Feldman and Kath

"Noise is something else. It does not travel on these distant seas of experience. It bores like granite into granite. It is physical, very exciting, and when organized can have the impact and grandeur of Beethoven." - Feldman

The physicality that Feldman describes reminds me of Terry Kath's wrestling match with a Fender Stratocaster on the debut Chicago Transit Authority album. The track, "Free Form Guitar," is wildly out of place on the album; almost seven minutes of feedback and divebombs and screeching, dissonant, noodling with one brief breath in the middle, and maybe two distinguishable chords, seated between "Poem 58" and "Southern California Purples," a Kath solo vehicle, and a standard blues song respectively. But the power that it carries in its "otherness" is astounding. Regardless of your opinion of the track, it's not easily forgotten by the listener, and makes a grand and impactful statement.

I think what drew me to the track so much is what Feldman touches on, physicality. It really sounds as though Kath is battling with the sound, fighting with it for control and supremacy. What's most exciting about the track is that it seems like the noise can win half the time, with the second of silence in the middle almost acting as a surrender by Kath - needing to take a breath before resuming the fight.

While one could argue there's not much "organized" about "Free Form Guitar" (setting aside our expansive definition of 'form' from class the other day - i.e. there's a beginning and end) I would say that the mere intention of it is enough to give it order. Looking at the track not as a track, but as a segment of a continuous album, the noise gains order, having been placed specifically, deliberately, and for a set duration. The content of the noise is less important than its existence, though in this case, both the existence and the content are greatly compelling.