Fred Frith - Cheap at Half Price

PRESENTTTTTING

ANGRY DRAGON NOTEPAD REVIEWS

COURTESY OF NO-NAME AND HIS BLOG

WRITTEN REALLY FAST AND BADLY

i think this is going to be slightly different however because the music will not be in a sendspace file because I am too lazy to do this, SORRY PEOPLE i am sure you can find it if you really think it sounds interesting

support the artist yadda yadda

anyway

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Today's album under consideration is this piece of stuff from avant-jazzer

FRED FRITH

and the album is called

CHEAP AT HALF THE PRICE

which you probably already saw in the title but it bears restating

NOW WHAT IS THIS THING YOU ASK---

CHEAP AT HALF THE PRICE is an album from this guy who was renowned for doing really avant-prog heavy stuff with the outfit Henry Cow and a couple of other things, and I saw a youtube video of him playing fiddle melodies while alternating using the fiddle as a drumstick hilarious BUT THIS ISN'T LIKE THAT AT ALL. There aren't even any crazy electroimprov noises in it WHAT IT IS is this weird pop album that he put on a four track tape recorder and there is lots of whimsical casio keyboard noises and violin and singing and stuff, it's all so whimsical you could

SCOOP IT UP

and serve it on a plate. you know that sort of thing.

let us look at individual tracks like a real reviewer

SOME CLOUDS DON'T is the first track and like all the tracks here it has a tape loop of a drumming practice tape and casio sounds and REALLY WHINY HIGH PITCHED SINGING counterpointed by VERY LOW PITCHED SINGING and basically that's most of the tracks here. The bass playing is really very good and sometimes Fred starts shouting like in TRUE LOVE (YOU BROKE THE GLASSES, YOU BROKE THE PLATES, YOU SAID, I DON'T WANT YOUR MONEY)

so yeah, most of the tracks are like this.

the real good parts are when there's guitar solos, like in the third track I think because Fred Frith is an AVANT GUITAR GUY and playing conventionally his stuff is nice actually. the worst parts are when it is trying to be avant-garde again with horns and shit because that's not what this is about. pop hooks man

also i've never really understood the claims of it being low fidelity i kinda like the effect really

IMPORTANT NOTE: this was made in 1983. thus it's probably the first of it's kind but nobody cared back then. GREAT JOB INNNOVATR

SO, TO SUM UP

DO YOU LIKE WHIMSICAL SINGER SONGWRITERS

DO YOU LIKE HOMOGENOUS ALBUMS i dunno how you spell that BUT YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN

DO YOU LIKE THE SNARE RUSHRUSHRUSHRUSH

if you like all of these three get this album and don't blame me for it

L