Fred Frith – The Top Of His Head (1989, CD, England)

Tracklist:
1 Title Theme 1:49
2 Driving To The Train 2:45
3 Wheels Within 2:31
4 Hold On Hold 2:22
5 Lucy Leaves A Note 2:25
6 Gus Escapes 2:19
7 Gravity's A Rule 2:15
8 Channel Change 3:20
9 Orbit 1:24
10 Fall To Call 3:52
11 Underwater Dream 2:29
12 This Old Earth 3:21
13 Donuts 2:54
14 The Long Drive 4:51
15 Lucy 2:05
16 The Premonition 1:26
17 Questions And Answers 2:47
18 The Performance 2:56
19.1 The Way You Look Tonight 4:38
19.2 Title Theme (Conclusion)

Musicians:
Cello, Accordion – Anne Bourne
Instruments, Performer [Machines, Radios], Tapes, Programmed By – Fred Frith
Saxophone, Flute – Jean Derome
Tapes, Other [Influences, Advice] – Peter Mettler
Voice – Christie MacFadyen, Jane Siberry

Dr. Umezu Band – Dynamite (1983, LP, Japan)

Tracklist:

A1 Off The Door 3:27

A2 Down Down! 8:20

A3 In My Shoes 4:26

A4 Jayne 3:45

B1 Canal 4:18

B2 Coffee Music 2:59

B3 Pyrosis 6:28

B4 Pretty Kranke 3:48

B5 Dynamite 2:47

Musicians:

Alto Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone – Kazutoki Umezu

Bass – Takeharu Hayakawa

Drums – Takashi Kikuchi

Guest, Guitar, Violin – Fred Frith

Guest, Vocals – Terry Jenoure

Tenor Saxophone, Baritone Saxophone – Hiroaki Katayama

Lindsay Cooper – Rags (1980, LP, England)

Tracklist:
The Exhibition Of Fashions 1:29
Lots Of Larks 1:07
General Strike 1:47
Woman's Wrongs I 4:35
Woman's Wrongs II 3:06
The Charter 1:40
Parliament Catch 1:26
Woman's Wrongs III 2:25
Film Music 4:25
Prostitution Song 2:21
1848 2:07
The Chartist Anthem 1:20
Cholera 2:27
Stitch Goes The Needle 2:36
A Young Lady's Vision 1:19
Pin Money 0:50
Woman's Wrong IV 4:00
The Song Of The Shirt 4:57

Musicians:
Bass Guitar, Cello – Georgie Born
Bassoon, Soprano Saxophone, Sopranino Saxophone, Oboe, Flute, Keyboards, Accordion, Arranged By – Lindsay Cooper
Drums – Chris Cutler
Guitar – Fred Frith
Vocals – Sally Potter
Vocals, Trumpet – Phil Minton


This record is based on the score for "The song of the shirt" (UK 1979), commissioned by its directors Sue Clayton and Jonathan Curling.

Fred Frith – Allies (1996, CD, England)

Tracklist:
1 Rifka 9:37
2 Small Mercy I 4:28
3 Nenad 7:51
4 A Rock And A Hard Place 6:17
5 Davor And Dzeneta 6:29
6 Small Mercy II 6:02

Musicians:
Alto Saxophone – George Cartwright
Cello – Tom Cora
Drums – Joey Baron
Instruments [All Other Instruments], Drum Programming [Drum Programmes] – Fred Frith

A dance music album, with Joey Baron, Tom Cora and George Cartwright. One of Fred's open field type compositions - where parallel events proceed serenely, coinciding half-unpredictably, but still often enough to sound connected. There is continuity in modular repetition but so many overlays, small alterations, emergent details and new material that the sonic terrain they invoke is constantly mutating and constantly unpredictable (even after several auditions). Continuity is here irregularly interrupted by disruptive events, always settling back into semi-stable planes (ReR)

Fred Frith - Ensemble Modern With Ikue Mori, Zeena Parkins And Fred Frith – Traffic Continues (2000, CD, England/Germany)

Skeleton Crew – Live Im Kulturkeller Würzburg 10/82 (1982, Cassette, Switzerland)

Live at the Kulturkeller in Würzburg, Germany, October 1982
Cassette released by Rec Rec Music, Zürich, 1984

Tracklist:
1. Side A (21:42)
2. Side B (20:19)

Musicians:

Fred Frith: guitar, violin, keyboards, bass drum, hi-hat, tapes, voice

Tom Cora: cello, bass guitar, homemade drums, vocals

Dave Newhouse: saxophone, drum kit

The show is actually a succession of short tracks with Skeleton Crew performing unparalleled and unequaled complex instrumental songs, disrupting common songwriting schemes whatsoever and particularly normal live performance configuration. Dave Newhouse of The Muffins is joining on saxophone and additional drums, though the
core duo of Frith+Cora was able to perform on several instruments at the same time as evidenced on their innumerable other live recordings. The musical irony in Skeleton Crew is comparable only to Negativland’s first LPs of the same period. For instance, at 6:30 in side A, a John Philip Sousa symphonic march is played as ironic background noise and at 18:00, Ronald Reagan is heard backward reading his famous quote: ‘We’re still free in America’. Additionaly, the trio is able to find its way through various musical genres, passages in this live recording verging on the experimental, noise or concrète music, while elsewhere the music is blues, avant rock or system music. Occasionaly, a song from their first 1984 LP ‘Learn to Talk’ is played in a more or less recognizable form. There is a possibility this cassette was issued as a parallel release with their first album to gather them more tour dates especially in Europe. These guys were undubitably great showmen. Cora died 1998. Thanks to HC Earwicker for the music. (continuo.wordpress)

Art Bears - Festival International de Musique Actuelle in Victoriaville, Quebec (2008, Unreleased)

ART BEARS SONGBOOK - ALL LIVE!
Colisee des Jardins, FIMAV, Victoriaville QC Canada
May 19, 2008

Tracklist:
01. Intro 1:02
02. Joan 4:40
03. First Things First 5:02
04. The Summer Wheel 3:08
05. The Slave 5:06
06. The Hermit 3:34
07. Rats and Monkeys 4:09
08. The Skeleton 3:26
09. The Winter Wheel 2:51
10. Man And Boy 5:47
11. Three Wheels 5:21
12. The Song Of Investment Capital Overseas 2:58
13. Truth 2:41
14. Law 0:53
15. The Song Of The Monopolists 2:14
16. Freedom 3:12
17. Albion, Awake! (unrecorded version w/lyrics) 1:38
18. The Dance 5:51
19. Presentation & encore 2:15
20. All Hail 4:58
21. Joan encore 3:45

Musicians:
Fred Frith: Guitar, Bass, Piano, Violin
Chris Cutler: Drums
Zeena Parkins: Piano, Organ, Accordion, Voice
Carla Kihlstedt: Violin, Voice
Jewlia Eisenberg: Voice, Bass
Kristin Slipp: Voice

The Norman Conquest — sound manipulation

Thirty years later, Art Bears' diminutive discography is considered a seminal and highly influential part of the avant-prog/RIO movement. A series of small, independent occurrences including the 30th anniversary of the group's formation and the 25th anniversary of FIMAV created a most happy happenstance—Art Bears Songbook. Rather than a reunion (Krause was not available), which all-too-often implies by-rote replication of music for nostalgic baby boomers, Frith and Cutler decided to re-examine the trio's repertoire and refashion it for a thoroughly modernistic and expanded group that included three of Frith's four Cosa Brava band mates—keyboardist/accordionist Zeena Parkins, violinist/singer Carla Kihlstedt and sonic manipulator The Norman Conquest—along with singers Jewlia Eisenberg and Kristin Slipp. The result was a performance that rang true to the spirit of Art Bears, but avoided excess reverence. The powerful emotional depth of the material (and its once again all-too-relevant lyrics) was not only enthusiastically received by FIMV festival goes, but was so compelling that some were quite literally moved to tears.

Book-ending a performance of the Winter Songs cycle with choice material from Hopes and Fears and The World As It Is Today, the show was an all-too-brief 75-minutes. But, opening with a high-energy version of Hopes and Fears' "Joan," with Kihlstedt's overdriven electric violin setting a high bar for the whole performance, it was immediately clear that the group was going to deliver on the audience's expectations, a remarkable feat considering the build-up of anticipation that took place over the months since FIMAV first announced the show.

Aqsak Maboul – Teatro dell'Elfo, Milano - RIO Festival '79 (1979, CD-r, Belgium)

Fred Frith, John Greaves, Peter Blegvad - Zu Loft (1978, Usa/England)

1978-12-19 - New York, NY - Zu Loft

Setlist:

01 Milk
02 Mostly Twins And Trios
03 For Bearings
04 The Rose Sob
05 Silence
06 Big Guns Theme
07 Alcohol
08 Strayed
09 Actual Frenzy
10 22 Proverbs
11 Riding Tigers
12 A Little Something
13 improv
14 improv
15 improv
16 improv

Musicians:
Fred Frith/ Guitar
John Greaves/ Vocals, Electric Piano, Bass
Peter Blegvad/ Vocals, Guitar
Eugene Chadbourne/ Guitar
Lisa Herman/ Vocals
Bill Laswell/ Bass
Fred Maher/ Drums (on 22 Proverbs and other Greaves songs)
Dr. Dan/ Drums, Vibes (all songs except Frith vibes on Young Ladies)
Michael Beinhorn/ Synth Drone (9)

ZU was a project of UK scenemaker Giorgio Gomelsky, who relocated to New York after helping launch the careers of the Rolling Stones and Yardbirds from his Crawdaddy Club as well as producing early sessions for John McLaughlin, Graham Bond, Alexis Koerner and Soft Machine. He was soon forcing the likes of Magma, Henry Cow and Plastic People Of The Universe on unsuspecting Americans as well as encouraging young Bill Laswell to form a band that became Material after backing Daevid Allen as ZU Band and New York Gong. The present concert took place some two months after Gomelsky's ZU Manifestival - the first progressive rock summit in the United States. Frith played several Manhattan solo shows around this time, including one at Artists Space in Soho where he harmonized with sirens passing in the street below. There was also a misguided booking at the Mudd Club, where devoted fans were refused admittance for showing up in jeans, stocking caps, long hair and pimples. I was once halfway through the door of this chic nitespot behind two downtown celebrity pals when a great arm came down like a railroad crossing gate. Quality control figured there was no way the two sharp suits had come with Travis Bickle. According to the wondrous Blegvad discography that appeared on the defunct idiot dog website, there should be a nine minute reading between Silence and Big Guns Theme, where there is an audible edit. At any rate, it's great to hear the tapers gasping in wonder as they experience their imported heroes in the flesh for the first time.

Henry Cow - Oriago (1977, Italy)

Oriago, Italy (September 27, 1977)

Setlist:

1. Suite I (13:02)

untitled #1 / improvisation #1 / untitled #2

2. Suite II (8:16)

Viva Pa Ubu (End) / The Big Tune (excerpt) / Nirvana For Mice (Fades)

3. Suite III (22:44)

untitled #3 / improvisation #2 / introduction to Ruins / improvisation #3 / Ruins / improvisation #4 /

Ruins reprise / Bittern Storm over Ulm / improvisation #5 / Jackie-ing

4. Suite IV (26:29)

untitled #4 / The Big Tune ends / 1/2 The Sky (quote)

5) Teenbeat (9:23)

Musicians:

Georgie Born - bass, cello

Lindsay Cooper - bassoon, sopranino saxophone, oboe

Chris Cutler - drums, percussions

Fred Frith - guitars, viola, xylophone

Tim Hodgkinson - organ, alto sax, clarinet, voice on Viva Pa Ubu

Dave Chambers - tenor & soprano saxophones