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Rating: Why settle for one masterpiece when you can gather about fifty in a single record? This was the idea that started circulating in the mind of Morgan Fischer (formerly with Mott The Hoople, producer for Holdsworth, Bowie, and later keyboardist for Queen tours, etc.) at the end of the 1970s. The strong project, interesting, innovative, but extremely difficult in its realization, took three years of work, and finally, it was released in 1981. The subtitle "A Sequence Of 51 Tiny Masterpieces" gives us a general idea of what the gestational intent was. Fischer invited 51 artists and bands into his recording studio, asking them to record about a minute of whatever they wanted.
The times and trends would have dictated the style and result of such an unusual concept on their own. Indeed, those were particular times: prog was a remnant of what it used to be, punk was now in decline, and new wave had not yet taken shape. Electronica and minimalism were veering towards avant-garde shores, swinging between impossible sound experiments and easy dance trivialities, exploiting the dying throes of disco music, which was also on its last legs.
The choice of names was the most courageous act, partly because of the difficulty of contacting high-profile individuals or groups and partly because of the mishmash that would emerge. After picking the cream of the movements active at the time, the likes of XTC, Fripp, Bedford, Frith, Coxhill, punkers, new wavers, jazzists, avant-gardists, noise-makers, composed individuals, and those without ideas improvising whatever they could followed one another in the studio.
The madness that emerged demonstrated the host's genius with the utmost generosity is a record that in its heterogeneity boasts a sonic compactness and a unique communion of intents, starting from Partridge's (XTC) brilliance, summarizing the history of Rock in 59 seconds, or Fred Frith's doing the same with the history of Henry Cow, from Robert Wyatt's outlandish episode to David Bedford's orchestral and physical one, from Kevin Ellis's pre-new wave to the Residents' vaudeville, from Mark Perry's minimalist blues to Kevin Koyne's more robust one, etc. A single musical whirlwind, exciting and unprecedented, explainable only through listening.
An obligatory list of the tracks and performers, divided into the original ten segments of the concept. The last two tracks (10 and 11) are added in the CD reissue, the first with a minute of absolute silence, the second with everything you would and wouldn't want to hear in a musical piece.
1/1. Ollie Halsall & John Halsey / Bum Love
1/2. The Residents / We're A Happy Family + Bali Ha'i
1/3. Roger Mcgough / The Wreck Of The Hesperus
1/4. Morgan Fisher / Green And Pleasant
1/5. John Otway / Mine Tonight
2/1. Pete Challis & Phil Diplock / My Way
2/2. Robert Wyatt / Rangers In The Nightst
2/3. Stinky Winkles / Opus
2/4. Mary Longford / Body Language
2/5. Andy 'Thunderclap' Newman / Andy The Dentist
2/6. David Bedford / Wagner's Ring In One Minute
3/1. Fred Frith / The Entire Works Of Henry Cow
3/2. Maggie Nicols / Look Beneath The Surface
3/3. Joseph Racaille / Week-End
3/4. The Work / With Wings Pressed Back
3/5. Neil Innes & Son / Cum On Feel The Noize
4/1. Herbert Distel / Toscany In Blue (Last Minute)
4/2. Lol Coxhill / An End To The Matter
4/3. Ken Ellis / One Minute In The Life Of Ivan Denisovich
4/3. Steve Miller / Alice
5/1. Norman Lovett / John Peel Sings The Blues Badly
5/2. Patrick Portella / Serrons Nous Les Coudes
5/3. George Melly / Sounds That Saved My Life
5/4. Robert Fripp / Miniature
5/5. Andy Partridge (Xtc) / The History Of Rock'n'roll
5/6. Phantom Captain / Breather
6/1. Ron Geesin / Enterbrain Exit
6/2. Alejandro Viñao / An Imaginary Orchestrina
6/3. Quentin Crisp / Stop The Music For A Minute
6/4. Simon Desorgher / Tetrad
6/5. Ralph Steadman / Sweetest Love (Lament After A Broken Sashcord On A Theme Of John Donne)
6/6. R.D.Laing & Son / Tipperary
7/1. Trevor Wishart / Beach Double
7/2. John White / Scene De Ballet
7/3. Ivor Cutler / Brooch Boat
7/4. Hector Zazou / Do Tell Us
7/5. Michael Bass & Ellen Tenenbaum / A Miniaturization Of Bartok's Sonata For Two Pianos & Percussion (3rd Movement)
8/1. Martin Chambers (The Pretenders) / A Swift One
8/2. Bob Cobbing & Henri Chopin / Refreshment Break
8/3. Dave Vanian (The Damned) / Night Touch
8/4. Metabolist / Racing Poodles
9/1. Gavin Bryars / After Mendelssohn (137 Years)
9/2. 1/2 Japanese / Paint It Black
9/3. Simon Jeffes / Arthur's Treat
9/4. Mark Perry / Talking World War III Blues
9/5. Michael Nyman / 89-90-91-92
10/1. David Cunningham (The Flying Lizards) / Index Of Ends
10/2. Kevin Coyne / James, Mark & Me (In The Manner Of Tom Waits)
10/3. Etron Fou Leloublan / Hep!
10/4. Neil Oram & Ken Campbell & The Science Fiction Theatre Of Liverpool / The Minute Warp
10/5. Pete Seeger / Chorale From Beethoven's 9th Symphony
11. no artists / one minute silence
12. all artists / the miniatures miniature
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