Three fine examples of Zappa's writing for orchestra - in this case chamber orchestra, as Pierre Boulez in preparatory correspondence advised that he had Ensemble InterContemporain most closely to hand. The Perfect Stranger (the album) is filled out by 14 minutes of Synclavier music (the "Barking Pumpkin Digital Gratification Consort" is simply Zappa at his new favourite instrument).
In the longest ensemble piece and title track, the liner notes explain that "A door-to-door salesman, accompanied by his faithful gypsy-mutant industrial vacuum cleaner cavorts licentiously with a slovenly housewife." A recent live version, conducted by Ivan Volkov, is in the links list below. The other two Boulez/InterContemporain renditions are Naval Aviation In Art?, first attempted at the 1975 Royce Hall concerts, and an arrangement of the live-improv vehicle Dupree's Paradise (see YCDTOSA 2 for a nice meandering band example).
On the Synclavier, Zappa gives us the twinkling atonality of The Girl In The Magnesium Dress; the Joe's Garage track re-arrangement Outside Now Again; the minute-long note-bending exercise Love Story, and the suitably ominous Jonestown. He'd later remaster the album in a new mix, different running order and with noticeably different Synclavier instrumentation on Magnesium Dress - this first-pressing CD matches the original vinyl.
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Frank Zappa at SGTG:
