Dance Me This, an album Frank Zappa was working on before his death in December 1993, has become his 100th release — bringing to a close the legacy of this visionary musician that began in 1966 with Freak Out from the Mothers of Invention.
The title track on Dance Me This starts the album, and is a structured piece, filled with sound from the bass, voice-box and keys. It gradually builds, creating a flowing line of sound which abruptly ceases. “Pachuco Gavotte” is a light and bouncy number with off-beat rhythms and percussion added on the down beats, creating a lovely bouncy trippy number. It has the atmosphere of a fairground, whilst at the same time incorporating some of those odd mesmeric rhythms Frank Zappa was renowned for.
The major portion of Dance Me This, issued this month via Zappa Records, is taken up with five movements of the early, Synclavier-heavy “Wolf Harbor,” an intense piece with atmospheric variations. There is a respectful nod to the avant-garde movement proper in the fading bars, with the Synclavier holding a solitary note whilst other sounds weave around it.
Frank Zappa then develops the themes through “Wolf Harbor II” with an almost excessive use of wooden percussion and timpanic percussion. The drums offer the listener rhythmic references right the way through. “Wolf Harbor III” continues to develop the themes, adding watery sounds, drifting wails and bells, while “Wolf Harbor IV” is more percussive and the most relentlessly driving part of the piece. Finally, “Wolf Harbor V” takes the atmosphere down several notches.
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