If Looks Could Kill (Jim French album)

If Looks Could Kill
If Looks Could Kill
Studio album by Jim French with Diamanda Galás and Henry Kaiser
Released	1979
Recorded	September 9, 1979
Studio	Media Art Recording; (Hermosa Beach, CA)
Genre	Avant-garde jazz
Length	43:30
Label	Metalanguage
Producer	Henry Kaiser
Diamanda Galás chronology

If Looks Could Kill is the only studio album by avant-garde jazz musician Jim French, released in 1979 by Headhunter Records. It is one of composer Diamanda Galás' earliest musical recordings.^[1]^[2]^[3]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[1]

Eugene Chadbourne of AllMusic was highly critical of If Looks Could Kill, describing it as disappointing overall and that "little of this music is developed or delivered with any amount of feeling." He gave the album two out of five stars, concluding that it might only be interesting for completists of his collaborators to seek out.^[1]

Track listing

Side one
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Picornponia"	Jim French	1:00
2.	"Lament"	Traditional arr.	1:00
3.	"Saltarello"	Traditional arr.	0:50
4.	"The Human Fancier's"	Jim French	2:50
5.	"Nobody Knows You"	Jimmy Cox	2:05
6.	"The Maple Leaf Rag"	Scott Joplin	1:25
7.	"Infrapolatia"	Jim French	5:15
8.	"Wolftraum"	Jim French	6:00

Side two
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Looks Could Kill"	Jim French, Diamanda Galás	8:35
2.	"Envelope Please"	Jim French, Diamanda Galás, Henry Kaiser	4:15
3.	"Horses in Trouble"	Jim French, Henry Kaiser	3:00
4.	"Flag Day"	Diamanda Galás, Henry Kaiser	3:00
5.	"Having a Party"	Jim French, Henry Kaiser	1:00
6.	"Pillow Talk"	Jim French, Diamanda Galás, Henry Kaiser	3:15

Personnel

Adapted from the If Looks Could Kill liner notes.^[4]

Musicians

Jim French – soprano saxophone, sopranino saxophone, pan flute, pibcorn, electronics
Diamanda Galás – vocals (B1–B6)
Henry Kaiser – electric guitar (B1–B6), production, engineering

Production and additional personnel

Phil Brown – mastering
Rolf Erickson – engineering
Dan Kyle – engineering
Kent Strother – photography

Release history

Region	Date	Label	Format	Catalog
United States	1979	Metalanguage	LP	ML 108

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Chadbourne, Eugene. "Jim French: If Looks Could Kill > Review". Allmusic. Retrieved March 3, 2016.
^ "Diamanda Galás roars back with two new albums. 'Do I still scare people?' she asks. 'Yes.'". San Diego Union-Tribune. July 8, 2017.
^ "Diamanda Galás Diva of the Dispossessed". exclaim.ca.
^ If Looks Could Kill (sleeve). Jim French. Berkeley, California: Metalanguage Records. 1979.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)

External links

If Looks Could Kill at Discogs (list of releases)

[allmusic-1] Chadbourne, Eugene. "Jim French: If Looks Could Kill > Review". Allmusic. Retrieved March 3, 2016.

[2] "Diamanda Galás roars back with two new albums. 'Do I still scare people?' she asks. 'Yes.'". San Diego Union-Tribune. July 8, 2017.

[3] "Diamanda Galás Diva of the Dispossessed". exclaim.ca.

[linearnotes-4] If Looks Could Kill (sleeve). Jim French. Berkeley, California: Metalanguage Records. 1979.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)

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v t e Diamanda Galás
Studio albums	The Litanies of Satan Diamanda Galas The Divine Punishment Saint of the Pit You Must Be Certain of the Devil The Singer All the Way De-formation: Piano Variations Broken Gargoyles
Collaborative albums	If Looks Could Kill The Sporting Life
Live albums	Plague Mass Vena Cava Schrei x Malediction and Prayer Defixiones: Will and Testament La serpenta canta Guilty Guilty Guilty At Saint Thomas the Apostle Harlem
Compilations	Masque of the Red Death