Frank Zappa Waka/Jawaka CD

Personnel: Frank Zappa (acoustic & electric guitars, percussion); Tony Duran (vocals, slide guitar); Jeff Simmons (vocals, Hawaiian guitar); Sal Marquez (vocals, trumpet, flugelhorn, chimes); Erroneous (vocals, electric bass); Chris Peterson, Janet Ferguson (vocals); "Sneaky Pete" Kleinow (pedal steel guitar); Joel Peskin (tenor saxophone); Mike Altschul (tenor & baritone saxophones, piccolo, bass flute, bass clarinet); Bill Byers, Ken Shroyer (trombone, baritone horn); Aynsley Dunbar (drums).
Recorded at Paramount Studios, Los Angeles, California.
Personnel: Frank Zappa (vocals, guitar, acoustic guitar, keyboards, percussion, sound effects); Jeff Simmons (vocals, guitar); Tony Duran (vocals, slide guitar); Sal Marquez (vocals, trumpet, flugelhorn, chimes); George Duke (vocals, tack piano, electric piano, keyboards); Erroneous (vocals, electric bass); Chris Peterson, Janet Ferguson (vocals); Ian Underwood (guitar, keyboards, wind); Aynsley Dunbar (guitar, drums, washboard, tambourine); Mike Altschul (flute, bass flute, piccolo, bass clarinet, tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone); Joel Peskin (tenor saxophone); Billy Byers, Kenny Shroyer (trombone, baritone horn); Don Preston (piano, synthesizer, mini-Moog synthesizer, Moog synthesizer).
Recording information: Paramount Studios, Los Angeles, CA.
Illustrator: Marvin Mattelson.
Photographer: Philip Schartz.
When Frank Zappa found himself stuck in a wheelchair for most of the year 1972 (after a "fan" pushed him off the stage on December 10 of the previous year), he relieved his then-current band (including singers Flo & Eddie) of its duties and turned to studio work. One of the first things he tried was to write jazz fusion music scored for wider instrumentation than an average rock band. Waka/Jawaka was conceived in parallel to The Grand Wazoo, but with fewer players. The album, released in July 1972, is comprised of two extended instrumental pieces and two shorter songs. "Big Swifty," a theme-and-solos showcase, would become a live favorite, but the highlight came in the form of the orgiastic title track, recorded with ex-Mothers of Invention keyboardist Don Preston, trumpeter Sal Marquez, trombonists Bill Byers and Ken Shroyer, saxophonist Mike Altschul, bassist Erroneous, and drummer Aynsley Dunbar. The songs, never performed live, feel like filler material. Waka/Jawaka was Zappa's second solo album and is occasionally referred to as "Hot Rats II" (the handles of the faucets on the cover artwork show the words "hot" and "rats" instead of "hot" and "cold"). His writing and recording technique had matured a lot in very little time. The dirty blues jamming of the 1969 LP was replaced by clean, crisp jazz improvisations -- no need to say this was also an abrupt change in style from the Mothers' 1969-1971 incarnation. But this album was only transitional: Zappa's big-band stylings would really flourish in The Grand Wazoo a few months later. ~ François Couture
While performing at England's Rainbow Theater on December 10, 1971, Frank Zappa sustained a serious injury when an overzealous fan pushed him off the stage. Zappa was forced to keep a low profile while recovering from this traumatic event, but he was in the middle of a very fertile recording period--his classic albums HOT RATS, BURNT WEENY SANDWICH, and CHUNGA'S REVENGE had all recently been released. Instead of moping around, Zappa immersed himself in writing new music, and 1972's WAKA/JAWAKA was his first album to appear since his accident.
Although not as instantly rewarding as the aforementioned HOT RATS, WAKA/JAWAKA is still a solid Zappa album. Like its predecessors, the album contains elements of Frank's instantly recognizable jazz-rock fusion. But due to its gritty rock production, the four-song album (two tracks are very lengthy, the others shorter) is not your normal fusion effort. The opener, "Big Swifty," leans more towards rock (thanks to Zappa's distorted guitar riffs), while the closing tQ (8/95, pp.150-151) - 3 Stars - Good - "...long solos interspersed with country references."
Down Beat - 3.5 Stars - Very Good