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 this weekend. 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 December 16th. 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?
“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, Zappa 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, Zappa 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 December 15th, 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, Zappa 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 Zappa have never been officially issued until now.”
“Waka/Wazoo” features a complete historical rundown of the entire project in a five-disc multi-format box. The comprehensive set boasts unreleased alternate takes of almost every composition recorded during the album sessions, Vault mix session outtakes and oddities, and also includes the full final show of the 10-piece tour, recorded at the famous Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco on December 15th, 1972.
Additionally, the collection includes a set of demos for George Duke’s solo material that Zappa produced and played guitar on during the album recording sessions at Paramount Studios. Although Duke would go on to re-record the compositions for his own albums, the versions with Zappa have never been officially issued until now.
The Fat Angel Sings 