The Previous Evening was composed by Frith and is divided into three parts, in which Frith pays homage to three contemporary classical composers, John Cage, Morton Feldman and Earle Brown. The CD booklet also contains the following dedication: "This recording is dedicated to my father, Donald Frith, whose support has been and continues to be warm and unwavering."[1]
Frith incorporated elements of John Cage, Morton Feldman and Earle Brown's working methods into the respective pieces on the album. "Fragments of text heard in Part I were taken at random from John Cage's book Silence: Lectures and Writings. Tape editing, the structure of events, and dynamic markings in this section were also determined using chance methods."[1] An Australian Dawn chorus appears in Part III, and other sound sources include works by Cage, Schumann, Mozart and "some bits and pieces of my own earlier work."[1]
In a review for AllMusic, Rick Anderson wrote: "Long-standing fans of Fred Frith may not recognize his voice easily in this music, but all of it is worth listening to."[2]
Rob Walker, writing for Exposé Online, commented: "Frith seems to acknowledge and utilize each composer's characteristic creative style in his own writing. These pieces are thus intriguing in the way they are identifiably Frith's, yet bear the cosignature of another giant of modern music... A challenging and adventurous work that is certainly not for the faint of heart, The Previous Evening adds an intriguing new element to Frith's substantial oeuvre of innovative and experimental music."[3]
^The Previous Evening (1997), released before Accidental (Music for Dance Volume 3) (2002), was designated "Music for Dance Volume 4" after Accidental was released.
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