GOD SAVE THE QUEEN / UNDER HEAVY MANNERS

Underrated falls short. A masterpiece from A to Z. The year 1980, the mass arising of drum-box generated music was just to start. Of course most prog pioneers were well established by the time, but this was the future, and ike it or not, all the "Prog-Giants" surrendered to these new boxes and "new" tech/gadgets.

I can mention 1000s of horrible attempts by the Prog top-guns in these matters. These "giants" never knew exactly what to do with these synthetic boxes and the music sounds they generated, and sadly a lot of them still are there trying to figure it out, but their past works are my personal soundtrack, so I won't attack!

Anyway, to me Mr Fripp's "God Save the Queen / Under Heavy Manners" is his real first real solo effort, music wise, talking. Rather than his official first album "Exposure" which sounded more like his way of "exiling" himself away from the "Court of the Crimson King" musical idiom and crowds, like a " I do what I like and feel, and I don't care if you like it or not!" statement. But at the end of that same record we are given a clue to what was really cooking in Mr Fripp's upcoming musical language, the self named * "Frippertronics".

*(Frippertronics:Technically speaking the use of loops of pre-recorded and live recorded electric guitars, sometimes creating a droning experience, by repetition of single structured melodic lines) .

UNDER HEAVY MANNERS / GOD SAVE THE QUEEN! Track 1: A bridge between the first project (Exposure) and this one (including the Talking Heads' master "Head" screaming-singing like to whatever word that ends with -ism.

Track 2: Fast trance-dance pioneer, ( if not the first ), that dissolves slowly into the world of Frippertronics.

Track 3 to 6: Frippertronics presented into single compositions, as in his recent live street and public places presentations and performances. The mood each composition sets varies in proportion of balance, intensity or subtleness, all according to multiple, canon-like, melodic lines, constructed from scratch and multiplied by their own repetitions. This is the "King" himself, back in form, to explore this future and he delivered this gem. Imagine the electrifying droning of different guitar signals, sounding as only this genius could sound.

Somehow I've found out that die-hard "Crimsons" are the main detractors of this work. Just let yourself go, the music will do the rest.

*****5 PA stars without blinking.

P.D. : The original vinyl starts with "Under Heavy Manners" ends with "1983", so the next second record "Let the Power Fall" would start of properly with "1984" its first song.