Thing-Fish
Sign in to saveThing-Fish is an album by American musician Frank Zappa, originally released as a triple album box set on Barking Pumpkin Records in 1984. It was billed as a cast recording for a proposed musical of the same name, which was ultimately not produced by Zappa, but later performed partially in 2003, ten years after his death.
Release · MusicBrainz
- Type
- Album
- Artist
- Frank Zappa
- First released
- 1984
via MusicBrainz · CC0
Listeners · Last.fm
- Listeners
- 12
- Total plays
- 46
<a href="https://www.last.fm/music/Thing-Fish">Read more on Last.fm</a>
Key facts
- Album.name
- Thing-Fish
- Album.type
- studio
- Album.artist
- Frank Zappa
- Album.cover
- Zappa Thing-Fish.jpg
- Album.released
- November 21, 1984
- Album.recorded
- 1976, 1980–1983
- Album.length
- 90:58
- Album.label
- Barking Pumpkin
- Album.producer
- Frank Zappa
- Album.prev_title
- Them or Us
- Album.prev_year
- 1984
- Album.next_title
- Francesco Zappa
- Album.next_year
- 1984
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Duration
- 5458
Show 1 more fact
- publication date
- 1984-12-21
Sources (2)
via Wikidata · CC0
~12 min read
Article
9 sectionsContents
- Background
- Style and influences
- Lyrics and story themes
- Music and performance
- Release
- Critical reception
- Track listing
- Personnel
- References
Thing-Fish is an album by American musician Frank Zappa, originally released as a triple album box set on Barking Pumpkin Records in 1984. It was billed as a cast recording for a proposed musical of the same name, which was ultimately not produced by Zappa, but later performed partially in 2003, ten years after his death.
The album's storyline is inspired by Broadway theatre, AIDS, eugenics, conspiracy theories, feminism, homosexuality and African American culture. It involves an evil, racist prince/theater critic who creates a disease intended to eradicate African Americans and homosexuals. The disease is tested on prisoners who are turned into "Mammy Nuns" led by the story's narrator, Thing-Fish. The story within a story is a satire of a White Anglo-Saxon Protestant couple, Harry and Rhonda (actually played by Italian-Americans), who attend a play performed by the "Mammy Nuns", and find themselves confronted with their pasts: Harry presented as a homosexual boy, Rhonda presented as a sex doll brought to life.