Frank Zappa London Symphony Orchestra Vol. 1 & 2 CD

LONDON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA VOL. 1 & 2 features instrumental pieces arranged by Zappa for an orchestra.
Personnel: David Ocker (clarinet); Chad Wackerman (drums); Ed Mann (percussion).
The London Symphony Orchestra includes: Kent Nagano (conductor); Ashley Arbuckle (concert master, violin); Lennox Mackenzie, Michael Humphrey (violin); Alexander Taylor, Brian Clarke (viola); Douglas Cummings, Rod McGrath (cello); Renata Scheffel-Stein (harp); Paul Davies, Frank Nolan (flute, piccolo); Barry Davis (oboe); Roy Jowitt (clarinet); Robert Bourton (bassoon); James Brown, Terence Johns (horn); Malcolm Smith (trumpet, flugelhorn); Eric Crees, Roger Groves (trombone); Stephen Wick (tuba); Robert Noble (piano, celeste); Bruce Mollison, Paul Marrion (bass); Kurt-Hans Goedicke (timpani); Michael Frye, Ray Northcott (percussion).
Recorded on January 12-14, 1983. Originally released as 2 separate LPs. Includes original release liner notes by Frank Zappa.
When Frank Zappa teamed up with renowned conductor Kent Nagano and the London Symphony Orchestra for three days in January 1983, he was expecting to walk away with a set of stellar performances of some of his most challenging contemporary classical pieces, as done by one of the world's top symphonic ensembles. What he got instead were bad attitudes, terrible work habits, unforgiving union stipulations and a hard lesson in preconceived notions -- showing him that working with unschooled but enthusiastic rock musicians also had its advantages, and giving rise to his well-documented love/hate (mostly hate) relationship with symphony orchestras thereafter. According to Zappa, the LSO crew were hardly expecting a hard day's toil from the works of a `rocker,' resulting in so many screw-ups that much of the material had to be heavily edited after the fact in the studio. This 1995 edition combines the two London Symphony Orchestra volumes released on vinyl in the mid-80's into a single 2-CD set, even re-sequencing the material to reflect Frank Zappa's original, idealized performance order -- all of it made possible by the wonders of compact disc technology. Therefore, for fans of Zappa's so called `serious' music (i.e. not rock-based), London Symphony Orchestra Vol. I & II offers both premier ("Sad Jane," "Bob in Dacron") and re-arranged compositions taken from his massive past oeuvre ("Pedro's Dowry," "Bogus Pomp"). Though not as fulfilling as 1993's fantastic The Yellow Shark, this set will still has plenty going for it in the eyes of committed fans. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia
To the uninitiated, Frank Zappa was known primarily as an unpredictable, hard-to-categorize, twisted rock genius. But to his loyal legion of fans worldwide, he is much more. Not many realize that Zappa was a talented composer and arranger of symphonic music as well, as evidenced on such releases as 1979's ORCHESTRAL FAVORITES, and especially LONDON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA VOL. 1 & 2.
Conducted by Kent Nagano and recorded in 1983, the album features the world-famous London Symphony Orchestra performing eleven Zappa compositions. Since the music was very technically demanding, Frank had to painstakingly edit the recordings until the performances met his high standards. But listening back to such flawless tracks as "Mo 'N Herb's Vacation" and "Sad Jane" today, all of Zappa's hard work definitely paid off. Also included are a pair of bona-fide Zappa classics--"Envelopes" and "Strictly Genteel," as well as "Pedro's Dowry," "Bogus Pomp," and "Bob In Dacron." LONDON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA VOL. 1 & 2 proves that there was no musical form Frank Zappa could not master.Down Beat - Highly Recommended
Mojo (Publisher) (7/95, p.102) - "...fine moments: 'Bogus Pomp' cleverly parodies film music cliches, and the wonderful 'Strictly Genteel' would jolly up a Prom no end..."