Chunga's Revenge

I took a punt on this one - I saw Frank playing the title track live on YouTube and just went for it - I have no regrets!Transylvania Boogie starts off with FZ sounding as if he's been studying Slonimsky's Thesaurus of Scales with some eastern sounding scale that then winds up being an R n B improvisation. FZ's trade mark rude guitar sound (using a wah-wah pedal) is in all its glory - its hard to believe the same man could also do 'Zoot Alors' and 'Watermelon...' and make the electric guitar sound so sublime when you compare them to this.Road Ladies seems to be about decrying being lonesome on the road whilst touring. It combines FZs love of 50's pop (which he heard probably eating Opal & Chester's chilli whist listening to their jukebox) and 60s R n B that he got into later. FZ does a fine impersonation of Jonny Guitar Watson with some blistering blues lines on his axe.Twenty Small Cigars is an instrumental, very good, slightly jazzy, melodic twists and turns keep you focussed and following the vibe.Now - onto 'The Nancy & Mary Music' in 3 parts - is this Varese making his influence known again? Or has FZ being listing to Ornette Coleman? There are all sorts of things going on here - tunes petering out, drum solos played to fake audience adulation (or was it recorded at a gig and interspersed in the studio? FZ was into this for sure) - tunes and riffs emerging from nowhere, extended solos (thank you Frank), and vocal scats. Despite the seeming incoherence, there is no doubt that the musicians were great and they played well as a tight unit which is just as well. Worth sticking with.Tell Me You Love Me is itself a typical high tempo rock song of the time (1970) - FZ just probably felt he could show everyone he could do one too. Radio friendly!Would You Go All The Way - despite the humorous title, this is a tribute once again to the 50's style pop that FZ would have grown up listening to - it also reminiscent of the Beach Boys Brian Wilson's writing.Chunga's Revenge - the melodic repetitive motif that pulses behind this has a really hypnotic quality and forms the basis of an opening solo played on alto sax through a wah-wah pedal that has to be heard to be believed - its inventive and expressive before FZ takes over and improvises over it. Make no mistake this is a great tune.The Clap - it just busts into FZ's guitar on the previous track and can only be described as a chit chat between some of the percussion.The next track is truly hilarious - Rudy Wants to Buy Yez a Drink - a perfect marriage of funny lyrics and equally funny music - a song I think about performing rights unions of which FZ would be deeply sceptical. It's hilarious, and ends with joyously melodic vocals at the end.The last track is 'Sharleena'. This to me is an 'up yours' song to the music industry by FZ. It's a romantic song, sung in falsetto in part - the arrangement is superb - it's as if FZ is showing us that a bunch of hairy freaks could make appealing music that could be played on the radio . He was I think challenging the visual and image requirements of the music industry with this song. It really should be re-recorded by another group - I'm sure it would make the Top 20 even today. It's delightful.I saw FZ interviewed shortly before he died seemingly denying that he would be remembered. Well, I discovered this excellent album this year and to me, FZ lives on in his music - he is being remembered and not just by me.And that also goes for the talented musicians he worked with too.Highly recommended.

Great album ...Great band ...1970 -50 years ago ,still listening - He was relevant then , he's still relevant today ...There was only one Frank Zappa.Buy it ...

Wow - the sound on this 2012 re-master is amazing! It's not Frank's best album and it's not Frank's most liked album.... But I love it and I love it even more in this re-mastered sound.

What can one say about Frank Zappa? Answers on a postcard folks, send them to Amazon, they will love it. This is yet another classic the maestro. A must for real fans this one.

Underrated.. good far beter master than that one from 95 and lots of fun ones (its zappa lol).. Rudy wants to buy etc is just one example of Zappas humour at its best. Recommended