Customer Reviews

Orchestral Favorites

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"Orchestral Favorites" presents Frank Zappa's "classical" experiments at it's apex. The arrangements, orchestrations and performances are tight and played with the humor so closely associated with FZ's "rock bands". Great care was taken in the actual recording and mixing of this music and the listener is treated to wide array of timbres and specific left and right pannings. There is never a dull moment. The choice of material is excellent and thoroughly "Zappa" in approach. One of the most striking things about this CD is Zappa's genius for juxtaposition of musical styles, and of course many parodies abound. Strauss waltzes, Rite Of Spring rhythms, Boleros, 12 tone excerpts, Webernesque String Arrangements, Varese-Electronique, Broadway, Scarey Movie Music etc...It's non stop fun. The CD also contains FZ playing some wicked idiosyncratic guitar (hints of "Zoot Allures") on the tastefully orchestrated "Duke Of Prunes". A thrilling performance.

Now some critics have been hard on Zappa because of his penchant for writing complex dissonant melodies. But in many cases if you listen a few times you will hear that they have a memorable flavor to them - you just have to expand your listening palette and memory. In this CD we are treated to some of Frank's most charming and playful melodies. Check out the sweet, expressive tune played by the harmonica on "Strictly Genteel", or the sneaky melody played by the trombone and violin in the hilarious "Pedro's Dowery". The existential wedges in "Naval Aviation In Art" are chilling,not to mention so many robust, dynamic moments in "Bogus Pomp".

Zappa was a master of form. Even in complex pieces such as these the form is clear and believe it or not, it's still pop! This makes for a totally enjoyable album that should be in everyone's collection. It will open up your mind to check out all the other great 20th century work Frank drew from as well as his own musical universe.

Wonderful stuff with a sense of humor from an artist who lived to create art.

-Reviewed by J. Tabacco

This album is one of three Warner Brothers releases that Frank didn't have much involvement in (thus, the horrid cover art). The other two are Sleep Dirt and Studio Tan.
These three, along with other material from In New York, were originally intended for release as a four-album boxed set called Lather. When WB refused to release them as a boxed set, Frank provided them with the three albums all at once to complete his contract. WB was required to release any material within 6 weeks, whether as a boxed set or individually. Not wanting to release all this material so close together, Warner balked, and re-arranged the material, and released them over the course of 9 months. This prompted a long-running lawsuit that was never resolved to the artist's satisfaction.
If you really want the material present on Orchestral Favorites presented in the context of the original play sequence, buy the Lather 3-CD set, which was eventually remastered and released by Ryco in 1996. Nonetheless, if you're the kind of person who appreciates Zappa only for his humor and rock/guitar material, you will undoubtedly be disappointed by these selections, in or out of context. If your musical tastes are broader, I agree with other reviewers that The Yellow Shark and The Grand Wazoo are better representations of the true symphonic genius of FZ.

This is a decent album, but it's not among my Zappa favorites (no pun intended). All 5 songs/pieces here are on other albums, and those versions are better than they are here. As you Zappa afficiandos know, this was originally part of the 4 LP Lather album, so it wasn't meant to be Frank's first "official" orchestral album. Having said that, Strictly Genteel is better on the 200 Motels soundtrack (but the version here is better than the out of tune mishmash on the London Symphony Orchestra album), Naval Aviation in Art? is better on The Perfect Stranger album, I like the longer versions of Bogus Pomp and Pedro's Dowry on the LSO album, and Duke of Prunes sounds better in its rock version on Absolutely Free. It's an interesting album, well arranged and played, but there are much better renditions of these songs. I am a bit of a Zappa completist, so I do have this, but I don't play it very often.

Rendered by a full orchestra, this disc contains performances recorded at the Royce Hall in Los Angeles, 1974 or 1975, the sleeve notes are inconsistent, they have the release date being before the recording date, but it is nonetheless a very good listening experience, with all the little dissonances and tricks one would expect in a Zappa performance.

Conducted by Michael Zearot, it was apparently recorded live in concert, but with all audience noise edited out (if, in fact, it was in front of a live audience), and the sound is clear, up-front, and immediate. The first half of this set is three selections previously heard elsewhere, in different form, "Strictly Genteel," "Pedro's Dowry," and "Naval Aviation In Art?," all done with usual aplomb, one sequeing (a real word?) into the next, and then the next, as a lengthy medley, with all the little tricks and twists and turns one gets used to hearing after a while when they listen extensively to Frank Zappa's music.

The second half opens with a majestic rendition of "Duke Of Prunes" (his titles kill me), and even though it is rendered by this large orchestra, it features a commanding guitar solo by Frank himself. As with "Genteel," it is centered on a small combo, FZ on guitar, with Terry Bozzio on drums, David Parlato on bass, and Emil Richards on percussion, and the orchestra and combo fully compliment one another. It is possibly the disc's high point.

It closes with "Bogus Pomp," a swirling medley of various pieces he had written over the years, to be used over again in different musical settings. There is a longer rendition on "London Symphony" which features even more material, but in either case, one hears many recognizable Zappa themes fused together in a new form. This was a tool he used a lot, rearranging and recycling melodies into new pieces.

Just know, it is an orchestra record when you go in, and you won't go wrong.

This is a quite enjoyable listen even if it doesn't command the same ecstatic glee & fandom that Lumpy Gravy & others in this field might. 1 track is called Bogus Pomp & it might be fair to say that's what ome of this sounds like. I actually heard this before the original versions of Strictly Genteel [200 Motels - "Lord have mercy on the fate of this movie & God bless the plight of the man in the street"] & Duke Of Prunes [Absolutely Free - "& I know the love I have for you will never ever die, well maybe"], & the versions here work as music for its own sake & it's very swishy & nice. Although released in 1979, the recordings were actually done in 1975. Zappa & 3 others are also present to complement the orchestra w/ some more rock instrumentation.

Since the Moody Blues' Days of Future Passed, rock groups have been trying to fuse the orchestral soundscape with the rock idiom with varying degrees of success. Most of these projects have a pastiche approach, in that the two styles rarely intermingle directly. Instead, the orchestra fills in the blanks between rock statements. Orchestral Favorites differs from other cross-genre recordings in that it clearly and successfully shows the common ground between Frank's rock and orchestral sensibilities.

Too orchestral to be rock, and too rock to be orchestral, the five instrumental tracks on Orchestral Favorites contain some of Franks most compelling and memorable melodies. In particular, Strictly Genteel could almost be the School Song of some imaginary arts magnet school. The Duke of Prunes is also a favorite, featuring fantastic use of orchestral impact behind a blistering guitar solo that really shows Frank's mastery of electric guitar feedback. However, prepare yourself for the denser compositions Pedro's Dowry and Naval Aviation in Art?, which show his Stravinskyesque use of layers. The final track Bogus Pomp straddles the line between these extremes with an electrifying opening melody that pops up periodically during layered sections.

The Lowdown: Probably not a recording for the beginning Frank fan, it most certainly is one for the intermediate. It's a great look at the places where Frank's styles overlapped. It can be a little dense sometimes, but overall its quite memorable.

First of all, happy birthday Frank Zappa! The man would have been 71 today. Even after all these years after his death, it's great to see that he's still being remembered as the genius he is. Though truth be told, I was too young in 1993 to understand how unique his contributions were in the world of rock music. After hearing 20+ Zappa albums, I now completely get it. I now fully understand his clever humor and unique style. Orchestral Favorites strikes me as a relatively serious work of art, though.

I admit I avoided Orchestral Favorites for the longest time. I kept it in the back of my mind until I got through several *other* Zappa albums first. I did so because I didn't believe I was missing anything important here. Well, the time has come to finally give Orchestral Favorites a go, and...

I like it. Not only do I like it, but I think it's pretty underrated.

I was totally under the assumption this would be some kind of boring orchestral album similar to a soundtrack almost, and none of the actual notes would be memorable to me. I was wrong!

"Bogus Pomp" is the most amazing piece of orchestration I've ever heard Zappa create. Let me state that the FIRST time I heard this nearly 14-minute track I was completely underwhelmed. None of the arrangements seemed very organized to me. None of the piano, brass, violins or marching drum work seemed to flow with any consistency. It all seemed like a disjointed mess. I REALLY can't explain how, on my 4th listen or so, suddenly the entire suite just *clicked*. Suddenly I began to admire the entire thing! Truly mind-boggling. Proof this piece has plenty of merit after all.

I guess the best way to describe "Bogus Pomp" is that most of the brass work resembles that of the intro from "Big Swifty", the track from Waka/Jawaka. However whereas "Big Swifty" eventually morphs into a jazzy guitar jam, this is brass work stretched for over 14 minutes. The main theme only occurs twice- once around the 6-minute mark, the next around the 9-minute point. This entire piece focuses around building up to this theme using a variety of orchestrated tricks- the ones that Zappa has used in the past, and ones that has given him a distinctive, trademark sound.

I *do* wish the violin sections were a couple minutes longer though. It's the violin played in a COOL way, such as on "The Little House I Used to Live In" but the thing is, it only occupies about a minute total, and that's it. It can be heard briefly in two specific points during the second half and... that's it! We need more of it! Darn it!! My favorite moment of the entire suite comes right before the 12-minute point when a sped up keyboard swirl resembling Rick Wakeman takes place.

Elsewhere we have "Pedro's Dowry" which is basically like a mini, less bombastic version of "Bogus Pomp" but not constructed as neatly or as excitedly (all Henry Cow fans should hear it, though) and an orchestrated version of "Strictly Genteel" which is NOWHERE as good as the vocal melody version from 200 Motels, but is arguably the most melodic song on *this* album. "The Duke of Prunes" actually has a guitar solo which is what this album probably desperately needs.

Overall, don't just dismiss Orchestral Favorites. Give it time to develop and you'll be rewarded with a solid album and a better understanding of Zappa's talents in classical work.

This cd has a lot of fun and enough classical traits to make it a gormet listening adventure. What is not so hot about the CD is the fact that it was hacked into conception by Warner Brothers. FZ didn't intend this release to be out in this fashion. Check out Lather release for the intentions and over all feel of where the songs would fit.... but these pieces are second to none. All good and Terry Bozzio rules.

This one doesn't get 5 stars because I happen to prefer his rock bands and arrangements. However, I may grow to appreciate it for what it is: great compositions, very well played and with that magical Zappa touch: perfection with a laugh!

For orchestral/instrumental Zappa of this type you'd do better to buy The Grand Wazoo, Waka Jawaka or maybe The Yellow Shark. This album ain't bad but FZ has done better. 'Tis a tad uninspired to these ears.