E
When Frith first told me that he was going to make an album by himself, using home-made instruments, the fantasy that evolved in my mind was that he was taking a shot at some kind of larger single piece, like a tone poem. He responded to that image with a shudder: “I was definitely thinking in terms of a pop-song kind of format. I guess I’m not into tone poems – those are the kind of words that frighten me to death, actually.”
I was thinking of the home-mades in terms of his improvisations: In some of his solo gigs, he’s spun long pieces of such a magical depth and power that the term seemed reasonable to me (and I still wouldn’t set aside T.P. when thinking about “No Birds” or “Osaka II”). My mistake was in regarding the improvisations as raw material to be deliberately reworked for a studio piece. Frith’s improvisations are finished pieces, thank you (instant tone poems!). In the studio, he tends toward a less no-minded approach, apparently feeling a certain responsibility to Say Something. But having said his piece in the songs on Side One of Cheap at Half the Price, he approached the second side and the use of his voice with the sense of challenge and exploration which characterizes his improvising. The result was some of his finest musical on disc. More poetry than that, who needs?
Links to:
SONIC TRANSPORTS: Fred Frith Essay, part 11
SONIC TRANSPORTS: Fred Frith Contents
SONIC TRANSPORTS: Contents
For more on Fred Frith, see:
Music Book: Historical Dictionary of Modern and Contemporary Classical Music, Second Edition
Music: KALW Radio Show #1, A Few of My Favorite Things…
Music: SFCR Radio Show #6, Postmodernism, part 3: Three Contemporary Masters
NICOLE V. GAGNÉ 