Thing-Fish
Thing-Fish | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | December 21, 1984 | |||
Recorded | 1976, 1980-1983 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 90:58 | |||
Label | Barking Pumpkin | |||
Producer | Frank Zappa | |||
Frank Zappa chronology | ||||
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Thing-Fish is an album by Frank Zappa, originally released as a triple album box set on Barking Pumpkin Records in 1984. It was billed as a cast recording for a proposed musical of the same name, which was ultimately not produced by Zappa, but later performed partially in 2003, ten years after his death.
The album's storyline is inspired by
The story was constructed during the recording sessions, which included producing new
Background
Before leaving for London to record with the
The script was developed by recording songs beforehand; much of the songs in the play were previously recorded for other albums, including
Zappa attempted to produce Thing-Fish as a Broadway production.[1] In promotion of the planned musical, a photo sequence based upon the "Briefcase Boogie" scene was shot for the pornographic magazine Hustler, accompanied by plot excerpts from the scene.[5] The sequence was 28 pages long.[6] While the album was released, Zappa was unable to raise the $5 million budget in order to produce the play, and shelved the project.[1] Subsequently, Thing-Fish dialogue appeared on the album Frank Zappa Meets the Mothers of Prevention, during the piece "Porn Wars".[7] The album was adapted for a limited stage production that took place in England in 2003. Many elaborate details were changed due to the small scale of the production.[8]
Style and influences
Lyrics and story themes
"The simple thought behind Thing-Fish is that somebody manufactured a disease called AIDS and they tested it. They were developing it as a weapon and they tested it on convicts, the same way as they used to do experiments on black inmates, using syphilis. That's documented. They used to do these experiments with syphilis on black inmates in US prisons. That's fact. So we take it one step further and they're concocting the special disease which is genetically specific to get rid of 'all highly rhythmic individuals and sissy boys.' So I postulate that they do this test in a prison and part of the test backfires and these mutants are created."[3]
- Frank Zappa
The Thing-Fish characterization was performed by
Thing-Fish is delivered as a
Music and performance
The prologue is delivered as a spoken monologue over an instrumental piece with a heavy rock guitar riff.[10] It is followed by the song "The Mammy Nuns", which originated as a hard rock instrumental, which appears in a live recording as "The Mammy Anthem" on You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 1, and opened performances in June and July 1982.[9] "Galoot Up-Date" is an altered version of the recording "The Blue Light", which appeared on Zappa's album Tinseltown Rebellion.[11] As Harry and Rhonda express admiration for the "performance" of the Evil Prince, an early version of Zappa's Synclavier composition "Amnerika" is heard.[12] "Clowns on Velvet" was performed live as a "spirited, playful instrumental".[13] A recording of the instrumental version featuring guitarist Al Di Meola was planned for release on the album Tinseltown Rebellion, but Di Meola refused its release.[13]
Johnny "Guitar" Watson, appearing as the character Brown Moses, delivered running commentary in the song "He's So Gay",[14] and sang the song "Brown Moses", which was influenced by soul and gospel music.[15] The play's first act is concluded with "Artificial Rhonda", a rewrite of the song "Ms. Pinky", which appeared on Zoot Allures.[16]
The next track begins with early Synclavier music by Zappa, and the computerized voice of "The Crab-Grass Baby",
Release
The Thing-Fish album was identified as an "original cast recording". Barking Pumpkin Records prepared to release the album with distribution by MCA Records.[1][20] MCA produced a test pressing of the triple LP set, but withdrew their distribution after a woman in their quality control department became offended and upset by the album's content.[1][20]
A deal was quickly made with
The original vinyl mix of Thing-Fish was only briefly available on CD via a 1987 EMI release in the United Kingdom. All other CD releases contain modifications, edits, re-equalization, and some minor remixing (the most significant difference—Johnny "Guitar" Watson's commentary during "He's So Gay"—was not implemented immediately). This new version was initially released on CD by Rykodisc, and along with most of Zappa's catalogue was reissued in 1995, also by Rykodisc.
In 2012, after the Zappa Family Trust had regained the rights to Zappa's catalogue,
Reception
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [4] |
Thing-Fish was poorly received by critics upon initial release; a common thread of criticism was that many of the songs on this album derived from previously released recordings, and some detractors considered it to be nothing more than a compilation album.[4] Barry Miles found it to be one of his "least substantive" works.[1]
More recently the album has been reappraised, described by
Track listing
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Prologue" | 2:56 |
2. | "The Mammy Nuns" | 3:50 |
3. | "Harry & Rhonda" | 3:36 |
4. | "Galoot Up-Date" | 5:29 |
Total length: | 15:51 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "The 'Torchum' Never Stops" | 10:32 |
2. | "That Evil Prince" | 1:17 |
3. | "You Are What You Is" | 4:31 |
Total length: | 16:20 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Mudd Club" | 3:17 |
2. | "The Meek Shall Inherit Nothing" | 3:14 |
3. | "Clowns on Velvet" | 1:38 |
4. | "Harry-As-a-Boy" | 2:51 |
5. | "He's So Gay" | 2:48 |
Total length: | 13:48 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "The Massive Improve'lence" | 5:07 |
2. | "Artificial Rhonda" | 3:30 |
3. | "The Crab-Grass Baby" | 3:48 |
4. | "The White Boy Troubles" | 3:35 |
Total length: | 16:00 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "No Not Now" | 5:50 |
2. | "Briefcase Boogie" | 4:10 |
3. | "Brown Moses" | 3:02 |
Total length: | 13:02 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Wistful Wit a Fist-Full" | 3:53 |
2. | "Drop Dead" | 7:56 |
3. | "Won Ton On" | 4:20 |
Total length: | 16:09 |
- The 1995 CD release has sides one to three and side four tracks 1 & 2 on CD 1, and side four tracks 3 & 4 and sides five and six on CD 2.
Personnel
- Cast
- Ike Willis — Thing-Fish
- Terry Bozzio — Harry
- Dale Bozzio — Rhonda
- Napoleon Murphy Brock — The Evil Prince
- Bob Harris — Harry-As-A-Boy
- Johnny "Guitar" Watson — Brown Moses
- Ray White — Owl-Gonkwin-Jane Cowhoon
- Credits
- Frank Zappa - Book & lyrics, music, arrangements, direction of characterizations and album production
- Mark Pinske & Bob Stone - Recording engineers
- Mark Pinske - Engineering mixer
- Ladi Von Jansky - Cover Photo
- Jene Omens - Prosthetics of "THING-FISH" & "SISTER OB'DEWLLA 'X"
- Robert Fletcher - Costumes
- The Musicians
- Frank Zappa - guitar, synclavier
- Steve Vai - guitar
- Ray White - guitar
- Tommy Mars - keyboards
- Chuck Wild - broadway piano
- Arthur Barrow - bass
- Scott Thunes - bass
- Jay Anderson - string bass
- percussion
- Chad Wackerman - drums
- Steve De Furia - synclavier programming
- David Ocker - synclavier programming
- Uncredited Musicians
- Bob Harris - keyboards & trumpet on "Galoot Up-Date", backing vocals on "No Not Now" and "Won Ton On"
- Motorhead Sherwood- trumpet on "Mudd Club"
- Denny Walley - slide guitar on "The Meek Shall Inherit Nothing"
- Bobby Martin - saxophone & keyboards on "Clowns on Velvet"
- Roy Estrada - backing vocals on "Artificial Rhonda", "No Not Now" and "Won Ton On"
- Don Van Vliet- harmonica on "Artificial Rhonda"
- Ruth Underwood - synthesizer on "Artificial Rhonda"
References
- ^ ISBN 978-0-8021-4215-3. Retrieved July 22, 2013.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-8032-6005-4. Retrieved July 22, 2013.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-85712-043-4. Retrieved July 22, 2013.
- ^ a b c d "allmusic ((( Thing-Fish > Overview )))". www.allmusic.com. Retrieved 2009-12-23.
- ISBN 978-1-85828-457-6. Retrieved July 22, 2013.
- ISBN 978-1-932595-13-0. Retrieved July 22, 2013.
- ISSN 0886-3032. Retrieved July 22, 2013.
- ^ Thing-Fish – The Return of Frank Zappa, The British Theatre Guide, archived from the original on 2008-01-15, retrieved 2012-02-18. Retrieved on December 11, 2007.
- ^ a b The Mammy Nuns | AllMusic
- ^ Prologue | AllMusic
- ^ Galoot Up-Date | AllMusic
- ^ That Evil Prince | AllMusic
- ^ a b Clowns on Velvet | AllMusic
- ^ He's So Gay | AllMusic
- ^ Brown Moses | AllMusic
- ^ Artificial Rhonda | AllMusic
- ^ The Crab-Grass Baby | AllMusic
- ^ The White Boy Troubles | AllMusic
- ^ Wistful Wit a Fist-Full | AllMusic
- ^ ISBN 0-671-63870-X.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - ISBN 9781550224474. Retrieved July 22, 2013.
- ^ Carr, Paul; Hand, Richard J. (2007), "Frank Zappa and musical theatre: ugly ugly o'phan Annie and really deep, intense, thought-provoking Broadway symbolism", Studies in Musical Theatre, 1 (1): 44–51, ] Full article available by free login only. Retrieved on July 28, 2008.