To put it in a non-judgemental way: Zappa’s work is not for everyone, as is well known. What some see as courageous, funny, innovative and brilliant, others see as exhausting. Now it undoubtedly depends on the respective creative phase, and the one from which the recordings of the 5-CD box set WAKA/WAZOO originate can be attested – at least for the most part – to the friendly accessibility that his avant-garde creations sometimes lacked. Well, at least when your own listening habits don’t tend towards Igor Stravinsky or Edgar Varèse from the outset.
Encouraged by the relative success of his jazz rock album HOT RATS, Zappa put together a nine-piece band for WAKA/JAWAKA in 1972, and for THE GRAND WAZOO, which followed shortly thereafter, there were even up to 20 musicians at the start to bring the maestro’s bold compositions to the stage bring. The tour of the “Electric Orchestra” included eight shows, after which it continued with a reduced cast.
In addition to studio outtakes and alternative versions, WAKA/WAZOO also contains live recordings of the slimmed-down line-up, the only surviving concert recording of the big band, and a 44-page booklet – which really comprehensively honors Zappa’s ’72 project. Those who want to delve a little less deeply are well served with the associated studio works WAKA/JAWAKA and THE GRAND WAZOO, which are now available on vinyl for the first time since the seventies.
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