French Frith Kaiser Thompson
French Frith Kaiser Thompson | |
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Origin | San Francisco, California, United States |
Genres | Folk rock Experimental rock |
Years active | 1987, 1990 |
Labels | Rhino, Windham Hill |
Past members | John French Fred Frith Henry Kaiser Richard Thompson |
French Frith Kaiser Thompson was an English/American experimental rock quartet comprising John French, Fred Frith, Henry Kaiser and Richard Thompson. The band was formed in 1987 to create an album, Live, Love, Larf & Loaf. In 1990 they recorded their second album, Invisible Means, and performed live in Berkeley, California to promote this album.
History
Experimental American musicians, guitarist Henry Kaiser and drummer John French ("Drumbo" from Captain Beefheart's Magic Band), began collaborating in 1987. They invited English musicians Fred Frith (experimental guitarist from Henry Cow) and Richard Thompson (folk-rock guitarist from Fairport Convention) to join them to make an album.[1][2]
They recorded Live, Love, Larf & Loaf in San Francisco in March 1987, an eclectic collection of songs drawn from a variety of music genres, including folk, R&B and avant-garde rock. Most of the album comprised compositions from each of the members of the group, plus a few covers, including the Beach Boys' "Surfin' U.S.A.".[3]
While the group experimented with folk and rock music, it is generally felt that Thompson's presence did "tone down" the "avant-garde" leanings of the other three musicians. Mark Deming states in AllMusic that "... the slightly bent wit and angular guitar figures of Richard Thompson's signature brand of folk-rock certainly added a spoonful of sugar that helped the avant-leaning art rock of Henry Kaiser, Fred Frith, and John French go down more easily."[3]
The group re-assembled in San Francisco in March 1990 to record Invisible Means, another collection of "skewed" songs from each of the members, plus one cover ("Loch Lomond").[1][4]
Members
- John French – drums, vocals
- Fred Frith – bass guitar, violin, guitar, vocals
- Henry Kaiser – guitar
- Richard Thompson – guitar, vocals
Discography
- 1987: Live, Love, Larf & Loaf (LP Rhino Records, US)
- 1990: Invisible Means (CD Windham Hill Records, US)
References
- ^ a b Layne, Joslyn. "French Frith Kaiser Thompson". AllMusic. Retrieved December 22, 2010.
- ^ Horowitz, Steve. "Invisible Means". PopMatters. Retrieved December 22, 2010.
- ^ a b Deming, Mark. "Live, Love, Larf & Loaf". AllMusic. Retrieved December 22, 2010.
- ^ Deming, Mark. "Invisible Means". AllMusic. Retrieved December 22, 2010.
- v
- t
- e
- Henry Cow
- Art Bears
- Massacre
- Skeleton Crew
- Keep the Dog
- Cosa Brava
- Fred Frith Trio
- Henry Now
- The Orckestra
- Duck and Cover
- French Frith Kaiser Thompson
- Death Ambient
- Fred Frith Guitar Quartet
- Maybe Monday
- Aksak Maboul
- Material
- Naked City
- Guitar Solos
- Gravity
- Speechless
- Cheap at Half the Price
- Quartets
- Clearing
- Prints
- Eleventh Hour
- To Sail, to Sail
- Clearing Customs
- Guitar Solos / Fifty
Music for Dance |
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Music for Film |
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Composer only |
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- Live in Japan
- Stone, Brick, Glass, Wood, Wire
- Impur II
- Storytelling
- All Is Always Now – Live at The Stone
- Woodwork
Composer only |
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- With Friends Like These (with Henry Kaiser)
- Voice of America (with Bob Ostertag and Phil Minton)
- Live in Prague and Washington (with Chris Cutler)
- French Gigs (with Lol Coxhill)
- Who Needs Enemies? (with Henry Kaiser)
- Nous Autres (with René Lussier)
- Attention Span (with Bob Ostertag and John Zorn)
- Dropera (with Ferdinand Richard)
- Live Improvisations (with Tim Hodgkinson)
- Helter Skelter (with François-Michel Pesenti)
- Live in Trondheim, Berlin & Limoges, Vol. 2 (with Chris Cutler)
- The Art of Memory (with John Zorn)
- Traffic Continues (with Ensemble Modern)
- 2 Gentlemen in Verona (with Chris Cutler)
- Dalaba Frith Glick Rieman Kihlstedt (with Lesli Dalaba, Eric Glick Rieman and Carla Kihlstedt)
- What Leave Behind (with Toychestra)
- 50th Birthday Celebration Volume 5 (with John Zorn)
- The Compass, Log and Lead (with Carla Kihlstedt and Stevie Wishart)
- Duo (Victoriaville) 2005 (with Anthony Braxton)
- Ironic Universe (with Janet Feder)
- The Stone: Issue Two (with Chris Cutler)
- The Sugar Factory (with Evelyn Glennie)
- The Art of Memory II (with John Zorn)
- Still Urban (with ARTE Quartett)
- The Big Picture (with ARTE Quartett)
- Late Works (with John Zorn)
- Angels on the Edge of Time (with Lindsay Cooper, Gianni Gebbia and Lars Hollmer)
- Cut Up the Border (with Nicolas Humbert and Marc Parisotto)
- Laying Demons to Rest (with Susana Santos Silva)
Compilations |
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- Category