'' is a 1974
Solo Album by
English Guitarist ,
Composer and
Improvisor Fred Frith . 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). The album comprises eight tracks of unaccompanied and
Improvised music played on
Prepared Guitar s by Frith.
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 '''' magazine, January 1983.
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. 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. Frith obliged and recorded the album at Kaleidophon Studios in
London in four days without any
Overdubbing . Frith, Fred, ''Guitar Solos'' (1974, Caroline Records), LP sleeve notes. Virgin released it as ''Guitar Solos'' on their budget label,
Caroline Records in 1974.
The album was recorded using a modified 1936
Gibson K-11 . Frith added an extra
Pickup over the strings at the
Nut , enabling him to amplify sound from both sides of the
Fretted note. 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. To split the sounds further he attached
Alligator Clips at various positions on the strings. The net result was a guitar with multiple sound sources that could be channeled to a
Mixer and distributed across the
Stereo Soundscape .
In the middle part of the track "No Birds", Frith played on two prepared guitars simultaneously, creating the
Timbre and
Range of an orchestra. 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. 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. This table-top guitar setup became a standard for many of Frith's subsequent live solo performances, including those recorded on his 1982 live album ''
Live In Japan ''.
All tracks are composed by Fred Frith.
#"Hello Music" – 1:30
#"Glass c/w Steel" – 5:33
#"Ghosts" – 3:07
#"Out of Their Heads (On Locoweed)" – 8:24
#"Not Forgotten" – 1:42
#"Hollow Music" – 2:38
#"Heat c/w Moment" – 1:37
#"No Birds" – 12:46
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:
- In 1991 East Side Digital re-issued ''Guitar Solos'' on CD comprising all the tracks from the original ''Guitar Solos'', plus the Fred Frith tracks from ''Guitar Solos 2'' and ''Guitar Solos 3'', plus five previously unreleased tracks by Frith.
- In 2002 Fred Records issued a Remaster ed version of the original ''Guitar Solos'' with no extra tracks.
