briefly, i have real questions, at a cursory glance, as to what the h*** kireviewer, whatever his name is, speaks of when he's alluding to this being released in '74??!!?? his mere mention of this being released in 1974 discredits anything he has to say. recorded in '75, released in '79, this fellow is believing it was released in '76??? huh?? a top 500 reviewer??? sure he's not a programmer for clearview or mtv?
i was at this show. it was another great evening of zappa music. not to mention showcasing bozzio and an impromptu "louie, louie" featuring beefheart.

this release was part of a THREE lp release, Lather, and yes indeed, WB locked up and f***ed up almost all aspects of fz's music at this juncture in his development.

it's a great representation of where mr. zappa was in september of 1975. tween bands, a small electric symphony orchestra and a really nice evening of music better than, oh, almost anything else that was being spewed forth in the "rock" segment of musical society, circa 1975.

if you're this far into it, drop the bucks, add this to your collection and let it serve as another marker on the long highway zappa traveled in pursuit of the big note.

This cd has a lot of fun and enough classical traits to make it a gormet listening adventure. What is not so hot about the CD is the fact that it was hacked into conception by Warner Brothers. FZ didn't intend this release to be out in this fashion. Check out Lather release for the intentions and over all feel of where the songs would fit.... but these pieces are second to none. All good and Terry Bozzio rules.

One of his best collections of works. 40-piece orchestra and a few electrified instruments. Terry Bozzio on drums. But check out "review #1" for the broader picture and details!

This album is one of three Warner Brothers releases that Frank didn't have much involvement in (thus, the horrid cover art). The other two are Sleep Dirt and Studio Tan.
These three, along with other material from In New York, were originally intended for release as a four-album boxed set called Lather. When WB refused to release them as a boxed set, Frank provided them with the three albums all at once to complete his contract. WB was required to release any material within 6 weeks, whether as a boxed set or individually. Not wanting to release all this material so close together, Warner balked, and re-arranged the material, and released them over the course of 9 months. This prompted a long-running lawsuit that was never resolved to the artist's satisfaction.
If you really want the material present on Orchestral Favorites presented in the context of the original play sequence, buy the Lather 3-CD set, which was eventually remastered and released by Ryco in 1996. Nonetheless, if you're the kind of person who appreciates Zappa only for his humor and rock/guitar material, you will undoubtedly be disappointed by these selections, in or out of context. If your musical tastes are broader, I agree with other reviewers that The Yellow Shark and The Grand Wazoo are better representations of the true symphonic genius of FZ.

Frank Zappa is one the twenty most important rock artists in history. He was a innovator and was ahead of his time. He put out some great music and made important political statements. He took on Al and Tipper Gore, appeared before Senate hearings and included soundbites on an album. He was into digital recording before anyone else. Some of his songs are very funny and he is in the top ten of guitarists.
But, I have a hard time understanding some of Zappa's orchestral arrangements. On this album, the music is disjointed and choppy snippets of different classical styles. None of the tracks is a complete musical piece. The only time the music is coherent is during the guitar solos on the last track. There is about 3 or 4 minutes of some excellent guitar work. What I don't understand is why when Zappa leads an orchestra, the parts he plays are accessible, but all the traditional orchestra pieces are a mess. Note that this CD is only 33 minutes long. The liner notes say it was recorded live in 1975, but the lp was originally released in 1974. I believe that it was actually released in 1976. This album was released as part of the Lather project. Zappa wanted to release a 4 record set called Lather, but the record company wouldn't let him. He got into a legal fight and released 3 separate albums. In 1996, Zappa did finally release Lather on 3 CD's. It contains this album, the two others and a bunch of extra material. I don't any of it is a high point in Zappa's career (except for nice instrumental work that appear on Sleep Dirt).