THE ROBERT FRIPP STRING QUINTET: THE BRIDGE BETWEEN

This album - "The Bridge Between" - from The Robert Fripp String Quintet is mostly a California Guitar Trio album, with a little help from Robert Fripp and Trey Gunn. It mostly mixes CGT songs with Classical J.S. Bach compositions - only two songs are written by the team Fripp/Gunn. I would recommend this album for any fan of the Trio - but maybe not for fans of Robert Fripp/KC music.

The album starts with two classic CGT compositions: "Kan - Non Power" and "Yamanashi Blues". With "Blockhead", they are simply three remixed songs from CTG's debut album "Yamanashi Blues" mostly played on acoustic guitar. "Hope" is probably the only song where the five guitarists really work together - the CGT provides the rhythm section with acoustic guitars and the duo Fripp/Gunn builds the melody. "Chromatic Fantasy", "Contrapunctus" and "Passacaglia" are the classical Bach pieces that can be found on every CGT album - the first one being dissonant and very irritating, the other two mostly melodic. "Blue" is more in the style of Trey Gunn solo albums - dark and melodic. Then the closing soundscape: "Threnody For Souls In Torment" - really something not to listen alone in the dark... it really gives a meaning to the word "fear".

Rating: 73/100