Frank Zappa 2022

As if his music were not challenging enough, he overlay it with highly satirical and sometimes abstractly humorous lyrics and song titles that marked him as coming out of a provocative literary tradition that included Beat poets like Allen Ginsberg and edgy comedians like Lenny Bruce. Nominally, he was a popular musician, but his recordings rarely earned significant airplay or sales, yet he was able to gain control of his recorded work and issue it successfully through his own labels while also touring internationally, in part because of the respect he earned from a dedicated cult of fans and many serious musicians, and also because he was an articulate spokesman who promoted himself into a media star through extensive interviews he considered to be a part of his creative effort just like his music.

This new deluxe reissue covering Frank Zappa’s 1972 ‘electric orchestra’ period features amazing new 5.1 Surround & Dolby Atmos remixes of the studio albums Waka/Jawaka and The Grand Wazoo.

Composer, guitarist, singer, and bandleader Frank Zappa was a singular musical figure during a performing and recording career that lasted from the 1960s to the '90s. His disparate influences included doo wop music and avant-garde classical music; although he led groups that could be called rock & roll bands for much of his career, he used them to create a hybrid style that bordered on jazz and complicated, modern serious music, sometimes inducing orchestras to play along. As if his music were not challenging enough, he overlay it with highly satirical and sometimes abstractly humorous lyrics and song titles that marked him as coming out of a provocative literary tradition that included Beat poets like Allen Ginsberg and edgy comedians like Lenny Bruce.

Wawa/Jawaka is characterised by a high level of instrumental skill. Beautiful long, jazz-oriented jams, listening journeys for fans of Zappa. The precursor to Grand Wazoo, recorded in the same year with a large big band, is sometimes ticked off as a prequel - wrongly so, because this little work of art of inspired instrumental mastery, large arrangements and small-scale electronic accessories is well worth being our album of the month, even 50 years after its release.

As if his music were not challenging enough, he overlay it with highly satirical and sometimes abstractly humorous lyrics and song titles that marked him as coming out of a provocative literary tradition that included Beat poets like Allen Ginsberg and edgy comedians like Lenny Bruce.

Composer, guitarist, singer, and bandleader Frank Zappa was a singular musical figure during a performing and recording career that lasted from the 1960s to the '90s. His disparate influences included doo wop music and avant-garde classical music; although he led groups that could be called rock & roll bands for much of his career, he used them to create a hybrid style that bordered on jazz and complicated, modern serious music, sometimes inducing orchestras to play along.

Composer, guitarist, singer, and bandleader Frank Zappa was a singular musical figure during a performing and recording career that lasted from the 1960s to the '90s.

Zappa & The Mothers' Eighth Studio Album on 180g Vinyl LP! 50th Anniversary Reissue of the Classic Wazoo Period 1972 Release! All-Analog Mastering by Bernie Grundman in 2022! Analog Planet Rated 10/11 Music, 10/11 Sonics! In 1972 FZ experimented with an "Electric Orchestra" concept which resulted in two albums: Waka/Jawaka and The Grand Wazoo. Celebrating the 50th anniversary of this endeavor, The Grand Wazoo is available as a 1LP 180g black vinyl.