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TUNE-UP v.World's most obscure supergroupChinese-restaurant music. Celtic folk-rock. Comedy. Bad white blues. Artsy jazz fusion Rack opera that sounds as much opera as rock.These are the fix in’s that make up tiie wild musical sandwich called Invisible Mains by the world's most obscure “super, group. French. Frith. Kaiser and Thompson.What makes this record even stronger is that it's released on the Windham Hill label. Yes. the company that made the disgusting notion ol “New Age Mtisii a household concept.Worry not. rock hounds, liven though some ol the inslrunieitlals here are kind ol pretty. Invisible Means is r.o collection ol hnuscplant lullabyes.The first two names in this band are John French, formerly tin? drummer lor Captain Beclheart's Magic Band, and bass player Fred Frith, who has a sizable following among the “art-rock cult The biggest star of the group is undoubtedly Richard Thompson, a founding member ol the prototype British folk-rock band Fair lor! Convention. After leaving Fairport in the early I'JrUs. Thompson rstahlished a respec table and influential musical career, first with several duct albums with his then-wife Linda Thompson, then later as a solo artist.However, the major force behind FFKT. il not its most famous member, is guitarist Henry Kaiser.Kaiser is not only one heck of a picker, but his musical vision is truly crazed. H's Iasi solo record. Those Who Know History Are Doomed To Repeal It. is a joyous tollcclion of diverse lunes including works written by Beefheart and Country Joe and the Fish. The Grateful Head's psychedelic epic Dark Star. The Man Who Shot l iberty Valance am) the theme song to The Andy Grillith Show.Honest.It is surely Kaiser's whacky. ecdccUc approac h t« rock that guides the spirit of Invisible Means. This album has a playful mood that is evident on even the most serious tracks, such as Kaiser's The Xcarsiphlcd Heron, a beautiful melody that sounds straight out of China.Still. Thompson has some of the best moments on Invisible Means. I'ep/ermint Rock. the opening cut. has a classic Thompson (cel. especially its’wild. exotic guitar solo.liven belter is his ren'J.'ion ol l.och l.omond. an old folk tune probably best known lor the line. “You take the high road and I’llWindham Hill aitists French Firth Kaiser Thompsonercd. sings Freih’h as the deceased star.With the exception ol this cut. French s songs are definitely the low points ol the album.lake the low road, and I'll lie in Scotland afore ye.” This version is complete with C'lasli-like guitar rolls and a Buddy Holly hiccup.Thompson gets serious in Kill-inii Jar. a brooding melody with lyrics about .in abused child. U s refrain of I'm no good/Thev say I'm no good'' is nothing less than chilling.Any of these would have lit in on any Thompson solo album. His last one was 1‘188's Amnesia, so it's great to hear the master still has his touch.But. in collaborating with the others on Invisible .Means. Thompson also breaks out ol his own mold, experimenting with some sheer craziness.Sucli is the case with March ol the Cosmetic Surgeons. a mock opera, in which Thompson, as the mysterious Dr. Krickstcin. loads a chorus of face-lifters who sing.“We nip and luck and we nip and tuck . - - We liposuck all day.The song even includes an aria by a real-live mezzo soprano, who later screams like a rodent heroine in Mighty Mouse as Dr. Krickstcin begins his operation.There is opera and there is soap opera on this record.Thompson drops notes like sand through an hourglass in the song Days ol Our Lives, a'found-art number with lyrics consisting of daytimc-dram.i titles. (“All my children are young and restless . . .I The whole .Ihiilg is later repealed in Spanish.But. the best thing about Days ol Our Lives is the long, creepy spoken section in which band members recite what sounds like a newspaper synoposis of soap plots. “Disguised as a nanny.Sheila :s hired by Batch 10 take care of Stephanie . As Max's bandages are removed. Lillian gasps in horror. etc.Another funny one is .You1 That I Am Dead. a tune bv French that lampoons our culture's ghoulish tendency to canonize‘some rockers only after they have passed to the Great Beyond.Too bad my genius was discovered/after my coffin was aii cov-Thc title song, written by FreiH h. is a bland blues number. 77ie livening Sews could fit in with Greg Allman's worst solo records, while Su/anne (not theLeonard Cohen song) is Uoobic Brothers-style dreck.But. that's why Gotl made the fast-forward button. Otherwise. Invisible Means is a winner. I he quartet seems to truly enjoy making this music- Let's hope Thompson and Kaiser keep making their own records, but also that more group projects are in store.
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Mon, Jan 01, 0001
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