''Chunga's Revenge'' is the third solo album by Frank Zappa, released on October 23, 1970. Zappa's first effort of the 1970s marks the first appearance of former

Turtles Turtles are an order of reptiles known as Testudines, characterized by a special shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Cryptodira (hidden necked tur ...

members

Flo & Eddie Flo & Eddie is a comedy rock duo consisting of Mark Volman (Flo, short for Phlorescent Leech) and Howard Kaylan (Eddie). The two were the original founding members of the Top 40 mid-to late 1960s rock and pop group The Turtles. After the Turt ...

on a Zappa record, and signals the dawn of a controversial epoch in Zappa's history. ''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 (also known as The Mothers) was an American rock band from California. Formed in 1964, their work is marked by the use of sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Originally an R&B band ...

, and the jazz fusion of '' Hot Rats''.

Songs

The material presented on ''Chunga's Revenge'' is eclectic: side one includes a guitar jam ("Transylvania Boogie"), a bluesy amble ("Road Ladies"), a jazz interlude ("Twenty Small Cigars") and an avant garde live improvisation ("The Nancy and Mary Music") drawn from "King Kong" from a July 1970 Mothers performance, released officially on Road Tapes, Venue 3. Several poppy numbers ("Tell Me You Love Me", "Would You Go All the Way?", "Rudy Wants to Buy Yez a Drink", "Sharleena") appear on the second side along with the improvisational title track and a percussion-only track ("The Clap"). "Twenty Small Cigars" was drawn from the '' Hot Rats'' sessions from summer 1969. "Transylvania Boogie" and "Chunga's Revenge" come from the early 1970 period where Zappa performed with a band informally known as "Hot Rats," including

Ian Underwood Ian Robertson Underwood (born May 22, 1939) is a woodwind and keyboards player, known for his work with Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention. Biography Underwood graduated from The Choate School in 1957 and Yale University with a bachelo ...

Don "Sugarcane" Harris Don Francis Bowman "Sugarcane" Harris (June 18, 1938 – November 30, 1999) was an American blues and rock and roll violinist and guitarist. He is considered a pioneer in the amplification of the violin. Career Harris was born and raised in P ...

, Max Bennett and Aynsley Dunbar. Also from this period is "The Clap," a short multitracked percussion piece with Zappa as the only musician. 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, and date from the summer of 1970 after the formation of the new Mothers of Invention lineup. The original early 1970 version of "Sharleena" later appeared on ''

The Lost Episodes ''The Lost Episodes'' is a 1996 posthumous album by Frank Zappa which compiles (with the exception of "I Don't Want to Get Drafted" and "Any Way the Wind Blows") previously unreleased material. Much of the material covered dates from early in his ...

''. 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 yet available. "Bognor Regis" was intended to be released as a B-side of "Sharleena", but the single was never released, and the track was leaked to the public on an

acetate disc An acetate disc (also known as a ''lacquer'', ''test acetate'', '' dubplate'', or ''transcription disc'') is a type of phonograph record generally used from the 1930s to the late 1950s for recording and broadcast purposes and still in limited use ...

copy which made its way to the collector's market. The title track was later recorded by Argentinian/Parisian tango revival group

Gotan Project Gotan Project is a musical group based in Paris (France), consisting of musicians Eduardo Makaroff (Argentine), Philippe Cohen Solal (French) and Christoph H. Müller (Swiss), a former member of Touch El Arab.Madlen Albrecht ''Le développement ...

for their 2001 debut album '' La Revancha del Tango''. 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. Zappa would include a 1980 live version of the song on '' Tinsel Town Rebellion'', while a 1988 version with revised lyrics titled "Why Don't You Like Me" appeared on ''

Broadway the Hard Way ''Broadway the Hard Way '' is a live album by American musician Frank Zappa recorded at various performances along his 1988 world tour. It was first released as a 9-track vinyl album through Zappa's label Barking Pumpkin Records in October 1988, ...

''. (A similar version from 1984, known as "Don't Be a Lawyer," has never been officially released.) Zappa would also include an 80's recording of "Sharleena" on ''

Them or Us ''Them or Us'' is an album by American musician Frank Zappa, released in October 1984 by Barking Pumpkin Records. Album content Its opening and closing songs were not written by Zappa: "The Closer You Are", was written by Earl Lewis and Morgan ...

'', while a 1988 version of "Chunga's Revenge" where Zappa played alongside his son Dweezil was the opening track of the album ''

Trance-Fusion ''Trance-Fusion'' is an album by Frank Zappa. Released posthumously in 2006, 13 years after the musician's death, the album forms the third in a trilogy of instrumental albums which focus on Zappa's improvised guitar solos, after ''Shut Up 'n Play ...

'' which Zappa compiled in the 90's (although it would not be released until 2006).

Critical reception

Reviewing ''Chunga's Revenge'' in '' Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies'' (1981), Robert Christgau wrote: "Like

Bobby Sherman Robert Cabot Sherman Jr. (born July 22, 1943), known professionally as Bobby Sherman, is an American retired paramedic, police officer, singer, actor and occasional songwriter who became a teen idol in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He had a s ...

, Zappa is a selfish exploiter of popular taste. That Bobby Sherman wants to make money while Zappa wants to make money and emulate

Varese Varese ( , , or ; lmo, label= Varesino, Varés ; la, Baretium; archaic german: Väris) is a city and ''comune'' in north-western Lombardy, northern Italy, north-west of Milan. The population of Varese in 2018 has reached 80,559. It is the c ...

is beside the point—if anything, Zappa's

aestheticism Aestheticism (also the Aesthetic movement) was an art movement in the late 19th century which privileged the aesthetic value of literature, music and the arts over their socio-political functions. According to Aestheticism, art should be pro ...

intensifies his contempt for rock and its audience. Even '' Hot Rats'', his compositional peak, played as much with the moods and usages of

Muzak Muzak is an American brand of background music played in retail stores and other public establishments. The name has been in use since 1934, and has been owned by a division or subsidiary of one or another company ever since. In 1981, Westingho ...

as with those of rock and roll. This is definitely not his peak. Zappa plays a lot of guitar, just as his admirers always hope he will, but the overall effect is more

Martin Denny Martin Denny (April 10, 1911 – March 2, 2005) was an American pianist and composer best known as the "father of exotica." In a long career that saw him performing up to 3 weeks prior to his death, he toured the world popularizing his brand of l ...

than Varese. Also featured are a number of 'dirty' jokes."

Track listing

Personnel

* Frank Zappa –

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

(except 8),

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

(2, 6, 9, 10), harpsichord (3), Condor (5), drums and percussions (8) *

– organ (1), rhythm guitar (2, 5),

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

(3), electric piano (4, 6, 9), alto saxophone (4), pipe organ (5), electric alto saxophone with

wah-wah pedal A wah-wah pedal, or simply wah pedal, is a type of electric guitar effects pedal that alters the tone and frequencies of the guitar signal to create a distinctive sound, mimicking the human voice saying the onomatopoeic name "wah-wah". The ped ...

(7),

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while ...

(10),

grand piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

(10) * Aynsley Dunbar – drums (except 3, 8),

tambourine The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though ...

(9) *

John Guerin John Payne Guerin (October 31, 1939 – January 5, 2004) was an American percussionist. He was a proponent of the jazz-rock style. Biography Guerin was born in Hawaii and raised in San Diego. As a young drummer he began performing with Buddy De ...

– drums (3) * Max Bennett – bass (1, 3, 7) * Jeff Simmons – bass (2, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10), vocals (2, 4, 9, 10) * George Duke – organ (2, 10), electric piano (4, 5), vocal sound effects (4),

trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate ...

(6, 9) *

Howard Kaylan Howard Kaylan (born Howard Lawrence Kaplan, June 22, 1947) is an American musician and songwriter, best known as a founding member and lead singer of the 1960s rock band The Turtles, and, along with bandmate and friend Mark Volman, a member of ...

– vocals (2, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10) *

Mark Volman Mark Randall Volman (born April 19, 1947) is an American vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter, best known as a founding member of the 1960s rock band The Turtles, and, along with his bandmate and friend Howard Kaylan, a member of the 1970s rock duo ...

– vocals (2, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10), rhythm guitar (9) *

– organ (7)

Production

* Producer: Frank Zappa * Engineers: Stan Agol, Roy Baker, Dick Kunc, Bruce Margolis * Production assistant: Dick Barber * Arranger: Frank Zappa * Cover design:

Cal Schenkel Calvin "Cal" Schenkel (born January 27, 1947, Willow Grove, Pennsylvania) is an American illustrator, graphic designer, animator and comics artist, specializing in album cover design. He was the main graphic arts collaborator for rock musician F ...

* Illustrations: Cal Schenkel * Photography: Phil Franks (front cover) and John Williams

Charts

References

External links

Lyrics and information
{{Authority control 1970 albums Albums produced by Frank Zappa Bizarre Records albums Frank Zappa albums Reprise Records albums Albums recorded at Trident Studios