Ice Death

by Skip Jansen This astonishing work from the California avant-garde guitarist features appearances from Eugene Chadbourne, Evan Cornog, John Gruntfest, Henry Kuntz, Loren Means, Chris Muir, John Oswald, and Laurel Sprigg in what is considered to be one of his finest works of the '70s. His love of Captain Beefheart is declared from the get-go with a version of the exquisite miniature "Dali's Car," which is given a vaguely avant-garde vamp yet remains respectful to the original. From there on, the unorthodox techniques and inspired extended guitar playing he later refined on his landmark albums Outside Pleasure and Aloha: Studio Solo are shaped into a series of short vignettes. Giving an almost pop feel to highly experimental techniques, Henry Kaiser goes above and beyond the expectations of guitar as the world knows it with this release.