Re: Let The Power Fall

["mmason"<mmason@faulkcomp.com>]

     Various people wrote:
     
     >> I wish... Ifinally got "Let The Power Fall" t'other day and was 
     utterly >> disappointed.  I was expecting more variety of tones (ie 
     more than one!), >> as on the GP soundpage "Easter Monday" or the 
     performances in Wimbourne >> Minster for a BBC documentary.  I'd 
     really like to take this one back - >the
     >> whole "beyond Fripp" argument seems more and more meaningless... > 
     >Might I remind you that the Let The Power Fall material is quite a 
     bit >older than the current Soundscapes material, and also more than 
     minimalist >in comparison.  As a rough outline/example of looping 
     guitar, if not also >an introduction to such work, I think it excels. 
 
     There is no levels of >complexity to plow through to figure out "how 
     it's done", frankly; and, as >minimalist tone poems, I've always 
liked 
     LTPF myself.
     >What exactly were you looking for in this album, to be so 
     disappointed?
     
     Well, both the documentary and soundpage featured much richer 
     textures, which I was expecting - though both were a _bit_ later than 
     LTPF, maybe '84.  Certainly pre-Soundscapes!  He was using a Roland 
     Gtr synth, but also electric and acoustic guitars.  As an example of 
     looping, agreed, it's great; as a peice of music I wasn't impressed.  
     Your point on "minimalist tone poems" is a good one, though;  perhaps 
     I'm listening to the work with the wrong ears (so to speak).
     I'll give it another go.  To those who know the peices I'm talking 
     about - mid-80's Frippertronics - has he released anything with wider 
     varieties of tones?
     ______________________________________________________________________
     
     I comment:
     
     I really dig LTPF! I got it used at Hastings about a year ago. When I 
     first heard it I though "What crap! Doesn't even sound like guitars!" 
     But, I listened to it more and more, and now it one of my fave 
     records. I think that its the ultimate chill-out music. Soundcapes 
are 
     great too, but I find Frippertronics more organiac, interesting, and 
     enjoyable. Its purty cool to turn it up really loud, sit back, and 
     just listen to Robert construct his "tone poems". Really beatuiful 
     stuff. 
     On the subject of Frippertronics gear: LTPF was recorded in '79. I 
     don't think that Fripp was using guitar synths at that time. I've 
seen 
     lots of pix of him performing Frippertronics live, and hes just using 
     his Les Paul Custom. I don't think that those early Roland synths 
used 
     special pickups that you could just install on any guitar. Im pretty 
     sure you had to use the guitar controller that came with the synth. I 
     think the GR300 on looked like a strange Gibson SG. You can see them 
     in various pix of Fripp and Belew, on the "Bruford and the Beat" 
     video, and on the "Live in Japan '84" video. Also, in a interview 
with 
     Fripp that is on the ELephant Talk website, the interviewer asks some 
     questions about Frippertronics, and Fripp tells all the gear he uses. 
     This is what he said:
     
     Frippertronics is defined as that musical experience which results at 
     the (intersection) of Robert Fripp and a small and appropriate level 
     of technology which is my Les Paul, the Fripple board, the Fripp 
pedal 
     board of fuzz, wah-wah and volume pedals and two Revoxes.  
     
     Some of the sounds on LTPF sure sound like guitar synth but.....Im 
not 
     sure. I don't know about the mid 80s stuff though. Never heard it.
     
     Wow! I contributed something!
     
     Jay or Boris
     mmason@faulkcomp.com