Review Summary: A Genius' Final Hour
This is Zappa's definitive classical music album; recorded a year before the composer's death, in 1993. This being his final album (released in November 1993), it shows the grandeur of a man who crossed almost all borders, from rock, jazz, fusion, prog, punk, avant-garde to contemporary music. Ensemble Modern does a wonderful job, playing a collection of gemstones from the past and new compositions.
Sometimes the music is breathtaking, and it doesn't get tense or nervous like the volumes of “London Symphony Orchestra”. In the album notes, Zappa describes “The Yellow Shark” as one of the most rewarding projects of his career and as the best representation of his orchestral work.
As an introduction, Frank appears and immediately advises the audience that “if you feel like throwing your underwear on stage, put them on”. The Zappa classics that transform here are impressive and rival their previous versions. Mainly, the theme Dog Breath Variations and Uncle Meat, both translate very well into an orchestra. Then we come to Times Beach II, which is heavily influenced by legendary Russian composer Igor Stravinsky, slower motion music with different sounds that come and go.
The Girl In The Magnesium Dress, originally featured on The Perfect Stranger, and on Be-Bop Tango, a reworking of the 1973 concerts at Roxy, showcase Zappa's genius at rearranging his own compositions. Then we find fantastic modern chamber music in Questi Cazzi Di Piccione and Times Beach III, but the main event is when Frank Zappa himself, sick and tired, directs Food Gathering in Post-Industrial America, 1992 and Welcome to the United States, a magnificent presentation of jokes, theater and music, in protest against the immigration system in the United States of America.
The public's enthusiasm is something to be commended. Most of the songs receive long applause, especially towards the end of G-Spot Tornado, which is a remarkable reissue of a song Zappa originally wrote for Synclavier on 1986's "Jazz From Hell". This track is said to be 'impossible' for humans touch it, but the crowd roars with applause and applause, and apparently continued for over 20 minutes, and the fading with the crowd driven wild is testament to that.
“The Yellow Shark” should be everyone's introduction to Frank Zappa's orchestral music. Better performed than the two London Symphony Orchestra albums, “The Yellow Shark” contains shorter, easier-to-digest pieces than “The Perfect Stranger”. The production is also excellent, not just another Zappa album, but also one of the best sounding classical music albums anyone can hear.
