Frank Zappa has to have been one of the busiest composers in the world. Probably among the most innovative as well. ‘Jazz from hell’ is an all out instrumental recording that won a Grammy 1988 for best rock instrumental performance.

This album was almost entirely created with the help of a now ancient system called Synclavier. In the heydays - priced at close to half a million dollars - the Synclavier was a high-end sampler and synthesizer. Zappa obviously loved this thing and managed to squeeze out quite a few interesting sounds from it. In true Zappa manner there are a lot of odd sounds coming and going everywhere and you’re not entirely sure about what’s actually going on in the songs. If you want to hear Zappa shredding guitar then you should look elsewhere. With the exception of ‘St. Etienne’ this album is guitar-shred-free.

I kind of miss Franks taboo lyrics and strange do wop influence, but ‘Jazz from hell’ is an OK album. It’s odd, sounds like nothing I’ve ever heard and has a lot of fun sounds. It’s definitely not easy to listen to, catchy or pop. Just some odd shit that you like sometimes and want to throw out the window at other times.