Dropera
| Dropera | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Avant-rock | ||||
| Length | 46:03 | |||
| Language | French | |||
| Label | RecRec (Switzerland) | |||
| Producer | Raymund van Santen | |||
| Fred Frith chronology | ||||
| ||||
Dropera is a
LP and CD by RecRec Music in Switzerland in 1991. The album's songs were sung in French and a booklet of the song lyrics in French, German
and English accompanied the album.
Background
avant-rock band Henry Cow and Richard a founding member of the French avant-rock band Etron Fou Leloublan. Their paths first crossed in the mid-1970s when Henry Cow began touring Europe. Contact consolidated in 1978 when the two bands and three others joined forces to form Rock in Opposition. In mid-1980 Etron Fou Leloublan (including Richard) recorded with Frith in France and Switzerland, and appeared on one side of Frith's 1981 solo LP, Speechless
. Frith also played on and produced two of Etron Fou Leloublan's albums in 1982 and 1985.
Content and reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
Dropera is a "twisted rock opera" about the comic and surreal adventure of two diners in a French restaurant involving abduction, an aircraft crash, death and re-awakening.avant-rock, pastorale with a little improvisation.[1] AllMusic wrote that notwithstanding the "leaden" sound of the programmed drums, "Fans of Frith will not be disappointed with this collaboration.[1]
Track listing
Music by Fred Frith and Ferdinand Richard; lyrics by Ferdinand Richard.
- Face A: On Vit!
- "Petite Entrée: Au Restaurant, On Se Regarde!" – 3:31
- "Tableau 1: Riche Et Mystérieux!" – 5:56
- "Tableau 2: Mauvaise Gauche!" – 2:24
- "Tableau 3: Deux Emballés!" – 2:52
- "Tableau 4: Tous Cuits!" – 4:02
- "Fin Tragique: Flottent Les Petits Morceaux!" – 2:33
- Face B: On Est Mort!
- "Enchaînement Alchimique: Nos Fantômes Naissent!" – 3:42
- "Tableau 5: La Mer Est Notre Mère!" – 4:08
- "Tableau 6: Ah, Que La Vie Est Dure!" – 4:59
- "Tableau 7: Allez, On Danse!" – 4:08
- "Tableau 8: Holà! Tu Rèves! / Fin Comique: A Quand La Suite?" – 7:48
English titles
- Side A: One Lives!
- "Petite Entrée: In the Restaurant, They Eye Each Other!" – 3:31
- "Scene 1: Rich and Mysterious!" – 5:56
- "Scene 2: Wrong Left Turn!" – 2:24
- "Scene 3: Two Abducted!" – 2:52
- "Scene 4: Everyone Fried!" – 4:02
- "Tragic Finale: Little Pieces Floating!" – 2:33
- Side B: One Has Died!
- "Alchemical Outcome: Birth of Our Phantoms!" – 3:42
- "Scene 5: The Sea Is Our Mother!" – 4:08
- "Scene 6: It's a Hard Life!" – 4:59
- "Scene 7: Hey, Let's Dance!" – 4:08
- "Scene 8: You Must Be Dreaming! / Comic Finale: When's the Sequel?" – 7:48
Translations from the album booklet.[2]
Personnel
- Fred Frith – guitars, violins, keyboards, digital and analogue percussion, background vocals
- Ferdinand Richard – six-string bass guitar, lead vocals
- Raymund van Santen – alto saxophone, clarinet, flageolet
Production
- Recorded by Andy Rathgeb in August 1989 at Sound and Vision Studio, Zürich, Switzerland
- Mixed by Tim Hodgkinson in December 1989 at Cold Storage Studio, London
- Produced by Raymund van Santen
- Photography by Bill Gilonis
- Artwork by Peter Bäder
