1972 SHRINK FRANK ZAPPA WAKA JAWAKA "BIZARRE" Prog

$

35

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1972 BIZARRE LABEL ORIGINAL!                             

           FRANK ZAPPA

          WAKA / JAWAKA

                                     USA - BIZARRE RECORDS - 2094

ORIGINAL 1972 first pressing vinyl on the highly collected 'Bizarre Records' label

         ***STILL IN ORIGINAL FACTORY SHRINK WRAP***

Includes the original '72 'Bizarre Records' inner sleeve (mint)

In December of 1971, Frank Zappa was injured when he was pushed offstage during a show, causing him to be confined to a wheelchair for most of 1972. This effectively ended the "Flo and Eddie" version of Zappa's band, and briefly put on hold his interest in making jokey rock songs. Zappa spent the next year in the studio recording two albums worth of fusion styled music that work as extensions of the ideas that Zappa explored on 1969's Hot Rats (Waka/Jawaka is sometimes even referred to as Hot Rats II, although this may have as much to do with the album cover art than anything else). Waka/Jawaka, the first of these, has four tracks, but the great majority of it is taken up by the two complex progressive jams called "Big Swifty" and "Waka/Jawaka." Overall its an excellent album and it should be of great interest to a fan of prog fusion, or to a Zappa fan who never got around to hearing it.

There never previously was fusion quite like the way Zappa did it here. The first track, "Big Swifty," is a seventeen-and-a-half minute monster and it ultimately became the best-known number from the album: despite its unwieldy instrumentation, Zappa's band performed it frequently on his final tour in 1988. "Big Swifty" has its moments of inspiration taken from Miles Davis, specifically "Right Off" from A Tribute to Jack Johnson (that steely muted trumpet paired with Zappa's distorted guitar throughout much of the first half) but Zappa was trying out a "small big band" format with Waka/Jawaka and the tricky horn charts in the beginning that whip through difficult time signatures also draw comparisons to the music of Don Ellis. And Zappa's guitar is, well, Zappa's guitar; you wouldn't mistake his style for John McLaughlin's. Rather than merely a vehicle for soloing, "Big Swifty" contains a few melodic themes that resurface throughout the piece and the guitar/electric piano/trumpet trio often play around each other rather than sit out while the other guy solos. The feeling from this track is totally electric; everything works magnificently and is perfectly synchronized. "Big Swifty" is unlike anything else that Zappa had recorded prior to 1972 and remains one of the all-time great (post original Mothers) Zappa tracks.

"Waka/Jawaka," which ends the album, is another long fusion track, but this time there is much more emphasis on soloing. Pretty much every superlative that was heaped on "Big Swifty" applies here as well. Because Zappa had used quirky horn motifs in his music on earlier albums and because there is something very "Zappa-like" about the ones used on "Waka/Jawaka, it does not quite seem as much of a departure from Zappa's previous sound as "Big Swifty." Nevertheless, Don Preston's brilliant Mini-Moog solo is the first of its kind on a Zappa album and it stands out as one of the great synthesizer solos of the fusion genre. Frank Zappa's guitar solo, which follows, is excellent as well. To a listener in 1972, as the final strains of the horns faded out to end the album, he or she was left eagerly anticipating the second album of the pair.

"Big Swifty" and "Waka/Jawaka" bookend two short vocal tracks (no vocals by Zappa himself, however) that are often dismissed as "filler." This makes little sense since Zappa could easily have tacked another two or three minutes onto the larger pieces if he wanted to bulk the album up to proper LP length using just those tracks. So, one would rightfully assume that "Your Mouth" and "It Just Might Be a One-Shot Deal" are on the album because he wanted them there, not just to fill space. "Your Mouth" - a bluesy stroll and sung in traditional jazz vocalist kind of way - effectively supplements the domestic issues raised in the tune made popular by Jimi Hendrix, "Hey Joe." Many wouldn't call it a great song, but one certainly wouldn't say it's a throwaway either and it fits the album fine.  "It Just Might Be a One Shot Deal" is better, though. It's an interesting synthesis of a rural application (via "Sneaky Pete" Kleinow's pedal steel) with the R&B of vocal jazz and it has some good lyrics, to boot. Thoughtfully existential sentiments paired with the greatest pedal steel solo ever heard? 

Waka/Jawaka is exciting and refined.

1.  Big Swifty — 17:23
2.  Your Mouth — 3:12
3.  It Just Might Be A One-Shot Deal — 4:16
4.  Waka/Jawaka — 11:18

CONDITION: The cover still in original factory shrink wrapper is solid everywhere, sharp apperance and collection worthy.

The vinyl has been handled well over the past 37 years...all glossy both sides "EX" (excellent)

      A cool addition to anyone's music library!

SEE: SELLERS OTher items for similar cool sounds for "head" people...

EFFICIENT/CAREFUL GRADING

All imperfections are noted both cover & record