Bishop, Sir Richard

***Saginaw Racket, the new double album by Sir Richard Bishop, features the first new recordings from the former Sun City Girls guitarist in over five years. It is a singular work for electric guitar in four parts with each part being a full side. Each of the four parts were recorded in one take and they are presented in the order they were originally recorded. But this is also a circular work with no fixed beginning or end. One can start the record with any of the four sides, with the remaining sides then played in order. Known for his interpretations of Spanish, North African, Middle and Far Eastern guitar and string compositions, Richard Bishop never remains long in any one musical territory. There are no Eastern or exotic touches here. It is more reminiscent of early '70s underground rock (unrock). The entire work is improvised, with recurring motifs and melodies. It is similar in approach to Neil Young 's Dead Man Soundtrack, but Saginaw Racket is louder, more energetic and more complex, while retaining its cinematic quality. The tone of the guitar is the voice of the record. It is noisy at times but it is not "noise." It definitely is a racket, though, and it unleashes all the pent-up energy of the last few years, during much of which, SRB never even picked up a guitar. So in a sense Richard Bishop is returning to his roots in the form of a spontaneous soundtrack to old Saginaw where he grew up and first learned to play the guitar—a Saginaw that certainly doesn't exist anymore. Saginaw Racket is limited to 400 copies pressed on 140g black vinyl.