Published on Sep 8, 2005
Frank Zappa closed out 1972 – and a particularly bad year all
around for him (as he was still recovering from being pushed
off-stage in London in December 1971) – with
The Grand Wazoo, an album that built on the jazz-rock
concept he dusted off for
Waka/Jawaka, with more of an emphasis on a larger band.
He also seemed to learn from the mistakes of
Waka/Jawaka.
The Grand Wazoo, while not a perfect release, showed that
Zappa’s concept for presenting his music on a larger scale was
well-suited for his overall sound, and although this disc takes
time to grow on you, it’s well worth the effort.
It doesn’t start off very promising, though. “For Calvin (And
His Next Two Hitch-Hikers)” seems to continue with the musical
absurdity that plagued much of
Waka/Jawaka; the lack of focus in the performances
(especially in the solos) turns out to be more of a hindrance than
a help. Likewise, the closing track “Blessed Relief” doesn’t do
much to bring the whole project together, though it’s by no means a
bad track. It’s just something that feels transitory, almost as if
Zappa had regrets about closing this musical chapter.
It is the three tracks sandwiched in between that make up the
tasty meat of
The Grand Wazoo. The title track alone is the closest thing
that Zappa had done to matching his output on
Hot Rats, though he made sure to share the spotlight with
his entire band. The effect works well, and you have to be comatose
not to want to get up and groove to this track. “Cletus
Awreetus-Awrightus” is an interesting number, sounding almost like
a fanfare wrapped around a rock music core, but it works well, most
likely because of its brevity. Had Zappa stretched this one out to
five, seven or ten minutes, the energy of the track would droop,
and any emphasis the song had would have been quickly lost.
Instead, Zappa and crew get in, get their message across, and get
out.
This is, by no means, knocking the longer tracks on
The Grand Wazoo – indeed, even with the longer ones like
“Eat That Question” and “The Grand Wazoo,” it rarely sounds like a
note is being wasted, and Zappa is able to successfully keep the
listener’s interest throughout. “Eat That Question” almost has the
vibe of an older-style Zappa composition, despite having richer
instrumentation.
As good as
The Grand Wazoo is, this is not the kind of album that one
can appreciate with just a cursory listen or two. To really
appreciate the disc, you almost have to lock it into continuous
mode on your CD player, sit down and really
listen to the disc. Even those well-schooled in all things
Zappa may find it a little harder to get into this one, as it’s
just not as approachable as
Hot Rats or any of his vocal-based rock discs. Still,
The Grand Wazoo, despite a few mis-steps, proves to be worth
the time and effort.
2005 Christopher Thelen and “The Daily Vault.” All rights
reserved. Review or any portion may not be reproduced without
written permission. Cover art is the intellectual property of the
Zappa Family Trust / record label, and is used for informational
purposes only.