Most successful musicians are good at their particular style; what sets the great ones apart is that they can cross over to different styles successfully. It is really admirable for anyone of Zappa's stature to even want to work outside the box. But FZ pretty much lived outside the box, and this CD is proof. If you have an interest in Zappa's chamber or orchestral compositions (and be advised, this isn't "Don't Eat the Yellow Snow" with violin accompaniment; these are real chamber music compositions), this is the one to buy. The London Symphony Orchestra sessions worked fine as compositions, but the recordings are rendered unlistenable by FZ's unfortunate choice of using 40-50 PZM's (pressure zone microphones) on the orchestra. I'm a recording engineer so take it from me: other than for a few very esoteric uses, PZM's take "suck" to a whole new level. The Yellow Shark, in addition to featuring performances by fantastic musicians, is very well recorded indeed. I personally would have been a little happier had they cut out at least some of the generous applause between tracks, which becomes tedious after awhile, but hey, it's a small matter. These are very good musical works by one of America's most gifted composers. The tragedy, of course, is that we can only imagine what he would be writing now if he were still with us.