[.ca] Chunga's Revenge

Underrated:
While this is not a particularly good FRANK ZAPPA album, it is still a very good album overall. I love Ian Underwood's solo in the title track, and then the music builds up for Frank's guitar solo. Also, "Rudy Wants to Buy Yez a Drink" is one of my all-time favorite Zappa songs. Catchy and beautiful.

Still Awesome 30 years later:
I just listened to Chunga's Revenge for the first time in about 30 years. I am more impressed now than ever before. If you've been thinking about adding a little Zappa to your collection and didn't know where to begin ... look no further. This is a super addition to your rock collection.

I like it:
I like the way that "Transylvania Boogie" changes from one beat to another without skipping a beat. Not sure of the musical term for that but I'm sure there is one. You have to hear it to understand. Very cool. IMO this isn't the best Zappa album in my collection, but it's good and I enjoy listening to it. My favorite still is "One Size Fits All" and "Roxy and Elsewhere" , maybe because those were basically my first exposure to Zappa. Wow, thirty years ago... The music has really held up over the years.

FRANK ZAPPA'S MOST UNDERRATED ALBUM!:
chunga's revenge is, by far, fz's most underrated album. many consider it just an average album from his early years but that's as far from the truth as one can get. it's only 40 minutes long. a very quick and easy listen that should be played over and over again. the album's highlights are the hard-rocking song "tell me you love me" and the commercially potential "sharleena" (there is a slower and smoother 11 minute version of sharleena on the lost episodes cd. many people consider that version superior. i don't. the 4 minute version here is the best.), "twenty small cigars" (a tune reminiscent to "little umbrellas" from "hot rats" ; it can easily be called "son of little umbrellas"). there's a gothic instrumental "transylvania boogie" that makes you feel like you're face-to-face with count dracula himself. a sex-oriented pop tune "would you go all the way?" asks the question to a naive female u.s.o. dancer. there's the union-bashing "rudy wants to buy yez a drink"...the definitive song to depict the attitudes and activities of union big shots nationwide. the instrumental head-banging "chunga's revenge" is a cross between hard-rock and international music from far away places. the album really has to be heard to be believed. one of the top 5 zappa albums ever! essential! don't listen to the others...what you've heard about chunga's revenge is wrong! it's great!

Eclectic is good - if you like the range of styles:
There's a variety of material here, so I'll do something that I don't usually do - review song by song. Transylvania Boogie - a cool guitar solo instrumental track. A hint of egyption music with boogie style and jazz/rock edge. 5/5 Road Ladies - a bluesy track with some great soloing a la Frank. I didn't like it much at first but trust me, it grows on you. 5/5 Twenty Small Cigars - a short, trippy jazzy instrumental. Recommended for when you feel like chilling out. 4/5 The Nancy And Mary Music - at 9 minutes it takes up almost a quarter of the album, which is a shame because it isn't really much good. This is not so much a song, but a group of musicians messing around and taking turns to make some noise. A waste of a track, because I thought it would be a cool jam. There are some OK moments, but they are few and far between. 2/5 Tell Me You Love Me - a short rocker with some cool guitar work. Not the best, could have done with being longer and having more soloing, but a good and enjoyable track nonetheless. 4/5 Would You Go All The Way - in a similar vien to Tell Me You Love Me, only without its groovy infectious riffs. 2.5/5 Chunga's Revenge - a cool, dark, mid-paced jam with Frank doing some cool soloing and Ian Underwood playing an electro-sax with a wah-wah peddle. Definately one of the better moments on the album. 4/5 The Clap - a short percussion solo. It's simple and sloppy, so the fact that Frank does it means nothing. It \ois not good\c. 1/5 Rudy Wants To Buy Yez A Drink - didn't like it much, I found it a bit boring. 2/5 Sharleena - a more moody track. A few listens and its fairly good. 3/5 I bought it after Hot Rats and was a bit disappointed. This is in a different vien to Hot Rats, despite being recorded and released within the same 12 months. This album is a little inconsistent, not just in quality but also in musical themes. I found Hot Rats to have a much more consistent theme to the music. However, if you like Frank and have an open mind, there's no reason not to try it. You may not like all the material here, but the good tracks certainly make up for the bad ones.

• Transylvania Boogie
• Road Ladies
• Twenty Small Cigars
• Nancy & Mary Music
• Tell Me You Love Me
• Would You Go All the Way?
• Chunga's Revenge
• Clap
• Rudy Wants to Buy Yez a Drink
• Sharleena