Chunga’s Revenge Frank Zappa “This album was recorded between July 1969 and August 1970. Six tracks feature the band that toured in the second half of 1970: George Duke (keyboards, trombone), Ayns- Jey Dunbar (drums), Howard ‘Flo’ Kaylan (rocals), Jeff Simmons (bass), Jan Under- wood (keyboards, saxophone), Mark ‘Eddie’ Volman (vocals), and FZ (guitar, vocals). “Two tracks feature a short-lived line-up that played a few gigs cirea March 1970 (some- times billed as Hot Rats and sometimes as Chunga): Max Bennett (bass), Aynsley Dunbar (drums), Don ‘Sugarcane’ Harris (organ), lan Underwood (organ, saxophone), and FZ (guitar). John Guerin (drams) plays on one of the remaining tracks. Five of the ten tracks are vocal, five instrumental. EZ plays five guitar solos — in ‘Transylvania Boogie’, ‘Road Ladies, ‘Chunga’s Revenge’, and two in “The Nancy & Mary Music’. One track was recorded in concert; the rest are studio recordings. ‘The studio tracks were recorded at the Record Plant and TTG in Los Angeles, California; Whitney Studios in Glendale, California; and Trident Studios in London, England. Four engineers are credited: Stan Agol (Record Plant, possibly Whitney), Roy ‘Thomas Baker (Trident), Dick Kune (TTG, possibly Whitney), and Bruce Margolis (Tyrone Guthrie). All five of the songs with lyries were intended for 200 Motels at one time but had been deleted by the time FZ wrote the shooting script. The front cover photo of FZ yawning was taken by Phil Franks at Bailiffscourt Hotel in West Sussex, England, on June 24, 1970. Franks recalled, By the time [i got around to the other side of the building there were at least another sce cam= era-men there in a circle around ibis poor guy, who liad thought be just maybe enjoy his Remy ORIGINAL RELEASE Bizarre/Reprise MS 2030 (LP), October 1970. c LEASE Zappa ZR 3844 (CD), July 2022 Martin with some fresh air and bird-song in the garden. He looked pretty unbappy about being followed out, and he really wasn’t into the idea of anotker ‘photo-opportunity’. Iwas just focusing my portrait lens on bin as he began to yatn, with ‘my free eye Imoticed the other guys lower their cameras... be'd been giving out some pretty eavy vibes since we'd all cornered him again and 1 think these guys felt imimidated, and anyway, they just wanted the standard kinda image for their picture editors... When I saw that image in my view-finder it just screamed FRANK ZAPPAP at me ...! Beneath the photo is a description of the scene depicted in the gatefold illustration by Cal Schenkel. FZ explained, Chunga is an industrial vacuum cleaner that Tives in our basement, illustrated on the interior of the album in an erotic pose with its hase flail- ing about in the air and its little wheel, its exotic wheel working a wah-wah pedal, wbich is lead- ing to an old Fender Deluxe Whipcord ampli near a gypsy wagon. Looks like something Pee Wee Crayton would have played through about taventy-two years ago? Note that the gypsy camp is inside a recording studio, as viewed from the con’ booth. The gypsy mutant industrial vacu: cleaner reappears on One Size Fits All and ‘The Perfect Stranger. Under the tray of the 1995 and 2012 CDs is a rejected cover ides by Cal Schenkel. FZ said, one of the places that I got a surprise was the album CHUNGA'S REVENGE, which I don’: hi is an especially astonishing alburt, was a very bit in Thailand. And it was also one of our successful albums in Italy ‘The 2012 CD was remastered from the original 1970 analog master.Chunga’s Revenge (working version) Apearlier working version of Chnngn’s Revenge had the following tracklist: Gide one) ‘Wont That Hurt Your Kidneys? ‘Motor Head’s Boogie’, ‘Sharleena (erst version), “Twenty Small Cigats, “The Nancy & Mary Music’ (side two) “Chunga's Revenge, “The Clap’, ‘Transylva- nia Boogie’, ‘Sharleena (second version)’, ‘Wonderful Wino’, ,WWon't That Hurt Your Kidneys (1:45) was a spoken track featuring Aynsley Dunbar and) Phyllis Altenhaus. FZ explained, Tuy a block of time and I go in with a certain amount of prepared material, Then Tatways allow far accidents, ideas, craziness, spomtancous watever, and I'm willing to pay for that extra studio time iust to get those tbings dozen on tape. Like an improvised dialogue betaseon Aynsley Dunbar and Pl is Altenbaus happened one night in the studio — cwhere he's trying to get her to beat bim with some ind of device in the studio, They're just discussing it. Because T took the time to record thar, it gave eumne up with a funny tape. ‘Motor Head’s Boogie’ (2:09) was a 1967 recordin ig featuring Roy Estrada on bass, Motor- head Sherwood on rhythm guitar, and F: % on acoustic lead guitar and ‘primordial grunts. ‘Shatleena (frst version) was eventually released on The Last Epizdes, Wonderful wine 10) featured Aynsley Dunbar, George Duke, Jeff Simmons, fan Underwood, and F? This version has never been released, though it may possibly have been the basis. cieh numer- ous overdubs — for the versions released on Zoot Alures and The Lost Episodes, FZ wrote liner notes for this version of the album. He got as fae as producing an acetate, he played for journalists. It was reviewed in the first issue ofthe British newspaper Days in September 1970, But — apparently at the last minute — he substituted four vocal tracks featuring the current line-up of the Mothers. planned, this version of Chunga’s Revenge would have had the same artwork asthe version. In addition to notes about each song, it would also have included a list of influences, shorter than the one in Freak Out!, but including some of the same names: ie Music Of Bulgaria, Saudi Arabia, Greece, India, Tibet, Indonesia, Los Angeles. Compositions Of: Igor Stravinsky, Edgar Varese, John Cage, Béla Bartth, Anton Webern, Pierre , Maurice Ravel. Other Influences: Mike Nichols, Elaine May, Jobn Lee Hooker, Clarence Gatemouth Brown, ny Guitar Watson, Glen Campbell, Panalal Ghosh, Ravi Shankar, Clyde McCoy, Canned Heat, Zeppelin, The Tartles.!8 would also have included a general discussion of influence — social and political as well as sausical — and offered the following advice: | 1 Pay attention to everything 2. Select what you like & what you don’ like 4. Leave rhe rest for somebody ese to use 4. Use what you like : 5. Don't use what you don’t like unless you improve it 6. Make things using the best of your influences 2 Share these!®