200 Motels: Original MGM Motion Picture Soundtrack [Enhanced CD]

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Original Soundtracks » 200 Motels: Original MGM Motion Picture Soundtrack [Enhanced CD]
200 Motels: Original MGM [Enhanced CD]
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  1. Audio CD: Release Date 1997-10-14
  2. Publisher: Rykodisc
  3. Format: Soundtrack
  4. Sales Rank in Music: #24351

Product Review

This 2 CD set is an out of print collectible! It is the original 1997 release in the fat double jewel case. Includes fold out poster.

Amazon.com

Searching for this missing piece of the Frank Zappa catalog helped Rykodisc secure the rights to the United Artists and post-1985 MGM film libraries. But 200 Motels also serves as a good introduction to the late rock icon/avant-garde composer's absurd view of his world; i.e., the pop music business.

Essentially a filmed dadaist opera (the bulk of the music is performed live as the video cameras rolled, 200 Motels incorporates sporadic patches of Mothers of Inventions rock into the atonal, largely European, musical framework that Zappa was clearly more interested in. He shrewdly used contemporary pop merely as a marketing shill for the complex, often difficult, music that drove him. (For a taste of the film's uniquely skewed artistic sense, Ryko has included the original 200 Motels theatrical trailer as part of this set's enhanced-CD bonus material).

As always, the Zappa of 200 Motels sometimes confuses the profound with the obscene, but with every passing year, he seems more likely to take his place alongside the great American modernist Charles Ives, another composer whose work was every bit as commercially troubled and artistically misunderstood. --Jerry McCulley
Title Tracks for 200 Motels: Original MGM Motion Picture Soundtrack [Enhanced CD]

Customer Reviews

Average Customer Review
4.5 out of 5 stars (28 customer reviews)

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars "What can I say about this elixir?!", January 8, 2004
By A Customer
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This review is from: 200 Motels: Original MGM Motion Picture Soundtrack [Enhanced CD] (Audio CD)
"The wide-screen erupts with absurdities! Explodes with spine-tingling psychological terror! The mere human mind boggles at the philosophical implications, as Frank Zappa's 200 Motels is unleashed in the totality of it's Pagan splendor! Its primordial fury! Star-studded cast! And everything..."After a long battle with the defunct MGM, Rykodisc finally obtained the Holy Grail of Zappa, 200 Motels. They lost money in the deal, apparently, but they dutifully released this mammoth classic on CD for a new generation of fans before it promptly went out of print. You're probably thinking: "Great, another Zappa album. I already own [insert absurd number] FZ albums, why should I shell out 30+ bucks for this out-of-print double album?" Well, I'll tell you why you should.200 Motels is the center piece of the Flo & Eddie era -- in fact, the raison d'etre for the band. Its not surprising, then, that this era is looked down upon, since this masterwork has had such a troubled past. The people...Read more


11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A Lost Treasure Rediscovered, November 23, 2002
Mark Brumfield (St. Louis MO USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: 200 Motels: Original MGM Motion Picture Soundtrack [Enhanced CD] (Audio CD)
It has been many years since Zappa was my main musical passion. Time went by and I developed other musical interests but Zappa's music still found its way onto my stereo from time to time. Due to various circumstances I lost my vinyl collection among which "200 Motels" was one of my prized possesions. I had despaired of ever finding it on CD until most recently when I went online. Wonder od wonders there were actually copies available and I lost no time in securing a used CD copy of this long sought after musical memory.
My memory served me well and I was not disappointed.
From the opening notes of the Overture to the brilliant "Strictly Genteel" I was transported to a place where I re-discovered just what an immense pleasure and revelation listening to Frank Zappa's music was.
The orchestral pieces are still a treat and surprise even after some years of being exposed to Ives, Stockhausen and other modern masters. The rock and more conventional pieces still hold...Read more


10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A Masterpiece!, February 22, 2000
Dan Swan (Lincoln City, Oregon United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: 200 Motels: Original MGM Motion Picture Soundtrack [Enhanced CD] (Audio CD)
Of the more than 60 releases by Frank Zappa; none encompass the total breadth and scope of this twentith century master. That said; 200 motels (and "Lather") comes as close as any. There's the complex yet lyrical classical work. The satirical comedy. The raw outlandish rock and roll, and his dissonant percussive madness. Even the rare appearance of opera can be found in this brilliant master work. If you want to completely immerse yourself into the world of Frank Zappa; you will find it on 200 Motels. Sex, touring, rednecks, groupies, middle america, dental hygiene, and YES, even the size of YOUR organ, are covered in this irreverent and beautiful work. The disc contains all the original artwork; as well as the original movie poster. The booklet also features some added insight into the making of the movie, and the music. Rykodisc has done an impeccable job restoring the original material here, and included Cal Schenkel (the original artist) in the re-packaging...Read more

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