CHUNGA'S REVENGE

The third FZ solo album (Lumpy Gravy and Hot Rats preceded it), Chunga's Revenge, plays out like a more blues-oriented Hot Rats, with jokey lyrics courtesy of Flo and Eddie, formerly of the Turtles. Imagine going from "Happy Together" to "Rudy Wants To Buy Yez A Drink"! The album opens with "Transylvania Boogie", a guitar jam with exotic gypsy scales. It segues into the next song, "Road Ladies", before it gets too boring. "Road Ladies", however, is a blues song verging on parody, not too dissimilar to "Andy" off of One Size Fits All. The obligatory guitar pyrotechnics are subdued, yet still manage to satisfy. "Twenty Small Cigars" sounds like a straightforward jazz tune, yet Zappa manages to convolute it by playing the harpsichord on it. The following side-ender, "The Nancy And Mary Music" is a three-part suite accented by Aynsley Dunbar's drums (who would later join Journey, for some reason unbeknownst to me). Side 2 opens with "Tell Me You Love Me", which presages the cock rock of Aerosmith, Foreigner and post-Physical Graffiti Led Zeppelin. The following "Would You Go All The Way?" follows the same subject matter. In my opinion, it's the weakest song on the album. However, the title track is a barrage of guitar and wah-wahed sax, with soft Soft Machine-esque interludes interrupting the gargantuan riff. The last two songs, "Rudy Wants To Buy Yez A Drink" and "Sharleena" are jokey style parodies of Country and Western and 50s Doo-Wop, respectively. All in all, the album isn't a classic like Apostrophe or Hot Rats, but it's still an enjoyable listen.