New Ensemble Modern Release

[vrnzr]

Hey folks,
does anybody have a copy of the latest Ensemble Modern release: E.M. plays Frank Zappa - Greggary Peccary & Other Persuasions with Dental Hygiene Dilemna on ? The one I found today  in a large Multimedia Store in a major Belgian city (must I be more specific ?? ) doesn't.
So, does anybody know if initially there have been officially released copies with 11 tracks on, and in later pressings modified to 10 ??

So far, information in the internet on that topic seems to be conflicting:
On G&S Music this CD is being advertised now with 10 tracks as seen on my copy. In earlier times (Dec-Jan) their pre-release info mentioned 11 tracks.
However, amazon.de and ensemblemodern.com still advertise that album with all 11 tracks.
So, maybe, if you have got your hands on an 11-track-copy consider yourself lucky, it might become a rarity. Maybe you want to share your knowledge as to how you got it.

Actually, this reminds me a few years back in the early Nineties, when Zappa Records UK shamelessly sold copies of The Best Band You Never Heard in Your Life (without Bolero) and Make a Jazz Noise Here (without Stravinsky & Bartok), making unsuspecting customers believe they had the complete thing in their hands. Luckily the 1995 RYKO releases were complete again.

Any such practice by the Record Industry and/or whoever is involved just pisses me off !!!
My teeth and I want Dental Hygiene Dilemna back on the album !! Wouldn't you ??

[Bálint]

Hi!

I'm really curious about that question!

I only know one ('!) person, who owns the disc, but didn't meet him lately.
I have a few radio-recordings with almost the same material, but I'm really curious about the disc.

Is it available at all somewhere? I asked quite few guys and shop here and abroad, but no one even heard of it. Except that one guy I mentioned - he ordered by mail.

[Bálint]

anyway, I wrote it to someone earlier:

"A friend just told me he managed to get the "Greggary" CD; I still don't know how to get it myself; he ordered it from idonnowho, it was really expensive. But earlier I managed to download a few concerts with the Ensemble playing Zappa in 1997 and in 2000. Almost the same program that's on this CD.

The guy wrote, that he has mixed feelings about it at the moment. He set up 3 categories:
1. Really good! These are: Moggio, What will Rumi do, Pig with wings.
2. Nothing special: ...Low budget Orchestra, ...Greggery Peccery. Nothing special added, so if we have the original, then why listen to this?; (My opinion (MB): I'm really curious about the Greggarious mini-play, I can't imagine it WITHOUT Zappa. Sometimes the Ensemble seems too SERIOUS to me; The original Greggary is funny, colourful, lively; Well, well, we'll see.)
3. Shouldn't have done: Peaches En Regalia, Put a motor...; They play them accurately, but something is missing. Peaches is for "rock" orchestration, but this way it's strange. (my opinion: I have "Put A Motor..."; in a live version, it's not that bad, i think).

I think Night School can also be good.

But finally he says its a MUST HAVE.
The only question is: how?.. :-)"

[Frippe]

Hi,

I ordered my copy from http://www.gandsmusic.com/, they deliver fast and are very reliable. Or you can try Amazon UK.

There are only 10 tracks on the cover but there is a hidden track 30 seconds after Greggery Peccary,  "Does This Kind Of Life Look Interesting To You?"

Greggery Peccary sounds a little strange without FZ but David Moss and Omar Ebrahim does a good job with the vocals.

EM plays great and I definately rate this CD as a "must have".

// Frippe

[Bálint]

"David Moss and Omar Ebrahim does a good job with the vocals"

Really? I'm happy to hear that. I swa David Moss last year in another productio, and he seemt to be nothing less than a really crazy person. That (He) was one of my greatest fear about this CD - but you sayhe's good. Great!

[vrnzr]

Hey Guys,

I think Frippe's mention about the hidden track on that album helped me a lot in trying to solve this question about 10 or 11 tracks. Thanks, Frippe. Maybe that explains the conflicting informations on the different websites about the presence or not of Dental Hygiene Dilemma.
"Does This Kind Of Life Look Interesting To You?" is indeed part of Dental Hygiene Dilemma.
That's what I must have overheard on the radio programme for a few bars during sign off after they had aired the full Greggary Peccary epos. That was back in January.
Can you imagine ? A radio station playing the full Adventures of Greggary Peccary... Only in Belgium !! (Flanders, to be more specific...)

And I agree, the CD is a must have (once you know you got the definitive version on your hands).

[Bálint]

Hello

Question: it's not really clear to me: IS THERE two version, or it was only a misunderstanding because of the hidden track?

[vrnzr]

OK, I finally had to buy the Ensemble Modern CD myself, even if it's only the 10 tracks plus the hidden track mentioned by Frippe. Let me point out again that I didn't mean to assert the actual existence of a "full" 11-track-version of this same CD. So far I have never actually seen one. The only information leading me to believe such version could exist comes from checking these sites:

http://www.ensemblemodern.com/english/sindex.htm

http://www.amazon.de/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0000DBK6P/qid%3D1078653110/028-8401749-5271747


On the other hand two other sites advertise the CD as i got it (with 10 tracks):

http://www.gandsmusic.com/Ensemble%20Modern.htm

http://www.amazon.com .

amazon-UK, amazon-FR and amazon-CA still don't carry this item.
I'm not sure about amazon-HU...  

Anyway, it's a great album. I would call it a heavy contender for the award "Zappa Album of the Year" 2004. And I agree, it takes to get used to listen to Greggery Peccary without FZ's voice. Something's really missing here. But the orchestral parts sound great. And I love the Steno Pool section with Ali N.Askin's voice(s). He sure did a terrific job there. In favour of David Moss and Omar Ebrahim I would like to point out that the Dental Hygiene Dilemma Dialogue (parts of it in the hidden track) suits them perfectly, much better than in Greggery Peccary. Maybe there's some potential for an interesting 200 Motels project in the future...

[Bálint]

200 Motels project in the future...

Uhhhhh! :-)

(by the way, I'm working on gettind the CD here in Hungary, someone just gave me the address of an online shop...)

Thanks for the infos, and if you (anyone) feel like telling details about the separate songs as well, just go ahead! :-)

[Bálint]

Tschüs everybody!

Ich kann nicht deutsch sprechen, aber ein freundin hift mir translating an article about the Ensemble Modern release - this is it:

http://www.ensemble-modern.com/deutsch/kritiken/archiv/k-zappa_greggery.htm

Can anyone please tell me what the title means?...

*

Fünfhundert Dateien


The transtation is ready, but we couldn't find out what the title can be....
Kannst du mir hilfen?

Danke:

Ungarish

:-)

[vrnzr]

Can anyone please tell me what the title means?...

*

Fünfhundert Dateien

I don't know what it means in Ungarish, but in English it means

Five Hundred Files

and it seems to refer to the synclavier files.

[Bálint]

"Five hundred files
five hundred files
you can hear the whistle blow:
five hundred files..."

Yes, I see! So "dataien" is "files"! Great! I remember now FZ mentioning in an interview that he had aproxx 500 synclavier pieces that he worked on at the moment.

Thanks!!!!

B

[QuinstonTMarsupial]

Hey folks,
does anybody have a copy of the latest Ensemble Modern release: E.M. plays Frank Zappa - Greggary Peccary & Other Persuasions?

I recently bought E.M. plays Frank Zappa  - Greggary Peccary & Other Persuasions at a record store in Los Angeles called Amoeba Music.  It's very cool.  What an amazing bunch of musicians the Ensemble are.  And what a job Ali Askin, Todd Yvega, and Hermann Kretzschmar did in transcribing and making available the individual parts to play-whew!  Wish the EM would come to LA sometime and perform...

The CD lists 10 tracks total.  But indeed, there IS a hidden 11th one (a piece from 200 Motels) which comes 30 seconds after the end of track 10, Greggery Peccary.  Just let it play out and you'll find it there.

I don't know about the rest of the USA but if you're in California (specifically Berkeley, San Francisco, or Hollywood) check out Amoeba Music as they have stores there.  (In terms of the sheer number of titles, the one in Hollywood may be the biggest used record store on the planet.  No fooling.  And folks who've been there know what I'm talking about!)  Anyway, you can order the CD from them but you'd have to pick it up in person as they don't ship.  http://amoebamusic.com/  

Happy shopping,
-QTM