Lumpy Gravy

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Release info

Tracks

Lumpy Gravy Part One (15:48)

Lumpy Gravy Part Two (15:51)

Players

Background

After contacting symphonic session musicians through trombonist Kenneth Shroyer, who’d played on Absolutely Free, Frank formed the one-off Abnuceals Emuukha Electric Symphony Orchestra & Chorus, made up of the musicians and characters as they appeared piecemeal on the album rather than in any actual cooperative performances. The Chorus was actually a speaking cast, its members' dialogue taking the place of any sung lyrics on the LP. They were recorded conversing with their heads stuck inside a Steinway grand piano during several sessions at Apostolic Studios in New York City. The chats were improvised, but they followed Frank’s general thematic guidelines. He amassed eight or nine hours of conversation from which to select; further snippets were heard in a few spots on following albums, but the piano characters returned with prominence on Civilization, Phaze III, which clarified and continued the plot (all the way to the end of the world) from where it left off on Lumpy Gravy, using both old characters from that album and new, freshly recorded folks.

Conceptual Continuity

Versions