HiRez Poll Zappa, Frank - WAKA/WAZOO [Blu-Ray Audio (Dolby Atmos)]

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Rate the BDA of Frank Zappa - WAKA/WAZOO


  • Total voters
    52
Having recently picked up the Zappa Waka/Wazoo box set, I am reminded of what a great, versatile drummer Ansley Dunbar is.
Amazing resume, from Zappa to Bowie, Beck and beyond. I just wanted to share some personal anecdotes. I am from the SF Bay area, and the first time I saw him perform was with Journey. They opened for ELP! just prior to Steve Perry joining. The 2nd time was a year later. He was sitting in with The Tubes. The Ramones were the opener!...
 
I think Ansley plays set on the studio material and Jim Gordon on the live. With various percussionists added...
 
I give this a 10 because it really doesn't get much better if you're even remotely a Zappa fan. The packaging is very nicely done. Every single moment on this box is a joy to hear, but I particularly enjoyed the demos that he did with George Duke. Those are amazing, especially the proto version of "Uncle Remus". The 5.1 mix on both albums is incredible. Finally Zappa's "orchestral cacophony" is heard in all its brilliance with nice separation of the multitude of instruments that appear, particularly on Grand Wazoo, my favorite of the two albums. Gone is this wall of sound that has no layering, as was the case with previous versions. There have been complaints that you have to turn up the volume on the blu ray to properly hear everything, all the details. And ...? I don't see this as a big problem. Someone went as far as to claim that the blu ray disc is defective. This is simply not the case. There was another claim that the center channel is distorted. I think this listener is confusing speaker distortion with that of George Duke's keyboard, which is distorted in various songs for effect. It is not a defect just like there is no defect with the blu ray. I think the surround mixes are very very good, a 9. The sound quality (even on the CDs) is exceptional, crazy to think after 50 years. Don't forget to check out the stereo mixes as well. They blow away previous CD versions. I don't have a setup for Atmos, so I can't make any claims there. Overall a really nice box set with a lot of unreleased material, excellent surround mixes, all in a compact box with Frank's face on it. For the plethora of insanely brilliant outtakes, I land on a 10.
 
I voted a 9. The mixes, extras, and packaging are all wonderful, and I have absolutely no regret for buying this set. It's a great value.

I deducted a point because of the volume differences on the blu-ray, which are very noticeable and, frankly, annoying, on both of my systems. I can get around that by ripping all the mixes and simply playing them separately or finding a way to adjust the volume levels so they're closer to each other. I don't want to get into a discussion of whether that makes the disc "defective," but the bottom line for me is that a 10 vote from me indicates perfection.
 
All in all this is a great set. The 5.1 surround mix is fantastic. To hear these songs this way is amazing - there is a lot going on. And the alternate takes and mixes on the CD’s really fill the package out nicely. The George Duke stuff was interesting, and the early live performance of Montana is very cool! The booklet was very well done as well. It’s an easy 10!
 
All in all this is a great set. The 5.1 surround mix is fantastic. To hear these songs this way is amazing - there is a lot going on. And the alternate takes and mixes on the CD’s really fill the package out nicely. The George Duke stuff was interesting, and the early live performance of Montana is very cool! The booklet was very well done as well. It’s an easy 10!
Totally agree with my neighbour.
 
I know that there has been some chatter here about the drummers on this set, both excellent. But I wanted to call attention here to the playing of Tony Duran, the slide guitarist here. He played for Ruben and the Jets. Going toe-to-toe with Zappa is no easy feat. I just love the way he plays, sounds like Duane Allman at times. I know Zappa was a fan of the Allman Brothers Band. He even covered "Whipping Post". Just thought I should express my gratitude for the work of this amazing "unsung" guitarist.
 
Some one gives this a 5 rating. They have been around here for 10 years, have only posted 10 times.
I have voted 5/10. Zappa in general is 10/10 with me, especially Grand Wazoo is definitely a 10/10, but sorry, there must be a severe mastering or authoring problem with this Blu Ray disc. It cannot be that everytime I switch from dolby Atmos to PCM Stereo I get blasted out off my seat if I do not decrease the volume quick enough. The BD is defective in my eyes/ears and should be reworked and replaced.
I would have asked around the forums here and maybe elsewhere about this possible authoring problem before dinging the set with with an ultra low rating. We get those folks who drop in very rarely, say next to nothing at all about the music/mix, and then give some top rated discs exceptionally low grades. I'm sure you're not one of these, but it happens I'm sure you've noticed.
 
How can you not love this? Other than Quadropheliac, it's the only FZ available in surround. And it's done very well. I hope this is the beginning of a whole series of FZ surround releases. Could you imagine Apostrophe, Overnight Sensation, and One Size Fits all in surround??? Fingers crossed.
Fingers crossed indeed. Also, some of the material from Sleep Dirt(aka Hot Rats III) was recorded at Caribou Ranch, which had a Quad recording set up. Hopefully that exists in the Vault somewhere...
 
How can you not love this? Other than Quadropheliac, it's the only FZ available in surround. And it's done very well. I hope this is the beginning of a whole series of FZ surround releases. Could you imagine Apostrophe, Overnight Sensation, and One Size Fits all in surround??? Fingers crossed.
You don't have to imagine Apostrophe & Overnite Sensation in surround, they've been done in quad back in 1973/74, I've heard them, they could do with a re-release though.
 
Fingers crossed indeed. Also, some of the material from Sleep Dirt(aka Hot Rats III) was recorded at Caribou Ranch, which had a Quad recording set up. Hopefully that exists in the Vault somewhere...
The trio of Sleep Dirt, Studio Tan, and Orchestral Favorites would be AMAZING to hear in surround as they are some of my fave FZ albums. Zappa re-released the content of those as the compilation "Läther" in later years, so I'm hoping the Zappa Trust has more than just the stereo masters on file.
 
This is the first 12 channel mix I've heard that really justifies hanging 4 speakers from the ceiling and expanding the system and can not be heard on anything less! Next level, game changing, and all the terms!

Mind you, I don't think expanding surround to 4 more channels needs any justification! It's just that it's a little letdown hearing something only mildly pushing what 5.1 can deliver after putting in the effort. The faux surround mixes... goes without saying.

I wasn't expecting to hear something like this. Someone put a lot of effort into this! Of course my first thought was going to be "Why is someone (who is not Frank Zappa) remixing two Zappa albums and where are the modern HD releases of the original quads of Apostrophe and Overnight Sensation, please and thank you?" That was immediately dismissed after clicking play!

I'll say more after a few more listens. This has to be heard to be believed. I'd recommend this for a first 7.1.4 listen though! One heck of a reward for the effort to hang speakers and the battle that is wrestling the decoder software from the likes of Dolby!

The Steve Wilson mixes I've heard so far have been easy to please too but this one is next level!

Curiously quiet mix delivery. It's all there and volume controls work well. Eyebrow raising in this day and age of volume war levels though! Maybe this was delivered as the raw mix with zero mastering - not even straight normalization? A blessing in disguise perhaps? Anyway, it's more of a volume boost than you're used to. And then don't forget to turn it down again for the next playlist!
 
Another late vote here, Big fan of Zappa from freak out through to Apostrophe after that it all gets a bit spotty for me. Great little box set and two prime period albums mixed in surround and a very generous dollop of contemporary outtakes on CD. Nice to not have to rebuy the albums on CD in the box set.
The surround mixes are very good making good use of all the speakers. Cant quite give it a 10 as others have said the authoring is pretty pants and definitely not 'Awrightus', and the dianorm issue is frustrating do they ever test these discs before issue?
 
How can you not love this? Other than Quadropheliac, it's the only FZ available in surround. And it's done very well. I hope this is the beginning of a whole series of FZ surround releases. Could you imagine Apostrophe, Overnight Sensation, and One Size Fits all in surround??? Fingers crossed.


Actually there is quite a bit of Frank Zappa in surround. (But never enough !)
So besides the aforementioned "QuAudiophiliac" in DVD-A............

"Roxy And Elsewhere" is on Blu-ray and DVD 5.1
"Baby Snakes" is/was available on 5.1DVD
"Halloween" is/was available on DVD-A

plus Dweezil's tribute DVD(2SET) 5.1.."ZAPPA PLAYS ZAPPA."

Let's all hope we see APOSTOPHE , and OVERNIGHT SENSATION , Quad, 5.1 and atmos , next !
 
Solid 8 for me.
The surround mix itself is great but I was hoping for a little more sonic "umph" in the mix
Maybe it just isn't there to be dug out but it does sound just a bit clinical/flat to me.
 
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