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Man With Hat View Drop Down
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Joined: March 12 2005
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Points: 166183 		Direct Link To This Post Topic: Thing-Fish
    Posted: May 30 2005 at 13:38

I would like your opinions on this work. I've been a Zappa fan for a while now, and am thinking of purchasing it. Is it worth my hard earned money? It was recommened to me, but there really isn't alot about this album out there (at least i can't find it).

Thanks for the help.
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Points: 762 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 30 2005 at 14:03
I have every Zappa album, and I would comfortably put Thing Fish in the top five of his worst albums. A lot of the tracks are just old songs with 'Thing-Fish' vocals added. The story is a bit weak too (A sort of AIDS allegory). There a few good tracks, but I doubt I have played it more than three times all the way through in 20 years. File alongside 'Francesco Zappa', 'Just Another Band From LA', 'Man From Utopia' and 'Playground Psychotics'
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Points: 57 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 30 2005 at 16:41
He has great fashion, especially on this record.  I would buy it for his trousers alone.
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Points: 166183 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 30 2005 at 19:26

Originally posted by Richardw Richardw wrote:

I have every Zappa album, and I would comfortably put Thing Fish in the top five of his worst albums. A lot of the tracks are just old songs with 'Thing-Fish' vocals added. The story is a bit weak too (A sort of AIDS allegory). There a few good tracks, but I doubt I have played it more than three times all the way through in 20 years. File alongside 'Francesco Zappa', 'Just Another Band From LA', 'Man From Utopia' and 'Playground Psychotics'

Yeah, i heard that about the songs. But, the man who informed me to get this album, said that dispite that fact, it is still worthy. He claims it's original (i assume concept wise), funny, and unique. Is this true?
Dig me...But don't...Bury me
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Warning: Listening to jazz excessively can cause a laxative effect.
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Points: 762 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 31 2005 at 04:56
The storyline is definitely different (people turning into potato headed creatures with duck lips), but as with all such 'comedic' albums, it becomes a little tiresome after repeated listening. It's impossible to judge other peoples likes and dislikes, so you may like it, I don't know. That said, as I said before it's not one of my favourites.
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Points: 7003 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 31 2005 at 08:05

^^^^^

Agreed - Zappa had some good ideas on Thing Fish (some of the songs crop up on YCDTOSA, and seemed to work pretty well live) but there were too many bad versions of good songs such as The Torch'Um Never Stops, and the bizarre slang he created for Ike and Ray sounds tiresome and contrived after the first couple of listens. Hear it if you can, but it's not worth paying full price for. The bizarre semi pornographic packaging is probably the most original aspect of the whole thing.
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Points: 14693 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 01 2005 at 03:21
It is a curious mixture of 'greatest hits' and vaudeville (Zappa originally wanted to make TF a full-blown stage production); it's worth a listen, but it's one of the few Zappa albums I own that I've not replaced on CD - funny at first, but wearing after a while.

Jon Lord 1941 - 2012
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Points: 21554 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 01 2005 at 06:03
I'd recommend Joe's Garage instead, if you don't have that one already. Joe's Garage is THE awesome Zappa concept album.
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Points: 21554 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 01 2005 at 06:05

Originally posted by Richardw Richardw wrote:

I have every Zappa album, and I would comfortably put Thing Fish in the top five of his worst albums. [...] File alongside 'Francesco Zappa', 'Just Another Band From LA', 'Man From Utopia' and 'Playground Psychotics'

I'd buy Just Another Band From LA for the 20 minute Billy the Mountain story alone, but I agree on everything else.
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