Learn to Talk | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 1984 | |||
Recorded | December 1983 to January 1984 | |||
Studio | Kirchberg, Switzerland | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 41:37 | |||
Label | Rift (US) | |||
Producer | Robert Vogel, Skeleton Crew | |||
Skeleton Crew chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
Robert Christgau | B+ [2] |
Learn to Talk is a studio album by American experimental rock band Skeleton Crew, recorded at Sunrise Studio, Kirchberg, Switzerland, between Christmas and New Year 1983/1984. It was their debut album and was released in 1984.
The album was recorded when Skeleton Crew was the duo of Fred Frith and Tom Cora. The band was best known for their improvised live performances, during which they played various instruments simultaneously. While the recordings are not live (except for two tracks), they do to a large extent convey the dynamics of the live act. The music is both sparse and raw, consisting of songs interspaced with cello, guitar and violin instrumental fragments. Tape cut-ups also feature throughout the album, including a Ronald Reagan speech, Sousa's "Washington Post" and TV ad clips.
The songs were composed or arranged by Frith and Cora, except for "The Way Things Fall (Back Apart)" which included lyrics by Rebby Sharp, who Frith had worked with in Orthotonics.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Que Viva" | Cora, Frith | 3:40 |
2. | "Onwards and Upwards" | Cora, Frith | 3:39 |
3. | "The Way Things Fall (Back Apart)" | Cora, Frith, Sharp | 2:35 |
4. | "Not My Shoes" | Cora, Frith | 2:14 |
5. | "The Washington Post" | Sousa, arr. Skeleton Crew | 1:28 |
6. | "We're Still Free" | Cora, Frith | 4:16 |
7. | "Victoryville" | Cora, Frith | 2:43 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
8. | "Los Colitos" | trad. Ecuador, Cora, Frith | 2:53 |
9. | "Life at the Top" | Frith | 1:44 |
10. | "Learn to Talk" | Cora, Frith | 3:40 |
11. | "Factory Song" | Cora, Frith | 5:13 |
12. | "It's Fine" | Cora, Frith | 4:22 |
13. | "Zach's Flag" | Cora | 3:10 |
In 1990 RecRec Music re-issued Learn to Talk together with Skeleton Crew's next album The Country of Blinds on a single compilation CD, Learn to Talk / Country of Blinds , omitting "Los Colitos" and "Life At The Top" from Learn to Talk, and "Money Crack" from The Country of Blinds.
In 2005 Fred Records re-issued Learn to Talk / Country of Blinds on a double compilation CD, omitting only "Money Crack" from The Country of Blinds, and adding ten extra tracks.
Jeremy Webster "Fred" Frith is an English multi-instrumentalist, composer, and improviser.
Thomas Henry Corra, better known as Tom Cora, was an American cellist and composer, best known for his improvisational performances in the field of experimental jazz and rock. He recorded with John Zorn, Butch Morris, and the Ex, and was a member of Curlew, Third Person and Skeleton Crew.
Skeleton Crew was an American experimental rock and jazz group from 1982 to 1986, comprising core members Fred Frith and Tom Cora, with Zeena Parkins joining later. Best known for their live improvisation performances where they played various instruments simultaneously, they also recorded two studio albums Learn to Talk (1984) and The Country of Blinds (1986). The group drew on music and themes from a number of sources, including world music, left-wing politics and pre-recorded tapes.
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Learn to Talk / Country of Blinds is a CD compilation album by American experimental rock and jazz band Skeleton Crew. It was released by RecRec Music in 1990 and comprises the band's two studio albums, Learn to Talk and The Country of Blinds, with two tracks omitted from the former album, and one track omitted from the latter.
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Les 4 Guitaristes de l'Apocalypso-Bar, also known as Les Quatre Guitaristes de l'Apocalypso-Bar was an electric guitar quartet founded by André Duchesne in Montreal, Quebec, Canada in 1986. It was one of the first electric guitar quartets and was billed as a band from post-apocalypse Canada "inspired by the ghost of Jimi Hendrix".
Duo (Victoriaville) 2005 is a 2006 live album of improvised music by Anthony Braxton and Fred Frith. It was recorded on May 20, 2005 at the 22nd Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville in Quebec, Canada, and released in May 2006 by Les Disques Victo, the festival's record label.
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