The Mothers "The Grand Wazoo" Frank Zappa LP GAT REPRISE K 44209 UK 1972 [Vin...

How did Frank do it? How did he make the time between busy touring schedules and recordings and raising a family to compose? I guess geniuses are able to do that. The rest of us average Joes should be extremely grateful that there was a man named Frank Zappa and who gave us the gift of fantastic, life-changing music.I'm lost for words when reviewing Frank's albums. I am not worthy. But one thing I DO want to say is: you can never predict Zappa and yet you can predict him. Does that make sense? Maybe not. Okay how about this? Expect the unexpected. No.. that still doesn't cut it either. What I mean to say is when you hear an album like The Grand Wazoo or Jazz From Hell or Orchestral Favorites, they take you by surprise and yet you're not too surprised because Frank is capable of just composing extraordinarily fantastic music and his musical ideas were light years ahead of anyone.With The Grand Wazoo, you never really expect him to do a big band type thing and yet here it is. It is absolutely a necessary Zappa album in his vast discography. Frank was one of the pioneers of jazz fusion, even though he never claimed that title himself and people don't give him enough credit. With The Grand Wazoo he refined the jazz fusion subgenre. Eat That Question is worth the price of the entire album.The 2012 remaster is fantastic. It reverts to the dry vinyl mix. Earlier CDs had digital reverb. The Grand Wazoo is one of my favourite of Frank's albums.

Frank Zappa was an extremely knowledgeable musician who was both a rock guitarist and leader and also a jazz musician, and a talented composer of instrumental music which reflected his two-sided talent as a performer. Much of his output was uneven and hit or miss, which seems to suggest that he either didn't have enough time, money, or patience (or all three) to sit down and really concentrate on writing music of consistently high quality, since you have to listen to a lot of it to find a completely successful album, such as this one. "The Grand Wazoo" has enough good material and arrangements matched with high quality playing and sound to make it the best, or at least one of the best things Zappa recorded. As with his Mothers of Invention, the band on this record is large, and the playing just as skillful. These guys are professionals who know what they're doing, and they do it very well, jumping right out with Zappa's arresting material as any great jazz group, and it's really jazz or jazz-rock, but it's much more advanced harmonically than Chicago or another similar pop group of the time, so it may sound strange to some listeners used to more easy listening. Keep in mind that FZ is more interested in challenging your ears (like Charles Ives or Edward Varese) and he doesn't care if it's not commercial or popular, so he's more of a "classical" musician who happens to work with a mix of styles moving from pop, rock, jazz, to "classical," or whatever you want to call it. I don't think he made a sharp distinction when he wrote. If you like this, try "King Kong" with Jean Luc Ponty, "Hot Rats," "The Perfect Stranger" with Pierre Boulez and Zappa, alternating at the helm, and the two records by Ensemble Modern on RCA. Some of these may be hard to find or out of print, but it's worth the search.

Given that I have always been partial to jazz, my favorite Zappa production is "The Grand Wazoo". I've had the LP of this since 1974 and it's still in great shape. I recently bought the CD to be able to hear it in the car and I couldn't resist doing a comparison with the LP. I found them to be remarkably close. I think the CD has slightly better imaging and possibly a little more high end detail."Vinyl" lovers seem to overlook the fact that the stereo separation of an LP is only 30 to 40 db while the L/ R separation of CD is absolute, which could explain better imaging.The final track "Blessed Relief" ends with a Zappa solo which is beautiful and light-hearted.

Very jazzy, yet oddly straightforward album. It has much in common with the 69 - 75 releases: stellar side musicians (Aynsley Dunbar's drumming - Wow!), sly musical compositions, and really outstanding guitar playing.The music is really at the forefront, with the humorous element of Zappa's work being found more in the phrasing of the tunes (and only one - "For Calvin (And His Next Two Hitch-Hikers)" with lyrics).I could wish for the album to be longer (only 5 tracks), but this album is really such a pleasure - especially for Zappa Nerds like me. (it's in HEAVY rotation in the car!)

As a jazz fan, a rock fan and even a FZ fan, I am shocked that it took me so long to finally listen to this album. This is one that really lives up to the hype - to all the accolades fans have been expressing for years. For freedom of expression, the title cut reminds me a bit of Bitches Brew, but more accessible, to my ear. It has to be the fastest 13 minutes on record - ie, it ends all too soon. Other tunes do remind me of So What, with the smooth flow. Acquire it now - don't wait forty years, as did I.

Epic!Frank Zappa does jazz fusion his way. This album has perhaps the largest band that Frank ever assembled playing their socks off, producing some of the finest jazz fusion ever played.The 2012 remaster is a significant sonic step forward on previous issues. The clarity is hard to credit, all of the instruments(of which there are a lot, especially brass) are clear as the proverbial and do not mush over each other.Found out that the mad scientist on the back cover is meant to be Edgar Varese, who Frank held in greatest esteem. So there you go, something new learned everyday.First class music, first class album. Essential Zappa purchase.

I have loved this record for years since getting it on vinyl Frank Zappa to me is a genius a musical god I was lucky enough to see him twice first at the rainbow Finsbury park and again at Hammersmith and both times he just blew me away he was in my opinion the greatest and most under rated guitarist ever and we shall never see his like again but at least his music lives on, rest in peace Frank and thank you for the music.

Frank Zappa is obviously an acquired taste - I like him a lot. His lyrics can shoot over your head but you will never be disappointed by his lead guitar work.

It's Zappa. Its excellent, a bit mad but ultimately genius.

Zappa made this a classic