# Ragged Atlas

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Ragged_Atlas
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Ragged_Atlas.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ragged_Atlas
> Source revision: 1330535457
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

***Ragged Atlas*** is a [studio album](/source/Studio_album) by [Fred Frith](/source/Fred_Frith)'s United States [experimental rock](/source/Experimental_rock) group [Cosa Brava](/source/Cosa_Brava). It was recorded in [San Francisco](/source/San_Francisco) in December 2008 and was released by [Intakt Records](/source/Intakt_Records) in Switzerland on March 5, 2010.[1] *Ragged Atlas* was the band's first album, and is largely [instrumental](/source/Instrumental) with a little singing on five of the thirteen the tracks. Frith composed all the music, with lyric contributions on "Lucky Thirteen" by Rebby Sharp, a singer/guitarist Frith had worked with in [Orthotonics](/source/Orthotonics).

## Reception

John Kelman, Nic Jones and Mark Corroto wrote favorable reviews of *Ragged Atlas* at [All About Jazz](/source/All_About_Jazz),[2][3][4] whereas Beppe Colli at Clouds and Clocks had mixed feeling about the album.[5]

Kelman described [Cosa Brava](/source/Cosa_Brava) as "the perfect nexus between [Frith's] more accessible yet still left-leaning music for dance, [...] and the more challenging structures of his 1970s work with [Henry Cow](/source/Henry_Cow)".[2] He said that *Ragged Atlas* "transcends time and genre" and has "[b]road dynamics, a blend of acoustic and electric instrumentation, fine compositional detail, and surprisingly memorable melodies".[2] Kelman said that it "stands as one of 2010's most auspicious debuts".[2]

Corroto called the album a "classic 1970s rock opera", and described the music as a mixture of "folk, Celtic, modern chamber, Latin, funk, Eastern, and prog-rock".[4] He said that Frith "never stray[ed] far from joyous music making".[4] Jones wrote that there is an "impishness about the music, a sense of fun that [...] stems from the joy of discovery".[3] As an example he said that the "arguably banal lyric" in the track "Falling Up (for Amanda)" is elevated to another level by the supple music of [Carla Kihlstedt](/source/Carla_Kihlstedt)'s violin".[3] Jones said that "Tall Story" works because of the musicianship of the group, and that in lesser hands it "might come off as so much fluff".[3]

Colli was critical of the album, saying that the volume is "deafening", and that the music is "often tacky, bombastic, as if looking for an applause".[5] He did like some of the tracks, for example "Lucky Thirteen", which he said has a "meditative mood, fine unison from vocals and violin", and "Tall Story", with its "light, fine theme".[5] Overall, however, Colli described the album as "kitsch".[5]

## Track notes

Source: CD [liner notes](/source/Liner_notes) written by Frith; all quotes by Frith.

- "Pour Albert" (Albert Marcoeur) – Frith called Marcoeur one of his "favorite" songwriters and musicians, and a "warm and generous friend and teacher".
- "R. D. Burman" ([Rahul Dev Burman](/source/Rahul_Dev_Burman)) – Burman was an Indian [film score](/source/Film_score) composer who "fearlessly mixed genres, styles, cultures, and instruments" to create a "unique body of work" spanning a 30-year career.
- "Falling Up (for Amanda)" (Amanda Miller) – Frith described Miller as an "extraordinary dancer, inspiring [choreographer](/source/Choreography), and uncompromising [philosopher](/source/Philosophy)"; Miller and Frith once led a workshop at the [Edinburgh Festival](/source/Edinburgh_Festival) where Miller taught dancers how to "fall up".
- "Out on the Town with Rusty, 1967" – Frith met Rusty ("the epitome of cool") while performing at the [York Folk Club](/source/York) in mid-1967; they became friends that summer, played at local Working Men's Clubs, and attended a [Jimi Hendrix](/source/Jimi_Hendrix) concert in [Woburn, Bedfordshire](/source/Woburn,_Bedfordshire); a few months later, after Frith had returned to university, Rusty was killed in a motorbike accident.
- "Blimey, Einstein" ([Albert Einstein](/source/Albert_Einstein)) – "[H]ey, it ain't rocket science."
- "For Tom Zé" ([Tom Zé](/source/Tom_Z%C3%A9)) – Zé inspired Frith with his technique of mixing popular Brazilian song with "wacky" modern composition.

## Personnel

- [Fred Frith](/source/Fred_Frith) – guitar, bass guitar, vocals
- [Carla Kihlstedt](/source/Carla_Kihlstedt) – violin, [nyckelharpa](/source/Nyckelharpa), bass harmonica, vocals
- [Zeena Parkins](/source/Zeena_Parkins) – accordion, keyboards, foley objects, vocals
- [Matthias Bossi](/source/Matthias_Bossi) – drums, percussion, sruti box, vocals
- The Norman Conquest – sound manipulation

### Guests

- [Anantha Krishnan](/source/Anantha_Krishnan) – mridangam and tabla on "R. D. Burman"

### Recording and production

- Recorded on [24-track](/source/Multitrack_recording) [analog](/source/Analog_recording) at [Tiny Telephone Studios](/source/Tiny_Telephone_Studios), [San Francisco](/source/San_Francisco) between December 17 and 21, 2008 - [Scott Solter](/source/Scott_Solter) – engineer - Laura Dean – assistant engineer - The Norman Conquest – digital transfers, track rationalization, additional recording
- Mixed at Jankowski Soundfabrik, [Esslingen](/source/Esslingen_am_Neckar), Germany in July, August and December 2009 - Peter Hardt – engineer
- Mastered at Headless Buddha, [Oakland, California](/source/Oakland,_California) on January 11, 2010 - Myles Boisen – engineer
- Artwork - Heike Liss – cover image - Jonas Schoder – graphic design
- Production - [Fred Frith](/source/Fred_Frith) – producer - [Intakt Records](/source/Intakt_Records) – producer

## References

1. ["New Releases"](http://www.intaktrec.ch/). *[Intakt Records](/source/Intakt_Records)*. Retrieved February 25, 2010.

1. Kelman, John (May 3, 2010). ["Ragged Atlas"](https://www.allaboutjazz.com/ragged-atlas-fred-frith-intakt-records-review-by-john-kelman.php). *[All About Jazz](/source/All_About_Jazz)*. Retrieved November 24, 2015.

1. Jones, Nic (May 23, 2010). ["Ragged Atlas"](https://www.allaboutjazz.com/ragged-atlas-fred-frith-intakt-records-review-by-nic-jones.php). *[All About Jazz](/source/All_About_Jazz)*. Retrieved March 30, 2012.

1. Corroto, Mark (May 1, 2010). ["Ragged Atlas"](https://www.allaboutjazz.com/ragged-atlas-fred-frith-intakt-records-review-by-mark-corroto.php). *[All About Jazz](/source/All_About_Jazz)*. Retrieved March 30, 2012.

1. Colli, Beppe (May 1, 2010). ["Ragged Atlas"](http://www.cloudsandclocks.net/CD_reviews/cosabrava_ra_E.html). *Clouds and Clocks*. Retrieved March 30, 2012.

## External links

- [*Ragged Atlas*](http://www.intaktrec.ch/161-a.htm) at [Intakt Records](/source/Intakt_Records)
- [*Ragged Atlas*](https://fred-frith.bandcamp.com/album/ragged-atlas) at Intakt Records on [Bandcamp](/source/Bandcamp)
- [*Ragged Atlas* reviews](http://www.intaktrec.ch/rev161-a.htm) at Intakt Records

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Ragged Atlas](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ragged_Atlas) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ragged_Atlas?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.