THE EQUATORIAL STARS

I was pleasantly surprised by this release. I figured that the chances were good that Fripp & Eno would phone in some half-hearted effort, perhaps cobbling together bits of old material that was cast aside from another project. Instead, they've put together an album that retains the charms of their previous collaborations while going off on some varied tangents. The best part is the fact that they didn't opt for an up-to-date, modern sound that employs lots of sampling, editing and especially "urban" hipness. Some of Eno's recent work has been diminished by that tendency, and I'm relieved that restraint was used here. I'm not saying that the overall sound is old-fashioned, just that it avoids pandering to the "youth of today" culture that permeates just about everything. I'd give it four stars, but I'll have to wait a few years to know for sure how it stacks up against their past work.