DESCRIPTION:
Frank Zappa, Thing- fish (rock Opera).
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 and restore order to Broadway. 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, who attend a play performed by the "Mammy Nuns", and find themselves confronted with their pasts; Harry was a homosexual, while Rhonda was a sex doll brought to life.
Thing-Fish—Ike Willis
Harry—Terry Bozzio
Rhonda—Dale Bozzio
The Evil Prince—Napoleon Murphy Brock
Harry-As-A-Boy—Bob Harris
Brown Moses—Johnny "Guitar" Watson
Owl-Gonkwin-Jane Cowhoon—Ray White

The story was constructed during the recording sessions, which included producing new overdubs for recordings which previously appeared on Zappa's albums Zoot Allures, Tinseltown Rebellion, You Are What You Is and Ship Arriving Too Late To Save A Drowning Witch. The release of the album was delayed when Barking Pumpkin Records' previous distributor, MCA, refused to distribute the album. It was instead released by Capitol Records in the United States, accompanied by a "Warning/Guarantee" written by Zappa himself. Thing-Fish was initially received poorly by critics, who criticized the use of previously recorded material, but has since been reappraised for its highly satirical content.