*** Frank Zappa

STRICTLY GENTEEL

(Rykodisc)

The idea behind Ryko's latest conceptual compilation of previously released material ("a `classical' introduction") is actually pretty good, gathering examples of the composer's non-guitar-driven instrumental music, from as far back as Uncle Meat to the later extended compositions like The Yellow Shark. So the early bits, which often seemed like cryptic breathers between the jokes, are revealed to be part of an ongoing orchestral/arrangement strategy while the later, daunting epics are served up in well-chosen, bite-sized excerpts.

The signature mood of Zappa the composer was restlessness; textures shifted rapidly and favored sounds included skittering xylophones, harpsichordal acoustic guitars, and caffeinated percussion. Some of the pieces here are simply songs, e.g., "Little Umbrellas" from Rats, or the title cut, an ostentatiously overarranged pop ballad. Others are brashly avant-garde. Too self-consciously brash for some tastes -- there was always more than a little showmanship in the way Zappa shuffled the post-Romantic vocabulary. But then, all the great composers have been out to wow the audience and/or God, and why should Frank Zappa be any exception?

-- Richard C. Walls