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Diana Ross & Frank Zappa: Soul Freak Symphony

By Glenn Astarita
April 1, 2025
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Diana Ross & Frank Zappa: Soul Freak Symphony

When

Diana Ross

vocals

" data-original-title="" title="">Diana Ross, the glittering soul siren of Motown, and

" data-original-title="" title="">Frank Zappa, the madcap maestro of musical anarchy, unveiled Soul Freak Symphony in March 1985 but was put in limbo due to contractual issues. Hence, it was not just an album—it was a cosmic detonation of sound and sanity. This 12-track hallucination melds Ross's velvety charisma with Zappa's unhinged genius, resulting in a creation so far outside the box it might as well be orbiting Saturn.

The opener "Upside Down (Zappa's Revenge)" takes Ross's disco anthem and flings it into a blender of extraterrestrial proportions. The groove is there but it is warped by a theremin duet, a chorus of pitch-shifted chipmunks singing in Esperanto and a mid-song interruption where Zappa narrates a recipe for intergalactic souffl�� over a polyrhythmic drum circle. Ross, unfazed, belts her lines through a vocoder, turning a dance-floor staple into a sci-fi fever dream.

The album's centerpiece, "Freak in My Mirror," is a deranged masterpiece. Ross croons a soulful lament about fractured identity but Zappa layers it with a calliope riff, a barbershop quartet chanting backwards and a sampled loop of a malfunctioning disco ball sparking. The lyrics—co-written by the duo—veer into surreal territory with Ross pondering, "Am I the groove or the glitch?" while Zappa cackles in the background. It is "Chain of Fools" meets "Lumpy Gravy" and it is utterly hypnotic.

Not every track holds together. "Cosmic Love Jam" is a 14-minute descent into madness, starting as a sultry Ross ballad before Zappa hijacks it with a kazoo orchestra, a spoken-word rant about sentient cheese and a closing segment where a flock of trained parrots squawk the melody. It is less a song and more a sonic breakdown, testing even the most adventurous listeners. "Motown Salsa Mambo" fares little better, morphing from a slinky Latin beat into a 12-tone salsa nightmare featuring a duet between Ross and a malfunctioning Speak & Spell toy.

The album's strangest triumph is "St. Alfonzo's Lullaby" a tender yet bizarre ballad. Ross's voice floats over a bed of reversed harpsichord chords and a rhythm track made from amplified dripping water, while Zappa whispers cryptic haikus about moonlit pancakes through a distortion pedal. It is haunting, disorienting and oddly beautiful—a rare moment where their worlds align without imploding.

Production is pure insanity: Zappa's studio sorcery piles on layers of found sounds (think creaking doors, whale calls and a malfunctioning fax machine) while Ross's vocals are occasionally beamed through a Leslie speaker or drenched in reverb that makes her sound like she is singing from a parallel dimension. The mix is a glorious train wreck—imagine a soul revue crashing into a dadaist circus.

Ross brings her timeless soul warped into alien shapes while Zappa unleashes his most unhinged impulses. It is not for casual listeners—heck it is barely for humans—but for those willing to dive into its kaleidoscopic abyss it is a revelation. This is what happens when two legends decide the rules are for suckers.

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Track Listing

Upside Down (Zappa��s Revenge); Freak in My Mirror; St. Alfonzo��s Lullaby; Weasels Ripped My Tote Bag; Motown Salsa Mambo; Baby Love for Irving.

Personnel

Diana Ross

vocals

Frank Zappa

guitar, electric

George Duke

piano

Ian Underwood

organ, Hammond B3

Aynsley Dunbar

drums

Ruth Underwood

percussion

Adrian Belew

guitar

Roy Estrada

bass

James Jamerson

bass, electric

Ernie Watts

saxophone, tenor

Sal Marquez

trumpet

Jean-Luc Ponty

violin

Additional Instrumentation

George Duke: synthesizers and effects; Frank Zappa: electronics and effects.

Album information

Title: Soul Freak Symphony | Year Released: 1985 | Record Label: Bizarre Records

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