''With Friends Like These'' is a 1979

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

improvised Improvisation is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. Improvisation in the performing arts is a very spontaneous performance without specific or scripted preparation. The skills of impr ...

experimental music Experimental music is a general label for any music or music genre that pushes existing boundaries and genre definitions. Experimental compositional practice is defined broadly by exploratory sensibilities radically opposed to, and questioning of, ...

Fred Frith Jeremy Webster "Fred" Frith (born 17 February 1949) is an English multi-instrumentalist, composer, and improviser. Probably best known for his guitar work, Frith first came to attention as one of the founding members of the English avant-rock ...

and

Henry Kaiser Henry John Kaiser (May 9, 1882 – August 24, 1967) was an American industrialist who became known as the father of modern American shipbuilding. Prior to World War II, Kaiser was involved in the construction industry; his company was one of ...

. 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?'' In 1987

SST Records SST Records is an American independent record label formed in 1978 in Long Beach, California by musician Greg Ginn. The company was formed in 1966 by Ginn at age 12 as Solid State Tuners, a small business through which he sold electronics equipm ...

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 Cuneiform Records is a record label in Silver Spring, Maryland. Founded in 1984, the label releases an mixture of musical styles, all with a Rock in Opposition aesthetic, including progressive jazz, jazz fusion, the Canterbury scene, and electr ...

released ''

Friends & Enemies ''Friends & Enemies'' is a 1999 double-CD compilation album of studio and live material by Fred Frith and Henry Kaiser. It contains the complete collaborative recordings of Frith and Kaiser from 1979 to 1999, namely their two studio albums ''Wit ...

'', a double-CD containing all the tracks from ''With Friends Like These'' and ''Who Needs Enemies?'', plus unreleased live and studio material.

Background

Frith and Kaiser began working together in 1978 when English avant-rock group

Henry Cow Henry Cow were an English experimental rock group, founded at the University of Cambridge in 1968 by multi-instrumentalists Fred Frith and Tim Hodgkinson. Henry Cow's personnel fluctuated over their decade together, but drummer Chris Cutler, b ...

, 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. While Kaiser never joined the band permanently, he played guitar at several of their European concerts in April and June 1978. 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?'', and several concert performances.

Reception

In a review in

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

, Dean McFarlane called ''With Friends Like These'' " extraordinary collaboration between two of avant-garde's most respected guitarists". He described much of the album as "chaotic experimental noise", but added that "traditional virtuosity" also features prominently. 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. Also writing in AllMusic, Rick Anderson described ''With Friends Like These'' as "one of the defining documents of the downtown avant-garde scene". He said Frith and Kaiser's improvised duets "essentially redefined the sound of the guitar".

Track listing

All music by

and

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

Liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner notes are desce ...

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...

, Fred Frith discography.

Personnel

– electric guitars, etc *

– electric guitars, etc Sources: Liner notes, Discogs, Fred Frith discography.

Sound

*Recorded and mixed by Oliver DiCicco at Mobius Music, San Francisco *Produced by

and

*Mastered by Phil Brown at Warner Brothers Studio, Hollywood Sources: Liner notes, Discogs, Fred Frith discography.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:With Friends Like These 1979 debut albums Collaborative albums Experimental music albums Free improvisation albums Fred Frith albums Henry Kaiser (musician) albums Metalanguage Records albums