Flunder]

more Zappa on guitar. more Zappa less "poop"

[Tullvideoclips]

@bibendeum44 Ike Willis and Robert Martin

[aristotle358]

Good arrangement of the solo for the brass and sax etc

[aristotle358]

I'm a great Zappa fan but I have to say that the guy on the other guitar who played the picking intro music was murdering it (I mean it was a bit slipshod but redeemed by Zappa)

[seamasmanly]

all i can say is: i love the noise of "poodle biting, poodle chewing", and am glad the horn solo was so damned faithful! personally, i like the cheesy ending, but my sense of humor often causes problems... if you don't understand the ending, perhaps you need to listen to Broadway the Hardway in its entirety. that might give it a bit more context. it is all part of Zappa's project/object grand cheesy vision of the universe in music...

[drclayberg]

Zappa ruled !! a brilliant mind...why take things so seriously ? saw the Mothers , big brother and percy sledge at the rose bowl 1969...frank ripped a teddy bear to pieces and janice got mad and smashed her bottle on the stage....percy sweat a lot !!!!

damn , i miss 1969

[Mirdasss]

0:54 hahahahahahahhahahaha

[PSPbrtag]

Acctually, the drums sucked.

[AlMayer1100]

Best interpretation of this piece so far.

[philagerryberry714]

Frank was a Head of his Time and died two young.... We Love Frank

[singersimon1]

@philagerryberry714 I absolutely agree 100%!

[TheDeev]

Actually I came into this expecting the horn section guitar solo to be hilarious and I was hoping for the most extreme level of pure cheesiness in existence, but instead I found it to be interesting and well done. In fact, rather amazing.

[thegirl44]

@TheDeev

Cock rock at it's finest as interpreted by some fine brass players.

It always makes me smile.

[markmarktarmann]

don't think the song is so lame it should be parodied. overplayed on american classic rock radio maybe. . zappa was often a bit too cheeky and smug, and then just fucking brilliant. oh well. this is kinda....bullshit.

[j32ome]

Won't see that on the download charts...

[oowooger]

Uh, folks, this is parody. No one did that better than the ever-brilliant, bombast-deflating Zappa.

[Okpolosi]

@oowooger yep, like when he made fun of Al DiMeola's Elegant Gypsy or the Carlos

[Samuli298]

if u like zappa just listen satumaa-tango

[Samuli298]

never used any drugs

[whltng1]

@Samuli298 Dude, you are listening to this and never used drugs, shame on you!

[sedank]

@Samuli298 He used marijuana sometimes but didn't like it.

[drb1803]

I saw every zappa tour of the UK from 1977 to his last and the shows were amazing. and different most nights when I went more than once.

[CosmikDebrisFZ]

@drb1803 I saw this tour several times. Missed his earlier stuff unfortunatly. R.I.P. ARF!

[drb1803]

@CosmikDebrisFZ

I saw this tour twice at wembley arena in 87 or 88, the last tour he did in the UK

two nights running and as far as I remember apart from a couple of tracks entirely different sets.

[gwapoonboard88]

fucking shit version

[ITIZBACK]

For me, Heart make a better STH, but noone i stronger than Jimmy Page

[poshi12]

I can really dig this.Its like they put as much soul as zeppelin...I can really dig it.

[mina7560]

Zappa DiPappa

[cathoderoy]

If ANYONE, was going to be able to transcribe the guitar solo and have it played by an orchestra note-for-note perfect, it would be Frank Zappa...and it retained the energy of the original pretty well, too...let's face it, it is one of the most perfect and most well known solos in musical history, so, if he fucked it up it would be extremely noticeable, right? I thought it was interesting...great vocals, too...the ending was fucking too much of a dumb thing, though...

[3233legacy]

wish the guy on tambuorine woulndn thave messed up the horns guitar solo:{(

[gobilyghoul]

Zappa didn't do the guitar solo- the freaking horn section did! That was the most amazing part.

Who needs the Trans_Siberian Orchestra. Zappa did it first.

[5jerry1]

The dance the horn section does here made me laugh.

Whole band did a great job here.

[d12e4m312]

Zappa, VAi, Sheehan, Bozio..... What a band...!

[cathoderoy]

@d12e4m312 That wasn't Bozio, and, actually,whoever it was, Chad Wackerman, or whatever, sucked...none of Bonham's licks were used, which is how it should have been done, in my opinion...

[d12e4m312]

2:13 : Crazy Billy Sheehan ,,, lol

[PattiSioux]

I don't think the guitar was that good but I think Zappa really tried hard and I think he really gave it his best. As VaiRendy said I don't think he has ever taken anything as seriously.

I know it isn't Led Zeppelin and covers are never like the real thing but I think he really tried and it is the best cover of this song I've ever heard

[paulkcormier]

steve vai =lead guitar

[cathoderoy]

@paulkcormier ...I don't think so, wasn't Steve long gone at this point?

[luzander777]

ZAPPA=GENIOUS

[menios058]

this is what i call music education ... respect !!

memories of pink floyd came back ...

[VaiRendy]

look at the applause...!! wow... hahahahaa.. any theory of music is all about technique, serius, have to do this, have to do that, is done here

[VaiRendy]

hahahah zappa never took anything seriously... but it is better than musician know that too seriously and afraid to make mistake, sometimes mistake and weird noise are beautiful, and those are also music

[fakerscompany]

Sorry 4.355 person but this isnt stairway to heaven soul.

[tyraam]

@horrortoads That plagiarist guitarist as you say is now the 2nd best on Rolling Stone top 100...after jimi Hendrix himself, i don't think people would put him up there if he didn't come up with his own brilliant original pieces.

Dumbass

[indymagicmonthly23]

I think Frank was starting to get sick at this time. But for pure madness, this is pretty fun.

[Ex77Thruxton]

I wish the crowd listened instead of screamed.

[TheDeev]

Here I expected this to be a hilarious parody of Zeppelin, but instead I found it to be serious and very well done with the horns sounding brilliant and definitely not silly.

[azoot650]

random

[organaphus]

As a Zeppelin fan, I can safely say that they should be flattered that Mr. Zappa covered them!

[kosmolythischernexus]

sinpalabras ººº

[67goldtops]

The horn section's note-for-note copping of the original guitar solo is brilliant.

[teed666]

His Music Is The Soundtrack To My Soul........ FZ An American Composer, The BEST EVER!!!!!

[tettu0402]

右上の青いやつのための動画だな。

[freddiegiulio]

Spettacolo!

[kosmolythischernexus]

@freddiegiulio sin plagiarismo + respetto!

[Nikopee27]

jajajajajajajajaa Zappa're the best! jajajaja

[carpenteri]

I hope that you've found the "Stairway to Heaven" Frank. RIP

[CoGrow]

2 000 000in honour of Mr. Zappa

[organaphus]

My middle name is Francis, in honour of Mr. Zappa...

[lappwing12]

not better, but diffrent musicians .Ive got this on a cd.single,

[Polishtteking]

Outstanding Musicians, better than Zeppelin Live.

[ZappasUtopia]

@Polishtteking I agree. I saw Zeppelin in the early 80's and they sucked. This is much sweeter

[bobdoles123]

@ZappasUtopia They were not around in the 80's.

[jimstormcrow]

Masterful.....



[jayob1231]

Wow people need a sense of humour. Thumbs up for Zappa and Zeppelin.

[4man2212]

Zappa was more sane than the rest of us.

[Easleytee]

I saw and herd Zappa in 1980 (w/ little Stevie Vai) do an encore of Whipping Post.

Incendiary!

[Illuminato2]

Great!

[MrFirthguy]

where was this filmed

[nialho]

Who is the perfomatic bass player?

Very nice cover.

[bashirov]

@nialho Scott Thunes, i think

[techno2011997]

fraudelent and homosexual.

[Squealer]

Ever since I heard this version I cannot listen to the original song without thinking in this version's ending

[tomane89]

Parque Maria Luísa, Sevilha?... Estive neste concerto!

[TheGrayRevolution]

@tomane89 sério?

[Quztuk]

You people seem to forget that Zappa was a bit trolly.

[TheGiacomino94]

@Quztuk just a bit??

[havetologintodothat]

@Quztuk FIFY Some people seem to forget that Zappa was a bit of a troll.

[slythe109]

@Quztuk Zappa was the original troll. All of his interviews are, although subtle, trolling of the interviewer. I believe that in one, he actually says "did I make you mad man?" (notice the similarity to "U mad bro?". Coincidence? I think not). If you believed any of that, then MY trollage was successful. But is it still trolling when I tell you I am trolling you???

[LuisSain]

i don't like it xd not a single thing.. voice, guitars, dinamics ( or the lack of it )

[GameCraze68]

@LuisSain thats just like, you know, your opinion, man

[orolfstolle]

Haha, Jimmy Page must be spinning like a wheel when listening to his epic guitarsolo performed in brassheavygaymetalstyle

[NickJones55]

Pretty good, although I wish there was more than just the one head-on camera shot; the same goes for the I Am The Walrus video. And what's with the sped-up footage in both clips?

[mattoita]

it sounds more like a parody than a cover to me :) take it easy guys, a song is just a song, "respect" whaaat?! they're having fun, just laugh about it (and they played well btw)

and I'm a die hard LZ fan ;)

[TheAmericanidiot9]

This was respect- not a slam, and it's fucking beautiful

[horrortoads]

@TheAmericanidiot9 why would Zappa respect the most infamous plagiarists of all time?

[ardeebe]

@horrortoads huh?



[weedshot]

@horrortoads You watch too much youtube crap with those kind of stupid ideas... There is almost no plagiat in Led Zeppelin, only pure genius. All bluesmen were coppying each other anyway...

[The4thGuy]

@weedshot "ALMOST no plagarism?" You are suggesting that there WAS SOME going on... and "All bluesmen were copying each other anyway..." Is condescending since you're saying that THEY were plagiarizing and that it was okay for them to do that, making it seem like they get a free pass on this. The reason why Zeppelin gets accused of that is because nearly ALL of their songs credited: "Page/ Plant" or just "Page" on the album sleeves. And this is coming from a major Zeppelin fan too.

[pjip]

stairway to heaven is one of my favorite songs, and this is utterly disgraceful. I agree with DerekWilliamsMusic entirely!

[DerekWilliamsMusic]

Not my favourite by a mile I'm afraid! Too fast, too many muted chords, wrong notes, dogs barking. Not respectful IMHO. I don't this song deserves to be sent up like this.

[holladmmy]

@DerekWilliamsMusic

How do you figure this is a send up? I can understand if it's not you're thing, but they cover it and the horns play the solo note for note.

[MusicFromPeru]

Where's Fido?

[DoubleM29]

@MusicFromPeru little puppy, bring the slippers...

[AphoticAgony]

*Even. Moron. btw zep ripped off a ton of bands from the late 60s and early 70s

[NickJones55]

@AphoticAgony Not to mention the rip-offs of older blues artists.

[AphoticAgony]

better than the original 

[75xaya]

@AphoticAgony This was a great cover but Led Zeppelin is epic and Stairway is probably their most epic song. No little cover not evan by Zappa could be nearly as good as Zeppelins, and evan if it were, Zeppelins would still be better cause it's the original.

[FlipSport1]

HURRA - Huwäää

[pete9124]

great muso / composer/ court jester, but frank never seemed to put his heart out there ... emotionally remote.. he mocked the commercial world but made one of the best pop albums of all time.. zootalures.. is he mocking this song of the spirit? bless ya franky

[pete9124]

great muso / composer/ court jester, but frank never seemed to put his heart out there ... emotionally remote.. he mocked the commercial world but made one of the best pop albums of all time.. zootalures.  bless ya franky

[simyan2012]

@pete9124 nothing should be immune to a good piss taking ;) if he didn't like the song i doubt he would have played it.

[pete9124]

@simyan2012 ha! you are right, and i should not have had that 3rd or was it 4th glass of wine! I dont know why I was thinking frank should do some kind of heartstring pulling tear jerker when it wasnt his thing.. though he could have done it alright (wish he did) .. if youd like to be a test pilot for original rock music send your email adress to info@flothru.com.au (thats australia) and i will send you mp3s of new songs my band does. bagging, praise and taking the piss welcome! Have Fun.

[pete9124]

HUMUNGOUS EGO ZAPPA

[pete9124]

the zepps had many good songs. the 70s were freakish for good stuff

[saropicchio]

cazzo ha smesso troppo troppo presto e questa dei LED non la conoscevo...grande regalo

[liecht]

I cannot agree more with the spirit of this rendition.Stairway to Heaven is just a ridiculous song wich deserves a performance like this.Don´t miss the guitar solo part, full orchestra...Hilarious...Well done Frank

[MrGeorgios2020]

@liecht WELL SAID BRO. I WOULD GO ONE STEP FURTHER AND SAY THAT FRANK ZAPPA WAS RIDICULOUS. SAID HE WAS AGAINST DRUGS YET SMOKED LIKE A CHIMNEY!!!

[Mjollnir1990]

@MrGeorgios2020 Fix your fucking capslock fool.

[67goldtops]

@yovioleatuzorramadre

You "love Zappa since the 8os?"

BULLSHIT. You weren't even ALIVE in the 80s, you silly child. Get back to begging people to teach you chords, you jerkoff.

[FrothNinja]

Bassist probably just grooving to his riff & his funny masks. Zappa didn't allow chemical consumables for the band, quite militant about it

[FrothNinja]

Bassist probably just grooving to his riff. Zappa didn't allow chemical consumables for the band, quite militant about it

[James91LP]

Th bass player is having a good time , wonder what he's on.

This is a cool version of a classic, and Zappa was a genius.

[stezyrezy]

how he expresses inanimate objects! THE MASTER. GWEN

[theMacvarish]

:-) does humour belong in music- discuss.

[laxerolje]

@theMacvarish Definitely that too. Ever watched Tom and Jerry? :p

[theMacvarish]

@laxerolje : only the very early ones; with no human faces visible, unbelieable levels of violence and great jazzy interludes. :-)

[llariam]

Good grief people! It's Zappa! What more is to be said?!

[DejanNovak123]

And as we wind on down the road

Our shadows taller than our soul

There walks a lady we all know

Who shines white light and wants to show

How everything still turns to gold

And if you listen very hard

The tune will come to you at last

When all is one and one is all, yeah

To be a rock and not to roll.

I want time machine NOW!

[LowBid86]

Frank Zappa never took anything seriously--to his credit!

[8hackattack]

1994 Unledded to hear and see real greatness Page/Plant played with an Indian Orchestra on one side of the stage, and the London orchestra on the other. Both orchestras played at different times in some songs, and both together on others.

Not this drivel Zappa and his band play and the fan bots slop up

[8hackattack]

Frank could’ve made it big

1. If he had been in Led Zeppelin as rhythm guitarists

2. Had even one album equal to any one of Led Zeppelins eight studio albums

3. Wasn’t such a whiner

4. His fan base wasn’t so self absorbed or delusion

5. Been a successful sessions guitarists

6. Been in the Yardbirds

7. Wrote a riff equivalent to the rover

8. Wasn’t such a blatant A-hole

[seags234]

@8hackattack Twat!

[BleachTW]

@8hackattack Normally I'd say stfu.

But you mentioned the rover thats too awesome.

BTW Zeppelin didn't use rhythm since Page did everything.

I agree with points 2,4(Along with the whos fanbase)7.

[JesusLuciferChrist]

@8hackattack

9. If he cared to!

Music is not about "making it big", music is about expression. The wonderful thing about music is, there are so many different ways to go about it. I love Zeppelin, and when I was 15 they were by far my favorite ROCK band...but rock is far from my favorite musical genre, and that is why I enjoy Franks music so much. It is so far beyond "Rock and Roll", and way more cerebral, which may be a stretch for you. But thats ok, you dont mind being a half wit im sure.

[ThinkCenterLab]

@8hackattack OK, you're obviously trolling, but I LOLed at the fourth thing on your list. Maybe even should have iincluded the artist himself in it. Also, the rover does have a killer riff

[iamadeathgod666]

@8hackattack

1. Frank didn't care about making it big. Why would he have wanted to?

2. Music is subjective and since the majority of Zepplins hit's, much as I love them, were ripped off blues tunes Zappa was by far more creative.

3. He was an opinionated man and was willing to speak his mind, that makes him brave as a musician. Especially in the corp-rat era.

4. As opposed to rapid zepplin fans?

5. He would never have been happy plucking away for other people.

[zabrak999]

@iamadeathgod666 >ripped off

lol no. Maybe a line or two. But you'd be a fool to think they songs that influenced the zep songs sound alike. 

[iamadeathgod666]

@zabrak999 How much they did it isn't the point, the fact is that they did. And they also tried to act like they weren't doing it at all. Zappa never tried to be anything but himself. He certainly wouldn't have felt a need to hide where he got inspiration if he did use someone's work.

[themooddisorders]

@iamadeathgod666 Zappa was awesome and still is, my friend!

[iamadeathgod666]

@8hackattack conti---

6. Again, why would he have wanted to be?

7. Zappa was a very good guitar player and he worked with Steve Vai for years, so if you want to talk real guitar playing he was as good as anyone, maybe not at making catchy riffs, but he wasn't trying to make hits, he was making what he wanted to make.

8. See #3. Also, lot's of legends, including Plant and page have stories about them that don't paint them in such a kind light, so at least Zappa was honest.

[AlxMiNeR]

WHAT a guitarist . :)

[sheltech12]

So....what song is this video from ? (droll)

[Cincinnatus1869]

slide whistles rule

[rodcrippler]

youtube.com/watch?v=5bb2SzKcBF­I&feature=colike

youtube.com/watch?v=nRVApqGVp1­M&feature=colike

youtube.com/watch?v=HYzL-0C4ii­Y&feature=colike

[Edshar32]

FOR THE MOTHERFUCKING WIN!!!!

[nonameyok]

Anarchi is the explanation... long live Prodhone.

[faeryquene]

Thank you for uploading this! :)

I had read about it but never seen this performance before!

Zappa's voice was at a lower register than Plant's-and he STILL pulls this classic gem off brilliantly! The whole band was brilliant. RIP Frank. ♪♫♪♫

[JonathanIFrank]

@faeryquene Actually, that's Ike Willis doing the singing. He worked with Zappa a lot during the late '70s and '80s.

[Tony63909]

One of the best renditions of the song. I am glad that they stayed true to the recorded version by Zep.

[abekeppa]

i love frank zappa!!!!:D

[rodcrippler]

youtube.com/watch?v=5bb2SzKcBF­I

[Tony63909]

Someone told me once that,during a show, Zappa offered $500.00 to anyone who grosses him out on stage. Someone went ,defecated then ate it on stage. Does anyone know if it's true?

[rodcrippler]

@Tony63909 i think it's highly probable it was true, Zappa was wacko himself, that's where his genius came from.

[Koolkitties]

@Tony63909 It's not. Frank said himself the closest he ever came to eating shit was at a holiday inn breakfast.

[Tony63909]

@Koolkitties I don't think that I made myself clear.It wasn't Frank that literally ate shit. He had dared any fan to come on stage and "gross him out". From what I had heard, someone came and pissed on stage, A couple came and had sex. The third "contestant" took a dump, then proceeded to consume it. From what I was told, Frank gave the guy $500.00. Brother, as GOD lives, that is what someone told me. I brushed it off until I heard of how exentric Zappa was,then I thought that perhaps it's true.

[beetsification]

so......the video froze on me. no stairway. DENIED!

[milesneedham]

almost 2 million hits.... i think jimmy page would be honored by frank zappa covering this song.... not even tongue in cheek.... i've never heard this before..... but its awesome....

[CactusInTheSand]

Crowd: SHUTUP!

[ninahickey]

Fucking idots.

Mr Zappa is nearly sacred.

[qqvids]

people love this song in my country

[Theseus370]

Awh yeaaaa! I was introduced to Frank Zappa about 10 years ago...by my dad.

I am 16 years old, and of all the dead musicians I miss, I miss Frank the most. But then again, he probably has 20 million dollars in his heavenly bank account.

[divinegrinder]

Zappa is not making fun of this song musically. I am quite sure he would not waste time playing a song live unless he thought it was musically gratifying. He is making fun of how serious bands take themselves. Not sure if he's digging at Zeppelin personally but he is bringing this classic song written by "rock gods" down to earth and making it not so mythical and legendary... because after all it was written by four guys with instruments. I think this is him saying lighten up people.

[OropherThranduil]

@divinegrinder

actually the melody and iintro were ripped of by four guys from spirits taurus.

[divinegrinder]

@OropherThranduil whatever the case is with that.... your probably right. I'm not unconditionally defending Led Zeppelin. Just saying... it's a great piece of music and i'm sure Zappa wouldn't have played it if he wasn't interested in it. 

[LayenPipes]

@OropherThranduil borrowed* no ripped off

[OropherThranduil]

@LayenPipes

ripped off, they completely ripped of dazed and confused by jake holmes, the bassline was there, the screaming was there, the mood was there, with the yardbirds credit was given, with zeppelin not, stolen.

the intro and melody of stairway are ripped off from taurus by spirit, and i don#t even want to meniton all the blues songs they ripped off without credit, and they toured with both holmes and spirit, so they knew the songs.

[LayenPipes]

@OropherThranduil You think I don't know that? Im a harder zep fan than youll ever be lol.Ive been listening to them since the 60s, and Ive been to like 33 fucking cncerts. I think I would read about them and study them for a couple of years now, and yes, many songs were plagiarised, but not all of them

[OropherThranduil]

@LayenPipes

wow, but not all of them, what a great sentence, but since they are like the only fucking band from that era that even has to say that about that means they're fucking assholes.

and they're massively overrated as well.

i don't even want to listen to them too often, their hard rock is okay, sometimes great, but their folk sucks.

[LayenPipes]

@OropherThranduil You should be crusified

[LayenPipes]

@OropherThranduil You should be crusified

[OropherThranduil]

@LayenPipes

no, but compared to the beatles for example they're nothing, you know, by 69 the beatles had sold 300 million records, led zeppelin reached that amount i think 3 years ago.

they plae in sales, they pale in infleunce on others, they pale in diversity of music, and page live isn't what many make them, from 73 onwards he was sloppy as shit, and he never showed much flow in his live solos like hendrix or clapton, never heard a stairway with a longer solo that didn't suck.

[LayenPipes]

@OropherThranduil The beatles? fuck em

[OropherThranduil]

@LayenPipes

fuck you.