Record Reviews

FRANK ZAPPA ~ JAZZ FROM HELL ZAPPA 3875 (Barcode: 824302387528) ~ USA ~ Avant-Garde Rock Recorded: 1985 - 1986 Released: 2012 This is a reissue / remaster of the 47th album by iconic American guitarist / composer / bandleader / visionary Frank ZappaFind albums by this artist, originally released in 1986. The album presents eight original instrumental pieces, all by Zappa. It was the final studio album released during Zappa’s lifetime. Zappa won the 1988 Grammy Award for this album in the Best Rock Instrumental Performance category, which was of course a bitter revenge by the Music Industry, which Zappa ridiculed and criticized for his entire life. Seven of the pieces on this album were recorded by Zappa alone, using mostly the Synclavier synthesizer, and only one piece is a live recording from 1982 with Zappa on guitar and keyboards and a brilliant lineup of musicians, which included guitarists Steve VaiFind albums by this artist and Ray WhiteFind albums by this artist, keyboardists Tommy MarsFind albums by this artist and Bobby MartinFind albums by this artist, bassist Scott ThunesFind albums by this artist, drummer Chad WackermanFind albums by this artist and percussionist Ed MannFind albums by this artist. This album marks the new approach in Zappa’s convoluted musical path and marks a phase when his compositions become almost too complicated to be performed live. Zappa started to use the Synclavier to write his music as early as 1982, and scored several albums with it, with this album being the first also performed entirely on the Synclavier, which was later followed by the posthumously released albums “Civilization Phaze IIIFind albums with this title” and “Feeding The Monkies At Ma MaisonFind albums with this title” also created solely using the Synclavier. Zappa undoubtedly lives in his own Universe, which only partly coexisted and interacted in ours, but when it did, we have been blessed by the exposure to his Genius. As the years progressed, Zappa became even more detached and his music, including his Classical adventures, took him away from the Rock and Fusion fans, who refused to move forward with his creativity. In retrospect, the last period of his life proved to be the most fascinating of course. Overall, although almost thirty-five years passed since this music was recorded, this album remains an absolute Classic in every respect, which stands proudly as an icon of superb music, which still shines brighter than almost anything else recorded since. Zappa’s genius, not only as a musician, but also as a visionary and a brilliant observer of the human condition and American folly and deceit, remain completely relevant and are even more actual today than ever. Side Note Frank Zappa created a vast recorded legacy during his lifetime, which is continuously being expanded using music recorded and stored in his extensive vault. The albums officially released and approved by Zappa are numbered sequentially in the "Official Release" series, from #001 to the last release so far #126. The albums between #001 to #062 were released during Zappa's lifetime and all the others were released posthumously. There are countless unofficial / bootleg releases on the market as well. Zappa's catalogue was remastered for CD release twice: in 1995 for the RykodiscFind albums on this label releases and again in 2012 for the ZappaFind albums on this label Records / UniversalFind albums on this label releases. The Zappa / Universal program includes 60 releases, which cover the entire catalog released during his lifetime (62 releases, except #013 "200 Motels" and the three Box Sets #043, #046 and #049 called "The Old Masters vol.I / II / III"), and 6 posthumous releases (#064, #065, #067, #068, #093 and #094), which were also included.

Updated: 22/09/2022Posted: 01/12/2021

CD 1 Remastered Recommend To A Friend