Frank for years tried to get his compositions played by either a rock band, or played by orchestras. Sometimes the rock bands came through for him (see 'Drowning Witch', or any of the 'You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore' live collections) and sometimes they didn't. Up to the point of this release (86) FZ had nothing but tribulations with orchestras, and from what I understand, they were expensive tribulations.

Hence the synclavier. A machine that sorta works on the same premise as one of those old fashioned piano's that had a wheel in the middle of it, and it played by itself... you just wound it up... Anyway, FZ took to being able to write any time signature into this computer machine, not only did it play it, but it would print the music as well. FZ, as I understand it, was in heaven. And why woudn't he be?

Yes, this music on JFH misses the 'human element', and it sometimes dwells into time signatures so unfamiliar (even to Frank Aappa fans) that it causes ones head to spin. I remember when I first bought it, I had no idea what the heck was going on. I did know that I liked it.

Steve Vai, former alumnis, says that this FZ recording is his total favorite, and 'he never travels anywhere without it.'

I totally agree. This is a fantastic piece of construction much in the same way Ensemble Modern was later on with 'YELLOW SHARK'.

You won't be disapointed, but you might be suprized.

A masterpiece from Zappa, his use of the synclavier music computer is brilliant, one of the most interesting electronic music of the century. The album is full of interesting harmonies and sophisticated melodies and Zappas sense of polyrhythms is pure genius.

There is also one guitar solo on the c.d. i'm a big fan of electric guitar solos and in my opinion this is the best guitar solo by anyone, anywhere. The guitar solo is just packed full of one beautifull melodic line after another, the jazz may be from hell but this guitar solo is obviously made in heaven.

If you only like the comedy/rock side of Zappa this album may not be your cup of tea but for anyone interested in higly unusual, original musical brilliance they should check this one out.

Other albums by Zappa with synclavier music are "the mothers of prevention" and "civilisation phase III", both exellent. And you might want to check out another genious with a music machine, one who influenced Zappa, Conlon Nancarrows player piano studies,really interesting music, highly recomended. MUSIC IS THE BEST.

In contrast with nearly all of his Sixties & Seventies musical contemporaries, Frank Zappa's music was increasingly adventurous and provocative during the antiseptic Eighties. I must admit that I find his earlier work to be more interesting, but Jazz From Hell is a masterpiece by any standard.

"La Machine," as Zappa called it, sounds pretty dated, but such is the quality of these compositions, that it really doesn't matter. While You Were Art, Jazz From Hell, & The Beltway Bandits all sound brilliantly twisted. Just imagine The Eric Dolphy Memorial Barbecue performed by Devo and you'll get a sense of what these pieces sound like.

St. Etienne is the token organic piece, and very well-played it is too. Massaggio Galore is the obligatory "dirty" track, but it seems to be the most dated of all. G-Spot Tornado is a frantic whirlwind of a masterpiece. You should check out the Yellow Shark version: yes, this music can actually be played by human beings!

Frank Zappa has said that one of the problems of having his works performed by human beings is that humans are fallible, and make mistakes. So here is an album featuring Zappa's music played by a machine, so that the pitch and timing of every note is exact to within a 41,000th of a second. All I could think of while listening to this CD was, can you imagine walking around with music like this playing in your head ALL THE TIME? It really gives you insight as to how huge Frank's brain was. This CD is, as I said, not for everyone. But I liked it so much that I named my first CD after it.

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.