Frank Zappa Waka/Wazoo Deluxe 4CD + Blu-Ray 5.1 and Atmos!!!!

[DuncanS]

I foolishly ordered from the Zappa Store as I didn't want to miss out on it, so mine is either in New Jersey or is on the plane to the UK (the tracking just says 17th Dec. in NJ), and to add insult to injury I have paid £13 duty (at least no £12 tax gathering fee)

 

[4-earredwonder]

My copy arrived today from JPC.de in excellent condition. Great price as well. Am playing Waka/Jawaka in Dolby True HD 7.1 and it is indeed outputting at a MUCH lower level than the Stereo codec but the discreteness is fantastic.

FINALLY, some ZAPPA original albums in SURROUND.

FRANK IS HAPPY!

 

[marpow]

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UMG got back to me, but, no info on when they'd actually ship, just ASAP -apparently they're having too much fun at office holiday parties

On the plus side, my Amazon order was delivered in less than 24 hours, waiting for me before I even got outta bed

The MakeMKV disc structure for this one (I ripped the TrueHD 5.1 for now)-

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The first song files in Audacity for each 1st song (WAKA/JAWAKA) is only slightly louder (center channel only, which seems to be the most in amplitude in these mixes)

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and on The Grand Wazoo-

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Nice DRs!

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You have really gotten advanced in your later years J-Pup, looking good, Happy Christmas.

 

[citysoundman]

They followed the order in 1995 Ryko remaster

thanks for the answer! It would be interesting to know who changed the order, since Frank had already passed.

 

[himey]

thanks for the answer! It would be interesting to know who changed the order, since Frank had already passed.

The Grand Wazoo

 

[Scribing]

View attachment 86551

UMG got back to me, but, no info on when they'd actually ship, just ASAP -apparently they're having too much fun at office holiday parties

On the plus side, my Amazon order was delivered in less than 24 hours, waiting for me before I even got outta bed

The MakeMKV disc structure for this one (I ripped the TrueHD 5.1 for now)-

View attachment 86552

The first song files in Audacity for each 1st song (WAKA/JAWAKA) is only slightly louder (center channel only, which seems to be the most in amplitude in these mixes)

View attachment 86553

and on The Grand Wazoo-

View attachment 86554

Nice DRs!

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View attachment 86556

Sorry for the noob question but what filetype did you get in the end of the converting process?

 

[J. PUPSTER]

Sorry for the noob question but what filetype did you get in the end of the converting process?

.wav on this one.

MakeMKV to mkv, then Music Media Helper to separate and lift into the wav files. A sort of ‘Wet T Shirt Nite’ of action ( oh wait, I’m pining for “Joe’s Garage” again )

 

[SomethingAnything]

I'm wondering about buying this given the positive comments about the surround mix. I don't know the album at all and really only know (but really like) One Size Fits All. However this comment on Discogs has me unsure:

The Blu-Ray in this set has been put together by someone that has no regard whatsoever to how it might be used in the home. Watch your speakers when you switch from 5.1 back to the menu as you will be blasted hard, that's if the flashing images on the screen don't screw you first

(Apologies if this has already been thoroughly discussed to death earlier on this 20 page thread.)

 

[stoopid]

I'm wondering about buying this given the positive comments about the surround mix. I don't know the album at all and really only know (but really like) One Size Fits All. However this comment on Discogs has me unsure:

The Blu-Ray in this set has been put together by someone that has no regard whatsoever to how it might be used in the home. Watch your speakers when you switch from 5.1 back to the menu as you will be blasted hard, that's if the flashing images on the screen don't screw you first

(Apologies if this has already been thoroughly discussed to death earlier on this 20 page thread.)

I was in the same boat as you, only knowing his more 'popular'/ mid/late '70s albums, but this is really enjoyable and has a lot of precursor elements and styles that appear on those known albums. It's definitely worth having as even a casual Zappa fan IMO, the mix and music are a fun listen.

I knew about the volume changes between the menu and albums, so as the last song ended I turned the volume down before it returned to the menu. IMO this disc with surround and HD audio was intended to be absorbed, not something to be put on while cleaning the house. So I'd expect the issue to be negated by the fact the listener is present and can be attentive to turning down the volume if they had it cranked.

 

[Blackwood]

I'm wondering about buying this given the positive comments about the surround mix. I don't know the album at all and really only know (but really like) One Size Fits All. However this comment on Discogs has me unsure:

The Blu-Ray in this set has been put together by someone that has no regard whatsoever to how it might be used in the home. Watch your speakers when you switch from 5.1 back to the menu as you will be blasted hard, that's if the flashing images on the screen don't screw you first

(Apologies if this has already been thoroughly discussed to death earlier on this 20 page thread.)

True about the volume change, but not something that should dissuade you from buying. Just something to be aware of when the album ends (and for me it’s mainly with The Grand Wazoo.) And even that depends on how loud you’re listening to the album in the first place. “Blasted hard” is a relative thing.

This is only the second Zappa product I’ve ever bought and it’s too good to pass it by just because of the volume issue between album and menu.

Didn’t notice the flashing images as I don’t really watch the screen when listening to music.

 

[himey]

True about the volume change, but not something that should dissuade you from buying. Just something to be aware of when the album ends (and for me it’s mainly with The Grand Wazoo.) And even that depends on how loud you’re listening to the album in the first place. “Blasted hard” is a relative thing.

This is only the second Zappa product I’ve ever bought and it’s too good to pass it by just because of the volume issue between album and menu.

Didn’t notice the flashing images as I don’t really watch the screen when listening to music.

Only two? What was the other? Hopefully it was Quaudiophiliac!

 

[J. PUPSTER]

The MakeMKV disc structure for this one (I ripped the TrueHD 5.1 for now)-

View attachment 86552

I'm looking at the MakeMKV disc structure here, and not sure what Titles are for the Menu (to check volume levels on, compared to the music.)

Maybe the first three?

But haven't even had a chance to play it through my Oppo/Main System yet (too many holiday affairs to get through!)

 

[sjcorne]

You won’t actually see the volume level problem in the waveforms because it’s caused by dialnorm metadata. The Dolby TrueHD streams (5.1 & Atmos) for Grand Wazoo get automatically lowered 13 dB on playback because the dialnorm value is set to -18 instead of -31. Ripping to FLAC or WAV bypasses dialnorm, so you get the surround mixes with the intended amount of gain.

 

[fredblue]

You won’t actually see the volume level problem in the waveforms because it’s caused by dialnorm metadata. The Dolby TrueHD streams (5.1 & Atmos) for Grand Wazoo get automatically lowered 13 dB on playback because the dialnorm value is set to -18 instead of -31. Ripping to FLAC or WAV bypasses dialnorm, so you get the surround mixes with the intended amount of gain.

it seems after all these years of coming across it, i'm still missing the actual point of Dialog Normalisation specifically for Music?

i can see the sense in it for Movies and TV shows but what scenario would make it necessary for Music playback?

 

[Blackwood]

Only two? What was the other? Hopefully it was Quaudiophiliac!

Short answer: Shut Up And Play Yer Guitar

Long answer:

As a kid, Zappa, uh... concerned me a bit. It wasn’t the “safe” sort of music I grew up with living in a farming area.

And then I saw a video on some late-nite show for You Are What You Is and that didn’t help. I did get caught up in the Valley Girl craze at the time, though. That was a fun song.

As time went on, I came to respect Zappa as a musician and leader, primarily because so many of the people he played with had so much respect for him, especially the guitarists like Vai and Belew. Didn’t mean I wanted to buy the whole back-catalog, but I thought certainly in his vast catalog there was at least one Zappa album that could be in my library.

Because I mess around a bit on guitar, I figured Shut Up And Play Yer Guitar was as good a choice as any. I kind of left it at that.

Fast forward a few decades and now I’m a bit more open to different things in music than I was as a kid, and I’m a sucker for at least exploring Atmos music... that I can actually own.

Didn’t hurt that this release is primarily instrumental, which I enjoy more than the vocal music. Also didn’t hurt that this release is so good in Atmos.

I know there are other Zappa albums that lean more on the instrumental side, but for now I’m good. I will, however, be paying much more attention to future Zappa Atmos releases. I can easily see other purchases in the future if they continue down this road. Hot Rats or Jazz From Hell would be instant pre-orders.

 

[GOS]

As a kid, Zappa, uh... concerned me a bit. It wasn’t the “safe” sort of music I grew up with living in a farming area.

I'll be damned. I also grew up (and still reside) in farm country and Zappa was king of the heap in central Illinois. I mean, everyone that was anyone LOVED him. I assume it's an age thing. I'm not young. lmao

 

[humprof]

I'll be damned. I also grew up (and still reside) in farm country and Zappa was king of the heap in central Illinois. I mean, everyone that was anyone LOVED him. I assume it's an age thing. I'm not young. lmao

Just goes to show how heterogeneous the Midwest is. I grew up on a farm in Michigan, and I think I'm about the same age as you--but when my older brother brought home Freak Out, we instinctively felt like, just like with George Carlin, we had to smuggle it into the house and listen to it at low volume, huddled around the portable stereo on the floor of my brother's room upstairs. Weirdest thing my young ears had ever heard, but I was mesmerized. Zappa opened up my head and my ears, even without drugs! I couldn't believe it when, years later, I heard that "Zappa" was a really common name in parts of Wisconsin, right across the lake. . . .

 

[GOS]

Just goes to show how heterogeneous the Midwest is. I grew up on a farm in Michigan, and I think I'm about the same age as you--but when my older brother brought home Freak Out, we instinctively felt like, just like with George Carlin, we had to smuggle it into the house and listen to it and low volume, huddled around the portable stereo on the floor of my brother's room upstairs. Weirdest thing my young ears had ever heard, but I was mesmerized. Zappa opened up my head and my ears, even without drugs! I couldn't believe it when, years later, I heard that "Zappa" was a really common name in parts of Wisconsin, right across the lake. . . .

Oh, well. That's a whole different topic. Obviously, I hid that music as well. It never would have passed the GOS' parent test. No chance of that. Yet, all my buddies and I were listening to Zappa....oh, and Pryor and Carlin. A given....

 

[Blackwood]

I was in the the central valley of California.

I was a bit sheltered with music at home. Mom listened to Little River Band, Gino Vannelli, Barry Manilow and Earth, Wind & Fire... stuff I still enjoy to various degrees. Dad didn’t listen to a lot of music and had no tolerance for rock. I remember smuggling a Kiss cassette into the house, the finding of which by my parents would have been... uncomfortable.

My friends were into Aerosmith, Kiss and all the other popular rock bands of the 70s/early 80s. They went to all the shows. So I lived vicariously through them.

Zappa never came up at school or in conversation until Valley Girls. I imagine college radio could have been playing Zappa. And if I had grown up in southern Cal or the San Francisco area, my exposure to him would likely have been different.

In one sense it’s nice... with this set it’s like I’m experiencing a “new” artist for the first time.

 

[GOS]

I was in the the central valley of California.

I was a bit sheltered with music at home. Mom listened to Little River Band, Gino Vannelli, Barry Manilow and Earth, Wind & Fire... stuff I still enjoy to various degrees. Dad didn’t listen to a lot of music and had no tolerance for rock. I remember smuggling a Kiss cassette into the house, the finding of which by my parents would have been... uncomfortable.

My friends were into Aerosmith, Kiss and all the other popular rock bands of the 70s/early 80s. They went to all the shows. So I lived vicariously through them.

Zappa never came up at school or in conversation until Valley Girls. I imagine college radio could have been playing Zappa. And if I had grown up in southern Cal or the San Francisco area, my exposure to him would likely have been different.

In one sense it’s nice... with this set it’s like I’m experiencing a “new” artist for the first time.

I love these stories. My parents were listening to Johnny Mathis, Andy Williams, Henry Mancini. So, I really tore the walls down with my rock and roll. My older brothers liked John Denver...so you know.