Customer Reviews

Live Love Larf & Loaf

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This is the first of two collaborations between folk/rock guitar legend Richard Thompson, avant-garde guitarist Henry Kaiser and bassist Fred Frith, and former Beefheart drummer John French. While it's not a bad listen, you get the impression that they were throwing things at the recorder to see what would stick. The album is all over the map, going from the frantic and funny "Where's the Money" and a joyously silly "Hai Sai Oji-San" (an Okinawan folk song) directly into "Drowned Dog Black Night", a tremendously depressive song of the type only Thompson can write, and then into a goof on Chuck Berry's "Surfin' USA". My favorite cut is "Bird in God's Garden", a Sufi song given a big assist by Frith's violin playing. Thompson contributes the good but minimalist unrequited-love song "A Blind Step Away" and "Killerman Gold Posse", a ditty about a youth gang that was reprised on the "Mirror Blue" tour. French and Frith also provide a catchy rocker, "The Second Time". There is a cover of Willie Dixon's "The Same Thing" (a LOT of bands I like have covered this one). To keep the album from building any momentum, there is a five-minute drum solo in the middle. Overall, I prefer these guys' second CD, "Invisible Means".

This album introduced me to the guitar playing of Richard Thompson and remains a favorite. The original LP included neither the Willie Dixon cover nor the drum solo, so those should be considered "extras" and ignored. The core album, with the exception of the unlistenable "Surfin USA", is a strong one that brings out the best in all its participants. Thompson, Frith and French work together as a powerful, unconventional rock band while Kaiser adds his unique guitar flavors on top of it. The strong points, for me, are Thompson's brilliant solo on "Drowned Dog Last Night" and the LP-closing medley that combines an obscure Thompson concert number from "the Islamic tour" with a Fred Frith instrumental (that can also be heard in the movie "Step Across the Border").