CIVILIZATION PHAZE III

If you are just a casual Frank Zappa fan, be warned. This album is not like anything else in his catalog. Sure, it has voices recorded from inside of a piano, like on "Lumpy Gravy", even some voices from that recording session. And there is Synclavier like on "Jazz From Hell". So while there is a tenuous resemblance to those two albums, the music is entirely unique. There is no rock music on the album whatsoever. it is all an acoustic and electronic blend of Zappa's classical music compositional style, with a nod to many of the late master's idols, like Varese, Stravinsky and Messaien.

Despite the lack of traditional structure in every piece, there is an amazing sort of cohesiveness that makes it impossible to stop listening. In this, Zappa proves once and for all that he was one of the musical geniuses of the twentieth century.