Fred

Album: Fred(US 1971-73)
CD / Cat. No. WIS-1003
LP / Cat. No. RFR-007 (180 g vinyl / handmade heavy cardboard gatefold sleeve / ltd. edition)

“Fred” was for sure one of the most talented 70´s groups without an album – enjoy their early works, they´re released for the first time. In 1971, as the war in Vietnam continued, some college students in rural, central Pennsylvania formed a band and left school behind. That year, they published a 45 rpm single (a love song - Salvation Lady) and recorded most of the music on this album, which contains cryptic lyrics and heavenly vocals floating over fuzzed-out guitar, crafty keys, drums and bass like a freight train, and a serene electric violin freshly liberated from the bonds of classical training.

Influenced by the likes of Procol Harum, The Band, Traffic, Jethro Tull, It´s A Beautiful Day, Frank Zappa, and King Crimson, they bring a unique sensibility and style to their 10 original pieces, uncannily as fresh today as they were when they were first recorded. The release includes linernotes, cool graphics and photos! – Highly recommended - US-progresssive rock at its best!

Album: Notes On A Picnic(US 1973-74)
CD / Cat. No. WIS-1016

After the successful debut of fred's first album (WIS-1003) with progressive, psychedelic rock, fred returns with a second album featuring the continued growth of their original and innovative sound. Lots of heavy electric guitar, progressive electric violin with fusion/ classical overtones, massive rock drums and bass, swirling garage rock organ, funky/jazzy electric piano, and heavenly vocal harmonies all mix together to create music that is uniquely fred. Influenced by Frank Zappa, King Crimson, and Mahavishnu, with echoes of 70's rock bands like Traffic, Procol Harum, Jethro Tull, and The Allman Brothers, these performances sound like something else entirely.

The master tapes were originally recorded 1973/74 at Blue Rock, the studio "Rolling Stone" called "the apotheosis of the laid back". Blue Rock even had walls made of denim and Turkish rugs on the floor - sort of like an opium den with a 16-track recording console. The eight instrumental and three vocal tracks (2 with lyrics) are at the highest level of musical proficiency and creativity in the progressive rock genre. Included as a bonus track is the trippy, late-night studio jam on War's "Slippin' Into Darkness" that will blow your mind. 24-bit digitally remastered from the original session tapes, "Notes on a Picnic" is a full-tilt, sonic feast for fans of progressive rock.

Violinist David Rose later went on to record as a successful solo artist in France in collaboration with Serge Perathoner. The CD booklet contains informative liner notes, original fred cartoons, and plenty of photos. 64 minutes of honest, dangerous, and awesome music that will own you. Own it today!

Album: Live At The Bitter End NYC(US 1974)
CD / Cat. No. WIS-1020

Who or what on God’s earth is fred? In Swedish, fred means “peace”, a good idea for any decade. In music, fred is an upstart band of pseudo-bumpkins (aka hippies) from the hills of central PA (really just kids from mid-Atlantic suburbia lost in the purple haze) who took Greenwich Village by storm in 1974. Their 1st CD (creatively named “fred”) contains cryptic lyrics and heavenly vocals floating over fuzzed-out guitar, crafty keys, drums and bass like a freight train, and a serene electric violin freshly liberated from the bonds of classical training. By CD #2 (“Notes On A Picnic”), the music evolved toward the nether realms of instrumental fusion featuring intricate scored parts, tight ensemble playing, sophisticated multi-tracking, and lots of room for inspired rock improvisation.

They say good things come in 3’s. So it is with the 3rd CD in the fred trilogy on World in Sound: “live at the bitter end”. Recorded over the summer of 1974 while fred was headlining at NYC’s world famous nightspot The Bitter End, these are raw, in your face live performances that will lift you up and blow you away. It is high octane, aggressive electric instrumental music with a pulse pounding beat, wailing gutsy guitar, and wild violin pyrotechnics. “live at the bitter end” features all new original music, ranging from tender to tortured, demented to delirious, always energetic, edgy, enigmatic, and full of surprises. With strong melodic themes over innovative rhythms, six pieces of the puzzle are carefully arranged into a seemingly endless variety of combinations, and then each is set loose over elegant structures for solo flights in the twilight zone of improvisation.

Influenced by Mahavishnu, Zappa, Jethro Tull, Yes, Spirit, King Crimson, Bartok, and Stravinsky, as well as inspired by musicians like Jean-Luc Ponty, Jerry Garcia, Bill Bruford, Herbie Hancock, John Bonham, Jerry Goodman, Robin Trower, Joe Zawinul, Chris Squire, and Stephane Grappelli, fred had by 1974 assimilated and fused a staggering array of disparate elements into their sound. So who or what on God’s earth is fred? Moody art-rock? Mysterious, jam band psychedelia? Or some kind of twisted, progressive fusion? How about future music from the past for thrill-junkies everywhere? “live at the bitter end” is exquisitely packaged with stunning original graphics that are themselves music for your mind’s eye. ---"The group as a whole is to these ears more enjoyable than either the Mahavishnu Orchestra or the new Billy Cobham Band.

In fact they are providing the kind of solid rhythmic electric music that I didn’t think existed in pop circles anymore..."Peter Occhiogrosso for The Soho Weekly News, August 1, 1974.