With Friends Like These (album)

With Friends Like These is a 1979 studio album of improvised experimental music by Fred Frith and Henry Kaiser. It was recorded in July 1979, and was released on LP by Metalanguage Records later that year. It was Frith and Kaiser's first collaborative album, and was followed in 1983 by Who Needs Enemies?

With Friends Like These
Studio album by
Fred Frith and Henry Kaiser
Released1979 (1979)
RecordedJuly 8, 11 and 17, 1979
StudioMobius Music, San Francisco
GenreExperimental music, free improvisation, noise
Length42:10
LabelMetalanguage (US)
ProducerFred Frith and Henry Kaiser
Fred Frith and Henry Kaiser chronology
With Friends Like These
(1979)		 Who Needs Enemies?
(1983)
Fred Frith chronology
Guitar Solos
(1974)		 With Friends Like These
(1979)		 Gravity
(1980)

In 1987 SST Records released With Enemies Like These, Who Needs Friends?, a CD with five tracks from With Friends Like These, seven tracks from Who Needs Enemies?, and four additional tracks from an unreleased live album by Frith and Kaiser. In 1999 Cuneiform Records released Friends & Enemies, a double-CD containing all the tracks from With Friends Like These and Who Needs Enemies?, plus unreleased live and studio material.[1]

Background

Frith and Kaiser began working together in 1978 when English avant-rock group Henry Cow, with whom Frith played guitar, lost their bass player. Frith decided to switch to bass guitar and recruited Kaiser to play guitar for the band.[2][3] While Kaiser never joined the band permanently, he played guitar at several of their European concerts in April and June 1978.[4] Frith and Kaiser's work together resulted in a partnership that gave rise to two collaborative albums, With Friends Like These and Who Needs Enemies?,[3] and several concert performances.[5][1]

Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[6]

In a review in AllMusic, Dean McFarlane called With Friends Like These "[a]n extraordinary collaboration between two of avant-garde's most respected guitarists".[6] He described much of the album as "chaotic experimental noise", but added that "traditional virtuosity" also features prominently.[6] McFarlane concluded that With Friends Like These showcases some of Frith and Kaiser's "most striking performances", and demands repeated listening, which, he said, is unusual for this type of music.[6]

Also writing in AllMusic, Rick Anderson described With Friends Like These as "one of the defining documents of the downtown avant-garde scene".[5] He said Frith and Kaiser's improvised duets "essentially redefined the sound of the guitar".[5]

Track listing

All music by Fred Frith and Henry Kaiser.

Side A
No.TitleLength
1."It Moves ..."2:00
2."The Changing of Names"5:45
3."It Sings"5:40
4."Believing What We Read"3:00
5."...But Does It Swing?"3:30
Side B
No.TitleLength
6."Twisted Memories Give Way to the Angry Present"3:50
7."Black Glass"5:30
8."Third Rail"3:25
9."Three Languages"9:30

Tracks 2, 6 and 7 are guitar duets recorded with no overdubbing.

Sources: Liner notes,[7] Discogs,[8] Fred Frith discography.[1]

Personnel

Sources: Liner notes,[7] Discogs,[8] Fred Frith discography.[1]

Sound
  • Recorded and mixed by Oliver DiCicco at Mobius Music, San Francisco
  • Produced by Fred Frith and Henry Kaiser
  • Mastered by Phil Brown at Warner Brothers Studio, Hollywood

Sources: Liner notes,[7] Discogs,[8] Fred Frith discography.[1]

References
  1. Ramond, Michel; Roussel, Patrice; Vuilleumier, Stephane. "Discography of Fred Frith". New York Downtown Scene and Other Miscellaneous Discographies. Archived from the original on June 19, 2019. Retrieved May 31, 2018.
  2. Sherman, Lee (September 30, 1983). "Henry Breaks the Rules". Santa Cruz Sentinel . p. 61. Retrieved May 31, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. icon of an open green padlock
  3. Sherman, Lee (February 10, 1984). "Musical Surprise". Santa Cruz Sentinel . p. 51. Retrieved May 31, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. icon of an open green padlock
  4. "Henry Cow Chronology". Calyx: The Canterbury Music Website. Retrieved May 31, 2018.
  5. Anderson, Rick. "Friends & Enemies". AllMusic. Retrieved May 31, 2018.
  6. McFarlane, Dean. "With Friends Like These". AllMusic. Retrieved May 31, 2018.
  7. Metalanguage Records (1979). With Friends Like These (LP liner notes). Fred Frith and Henry Kaiser.
  8. "Fred Frith / Henry Kaiser – With Friends Like These". Discogs. 1979. Retrieved May 31, 2018.
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