Synclavier

Frank Zappa - Boulez Conducts Zappa: The Perfect Stranger (1984) {Zappa Records UE Edition 0238692 rel 2012}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 175 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 88 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 128 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1984, 2012 Zappa Records / Universal Music / ZFT | 0238692 / ZR 3869
Classical / Avant-Garde / Modern Composition / Orchestral / Synclavier

Official Release #39. Having recorded some works with a large orchestra in January 1983, in January 1984, Frank Zappa arranged for some of his chamber works to be performed by Pierre Boulez's Ensemble InterContemporain, a 16-piece group. "The Perfect Stranger," "Naval Aviation In Art?," and "Dupree's Paradise" were given this treatment, and the four remaining tracks are the product of Zappa's music synthesizer, the Synclavier. As usual, Zappa's "serious" works are rhythmically interesting and make for challenging listening.

Frank Zappa - Dance Me This (2015) {Zappa Records ZR 20018}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 246 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 114 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 344 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2015 Zappa Records / ZFT | ZR 20018
Rock / Experimental Rock / Avant-Garde / Jazz Rock / Synclavier

Official Release #100. The LAST album by Frank Zappa. The last album that guitarist Frank Zappa worked on prior to his death in December 1993 will finally be released this June. Titled Dance Me This, the LP is considered the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer's 100th and final official release, ending a legacy that began with the Mothers of Invention's landmark 1966 album Freak Out! In talking to Guitar Magazine prior to his death at the age of 52, Zappa described his final LP as "a Synclavier album called Dance Me This, which is designed to be used by modern dance groups. It's probably not going to come out until next year," the Guardian reports. The album was ultimately shelved indefinitely, and while a steady stream of posthumous releases and reissues have satisfied Zappa fans in the following decades, Dance Me This was all but forgotten until Zappa's widow Gail Zappa began hinting at the final album's eventual arrival in 2011.

Mahavishnu is an album by the Mahavishnu Orchestra, released in 1984 by Warner Bros. Records. During the 1980s, John McLaughlin reformed the Mahavishnu Orchestra for release of the two albums Mahavishnu and Adventures in Radioland. This band's overall sound was radically different from the original Mahavishnu Orchestra, in particular because of McLaughlin's extensive use of the Synclavier synthesiser system.

Best known for his stint fronting art pop hitmakers Supertramp, Roger Hodgson was born in Portsmouth, England, on March 21, 1950. While growing up in Oxford, Hodgson started playing guitar before he was a teenager, and was soon writing songs while at boarding school…

Frank Zappa Meets the Mothers of Prevention is a transitional album that sees Zappa turning away from rock and putting more time into his Synclavier compositions. This is a year away from the computer-only (minus one live track) Jazz From Hell…

In 1989, Steps Ahead consisted of Mike Mainieri on MIDI vibraharp, synclavier and acoustic piano, the young saxophonist Bendik doubling on keyboards, guitarist Steve Kahn, Tony Levin on electric bass and Chapman stick, and drummer Steve Smith. The powerful band did not have a great deal of subtlety by this era, but it helped to keep the much-maligned genre of fusion alive, mixing the sound of rock with jazz improvising.

Frank Zappa - Frank Zappa For President (2016) {Zappa Records ZR 20021}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 255 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 102 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 170 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2016 Zappa Records / The Zappa Family Trust / Universal | ZR 20021 / 00824302002223
Rock / Experimental Rock / Avant-Garde / Art Rock / Jazz Rock

Official Release #105. All Masters Produced by Frank Zappa. Frank Zappa For President? You betcha! We know at various times he wanted to run for office. In the spirit of the 2016 dramatic presidential election adventures, comes a release that gives us a glimpse into what could have been. This album is comprised of unreleased compositions realized on the Synclavier along with other relevant tracks mined from the Vault with a political thread tying it all together. Don't forget to Register and Vote!

A strong follow-up to Mariah Carey's self-titled debut album, Emotions puts to rest any concern of a "sophomore slump." The same mix of dance/R&B/ballads that gave Carey's debut such tremendous auditory appeal can be found with equal strength on this release, indicating that placing firm belief in the notion of "Why fool with success?" may, in fact, have its merits. Most notably, the gospel influences of "If It's Over" (with music co-written by Carole King), the yearning cries for a lost love in "Can't Let Go," and the catchy, upbeat title track all serve to send the listener on a musical journey filled with varying emotions. However, the one emotion that prevails upon completion of the album is definitely a positive one: satisfaction.