The Top of His Head is a soundtrack by English guitarist, composer and improvisor Fred Frith, of the 1989 Canadian comedy-drama film, The Top of His Head. Frith wrote and composed all the music, with the exception of "This Old Earth", which was written and sung by Jane Siberry, and a cover of "The Way You Look Tonight". The music was recorded at l'Office National du Film, Montreal, Quebec, Canada in August and September 1988, and was released on LP and CD in 1989 by the Belgian independent label, Crammed Discs. The CD release contained two extra tracks, "Driving to the Train" and "The Long Drive".
| The Top of His Head | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Soundtrack album by | ||||
| Released | 1989 | |||
| Recorded | 1988, Canada | |||
| Genre | Avant-rock | |||
| Length | 43:53 (LP) 51:29 (CD) | |||
| Label | Crammed (Belgium) | |||
| Producer | Fred Frith | |||
| Fred Frith chronology | ||||
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| Music for Film series chronology | ||||
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Siberry's song, "This Old Earth", was nominated for Best Original Song at the 1990 Genie Awards.[1] Siberry rerecorded the song as "Something About Trains", and it appeared on her 1989 album Bound by the Beauty.
Reception
edit| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
In a review at AllMusic, Ted Mills described The Top of His Head soundtrack as "[a] less aggressive work compared to [Frith's] other releases, though not exactly gentle by any means."[2] Mills said the atmosphere of the album is "moody", and many of the tracks include "synthesizer and guitar drones", and "industrial environmental collages". The exception is Siberry's "This Old Earth", which Mills felt comes across as "an almost normal song".[2]
Nicole V. Gagné wrote in her 1990 book, Sonic Transports: New Frontiers in Our Music that The Top of His Head has "some of the strongest pieces Frith has ever made".[3] She called "Driving to the Train" "astounding",[3] and described the two guitars on "Gus Escapes" as "one of the most memorable duets of any Frith recording".[4] Gagné was pleased to see the return of humour on the album after its absence on The Technology of Tears, but added that "you can feel a dark undercurrent, the frustrated inarticulacy of Speechless".[4]
Track listing
editAll tracks composed by Fred Frith except where stated.
LP release
edit| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Title Theme" | 1:49 |
| 2. | "Wheels Within" | 2:31 |
| 3. | "Hold on Hold" | 2:22 |
| 4. | "Lucy Leaves a Note" | 2:25 |
| 5. | "Gus Escapes" | 2:19 |
| 6. | "Gravity's a Rule" | 2:15 |
| 7. | "Channel Change" | 3:20 |
| 8. | "Orbit" | 1:24 |
| 9. | "Fall to Call" | 3:52 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 10. | "Underwater Dream" | 2:29 |
| 11. | "This Old Earth" (Siberry) | 3:21 |
| 12. | "Donuts" | 2:54 |
| 13. | "Lucy" | 2:05 |
| 14. | "The Premonition" | 1:26 |
| 15. | "Questions and Answers" | 2:47 |
| 16. | "The Performance" | 2:56 |
| 17. | "The Way You Look Tonight" (Kern, Fields) / "Title Theme (Conclusion)" | 3:38 |
CD release
edit| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Title Theme" | 1:49 |
| 2. | "Driving to the Train" (♯) | 2:45 |
| 3. | "Wheels Within" | 2:31 |
| 4. | "Hold on Hold" | 2:22 |
| 5. | "Lucy Leaves a Note" | 2:25 |
| 6. | "Gus Escapes" | 2:19 |
| 7. | "Gravity's a Rule" | 2:15 |
| 8. | "Channel Change" | 3:20 |
| 9. | "Orbit" | 1:24 |
| 10. | "Fall to Call" | 3:52 |
| 11. | "Underwater Dream" | 2:29 |
| 12. | "This Old Earth" (Siberry) | 3:21 |
| 13. | "Donuts" | 2:54 |
| 14. | "The Long Drive" (♯) | 4:51 |
| 15. | "Lucy" | 2:05 |
| 16. | "The Premonition" | 1:26 |
| 17. | "Questions and Answers" | 2:47 |
| 18. | "The Performance" | 2:56 |
| 19. | "The Way You Look Tonight" (Kern, Fields) / "Title Theme (Conclusion)" | 3:38 |
- ♯ donates bonus tracks
Personnel
edit- Fred Frith – all other instruments, machines, radios, tapes, programming
- Anne Bourne – cello, accordion
- Jean Derome – saxophones
- Jane Siberry – voice, guitar ("This Old Earth"), accordion ("This Old Earth")
- Christie Macfadyen – voice
- Ken Myhr – slide guitar ("This Old Earth")
- Peter Mettler – additional tapes, influence, advice
Source: Liner notes[5]
References
edit- ^ "Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television – Genie Award for Best Original Song". Archived from the original on 15 January 2013. Retrieved 6 August 2012.
- ^ a b c Mills, Ted. The Top of His Head at AllMusic. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
- ^ a b Gagné 1990, p. 243.
- ^ a b Gagné 1990, p. 244.
- ^ Crammed Discs (1989). The Top of His Head (LP liner notes). Fred Frith.
Works cited
edit- Gagné, Nicole V. (1990). Sonic Transports: New Frontiers in Our Music. De Falco Books. ISBN 978-0-9625145-0-0.
External links
edit- The Top of His Head at Discogs (list of releases)