The Young Person’s Guide To Fripp & Eno

by Jeff Boule in Album Reviews, Editorials, Musician Reviews, Opinion Posts, Reviews, Song Reviews

Again, we have a reissued blog from a time lost to the digital gremlins:

Mr. Billingsworth,

Upon bringing in the email, I found your exchange with my Mrs. from earlier today regarding Fripp & Eno.  I have a few points of interest and we can also discuss Prog matters in general.

The first issue would be the classification of Fripp & Eno.  These are three distinct artists in themselves.  Robert Fripp solo, Brian Eno solo, and Fripp & Eno collaborative.  Each has their own merit.  All have evolved.

Brian Eno solo: Breaking from Roxy Music, Eno began his solo career as a brilliant-producer-wanna-be-but-not-a-great-pop-star sound.  But the songs were inventive as hell and catchy-quirky with the driest of senses of humor.  The first four albums yielded more song structure type pieces.  Then he rigged those two Revox tape machines together and was ambient from that point on.

You need to know what heavy ambient is all about, so you HAVE to REALLY WANT the heavy ambient stuff.  Do you have trouble sleeping?  Need romantic music?  Then the heavy ambient stuff is fine, or if you are a dedicated fan, as I am.  But to the casual Brian Eno listener, I recommend sticking with the more song oriented titles, even the newer ones.  His last CD, Another Day On Earth is terrific and highly indicative of his current indulgence with the technologies available.  Some of his collaborations not with Fripp are equally accessible.  John Cale is one example of accessible direction.

“Baby’s On Fire” is a Brian Eno solo song, from the album Here Come The Warm Jets.  This also contains the recently covered by Queens Of The Stone Age version of “Needles In The Camels Eye”.  Robert Fripp plays one of the best rock guitar solos on record, and this is NOT my opinion.  This is a quote from one of the many articles/interviews/reviews I have read about Eno/Fripp/both.  The song itself is just a two-chord-straight-downbeat-vamp that Eno lays some cynical vocals over with special effects and interesting solos, including Fripp’s.

Robert Fripp solo:  The majority of Fripp solo stuff is the Frippertronics, Soundscapes, those two Revox machines morphing into loop pedals and rack mounted units.  His work with The League Of Gentlemen is dance rock.  A tight as hell band, killer organist Barry Andrews (of XTC fame) and Fripp exchanging wild, way-out solos over pumping rhythm sections.  There are two discs of that, an album and a live disc.  His solo album Exposure is quintessential, and there are now two and a half versions of it available as part of the Anniversary of the release, 25th I think.  Daryl Hall’s vocals on most of the tracks are finally available for release as Fripp got the rights back from EG and Tommy Motolla.  I would like to see Robert Fripp’s Network on disc.  It was a “greatest hits” disc with some tracks from sessions that went nowhere.  David Byrne doing vocals on “Under Heavy Manners”, not to be missed.  There also exists a rare flexi-single of a Fripp piece called “Easter Sunday”.  Frippertronics with acoustic guitar soaring solos.  Nice!

Fripp & Eno:  Combine the attributes from the above and that is Fripp & Eno.  Eno usually builds the beds, Fripp solos over them, or Eno builds the beds from Fripp, then let’s him solo over that, and various combinations thereof, Eno soloing, so on and so forth.  Their work is always ambient, although sometimes not so heavy.  They continue to collaborate, they have three releases.  No Pussyfooting, some consider a classic.  Evening Star is equally important.  Equatorial Stars is a more recent release, and shows off all the “toys”.

Should you decide you are of sturdier stuff and want them all, I would still start out with the “easy listening Fripp/Eno/Fripp & Eno” and then gradually fill in the heavy ambient stuff.  Important and rare works get priority.

This is music that has a place, but that place is limited.  Sort of like a tranquilizer.  “Do not take Fripp & Eno while driving, operating heavy machinery, thermonuclear reactors…”  But if the less is more approach rings true with you, you really ought to treat yourself and fill up on Fripp, Eno, or Fripp & Eno.

As always, should you find yourselves in need of some Fripp and Eno, please contact your favorite PREX representative!!

Digest.  Decide.  Declare!

Some personal notes, the Tori Amos Abnormally Attracted To Sin review is in the works, please be patient, the girls come out when they want to.  AND, for all you Utopia fans that I know just cling to my every post in the hope I might have some new news from the camp, I do this time!  All you young Utopia dudes should get in touch with PREX and have them order you the import Japanese versions of all the Utopia albums, they are remixed and remastered with higher output levels, clearer mastering, and some even have BONUS TRACKS!!!  For instance, I have just ingested the remastered Swing To The Right and it includes the previously unreleased track “Special Interest”.

Catch you nutmeats, in a while.