Gates of Paradise

Robert Fripp | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 28, 1998)
• Original Release Date: April 28, 1998
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Discipline Us
• ASIN: B000006FBS
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #204,516 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Outer Darkness: The Outer Darkness/Perimeter I/Perimeter II/Wailing I/

2. The Gates of Paradise: Abandonment to Divine Providence/Pie Jesu

3. The Outer Darkness: In Fear and Trembling of the Lord

4. The Gates of Paradise: Sometimes God Hides/Acceptance

Editorial Reviews

This CD is the original Discipline Global Mobile release. Catalog DGM9608. There is a punch hole through the UPC.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fripp's Inferno, May 1, 1998

By 

Paul Carr (Silver Spring, MD United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Gates of Paradise (Audio CD)

Fripp's electronic soundscapes have become increasingly programmatic in recent years, and it isn;t at all obvious to me how this helps the music. The Gates of Paradise is his darkest, and probably his most sophisticated work to date, combining pipe organ like tone clusters (did he sample an organ for this CD?) with the wailing of lost souls.

I doubt that Hell would ever be as dramatic and interesting as this. The background music in Hell is more likely written by John Tesh or Ace of Base.

That said, if you're interested in Fripp's work at all, you have to have this CD, but if you're not, you're probably better off starting out with "Blessing of Tears", Summers/Fripp "I Advance Masked," or the sublime "Let the Power Fall," as "Gates of Paradise" is relatively inaccessible.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Alternating haunting and beautiful, June 18, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Gates of Paradise (Audio CD)

This is Fripp's latest Soundscape release, though it contains pieces collected over the past few years. For the uninitiated, Soundscapes are Fripp's solo instrumentals of sampled and processed sounds layered through a series of digital delays. Though Fripp plays guitar, reconizable guitar sounds are rarely heard. Because Fripp has mastrered the technology, there is a refinement and subtleness that define the path of chaos to introspection Soundscapes often travel.

The result is a liquid, flowing sonic Jackson Pollack, sometimes organic, sometimes mechanical, always honest, and frequently heartfelt

Soundscapes are not initially "easy" listening, but they offer a range of dissonance to resolution that bears countless repeat listenings. It's is not music you listen to, but listen through and within.

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mastering The Craft, October 16, 2002

By 

Martin A Hogan "Marty From SF" (San Francisco, CA. (Hercules)) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Gates of Paradise (Audio CD)

Fripp has finally outdone himself (and friend Brian Eno) with this collection of ethereal music. Where before the sounds of guitar were easily distinguished, here they are hidden in magical sound loops that remind one more of synthesized keyboards than a guitar. Recorded in lengthy oversampled sound layers, Fripp presents a sound totally new and unique. It is difficult to describe other than it has layers and depth in it's presentation. It's almost beyond spiritual and never sounds mechanical. This album can be used as relaxing background music or as an incredible meditation source on headphones. It is ambient sound matured.