The Perfect Stranger is a 1984 album featuring the music of Frank Zappa, conducted in part by Pierre Boulez. It was originally issued on vinyl in 1984 and on CD in 1985 by Angel Records, and then in remixed and re-sequenced form on CD by Barking Pumpkin in 1992. Later reissues (of the same master) were by Rykodisc in 1995 and Zappa/Universal in 2012.
Boulez conducted three tracks ("The Perfect Stranger", "Naval Aviation in Art?" and "Dupree's Paradise"), recorded at IRCAM, Paris on January 10 and January 11, 1984, and performed by Boulez's Ensemble InterContemporain. The title track was also commissioned by Boulez, and contains references to Zappa's 1971 film, 200 Motels. The remaining four tracks are credited to 'The Barking Pumpkin Digital Gratification Consort'—in fact, Zappa's Synclavier. "Outside Now Again" is a Synclavier performance based on a transcription of Zappa's guitar solo in the song "Outside Now" from the 1979 Joe's Garage album.
The track "Jonestown" is a reference to the 1978 Jonestown massacre in Guyana, where cult leader Jim Jones drove his followers to collective suicide.
Reception
Track listing
Different track timings are probably due to mislisting. There are no reports of tracks being longer or shorter on the original vinyl.
Personnel Per the album liner notes:
The Ensemble InterContemporain (tracks 1, 2, 4) Pierre Boulez – President, conductor Péter Eötvös – Musical Director Lawrence Beauregard, Sophie Cherrier – flutes Laszlo Hadady, Didier Pateau – oboes Alain Camien, Paul Meyer – clarinets Guy Arnaud – bass clarinet Jean-Marie Lamothe – bassoon Jacques Delepancque, Jens McManama – horns Antoine Curé, Jean-Jacques Gaudon – trumpets Jérôme Naulais, Benny Sluchin – trombones Gérard Buquet – tuba Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Alain Neveux – pianos Marie-Claire Jamet – harp Charles-André Unale, Jacques Ghestem, Maryvonne Le Dizès – violins Garth Knox, Jean Sulem – violas Chrichan Larsson, Pierre Strauch – cellos Frédéric Stochl – double bass Vincent Bauer, Michel Cerutti, Daniel Ciampolini – percussions
The Barking Pumpkin Digital Gratification Consort (tracks 3, 5–7) Frank Zappa – Synclavier David Ocker – computer programmer Steve DiFuria – special software
Production Frank Zappa – producer, liner notes Didier Arditi – recording engineer (tracks 1, 2, 4) Bob Stone – remix engineer (original release) Spence Chrislu – 1992 remix and EQ engineer John Matousek – mastering Don Hunstein – photography Donald Roller Wilson – cover painting
References
External links Album information Release details