Customer Reviews

Radiophonics: 1995 Soundscapes 1 Live in Argentina

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

A looooong while back I wrote a two-star review for this batch of white noise, complaining how difficult a listen it was. Well, mea culpa - it's still a difficult listen, but with a different perspective I'm giving almost four stars now (rounded off because we're still limited to mere integers). How come? I rated it before for the wrong reasons. One of Fripp's most common sayings is "expectation is a prison," and I slagged Radiophonics largely because I'd wanted it to be something different. It takes some adjustment for anyone to accept the sound of Soundscapes on its own terms; Robert loops and repeats layers of hazy tones and synth noises, gradually building more and more layers of ether as the older ones fade away (it's almost a shock to hear the recognizable sound of a guitar when "Sky" kicks in near the end). It's atmosphere without melody. It sounds aimless and unstructured, even for ambient music. At times it is harsh and almost physically irritating. And incidentally, it's all improvised live with no overdubs. I wonder what his audiences in Argentina must have thought of this stuff.

Part of my initial problem came not only because these tracks aren't easily accessible or recognizably musical, but also because they don't serve as easy-to-ignore background music or aural wallpaper like most other ambient work. It's not anything that sticks in your head, or that you can hum along to - and even if you tried, the result would sound vastly different from the Soundscape itself. It's like listening to three different Brian Eno albums all at once, where they don't seem to match up. And it does occasionally dive headfirst into unlistenable chaos, as on "Streets" and the last few minutes of "Radiophonic II." During those sections Robert stirs the hazy clouds into a full-fledged tornado, whipping past each other and crazily panning between the left and right channels in a cacophonous frenzy. It's like being sucked into some bizarre vortex where your brain is bombarded with too much information to handle. But thankfully that's only a small fraction of the disc.

Though Radiophonics is an extraordinary listening experience (not to mention different from anything else I've heard, even in the ambient realm), it's still humbled by the sheer perfection of its successor A Blessing of Tears. If you're still curious about how this kind of music has been described on this page - Michael Lopez's review below is particularly eloquent - then you'll be well served by ABoT or November Suite (if you can still find it). This disc isn't the best introduction, but those already familiar with Robert's 'Scapes will discover a whole new world of sound; occasonally jarring, sometimes difficult, but inexplicably fascinating all the same.

5 stars for fearlessness on RF's part, but it's really impossible to rate. He is a very strange bird indeed; but that's a good thing. This is really an electronic sound collage produced live. Not an easy "listen", but can be enjoyed passively while reading, etc. The early ambient works explored by Eno and Fripp (and to a degree, Bowie) were initially greeted with extreme hostility. Some of the reviews here could be verbatim mid-70's reaction to the aforementioned works. Later these influential works spawned the latter day ambient, which, of course, devolved into "new age" music. Anyone who is interested in the original ambient works and enjoys the experimental works of any of the above artists will enjoy the Soundscapes of Robert Fripp.

This CD is really in two parts - there are the two "Radiophonics" Soundscapes, and then the "Buenos Aires Suite" the latter is simpler and more expressive, but frankly fails to really grab me. The former however, are two of the most interesting recorded Soundscapes to date, with Fripp in an exploratory mode.

People who liked "Blessing of Tears" may be a bit disappointed in this recording - it's not as intensely emotional, nor it is burdened with the eschatological program that Soundscapes often are ("That Which Passes," "Gates of Paradise").

Still some of the best Space Music around.

Reasons to be impressed with this disc:

1. This is fascinating music. Radiophonic I starts with an ominous rumble, builds and drones and creeps up on you, the bass register surging and ebbing like midocean waves while metallic, treble washes of chords appear and disappear and sparkle above until, in the end, the music erodes down to a delicate, much simplified guitar line to carry us to the end of the music--very nicely put together. Similarly, the first of the Buenos Aires Suite, "Atmosphere", is marvelously eerie--truly mood music for a most uneven mood. It would be perfect in a horror movie for building terror during a scary walk in the forest, for instance, just before the psychopath strikes. In fact, to not find compelling, say, the first five minutes of "Atmosphere" and still call yourself a fan of Fripp's Soundscapes seems contradictory to me.

One reviewer says the music goes nowhere, another says it lacks balls. Well, clouds aren't known for shooting through the sky like jets, and they certainly don't have testicles, but no one has ever said they lacked majesty, were not beautiful, or could not be stared at for hours. And clouds (their massiveness, the way they move, the way shapes seem to appear in them, and then disappear again back into the main mass) seems to be the best metaphor for this music, including the sometimes ominousness of clouds. Note: Neither are clouds ambient, just as this is not ambient music.

2. The music is live. Surely anyone who has ever played an instrument cannot help but be amazed at the amount of sound that Robert Fripp is generating all by himself, with the help of electronic gadgets. Try listening to it as if you were in the audience--dim lights, silence, then suddenly....Soundscapes. The technical accomplishment of simply performing this stuff dazzles me. As with Hendrix, when I was younger, I couldn't imagine how he made his guitar sound like that.

3. This is truly music that expands the vocabulary of the guitar (aided by electronics, of course). In this respect, Robert Fripp still deserves (after 30 years) to be considered a progressive guitarist, long after his peers have settled into rehashing their old chops, if not retiring outright. The sounds, combinations of sounds, and effects all make for fascinated listening. And, because there are several layers of sound going on at once, the pieces are never quite the same twice, as my attention shifts from line to line.

4. This is contemporary electronic classical music. Except that these performances are doubtless for the most part improvised, i.e., not transcribed anywhere, still they deserve the designation of contemporary classical music--the "chord progressions", the choral dissonance, and (more evident on other Soundscape albums) the mystical preoccupations of Fripp, like those found in Penderecki, Ligeti and so forth, are all characteristic of late-20th century classical. In fact, if you like Penderecki and Ligeti, this disc might be a must have.

5. This disc seems to have really drawn down the scorn of other reviewers, and the only reason I can see is that they were expecting something else. This is not King Crimson (in any of its many avatars), this is not the rock setting of Fripp's Exposure, it is not the closed and controlled environment of the Fripp-Eno ambient work of yore, it is not the technologically limited earlier attempt at soundscapes by Fripp ("Let the Power Fall"), and it is not the more mystically oriented of Fripp's later soundscapes. It is, in fact, his first truly mature foray into live, improvised, heavily electronified music, and as such has the characteristics of original inspiration and occasionally misjudged excess one would expect for a first effort.

Reasons not to be impressed:

1. My guess is that it's the song "Streets" from the Buenos Aires Suite that many of the reviewers are complaining about. "Streets" features an excessive use of stereo panning, and is easily the most discordant and jarring of the pieces. For me, it is pretty much ruined by the fact that it is very self-evidently supposed to be Fripp sound-mimicking the traffic, etc., of Buenos Aires--and when program music becomes too obviously allegorical, it falls apart for me. Happily, it's only 6 minutes long, and can easily be programmed out of the playlist. It is "Streets" that docks this disc one star for me.

2. I also agree with the reviewer below who laments Fripp's philosophical babble in the liner notes, and agree as well that it'd be much more interesting to be given some insight as to how Fripp constructs and plays this music.

When restarting his solo career in earnest in 1994, Robert Fripp updated his Frippertronics technique with digital technology - instead of tapes - to create loops of sounds.

The Soundscapes projects included six CD releases of new material and a "single" collection of two releases.

The cutting-edge textures are oftentimes quite metallic and non-melodic, but Fripp is attempting to expand the potential of the electric guitar. And with any laboratory being the stage, there may be pop outs mixed with homers. But Fripp delivers in the clutch, which makes the concept a winner.

1995's "Radiophonics" is only one of the many volumes in guitarist Robert Fripp's ongoing 'Soundscapes' releases. Recorded live in Buenos Aires, Argentina, "Radiophonics" finds Fripp stretching his soundscapes into lengthy dissonant explorations which are sometimes beautiful, sometimes frightening but always musically intriuging.
A good majority of this album is quite difficult to listen as it consists mostly of dissonant chord clusters and moments of almost psychedelic effects with sounds that pan rapidly between the speakers. However, when listened to with a different set of ears and an open mindset, "Radiophonics" can turn into an amazing journey of otherworldly sounds.
The opening two "Radiophonic" pieces are similar to each other and consist of random scales coupled with low rumbling tones. The final minutes of the second "Radiophonic" piece are a wild excursion into weirdness with use of rapid panning. The panning effect is most effective when heard on headphones.
The remainder of the disc consists of the half-hour long "Buenos Aires Suite" which consists of four movements. "Atmosphere" once again provides an unsettling mood and tension with its dark chords and dissonant note runs. The mood settles into brief calmness with the second movement "Elegy" which is similar to the peacefulness captured on Fripp's "Blessing of Tears" disc. The weirdness returns with "Streets" which is another showcase of wild stereo panning used to greater effect here than on "Radiophonic II". The peacefulness returns with the closing movement "Sky" which ends the album on an airy lighthearted note.
Granted, the "Radiophonics" CD won't be for everybody. Out of all the Soundscapes CD's Robert Fripp has released so far, "Radiophonics" is probably the most experimental and harsh of them all. Aside from this, it is still a powerful album that shows off Fripp's relentless gift for musical exploration. Because of this, "Radiophonics" definitely gets five stars.

Radiophonics - well, this seems to live up to its title pretty well. Robert is learning the 'phonics' of the Soundscape language as he goes along, experimenting with noises and sounds without much direction. If you're curious about Robert's forays into ambient work and Soundscapes, all I can say is: do NOT go for Radiophonics first. This is harsh, jarring, and at times physically irritating on the ears. True, it's a challenge to listen to (the best music usually is), but this may be altogether too much - and this is coming from someone who ranks Thrakattak, Heavy ConstruKction and the ProjeKcts among his favorite Crimson recordings. To give you an idea, the tracks "Radio I" and "Radio II" from the Thrak album are actually small pieces of this soundscape. Nice as a short interlude, but imagine hearing them on repeat for over a full hour...

I prefer Soundscapes and ambient work as a respite from normal music; occasionally I get too burned out and just want something to blend into the background. If that's what you want from Fripp, try the November Suite or one of his albums with Eno. This one won't work: Radiophonics is a harder listen than many albums of actual music, King Crimson included. No Pussyfooting is simply perfect. Evening Star is almost as exceptional. Blessing of Tears is beautiful and ultimately cathartic. It's not that Robert Fripp can't make a soul-moving ambient album from his guitar, it's just that he doesn't do it here.

"Radiophonics" is probably both the most difficult and least enjoyable of Robert Fripp's solo soundscapes releases. Performed by Fripp unaccompanied on guitar, with processing and looping, soundscapes are, for Fripp, a means of improvisational expression. This release, recorded live in Argentina in 1995, actually presents two suites, the "Radiophonics" portion and the "Buenos Aires Suite". I'll address each separately.

"Radiophonics" is merciless improvisations. The music is dissonant, edgy, and disjoint. It has the feel of whirling metal and an almost Doppler Effect implication behind it. While it can be engaging at times, it is difficult for music of this aggressive form without strong cohesiveness to sustain interest, and in fact I find this portion of the release nearly unlistenable.

The "Buenos Aires Suite" is somewhat improved, but there is still this sort of edge to the music that makes it lack the delicateness that often makes the soundscapes worth listening to-- admittedly, the first half of the suite, "Atmosphere" and "Elegy (for Mothers and Children)", which are one improv split in two tracks, is really pretty, if a bit dark, but the remainder of the suite has too much panning and whirring sounds to be able to maintain my interest.

This is really the weakest soundscape entry-- two stars because there's some interesting material, but avoid this one unless you really love this stuff. Check out "A Blessing of Tears" for an introduction to the form.

You know.... I don't think he really needed to release this.

After hearing something as beautiful, challenging and as discordant as Exposure, this is just pap, frankly. I have the Fripp+Eno stuff, and that's haunting, and slow, and ambient, and okay... but Radiophonics is just wanting in balls. I knew someone who thought this was just fine (I have to admit that he is a musical genius: he actually worked on the music of Baywatch) but I think it's just a bit pedestrian.

For my money, any music should be provocative: it should leave you in a state (whether good or bad) of: "What the f*** was that?" Otherwise music is not music.

Sadly, I don't think I've heard a 'WTFWT?' tune for about 2 years. Perhaps you guys reading this can keep me up to speed? Anything (good or bad) will do: jon(at)stackpool.com. If you like the JARRING or intelligent or stimulating stuff that RF and BE used to get into, please check out the French label AYAA... (sorry, I don't know if they have a website or not, but I know they are mentioned several times on the Web. If you do a search you will certainly find them amongst the virtual flotsam and jetsam). You will not be disappointed by what you find when you get there. Promise. It's the best... eg: Look de Bouk. Jon

PS: for a true and unpublished story about Fripp and Eno, email me at jon@stackpool.com

I'm not going to comment on the music, just the liner notes.

Note to Robert: WILL YOU EVER SHUT UP ABOUT YOUR PRIVATE LIFE? This CD's notes blab on and on about your business/performance philosophies. Do you really think we will appreciate your music more now that we understand that you consider audience member's cameras intrusive? How about a word or two providing specific details of how this remarkable Soundscapes process works? Jeez, if you can't say something relevant to your audience, then be quiet.