Published on Sep 20, 2005
By late 1986, Frank Zappa seemed to have shed the last vestige
of being considered a rock musician. Turning almost exclusively to
his Synclavier, he created
Jazz From Hell, an all-instrumental collection of tracks
ranging from Stockhausen influences to performances bordering on
rock music. But if this disc proved anything, it showed that Zappa
needed a live band behind him desparately, if only to provide the
music with a hint of humanity.
The album opens up well enough with “Night School,” a track that
almost sounds like something that could have come from the mind of
Mike Post, and would have fit in well as the opening music for some
television cop show. (That’s not meant as an insult, by the way.)
“Night School” is an exciting piece of music, if not a little too
electronic, but has enough power and craftsmanship to make the
listener believe that this Synclavier experiment could actually
work.
Likewise, “G-Spot Tornado” later on is a flurry of excitement,
though this one shows a few clinks in the armor, as live musicians
(especially maybe recruiting someone like L. Shankar for the main
riff) could have made this piece come alive. Still, this version is
exciting enough to keep the listener coming back to it for more and
more.
If only the rest of
Jaz From Hell had the same lofty aspirations. Tracks like
“The Beltway Bandits” and “While You Were Art II” are soulless,
meandering numbers that make it seem like Zappa is trying to
re-create past glories, say from the
Uncle Meat-period of his career, but with little success.
While one could argue that these numbers fit in with a lot of the
pseudo-classical work Zappa had been producing around that time, it
doesn’t make them any more interesting to listen to. Likewise, the
one instance of any type of vocals, on “Massaggio Galore,” sounds
incredibly out of place and should have been left on the digital
cutting room floor.
The only performance by live musicians, “St. Etienne,” is proof
positive of why Zappa needed actual bodies behind him playing his
music. Not surprisingly, it is the only natural-sounding track on
the disc, but it is also the only one that really sees Zappa come
to life. I don’t believe I’ve ever heard a finer guitar solo from
Zappa than on this track – and if Zappa truly was bored with rock
music, then no one ever made being bored sound so beautiful.
Jazz From Hell is not the kind of disc that one can fully
appreciate on a cursory listen, but even the most stalwart fans of
Zappa have to admit that, while there are some great performances
on this disc, Zappa as the electronic mastermind is not nearly as
interesting as Zappa the bandleader.
2005 Christopher Thelen and “The Daily Vault.” All rights
reserved. Review or any portion may not be reproduced without
written permission. Cover art is the intellectual property of the
Zappa Family Trust / record label, and is used for informational
purposes only.