105. FRANK ZAPPA: Any Way The Wind Blows
A detailed analysis of the above Frank Zappa composition, including notated musical examples and my MIDI.
Any Way The Wind Blows (2:56)
Any Way The Wind Blows
LYRICS
Other Official Versions:
Cruising With Ruben & The Jets (1968)
The Lost Episodes (1996)
Joe's Corsage (2004)
The MOFO Project/Object (fazedooh) (2 CD) (2006)
The MOFO Project/Object (4 CD) (2006)
Greasy Love Songs (2010)
Carnegie Hall (2011)
NOTES ON THE COMPOSITIONS INCLUDED HEREIN: "ANY WAY THE WIND BLOWS ... is a song I wrote about three years ago when I was considering divorce. If I had never gotten divorced, this piece of trivial nonsense would never have been recorded. It is included in this collection because, in a nutshell, kids, it is ... how shall I say it? ... it is intellectually and emotionally ACCESSIBLE for you. Hah! Maybe it is even right down your alley!
Key of G Major
4/4
Quarter note = ca. 130
There are 92 bars
BARFINDER: The syllable "a-" from the word "a-ny" is on the second beat of Bar 2; the word "blows" is on the first beat of Bar 3.
PERCEIVED INSTRUMENTATION: Vocals, electric guitars, electric bass, piano, vibraphone, kazoo, drums and percussion
Part 1
Bars 1-2
Quick introduction ... "Any way the wind"
Nice little lick to get things going and which is cleverly used on the "breaks."
Part 2
Bars 3-10
"Blows" ... "'Cause I'm"
Simple, but we love it, don't we, kids? Just I-vi (G Major-E Minor)
Part 3
Bars 11-24
"Through with a-" ... "She is my heart and"
Attention: Bar Counters! Bar 16 is in 2/4. A very nice descending pattern: IV-I6-ii-vi (C-G/B-A Minor-E Minor) repeated until Bar 18 where the vi moves down to a V (D) and returns to G
Part 4
Bars 25-46
"Soul" ... "The wind blows"
Now a word about this strange little guitar break (we are not calling this a "solo") here which starts at Bar 46. Anyone remember Ferrante & Teicher, that fabulous two-piano duo? When we were a kid, our father used their records to demonstrate Magnavox hi-fi's at our music store in Washington, Pennsylvania. For some reason, almost all of their "interpretations" involved one of the two pianists playing the melody -- no matter how delicate or feathery that melody may be -- in octaves near the bottom of the piano. The other guy would then play ridiculous 32nd-note runs starting at the top of the piano -- sounding like a bull elephant playing under a waterfall! In any case, the first two bars of this break crack us up, because it reminds us of that sound! The piano, doubling the guitar part in a very low octave here, triggers this memory every time!
Part 5
Bars 47-68
"Free" to end
Bar 82 is in 2/4.
Next track
Any Way The Wind Blows (2:56)
Any Way The Wind Blows
LYRICS
Other Official Versions:
Cruising With Ruben & The Jets (1968)
The Lost Episodes (1996)
Joe's Corsage (2004)
The MOFO Project/Object (fazedooh) (2 CD) (2006)
The MOFO Project/Object (4 CD) (2006)
Greasy Love Songs (2010)
Carnegie Hall (2011)
NOTES ON THE COMPOSITIONS INCLUDED HEREIN: "ANY WAY THE WIND BLOWS ... is a song I wrote about three years ago when I was considering divorce. If I had never gotten divorced, this piece of trivial nonsense would never have been recorded. It is included in this collection because, in a nutshell, kids, it is ... how shall I say it? ... it is intellectually and emotionally ACCESSIBLE for you. Hah! Maybe it is even right down your alley!
Key of G Major
4/4
Quarter note = ca. 130
There are 92 bars
BARFINDER: The syllable "a-" from the word "a-ny" is on the second beat of Bar 2; the word "blows" is on the first beat of Bar 3.
PERCEIVED INSTRUMENTATION: Vocals, electric guitars, electric bass, piano, vibraphone, kazoo, drums and percussion
Part 1
Bars 1-2
Quick introduction ... "Any way the wind"
Nice little lick to get things going and which is cleverly used on the "breaks."Part 2
Bars 3-10
"Blows" ... "'Cause I'm"
Simple, but we love it, don't we, kids? Just I-vi (G Major-E Minor)
Part 3
Bars 11-24
"Through with a-" ... "She is my heart and"
Attention: Bar Counters! Bar 16 is in 2/4. A very nice descending pattern: IV-I6-ii-vi (C-G/B-A Minor-E Minor) repeated until Bar 18 where the vi moves down to a V (D) and returns to G
Part 4
Bars 25-46
"Soul" ... "The wind blows"
Now a word about this strange little guitar break (we are not calling this a "solo") here which starts at Bar 46. Anyone remember Ferrante & Teicher, that fabulous two-piano duo? When we were a kid, our father used their records to demonstrate Magnavox hi-fi's at our music store in Washington, Pennsylvania. For some reason, almost all of their "interpretations" involved one of the two pianists playing the melody -- no matter how delicate or feathery that melody may be -- in octaves near the bottom of the piano. The other guy would then play ridiculous 32nd-note runs starting at the top of the piano -- sounding like a bull elephant playing under a waterfall! In any case, the first two bars of this break crack us up, because it reminds us of that sound! The piano, doubling the guitar part in a very low octave here, triggers this memory every time!
Part 5
Bars 47-68
"Free" to end
Bar 82 is in 2/4.
Next track
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