Robert Fripp Guitar Moments

 

 

A few months ago a friend and I were talking about King Crimson & Robert Fripp. He is not as familiar with Fripp's work as I am so I started a playlist of not just Crimson tracks but also other excellent Fripp guitar work with other artists such as Brian Eno, David Bowie, David Sylvian, Hall & Oates(yes, Hall & Oates!) & others. 

 

This week I decided to finally make a mix of some of the tracks. I wasn't sure if or when I'd post it online. Then this morning I see that today, Oct. 19th, is the global premiere of the King Crimson documentary "In The Court Of The Crimson King: King Crimson at 50". What a perfect coincidence! 

 

I guess that makes the decision for me about when to post the mix. So here it is - a collection of some of my favorite Fripp guitar work. In order to keep the length manageable I had to leave out some great tracks like Bowie - Heroes, King Crimson - Lark's Tongue is Aspic, Talking Heads - I Zimbra, Fripp & Eno Heavenly Music Corp. & several others. I think the tracks I settled on cover a wide range and fit together nicely over the 84 minutes of the mix.

 

If anyone is interested the documentary will be shown in a special streaming event this weekend on Oct. 22nd. Here's the link - https://www.nugs.net/live-download-of-king-crimson-in-the-court-of-the-crimson-king.-king-crimson-at-50.-london-gb-10-22-2022-mp3-flac-or-online-music-streaming/621290-WEBCASTVARIANT.html

 

Cheers!

[ s t r e a m ]    [ d o w n l o a d ]    [ a p p l e _ p o d c a s t s ]

T R A C K L I S T :

00:00    David Sylvian - Upon This Earth (Gone to Earth 1986)

06:12    Fripp & Eno - Evening Star (Evening Star 1975)

13:38    The Roches - Hammond Song (The Roches 1979)

19:00    Brian Eno - St.  Elmo’s Fire (Another Green World 1975)

21:41    David Bowie - Teenage Wildlife (Scary Monsters 16980)

28:15    King Crimson - Fracture (Starless and Bible Black 1974)

37:23    David Sylvian & Robert Fripp - God’s Monkey (The First Day 1993)

42:11    Brian Eno - Baby’s On Fire (Here Come the Warm Jets 1974)

47:24    King Crimson - Space Groove II(edit) (ProjeKt Two Space Groove 1998)

55:00    King Crimson - Sailor’s Tale (Islands 1971)

61:20    King Crimson - Starless (Red 1974)

73:30    David Sylvian - Wave(version) (Camphor 2002)

76:15    Fripp & Eno - Meissa (The Equatorial Stars 2004)

84:05    end

The Canterbury Scene

And now for something completely different. This mix is a collection of instrumental tunes from the progressive rock sub-genre known as The Canterbury Scene.

According to Wikipedia:  

The Canterbury scene (or Canterbury sound) was a musical scene centered around the city of Canterbury, Kent, England during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Associated with progressive rock, the term describes a loosely-defined, improvisational style that blended elements of jazz, rock, and psychedelia. The Canterbury scene is largely defined by a set of musicians and bands with intertwined members. "The real essence of 'Canterbury Sound' is the tension between complicated harmonies, extended improvisations, and the sincere desire to write catchy pop songs."  "In the very best Canterbury music...the musically silly and the musically serious are juxtaposed in an amusing and endearing way."

The bands most often associated with this sound are Soft Machine, Caravan, Gong, Hatfield & the North, Egg, & National Health. And some of the artists include Robert Wyatt, Kevin Ayers, Allan Holdsworth, Steve Hillage, Phil Miller, Hugh Hopper, Richard Sinclair, Fred Frith and Dave Stewart.

I am not a fan of Canterbury tunes that have vocals, which eliminates a lot of stuff by Caravan and some Soft Machine. So that's why this mix sticks with instrumental tracks. Listening to this set it's easy to hear the similarities between the bands.

I discovered the Canterbury Scene when I was in college, listening to Bill Bruford(drummer for Yes & King Crimson) solo material. His keyboardist was Dave Stewart who played with Egg, Hatfield & The North, and National Health. I loved Bruford's solo stuff, especially "One of a Kind" so that lead me to listen to anything that Stewart was involved in. This mix opens and closes with two tracks featuring Dave Stewart and two of my favorites in the genre.

I hope you enjoy this little diversion from the usual ambient mixes. It sure was fun digging up all these 1970s classics.

Cheers!

[ s t r e a m ]    [ d o w n l o a d ]    [ i t u n e s ]

T R A C K L I S T :

• 00:00    National Health - The Bryden 2-Step(For Amphibians)Part 1 (Of Queues And Cures 1978)
• 08:15    Matching Mole - Smoke Signal (Little Red Record 1972)
• 11:30    Cos - Nog Verder (Viva Boma 1976)
• 13:40    Supersister - Dreaming Wheelwhile (Present From Nancy 1970)
• 15:55    Gong - The Isle of Everywhere (you 1974)
• 23:39    Soft Machine - Song Of Aeolus (Softs 1976)
• 27:33    Quiet Sun - r.f.d. (Mainstream 1975)
• 30:37    Gong - Three Blind Mice (Expresso II 1978)
• 35:23    Egg - Part 2 (The Polite Force 1971)
• 40:00    Henry Cow - Solemn Music (Unrest 1974)
• 41:02    Quiet Sun - Trot (Mainstream 1975)
• 44:29    Caravan - Waffle(Chance of a Lifetime) (For Girls Who Grow Plump in the Night 1973)
• 47:58    Gilgamesh - We Are All / Someone Else's Food / Jamo And Other Boating Disasters - From The Holiday Of The Same Name (Gilgamesh 1975)
• 55:39    Steve Hillage - Meditation Of The Snake (Fish Rising 1975)
• 58:32    Bruford - The Sahara Of Snow Parts 1 & 2 (One Of A Kind 1979)
• 66:03    end

Space Rock

 

This mix was inspired by a playlist that i stumbled across on Spotify.  It's called ENtro to Deep Space Rock.  You can find it here...

https://open.spotify.com/user/glennpmcdonald/playlist/7J19mbbwlbsxeWxSeBqTb1

I really enjoyed a lot of the instrumental cuts in the playlist.

I've been a prog rock fan since the 70s but I rarely listen to anything that would be considered current prog rock.  I've sampled a lot of prog recorded in the last 15 years but it's never really done much for me.  Part of that is due to my tastes changing over the years.  I have less interest in long guitar solos and ridiculous lyrics about nymphs in the forest, the end of the world, etc.  I still enjoy all my old favs but the new stuff just comes across as silly much of the time.  I know that old 70s prog is filled with stupid lyrics but those get a pass because I've loved them for 40 years.  

I've often wondered if I would be drawn to Yes or Genesis if I were hearing them for the first time right now.  Probably not.  Maybe I was drawn to the instrumentals in the playlist because lyrics and vocals weren't a problem.  I was surprised to find how much I enjoyed many of the cuts. 

The mix starts with a great tune from A Produce, The Golden Needle, that I've had for years but never listened to closely.  It's got this great Pink Floyd feel to it.  And even though it doesn't rock the way the other tunes do, I thought it would be a good way to start the mix.

The music is then a mixture of old and new instrumentals.  I've put the year each was released in the tracklist.  I'd say of the new prog instrumentals I've discovered that My Brother The Wind is a favorite.  Hopefully this is just a start of even more music to add to my collection.

[ d o w n l o a d ]   [ i t u n e s ]

T R A C K L I S T :

• 00:00    A Produce - The Golden Needle (1996)
• 06:42    Causa Sui - The Juice (2013)
• 10:50    Eternal Tapestry - Ancient Echos (2011)
• 16:00    Phil Manzanera - Sol Caliente/East of Asteroid (1976)
• 22:30    Pink Floyd - Obscured by Clouds (1972)
• 25:05    My Brother the Wind - Into the Cosmic Halo (2014)
• 31:33    Oresund Space Collective - The Tricophantic Spire (2014)
• 38:00    Krel - Track Thru Space (2010)
• 41:05    Causa Sui - Mireille (2013)
• 47:54    Holger Czukay - Ode to Perfume (1982)
• 56:45    Peter Banks - Knights (1973)
• 61:06    My Brother the Wind - Epilogue (2014)
• 65:05    Transitional Phase - Phase Two (2007)
• 69:54    Peter Banks - Last Eclipse (1973)
• 71:59    end

Space Rock by Elements Of Sound on Mixcloud

The Mellow Side of Prog

Back in 2007 I did a Prog Rock mix that is still one of my favorite low light mixes.  You can find the original post & download here...PROG ROCK '07.

I've always wanted to do another prog mix.  While on a pro rock binge I came across "For Absent Friends" by Genesis and that gave me the idea of doing a mellow prog mix.

In the original mix I tried to stay away from prog rock mainstays like Genesis & Yes & King Crimson.  This time I couldn't resist some big names like Pink Floyd, Genesis, Brian Eno & Crimson.  Those well known artists combine with some Cantebury scene music from National Health, Soft Machine & Hugh Hopper and Al Gowen.  Most of the tunes are vintage 70's music, with only a couple newer tracks from Willowglass & David Gilmore.

I included kind of an oddball cut from Tony R. Clef.  It's an acoustic cover of Genesis' "Undertow."  He has a few other Genesis tunes that he covers on his YouTube channel here.

I know this mix is a bit different than the usual Low Light Mixes fair, but it was fun to put together and I hope you enjoy it.

[ s t r e a m ] | [ d o w n l o a d ] | [ i t u n e s ]

T R A C K L I S T :

• 00:00    Genesis - For Absent Friends
• 01:40    Pink Floyd - If
• 06:05    Soft Machine - Carol Ann
• 09:33    Genesis - Hairless Heart
• 11:45    Strawbs - You & I(when we were young)
• 15:40    Phil Manzanera - Diamond Head
• 19:57    Willowglass - The End
• 21:09    David Gilmore - The Blue
• 26:25    King Crimson - Starless
• 30:54    Brian Eno - Golden Hours
• 34:30    Genesis - Silent Sorrow in Empty Boats
• 36:42    Anthony Philips - Which Way the Wind Blows
• 42:25    National Health - Arriving Twice
• 44:35    Hugh Hopper & Al Gowen - Morning Order
• 50:57    Chris Squire - Lucky Seven
• 57:45     Soft Machine - Virtually Part 4
• 1:01:02    Tony R. Clef - Undertow(acoustic Genesis cover)
• 1:05:54    Pink Floyd - Pigs on a Wing, Pt. 2
• 1:07:18    end

The Mellow Side of Prog by Lowlight on Mixcloud

Prog Rock Mix '07

And now for something completely different....

Any listeners/downloaders that are familiar with The Hydrogen Cafe mix blog, know that Rick has recently done a few mixes for vacationing in northern Wisconsin. I was having a tough time trying to figure out what kind of mixes I'd contribute this year.

So I Present the Prog Rock Mix '07, a mix that is nothing like any of the other mixes that I've posted here. Being a child of the 70's, I was a huge progressive/art rock fan. I still love old Genesis, Yes & King Crimson.

For this mix I stayed away from those obvious choices. So instead I used artists such as PFM, Egg, Gilgamesh, Le Orme, etc. With a well known artist like Pink Floyd, I picked cuts from less well known albums "Obscured by Clouds" & "Atom Heart Mother". This mix is definitely not a best of prog rock or anything like that. Just a collections of tunes that I thought worked well together.

It was a lot of fun rummaging through these old tunes. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did. And don't worry I'll return to the normal ambient mixes soon.

Download it here...

Prog Rock Mix '07 (91:31) (104mb)

t r a c k l i s t i n g :

00:00 - 02:00 Pink Floyd - When You're In
02:00 - 09:10 Gentle Giant - In a Glass House
09:10 - 10:40 Gilgamesh - Arriving Twice
10:40 - 13:30 Camel - Rhayader
13:30 - 17:00 Triumvirat - Schooldays
17:00 - 23:20 Brand X - Unorthodox Behavior
23:20 - 30:20 Egg - A Visit to Newport Hospital
30:20 - 34:30 Pink Floyd - Mudmen
34:30 - 42:00 Premiata Forneria Marconi(PFM) - Appena Un Po'
42:00 - 50:00 Strawbs - Autumn
50:00 - 59:10 Caravan - L'Auberge Du Sanglier
59:10 - 1:08:00 Can - Bel Air
08:00 - 10:30 Le Orme - Ritratto Di Un Mattino
10:30 - 13:30 Pink Floyd - Atom Heart Mother
13:30 - 19:30 801 - Tomorrow Never Knows
19:30 - 31:31 Steve Hackett - Shadow of the Hierophant