Freeze Frame (Godley & Creme album)

Freeze Frame is a 1979 album by Godley & Creme. The album was recorded at Nigel Gray's Surrey Sound Studios, Leatherhead, Surrey and featured cover art designed by Hipgnosis.

This album featured a couple of technical innovations which gave it a unique sound. "I Pity Inanimate Objects" featured a distinctive vocal treatment in which the notes are seemingly obtained by altering the pitch of pre-recorded voices. It has been suggested they recorded the vocal melody several times in different keys and tempos into a sampler, then used the keyboard to transpose each one back independently to the original key, then pasted it, or spliced tape together, syllable by syllable.^[2] Another possibility is that they used the model H910 Eventide Harmonizer, a time delay audio processor with pitch-shifting ability.

Some tracks also featured the gizmo, which was a mechanical device invented by Godley, Creme, and John McConnell (professor of physics at the University of Manchester) to give a guitar a bowed effect like a violin. The device used keys which, when pressed, allowed rotating wheels to touch the guitar strings.^[3]

Track listing

All tracks composed by Kevin Godley and Lol Creme

1. "An Englishman in New York" – 5:37
2. "Random Brainwave" – 2:38
3. "I Pity Inanimate Objects" – 5:24
4. "Freeze Frame" – 4:47
5. "Clues" – 5:24
6. "Brazilia (Wish You Were Here)" – 6:11
7. "Mugshots" – 3:55
8. "Get Well Soon" – 4:38

Personnel

• Kevin Godley – vocals, drums, percussion
• Lol Creme – vocals, guitars, bass, xylophone, vibes, gizmo, bass pedals, acoustic guitars, piano, percussion, harmonica, moog, electric piano
• Phil Manzanera – electric and acoustic guitar
• Paul McCartney – backing vocals

References

1. ^ Allmusic review
2. ^ KVR Audio website forum.
3. ^ Mr Blint's Attic: the Gizmo