Chunga's Revenge
Encyclopedia
Chunga's Revenge is an album
by Frank Zappa
, released on October 23, 1970. Zappa's first effort of the 1970s marks the first appearance of former Turtles
members Flo & Eddie
on a Zappa record, and signals the dawn of a controversial epoch in Zappa's history (this era is both hated and loved by Zappa fans in equal measure). Chunga's Revenge represents a shift from both the satirical political commentary of his 1960s work with The Mothers of Invention
, and the jazz fusion
of Hot Rats
.
The material presented on Chunga's Revenge is eclectic; there are two guitar jams ("Transylvania Boogie" and the title track), a bluesy amble ("Road Ladies"), a jazz interlude ("Twenty Small Cigars", culled from the Hot Rats sessions), an avant-garde live improvisation (the multi-part "The Nancy and Mary Music", an excerpt from King Kong), and several poppy numbers ("Tell Me You Love Me", "Would You Go All the Way?", "Rudy Wants to Buy Yez a Drink", "Sharleena"). The vocal tracks all deal with the subject of sex and/or groupie encounters, and, as Zappa notes on the sleeve of both the vinyl and CD, are a preview of the (then forthcoming) 200 Motels
film/album. (Parts of this album were intended to grace the film, but did not make the final cut). Several of these tracks ("Transylvania Boogie", "20 Small Cigars", "The Clap", and the title track) were recorded during either the Hot Rats sessions or during the early 1970 sessions for the follow-up to Hot Rats that never materialized. Other material from those sessions appeared on: Weasels Ripped My Flesh ("Directly From My Heart To You"), Burnt Weeny Sandwich (Sugar Cane Harris solo section of "Little House I Used To Live In"), Zoot Allures (backing track for "Friendly Little Finger"), Studio Tan (backing track for "Let Me Take You To The Beach", and The Lost Episodes (original version of "Sharleena" and possibly "Li'l Clanton Shuffle"). Other "lost" tracks from these sessions include the instrumentals "Twinkle Tits" and "Bognor Regis". A live version of "Twinkle Tits" is available on bootlegs (though the original studio version is not available yet), and "Bognor Regis" was supposed to be released as a B-side of "Sharleena". The single was never released, though the track was leaked to the public on an acetate disc
copy which made its way to the collector's market.
Supposedly, the title track is a song about a small industrial
Gypsy vacuum sweeper
. "Chunga" was a term used to describe a mutated individual of the sort Zapppa depicted in such songs as "The Idiot Bastard Son." The word was coined by Dan O'Brien, a teenage Zappa admirer, to describe the effects of the Hiroshima blast on later generations.
The title track was later recorded by Parisian tango revival group Gotan Project
for their 2001 debut album La Revancha del Tango
.
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The guitar melody in "Tell Me You Love Me" is extremely similar to the one used in "Bwana Dik" and "Daddy, Daddy, Daddy" (during the "if his dick is a monster" section), from Fillmore East - June 1971
, and 200 Motels
, respectively.
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
by Frank Zappa
Frank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed...
, released on October 23, 1970. Zappa's first effort of the 1970s marks the first appearance of former Turtles
The Turtles
The Turtles are an American rock group led by vocalists Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman. The band became notable for several Top 40 hits beginning with its cover version of Bob Dylan's "It Ain't Me Babe" in 1965...
members Flo & Eddie
Flo & Eddie
Flo & Eddie are a comedic musical duo.The two were the original founding members of the Top 40 rock group the Turtles. After the Turtles dissolved, Volman and Kaylan first joined the Mothers of Invention as "Phlorescent Leech & Eddie"...
on a Zappa record, and signals the dawn of a controversial epoch in Zappa's history (this era is both hated and loved by Zappa fans in equal measure). Chunga's Revenge represents a shift from both the satirical political commentary of his 1960s work with The Mothers of Invention
The Mothers of Invention
The Mothers of Invention were an American band active from 1964 to 1969, and again from 1970 to 1975.They mainly performed works by, and were the original recording group of, US composer and guitarist Frank Zappa , although other members have had the occasional writing credit...
, and the jazz fusion
Jazz fusion
Jazz fusion is a musical fusion genre that developed from mixing funk and R&B rhythms and the amplification and electronic effects of rock, complex time signatures derived from non-Western music and extended, typically instrumental compositions with a jazz approach to lengthy group improvisations,...
of Hot Rats
Hot Rats
Hot Rats is the second solo album by Frank Zappa. It was released in October 1969. Five of the six songs are instrumental . It was Zappa's first recording project after the dissolution of the original Mothers of Invention...
.
The material presented on Chunga's Revenge is eclectic; there are two guitar jams ("Transylvania Boogie" and the title track), a bluesy amble ("Road Ladies"), a jazz interlude ("Twenty Small Cigars", culled from the Hot Rats sessions), an avant-garde live improvisation (the multi-part "The Nancy and Mary Music", an excerpt from King Kong), and several poppy numbers ("Tell Me You Love Me", "Would You Go All the Way?", "Rudy Wants to Buy Yez a Drink", "Sharleena"). The vocal tracks all deal with the subject of sex and/or groupie encounters, and, as Zappa notes on the sleeve of both the vinyl and CD, are a preview of the (then forthcoming) 200 Motels
200 Motels
200 Motels is a 1971 American-British musical surrealist film cowritten and directed by Frank Zappa and Tony Palmer and starring The Mothers of Invention, Theodore Bikel and Ringo Starr. The film covers a loose storyline about The Mothers of Invention going crazy in the small town Centerville...
film/album. (Parts of this album were intended to grace the film, but did not make the final cut). Several of these tracks ("Transylvania Boogie", "20 Small Cigars", "The Clap", and the title track) were recorded during either the Hot Rats sessions or during the early 1970 sessions for the follow-up to Hot Rats that never materialized. Other material from those sessions appeared on: Weasels Ripped My Flesh ("Directly From My Heart To You"), Burnt Weeny Sandwich (Sugar Cane Harris solo section of "Little House I Used To Live In"), Zoot Allures (backing track for "Friendly Little Finger"), Studio Tan (backing track for "Let Me Take You To The Beach", and The Lost Episodes (original version of "Sharleena" and possibly "Li'l Clanton Shuffle"). Other "lost" tracks from these sessions include the instrumentals "Twinkle Tits" and "Bognor Regis". A live version of "Twinkle Tits" is available on bootlegs (though the original studio version is not available yet), and "Bognor Regis" was supposed to be released as a B-side of "Sharleena". The single was never released, though the track was leaked to the public on an acetate disc
Acetate disc
An acetate disc, also known as a test acetate, dubplate , lacquer , transcription disc or instantaneous disc...
copy which made its way to the collector's market.
Supposedly, the title track is a song about a small industrial
Industry
Industry refers to the production of an economic good or service within an economy.-Industrial sectors:There are four key industrial economic sectors: the primary sector, largely raw material extraction industries such as mining and farming; the secondary sector, involving refining, construction,...
Gypsy vacuum sweeper
Vacuum cleaner
A vacuum cleaner, commonly referred to as a "vacuum," is a device that uses an air pump to create a partial vacuum to suck up dust and dirt, usually from floors, and optionally from other surfaces as well. The dirt is collected by either a dustbag or a cyclone for later disposal...
. "Chunga" was a term used to describe a mutated individual of the sort Zapppa depicted in such songs as "The Idiot Bastard Son." The word was coined by Dan O'Brien, a teenage Zappa admirer, to describe the effects of the Hiroshima blast on later generations.
The title track was later recorded by Parisian tango revival group Gotan Project
Gotan Project
Gotan Project is a musical group based in Paris, consisting of musicians Philippe Cohen Solal , Eduardo Makaroff , and Christoph H. Müller .-History:...
for their 2001 debut album La Revancha del Tango
La Revancha del Tango
La Revancha del Tango is the debut album of Gotan Project, released in 2001. In October 2010 the album was certified Gold by the BPI for sales of 100,000+ in the UK.-Track listing:# "Queremos Paz" – 5:15# "Época" – 4:28...
.
Side one
- "Transylvania Boogie" - 5:01
- "Road Ladies" - 4:11
- "Twenty Small Cigars" - 2:17
- "The Nancy & Mary Music" - 9:30
- part 1 - 2:42
- part 2 - 4:11
- part 3 - 2:37
Side two
- "Tell Me You Love Me" - 2:43
- "Would You Go All the Way?" - 2:30
- "Chunga's Revenge" - 6:16
- "The Clap" - 1:24
- "Rudy Wants to Buy Yez a Drink" - 2:45
- "Sharleena" - 4:07
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- "Transylvania Boogie" – 5:01
- "Road Ladies" – 4:10
- "Twenty Small Cigars" – 2:17
- "The Nancy and Mary Music" – 9:27
- "Tell Me You Love Me" – 2:33
- "Would You Go All the Way?" – 2:29
- "Chunga's Revenge" – 6:15
- "The Clap" – 1:23
- "Rudy Wants to Buy Yez a Drink" – 2:44
- "Sharleena" – 4:04
|}
The guitar melody in "Tell Me You Love Me" is extremely similar to the one used in "Bwana Dik" and "Daddy, Daddy, Daddy" (during the "if his dick is a monster" section), from Fillmore East - June 1971
Fillmore East - June 1971
Fillmore East – June 1971 is a live album by The Mothers, released in 1971. It was the twelfth album by Frank Zappa. It was produced by Frank Zappa, and mixed by Toby Foster.-History:This was a live concept-like album...
, and 200 Motels
200 Motels
200 Motels is a 1971 American-British musical surrealist film cowritten and directed by Frank Zappa and Tony Palmer and starring The Mothers of Invention, Theodore Bikel and Ringo Starr. The film covers a loose storyline about The Mothers of Invention going crazy in the small town Centerville...
, respectively.
Personnel
- Frank Zappa – guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, harpsichordHarpsichordA harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It produces sound by plucking a string when a key is pressed.In the narrow sense, "harpsichord" designates only the large wing-shaped instruments in which the strings are perpendicular to the keyboard...
, percussionsPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
, drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, vocals, Condor - Max BennettMax Bennett (musician)Max Bennett is an American jazz bassist and session musician.Bennett grew up in Kansas City and Oskaloosa, Iowa, and went to college in Iowa. His first professional gig was with Herbie Fields in 1949, and following this he played with Georgie Auld, Terry Gibbs, and Charlie Ventura...
– bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - George DukeGeorge DukeGeorge Duke is a multi-faceted American musician, known as a keyboard pioneer, composer, singer and producer in both jazz and popular mainstream musical genres. He has worked with numerous acclaimed artists as arranger, music director, writer and co-writer, record producer and professor of music...
– organOrgan (music)The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
, tromboneTromboneThe trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
, electric pianoElectric pianoAn electric piano is an electric musical instrument.Electric pianos produce sounds mechanically and the sounds are turned into electrical signals by pickups. Unlike a synthesizer, the electric piano is not an electronic instrument, but electro-mechanical. The earliest electric pianos were invented...
, sound effects, vocals - Aynsley DunbarAynsley DunbarAynsley Thomas Dunbar is an English drummer. He has worked with some of the top names in rock, including Eric Burdon, John Mayall, Frank Zappa, Ian Hunter, Lou Reed, Jefferson Starship, Jeff Beck, David Bowie, Whitesnake, Sammy Hagar, UFO, and Journey...
– drums, tambourineTambourineThe tambourine or marine is a musical instrument of the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zils". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though some variants may not have a head at all.... - John GuerinJohn GuerinJohn Payne Guerin worked as a drummer, percussionist, and recording artist worldwide.Guerin was born in Hawaii and raised in San Diego. As a young drummer he began performing with Buddy DeFranco in 1960...
– drums (only on Twenty Small Cigars) - Don "Sugarcane" Harris – electric violin, organ
- Howard KaylanHoward KaylanHoward Kaylan is an American rock and roll musician, best known as a founding member and lead singer of the 1960s band, The Turtles, and "Eddie" of 1970's rock band Flo & Eddie.-Early days:...
– vocals - Mark VolmanMark VolmanMark Volman is an American rock and roll singer, best known as a founding member of the 1960s band The Turtles. At times during his career he has used the pseudonym "The Phlorescent Leech"...
– vocals - Jeff SimmonsJeff Simmons (musician)Jeff Simmons, born May 1949 in Seattle, Washington, is a rock musician and former member of Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention. Simmons provided bass, guitar, and backing vocals for the group between 1970 and 1971. He left The Mothers just prior to the filming of 200 Motels in mid 1971...
– bass, vocals - Ian UnderwoodIan UnderwoodIan Robertson Underwood is a woodwind and keyboards player. He began his career by playing San Francisco Bay Area coffeehouses and bars with his improvisational group the Jazz Mice in the mid 1960s before he became a member of Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention in 1967 for their third studio...
– organ, guitar, piano, rhythm guitarRhythm guitarRhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
, electric piano, alto saxophoneAlto saxophoneThe alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in 1841. It is smaller than the tenor but larger than the soprano, and is the type most used in classical compositions...
, tenor saxophoneTenor saxophoneThe tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble...
, pipe organPipe organThe pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air through pipes selected via a keyboard. Because each organ pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ranks, each of which has a common timbre and volume throughout the keyboard compass...
Production
- Producer: Frank Zappa
- Engineers: Stan Agol, Roy Baker, Dick Kunc, Bruce Margolis
- Production assistant: Dick Barber
- Arranger: Frank Zappa
- Cover design: Cal SchenkelCal SchenkelCal Schenkel is an artist specialising in album cover design. He was the main visual collaborator for Frank Zappa and was responsible for the art and graphic design of many of Zappa's most well-known album covers. Schenkel's work is iconic and distinctive in style; a forerunner of punk art and...
- Illustrations: Cal Schenkel
- Photography: Phil Franks (front cover) and John Williams
Charts
Album - Billboard (North America)| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | Pop Albums | 119 |