Parts of this work were in development for some 10 years prior to their completion. Zappa never really "completed" it; he just stopped working on it because he passed away. Even days before his death, he spent time at the Synclavier tweaking and tweezing parts, constantly molding the work to his liking.

Conceptually, the construction of each piece is brilliant! At the time, Zappa owned one the largest collections of digitally sampled sounds in the world, which was sold after his death for a tidy sum. It was from this catalog of sounds that Zappa would compose. The Ensemble Modern was added at length to this catalog of sounds, during the development of the Yellow Shark. Portions of these samples can be heard on Buffalo Voice and elsewhere. As Zappa composed on the Synclavier, elements of his score were assigned to sampled sounds, and the entire composition was digitally constructed using Zappa's score as a road map. This form of composing is entirely Zappa's creation and it is ingeniously conceived.

While other reviewers may comment that these works are "unlistenable" or they cannot imagine listening to them more than once, keep in mind, this is one person's opinion. I have listened to the compositions in this work countless times (well over 100) since its release, and have most of it memorized. It is one of the most brilliant compositional works I have ever heard, within the realms of electronic music.

Civilization Phaze III wraps-up the musical life of Frank Zappa. For those who are familiar with Zappa and his musical career, one can hear the numerous classical composers who influenced Zappa. Listen close enough and you will come to new insights on life and music from those speaking from within the piano. Many compositions contain parts that are unplayable by humans. Some rhythmic parts are so complex they open our ears to new sounds we have never heard before, much the same way Conlon Nancarrow's compositions did for the player piano.

Nancarrow's works performed pieces that were impossible to play on the piano. Conceptually, they were brilliantly thought out. Musically, they are fascinating works you will never hear elsewhere simply because they are impossible to perform. Nancarrow's approach influenced Zappa. Nancarrow applied his approach to a mechanical instrument, the player piano. Zappa applied his approach to a digital instrument, the Synclavier.

It's difficult to capsule the essence of this release into one review. It is true to state that this work stands on its own merits for what it is. If it means something to you, then it is of great value. If it holds no value to you, then it means nothing at all.

Listen to Amazon's samples of this release. If what you hear remotely interests you, there's bound to be some nuggets of enjoyment within the work for you to enjoy and explore. If this occurs, the work will expand in meaning with further listening.

If you enjoy Lumpy Gravy and Jazz from Hell, you are guaranteed to love this disk. If you're still not sure, listen to the sound samples to these disks and compare them to the samples of Civilization Phaze III, then take a chance and acquire this work. Judge it for yourself and make an intelligent decision... that's what Zappa would have wanted you to do.

Parts of this work were in development for some 10 years prior to their completion. Zappa never really "completed" it; he just stopped working on it because he passed away. Even days before his death, he spent time at the Synclavier tweaking and tweezing parts, constantly molding the work to his liking.

Conceptually, the construction of each piece is brilliant! At the time, Zappa owned one the largest collections of digitally sampled sounds in the world, which was sold after his death for a tidy sum. It was from this catalog of sounds that Zappa would compose. The Ensemble Modern was added at length to this catalog of sounds, during the development of the Yellow Shark. Portions of these samples can be heard on Buffalo Voice and elsewhere. As Zappa composed on the Synclavier, elements of his score were assigned to sampled sounds, and the entire composition was digitally constructed using Zappa's score as a road map. This form of composing is entirely Zappa's creation and it is ingeniously conceived.

While other reviewers may comment that these works are "unlistenable" or they cannot imagine listening to them more than once, keep in mind, this is one person's opinion. I have listened to the compositions in this work countless times (well over 100) since its release, and have most of it memorized. It is one of the most brilliant compositional works I have ever heard, within the realms of electronic music.

Civilization Phaze III wraps-up the musical life of Frank Zappa. For those who are familiar with Zappa and his musical career, one can hear the numerous classical composers who influenced Zappa. Listen close enough and you will come to new insights on life and music from those speaking from within the piano. Many compositions contain parts that are unplayable by humans. Some rhythmic parts are so complex they open our ears to new sounds we have never heard before, much the same way Conlon Nancarrow's compositions did for the player piano.

Nancarrow's works performed pieces that were impossible to play on the piano. Conceptually, they were brilliantly thought out. Musically, they are fascinating works you will never hear elsewhere simply because they are impossible to perform. Nancarrow's approach influenced Zappa. Nancarrow applied his approach to a mechanical instrument, the player piano. Zappa applied his approach to a digital instrument, the Synclavier.

It's difficult to capsule the essence of this release into one review. It is true to state that this work stands on its own merits for what it is. If it means something to you, then it is of great value. If it holds no value to you, then it means nothing at all.

Listen to Amazon's samples of this release. If what you hear remotely interests you, there's bound to be some nuggets of enjoyment within the work for you to enjoy and explore. If this occurs, the work will expand in meaning with further listening.

If you enjoy Lumpy Gravy and Jazz from Hell, you are guaranteed to love this disk. If you're still not sure, listen to the sound samples to these disks and compare them to the samples of Civilization Phaze III, then take a chance and acquire this work. Judge it for yourself and make an intelligent decision... that's what Zappa would have wanted you to do.

Although this is not a good place to start with Zappa (that would be Hot Rats and The Yellow Shark), this is an essential part of any Zappa collection.