Said it before. Saying it again: It’s a great time to be a Frank Zappa fan.
Even though the man himself has been gone for nearly 30 years, the excellent and essential new releases just keep on coming — thanks to his seemingly inexhaustible vault/archives and the impressive efforts of his estate. The latest offering — Zappa ’75: Zagreb/Ljubljana, documenting a pair of historic Yugoslavian shows — officially arrives tomorrow. But there are already rumours about the next set coming down the pipe: A multi-disc box featuring the 1972 albums Waka/Jawaka and The Grand Wazoo, supposedly being released on Dec. 16. The press release below surfaced online the other day. I haven’t seen any official confirmation from the powers that be yet, but it looks legit to me. Besides, who would bother to create a fake press release about a Frank Zappa box set? In any case, here’s the info. Believe it or don’t:
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Waka/Wazoo is a comprehensive 4-CD + Blu-ray audio box set celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Mothers Of Invention’s Waka/Jawaka and Grand Wazoo experience from 1972.
During the aftermath of being pushed off the stage at the Rainbow Theatre in London, England, FZ found himself recuperating for months in his home in Laurel Canyon. Although he was confined to a wheelchair, his work ethic could not be tamed. During this time, he managed, among other things, to assemble an ensemble that quenched his thirst and desire to work with a large “Electric Orchestra.”
Ultimately, a 20-piece group was contracted, along with recording sessions and an eight-city tour. Shortly thereafter, a scaled down 10-piece configuration, now known as the Petit Wazoo, toured for almost two months. After all was said and done, FZ finished the experiment with two albums in the can, Waka/Jawaka and The Grand Wazoo, plus two tours and an archive of show masters in his vault. It was a monumental feat for a guy with a cast on his leg and a conductor’s baton in his hand.
The Waka/Wazoo box set features a complete historical rundown of the entire project, with alternate takes of almost every composition recorded during the album sessions, plus vault mix session outtakes and oddities. Also included is the full final show of the 10-piece tour, recorded at the famous Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco on Dec. 15, 1972. The Blu-ray audio disc features both albums with brand-new, first-time-ever Atmos and 5.1 mixes from the original multi-tracks and the 96kHz 24-bit high-resolution stereo remasters. Finally, during the album recording sessions at Paramount Studios, FZ worked with George Duke on some of Duke’s solo material. These demos were produced by Zappa, who also played guitar. Although George would go on to re-record the compositions for his own albums, the versions with FZ have never been officially issued until now.”
TRACKLISTING
CD 1
Paramount Studios Recording Session Alternates and Outtakes
1. Your Mouth (Take 1)
2. Big Swifty (Alternate Take)
3. Minimal Art (Eat That Question – Version 1, Take 2)
4. Blessed Relief (Outtake Version)
5. Think It Over (The Grand Wazoo) (Outtake Version)
6. For Calvin (And His Next Two Hitch-Hikers) (Outtake Version)
7. Waka/Jawaka (Outtake Version)
CD 2
Paramount Studios Recording Session Alternates and Outtakes
1. Cletus Awreetus-Awrightus (Alternate Take)
2. Eat That Question (Version 2, Alternate Take)
3. Big Swifty (Alternate Mix)
4. For Calvin (And His Next Two Hitch-Hikers) (Alternate Mix)
5. It Just Might Be A One-Shot Deal (Alternate Mix)
6. Waka/Jawaka (Alternate Mix)
7. Cletus Awreetus-Awrightus (Alternate Mix)
8. Eat That Question (Alternate Mix)
CD 3
George Duke Demos – The Master Versions
1. For Love (I Come Your Friend)
2. Psychosomatic Dung
3. Uncle Remus (Instrumental)
4. Love
George Duke Session Outtakes
5. For Love (I Come Your Friend) (Basic Track, Take 1)
6. Psychosomatic Dung (Basic Track, Take 2)
7. Love (Basic Track, Take 1)
The Grand Wazoo – Live
8. Approximate (Live – FZ Record Plant Mix)
10-Piece/Petite Wazoo – Live / Winterland Ballroom, San Francisco, CA – 12-15-1972
9. Winterland ’72 Opening And Band Introductions
10. Little Dots
CD 4
10-Piece/Petite Wazoo – Live / Winterland Ballroom, San Francisco, CA – 12-15-1972
1. America Drinks
2. Montana
3. Farther O’Blivion
4. Cosmik Debris
5. Chunga’s Revenge
BLU-RAY AUDIO
WAKA/JAWAKA
1. Big Swifty
2. Your Mouth
3. It Just Might Be A One-Shot Deal
4. Waka / Jawaka
THE GRAND WAZOO
1. The Grand Wazoo
2. For Calvin (And His Next Two Hitch-Hikers)
3. Cletus Awreetus-Awrightus
4. Eat That Question
5. Blessed Relief
