Robert Fripp - At The End Of Time

Robert Fripp's End of time is a live album of more of Fripp's solo ambience & soundscapes.It shares the same premise of the early days with Brian Eno,but Fripp as evolved the concept and sound some what.Interestingly each song is played in a different church throughout England & Estonia,one of which was is in my home town.To me this is a very interesting concept itself,it's certainly not a tour of a typical musician in his early sixties.But Fripp has never been that cliche rock star,he's one of the few older musicians who are still interested to evolve their sound & concepts.

With the large amounts of soundscapes that he has released each has always been diverse and this one especially stands out personally for me.It has an interesting atmosphere throughout,something I can't put my finger on.Perhaps,it's the venues?The music delivers a more optimistic sound as opposed to something a little darker and complicated like Eno & Fripp's "No Pussyfooting".
The tour of churches made me wonder if Robert Fripp is a religious man? or perhaps Fripp is just humble?To me the music sounds like it's created by such a persona.
There's nothing overpowering or demanding to listen to,it's very textured & tasteful.There are no surprises of rapid guitar work or any discordant harmony's,it simply flows with euphoric sounds which make you feel at peace.Songs such as "Evensong:Haapsalu" reminds me slightly, of Vangelis' "Blade Runner"and is probably the closest comparison I can give.

As Fripp says within the cd booklet "The churchscapes performances took place out-side the world of rock music & popular culture;and mostly outside commercial culture"That probably gives you a better idea and description then I could give you for what is in store.

Robert Fripp - Exposure

EXPOSURE

Robert Fripp

Eclectic Prog

This is Robert Fripp's solo début released on June '79 and it includes a huge list of guests on the album making an incredible lineup including Peter Hamill,Phil Collins,Peter Gabriel,Tony Levin and Brian Eno.You'll notice that many of the musicians listed Fripp has worked with before either collaborating or appearing as a guest musician which helped form this unique sound.Making this his first album where you hear Fripps new wave influence creeping in and becoming a dominant part of this album and future Fripp releases throughout the eighties.Which If you only aware of King Crimson's seventies work,this could sound like a very strange occurrence.

Throughout the album the songs take many shapes and forms from hard rock songs to ballads and ambience which for a solo debut brings out the many sides of Fripp which we all know and love.And that is to be expected from Fripps versatility.But in this case,this can make the album feel unstable and have a lack of continuity about it.He also reuses many sounds and techniques you may recognise such as Frippertronics made famous by the help of Brian Eno which on many occasions gives you the feel of deja-vu.This isn't the only sound which you'll recognise there's also such songs as "Breathless" which could be an unofficial reprise of King Crimson's red and "Disengage" being a slightly altered Larks Tounge in Aspic II.Also a revisited version of Peter Gabriel's "Here comes the flood" For a solo debut such actions as these can't help but diminish its quality,making it feel this album is a King Crimson B side album.These are sounds which we already familiar with and for an album which remains inconsistent in genre,it never fails to bother me.So this why I rate it as an album for collectors/fans only and recommend you to hear Fripp & Eno's evening star for the experimental ambient pieces and KC'S larks tongue and Red.

There's some great ideas on the album and an amazing lineup of musicians but it doesn't hold up to his work with the mighty King Crimson or have the ground breaking ambient appeal of Fripp & Eno's No Pussyfooting.