Studio Tan [Original recording remastered]

Frank Zappa | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 2, 1995)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Label: Zappa Records
• ASIN: B0000009ST
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #65,031 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Adventures of Greggery Peccary

2. Revised Music for Guitar and Low-Budget Orchestra [Instrumental]

3. Lemme Take You to the Beach

4. RDNZL

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Music Concrete at its finest, December 13, 1999

By 

"[e-mail]" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Studio Tan (Audio CD)

To call Zappa's music orchestral jazz is innacurate and misleading.The music on Studio Tan is much closer to Western 20th centuryclassical music than jazz. I would venture to call it post-jazz classical music (informed by jazz, while continuing to push the limits of classical music). The Adventures of Greggery Peccary is one of Zappa's greatest achievments. Although Greggery Peccary is often abstract, dissonant, and disjunct, it is quite pallatable. Studio tan is overflowing with the rhythmic energy and melodic inventiveness that Zappa is famous for. The melodies are a prime example of Zappa's post-atonal melodic style. Although only vaguely tonal (closer to the atonal side of the tonality continuum), the melodies sound catchy and somehow intuitively right (a description which calls to mind the melodic style of Thelonius Monk). ...For every famous band, there are 1,000 bands just as good playing in a garage somewhere that you will never hear ("product of the media" famous bands are obviously not chosen for musical talent, but for "more marketable" features such as sex appeal). There was, however, only 1 Frank Zappa. One more thing, the version of RDNZL on this release is OK, but I prefer the live versions of this one (such as can be heard on You Can't Do That On Stage [Vol. IV?]).

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Look out, here he comes again..., April 7, 2004

By 

Patrik Lemberg (Tammisaari Finland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Studio Tan (Audio CD)

"The Adventures of Greggery Peccary" is a musical masterpiece; one of Zappa's most coherent, yet polygonal and well performed pieces considering its length (20+ minutes). The studio sound of the whole album is clear, and the stereophony is sharp - it is quite amazing that this material was recorded 1974-1976. Something I find exceptionally impressive is the variation and accuracy of sound-effects on "Greggery." Ensemble Modern has recently recorded a (very well performed) version of this piece, but the version on "Studio Tan" is certainly what will stay closer to heart to dedicated Zappa fans. On both "Greggery" and "Low-Budget Orchestra" five musicians perform; Zappa, George Duke, Chester Thompson, and Bruce and Tom Fowler, so especially on "Greggery" a lot of overdubs have been recorded, but it's not noticeable, the piece doesn't contain one note too many, everything makes perfect sense even if you might not understand it technically or theoretically, hence "musical masterpiece." "Low-Budget Orchestra" and "RDNZL" aren't far from masterpieces, either. Influences from Stravinsky clearly predominate "Low-Budget Orchestra," and the sped-up percussion (played by Zappa) towards the end of the piece reminds a lot of the percussion from the "Uncle Meat" days, which was actually when this piece was written. "Lemme Take You to the Beach" cracks me up - it's a very funny, short, and uplifting piece, needed to reveal even further aspects of Zappa's compositional vocabulary. Without this track the album wouldn't be the same. It's the only song where Chester Thompson and George Duke aren't featured; they're replaced by Paul Humphrey and Eddie Jobson (Davey Moire sings, Max Bennett plays the bass, and Don Brewer plays the bongos.) "RDNZL" is simply amazing - very much so from a compositional point of view. James Youman is featured on bass, and Ruth Underwood on percussion. "Studio Tan" is one of the discs you will need to some day be able to fully appreciate all sides of Frank Zappa, the Composer.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Don't give away your vinyl or early CD copy!, July 7, 2000

By 

Nocturnal Gregarious Wild Swine (Milwaukee, WI United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Studio Tan (Audio CD)

One of Zappa's best - incredible writing and performing. But beware - the remix for CD has dramatically changed the balance of instruments, particularly in "Greggary Peccary." If you grew up on the vinyl version as I did, you may find yourself missing the old mix. On the plus side, there is an additional half minute of material at the end of "Greggary Peccary" which brings it to a great conclusion, rather than the abrupt fadeout on the original mix. Still, I miss my vinyl & my early CD edition!