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Guitar Solos
Guitar Solos cover
Studio album by Fred Frith
Released 1974
Recorded Kaleidophon Studios,
London, 1974
Genre Avant-progressive rock
Length 37:17
Label Caroline (UK)
Producer Fred Frith
Professional reviews
Fred Frith chronology
– Guitar Solos
(1974)		 Gravity
(1980)
Fred Records chronology
Accidental
(2002)
Fred Frith
(RēR/FRA 01)		 Guitar Solos
(2002)
Fred Frith
(RēR/FRO 02)		 Prints
(2002)
Fred Frith
(RēR/FRA 02)
CD releases
Fred Records (2002) CD release. The cover is a detail of the original Caroline Records (1974) cover.
Fred Records (2002) CD release. A studio album is an original collection of new tracks by a recording artist Fred Frith (born February 17, 1949) is an English Multi-instrumentalist, Composer and improvisor. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other Avant-progressive rock is a style of Music based on rock music that explores unconventional territory often incorporating non-standard Chord progressions In the Music industry, a record label can be a Brand and a Trademark associated with the Marketing of music recordings and Music Caroline Records started out as a subsidiary of Richard Branson 's Virgin Records label during the early to mid 1970s In the Music industry, a record producer or music producer has many roles among them controlling the recording sessions coaching and guiding the musicians organizing Fred Frith (born February 17, 1949) is an English Multi-instrumentalist, Composer and improvisor. allmusic (previously All Music Guide) is a Metadata database about music owned by All Media Guide. Piero Scaruffi (born in Trivero, Italy, in 1955 but based in California since 1983 is an Italian-American cultural historian Fred Frith (born February 17, 1949) is an English Multi-instrumentalist, Composer and improvisor. Gravity is a 1980 Solo album by English Guitarist, Composer and improvisor Fred Frith. Fred Records is a British Independent record label created in 2002 by English Guitarist, Composer and improvisor Accidental (Music for Dance volume 3 is a Studio album by English Guitarist, Composer and improvisor Fred Frith Fred Frith (born February 17, 1949) is an English Multi-instrumentalist, Composer and improvisor. Fred Frith (born February 17, 1949) is an English Multi-instrumentalist, Composer and improvisor. Prints Snapshots Postcards Messages and Miniatures 1987-2001 is a 2002 Album by English Guitarist, Composer and improvisor Fred Frith (born February 17, 1949) is an English Multi-instrumentalist, Composer and improvisor. Fred Records is a British Independent record label created in 2002 by English Guitarist, Composer and improvisor The cover is a detail of the original Caroline Records (1974) cover. Caroline Records started out as a subsidiary of Richard Branson 's Virgin Records label during the early to mid 1970s

Guitar Solos is a 1974 solo album by English guitarist, composer and improvisor Fred Frith. In Popular music, a solo album is an Album made by a current or former member of a band. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland A guitarist is a Musician who plays the Guitar. Guitarists may perform solo pieces or play with ensembles and bands of a wide variety of genres A composer (literally meaning 'one who puts together' is a person who creates Music, usually in the medium of notation, for Interpretation and Performance Improvisation (also called extemporization) is the practice of acting singing talking and reacting of making and creating in the moment and in response to the stimulus of Fred Frith (born February 17, 1949) is an English Multi-instrumentalist, Composer and improvisor. It was Frith's first solo album and was recorded while he was still a member of the English avant-garde rock group Henry Cow (1968-1978). Avant-garde (avɑ̃gaʁd in French) means "advance guard" or "vanguard Rock music is a genre of Popular music often though not necessarily employing Electric guitar, Bass guitar, and Drums. A musical ensemble is a group of two or more Musicians who perform instrumental or vocal Music. Henry Cow were an English Avant-garde rock group, founded at Cambridge University in 1968 by multi-instrumentalists Fred The album comprises eight tracks of unaccompanied and improvised music played on prepared guitars by Frith. Musical Improvisation is the creative activity of immediate Musical composition, which combines performance with communication of emotions and instrumental A prepared guitar is a Guitar which has had its Timbre altered by placing various objects on or between the instrument's strings including other Extended

When it was released, Guitar Solos was considered a landmark album [1] because of its innovative and experimental approach to guitar playing. The January 1983 edition of Down Beat magazine remarked that Guitar Solos ". Down Beat is an American Magazine devoted to "jazz blues and beyond" to indicate its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively . . must have stunned listeners of the day. Even today that album stands up as uniquely innovative and undeniably daring. " [2]

Contents

Background

Henry Cow's music was very intense and demanding, and challenged the capabilities of its musicians, often forcing them to learn new techniques and play their instruments in ways never done before. Henry Cow were an English Avant-garde rock group, founded at Cambridge University in 1968 by multi-instrumentalists Fred Frith relished these opportunities to explore and experiment, and started pushing his guitars to the limit. He began modifying guitars and even creating his own instruments to achieve the sounds he wanted.

In 1974, Virgin Records (Henry Cow's record label) approached Frith and suggested that he make an album of guitar solos. Virgin Records is a British Record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell Frith obliged and recorded the album at Kaleidophon Studios in London in four days without any overdubbing. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. Overdubbing (the process of making an overdub, or overdubs is a technique used by Recording studios to add a supplementary recorded sound to a previously recorded [3] Virgin released it as Guitar Solos on their budget label, Caroline Records in 1974. Caroline Records started out as a subsidiary of Richard Branson 's Virgin Records label during the early to mid 1970s

Recording the album

The album was recorded using a modified 1936 Gibson K-11. The Gibson Guitar Corporation of Nashville Tennessee, USA is a manufacturer of acoustic and Electric guitars The company's most popular guitar Frith added an extra pickup over the strings at the nut, enabling him to amplify sound from both sides of the fretted note. A pickup device acts as a Transducer that captures mechanical vibrations (usually from suitably equipped Stringed instruments such as the Electric guitar The nut of a String instrument is a small piece of hard material which supports the strings at the end closest to the Headstock or scroll. A fret is a raised portion on the neck of a Stringed instrument, that extends generally across the full width of the neck He then split the fretboard in two with a capo, effectively giving him two guitars, each amplified separately that he could play independently with each hand. The fingerboard (also known as a fretboard on fretted instruments is a part of most Stringed instruments It is a thin long strip of Wood that is A capo tasto (from Italian capo, "head" and tasto, "tie or fret" or simply capo, is a device To split the sounds further he attached alligator clips at various positions on the strings. A crocodile clip (or spring clip is a temporary Electrical connector, named for its resemblance to a Crocodile 's jaws The net result was a guitar with multiple sound sources that could be channeled to a mixer and distributed across the stereo soundscape. In professional audio, a mixing console, or audio mixer, also called a sound board or soundboard, is an electronic device for combining Stereophonic sound, commonly called stereo, is the reproduction of Sound, using two or more independent audio channels through a Symmetrical A soundscape is a Sound or combination of sounds that forms or arises from an immersive environment. [2]

In the middle part of the track "No Birds", Frith played on two prepared guitars simultaneously, creating the timbre and range of an orchestra. In Music, timbre (ˈtæm-bər' like timber, or, from Fr timbre tɛ̃bʁ is the quality of a Musical note or sound that distinguishes different In Music, the range of a Musical instrument is the distance from the lowest to the highest pitch it can play He laid the two guitars flat on a table, neck to neck with the bodies of the guitars at opposite ends and the necks parallel to each other. The neck is the part of certain String instruments that projects from the main body and is the base of the Fingerboard, where the fingers are placed to stop the strings A solid body electric instrument is a String instrument such as a guitar, bass or Violin built without its normal Sound box and relying Using volume pedals on some of the sound sources, he was able to filter sounds in and out of the mix without doing anything on the guitars. An expression pedal is an important control found on many organs and Synthesizers that allows the volume of the sound to be manipulated This table-top guitar setup became a standard for many of Frith's subsequent live solo performances, including those recorded on his 1982 live double album Live in Japan. Live in Japan is a 1982 double Live album by English Guitarist, Composer and improvisor Fred [2]

Track listing

All tracks are composed by Fred Frith.

  1. "Hello Music" – 1:30
  2. "Glass c/w Steel" – 5:33
  3. "Ghosts" – 3:07
  4. "Out of Their Heads (On Locoweed)" – 8:24
  5. "Not Forgotten" – 1:42
  6. "Hollow Music" – 2:38
  7. "Heat c/w Moment" – 1:37
  8. "No Birds" – 12:46

Personnel

Guitar Solos 2 and 3

In 1976 Caroline Records released Guitar Solos 2, another album of improvised guitar solos, but featuring four guitarists:

In 1979 Rift Records released Guitar Solos 3, featuring improvised guitar solos from eight guitarists:

CD reissues

See also

References

  1. ^ Westergaard, Sean. Fred Frith (born February 17, 1949) is an English Multi-instrumentalist, Composer and improvisor. Guitar Solos. AllMusic. com. Retrieved on 2006-11-21. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 164 BC - Judas Maccabaeus, son of Mattathias of the Hasmonean family restores the Temple in Jerusalem.
  2. ^ a b c "The Frith Factor: Exploration in Sound", Down Beat magazine, January 1983. Down Beat is an American Magazine devoted to "jazz blues and beyond" to indicate its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively
  3. ^ Frith, Fred, Guitar Solos (1974, Caroline Records), LP sleeve notes.

External links

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