Frank Zappa - Jazz From Hell
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Music CD Cover
Artist: Frank ZappaEdition: Music CD
Format: Original recording remastered
CD Release Date: 1995-05-02
Music Label: Zappa Records
Soundtracks:
- Night School
- The Beltway Bandits
- While You Were Art II
- Jazz from Hell
- G-Spot Tornado
- Damp Ankles
- St. Etienne
- Massaggio Galore
Free Music Notes for Jazz From Hell
Free Music Review: Oh Hell.
Hit: 5 Stars
I bought "Jazz From Hell" around the mid-80's when it first came out and it was extraordinarily hard to find *any* Zappa albums, much less his albums which one might specifically prefer, and I was not favorably impressed. In fact, I think I put the tape in a drawer and didn't listen to it again for quite some time. When I did pick it back up again (maybe because I was sick of everything else I had at the time), I wasn't encumbered with my prior and extremely biased expectations of what a Zappa album should sound like, and I loved it. That was an important lesson about being a Zappa afficianado: expectations will only lead to disappointment with Zappa, so empty your mind before you listen to any Zappa for the first time.
That said, the *specific* Zappa albums one likes says a lot about what kind of music consumer someone is. Most people like the Blues-based naughty troubadour Zappa of.... well... "Strictly Commercial", "Apostrophe", "Joe's Garage" and so forth. When they get an earful of "Jazz From Hell" or "Civilization Phaze III", you can hear their auditory canals gagging. So being a Jazz From Hell fan puts you in a sub-cult of a sub-cult and even further at odds with mainstream culture. For the most part, the "true" Zappa fans are not JFH fans.
Nevertheless, I think Jazz From Hell is not only highly enjoyable to listen to, but a piece of music culture equivalent to (but far less appreciated than) Andy Warhol: it captures something about early digital music in the late 70's / early 80's that is just spectacular and inimitable. Jazz From Hell isn't just a good listen, it's a piece of cultural history claimed by one of those vanguards who earned their way into the books by forceing themselves ahead of the curve.
If there is any album more maligned by Zappa fans than Jazz From Hell, it's JFH's runtly twin "Francesco Zappa" which probably should have been released in a double album with JFH ala Lather. Francesco Zappa is another album people seem to love to hate (and, again, one which I dearly love) for the same reasons they hate Jazz From Hell: no soul, plagarized compositions, just an experiment in making consumers spend money, etc.
To put it into some context -- if you like some of these, you will like Jazz From Hell / Francesco Zappa:
Wendy / Walter Carlos, epecially the "Clockwork Orange" soundtrack era and Brandenburg Concerto
"Switched-on Bach"
8-bit Nintendo Entertainment System and Super Nintendo soundtracks, esp. Mario world
The CD included in the back of 1 X 1 by Sebastian Mendez (which you would probably like as well)
Civilization Phase III
So, if you are a hardcore Zappa fan thinking about Jazz From Hell, keep in mind that it's very VERY different from previous Zappa albums -- it won't make you laugh. But if you are a child of the video game era, I think you will it will turn you on. Find yourself a copy of the original Legend of Zelda, cue up "The Beltway Bandits" and prepare for a incredible experience.
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