That Which Passes [Live]

Robert Fripp | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 18, 1997)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Live
• Label: Discipline Us
• ASIN: B000005ONS
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #119,008 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #86 in Music > Indie Music > Rock > Rock Guitarists

Track Listings

1. On Acceptance

2. On the Approach of Doubt

3. The Leap

4. A Worm in Paradise

5. New Worlds

6. On Triumph

7. On Awe

8. This Too Shall Pass

9. The Fear of Light

10. A Time to Die

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "That Which Passes" is Soundscapes BRILLIANCE!, November 2, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Connecticut) - See all my reviews

This review is from: That Which Passes (Audio CD)

Robert Fripp has always been a force dealing with improvisation and reaching out for new and uncharted musical territory. "That Which Passes" explores his Soundscapes concept in practice while investigating death and "passing" in theory and intent. Not structured tunes in any conventional sense, but rather complex musical structures created by one brilliant musician, his guitar and a multitude of electronic gear. It is captivating, hypnotic at times, very atmospheric and perfect for active or passive listening. This is my personal favorite in the Soundscapes series.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Sonic abstractionism, June 5, 2003

By 

spiral_mind (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews

This review is from: That Which Passes (Audio CD)

Three reviews into Robert Fripp's series of Soundscape albums, I'm still having trouble explaining just what all this noise sounds like. Perhaps that's because while each album is created in the same way (improvising varying layers of hazy synth-guitar improvisations one atop the other all at once), each has a feel all its own. Radiophonics is an experiment in pure sound; A Blessing of Tears is a portrait of beauty that emerges from (and transcends) sadness. That Which Passes? A meditation on death and dying. Robert doesn't resort to anything as maudlin as lyrics or even melodies suggesting something ominous; he gives us the sonic equivalent of an abstract painting where the artist just splashes paint randomly everywhere. Free of conventional forms and frameworks, it's the kind of thing everyone experiences in their own way. The liners are filled with abstract pictures. The tracks consist of vague hazy synth clouds with hardly any definite notes, and any harmonies are implied rather than played. Soundscapes seem like a way of projecting emotions into pure sound, with TWP's themes revolving around awe, doubt, wonder and fear - to my ears at least.

On one hand, this kind of music could really be associated with almost anything; the backdrop is provided by whatever's in the listener's mind. On the other.. knowing what Robert was thinking when these 'Scapes were created, it's even more impressive just how accurately and honestly he's able to put it into sound. "On Awe" somehow *feels* like the presence of something great and wonderful, despite the interference of some occasional electronic bleeps. "The Leap" moves from a slow chorus of vague human voices to a wild snowballing turbulence of noise and fury. "This Too Shall Pass" gives a vague impression of inevitability and acceptance. "New Worlds" creates a, well, world of mesmerizing sonics by soaring through grand interstellar territory over the stretch of ten minutes.

However, like its predecessors, this disc is also good for creating a sonic background all its own without any associations. I certainly don't spend 43 minutes deeply pondering over mortality and death every time I give it a spin, although these grand pillars of sound do often make me imagine vast reaches of outer space. It can make a relatively unobtrusive aural background, though there's also enough going on to occupy your attention if you listen without distractions. For a mesmerizing Soundscape of pure soothing beauty, go for A Blessing of Tears first. This one is occasionally dark and scary, but if the idea of ambient sound sculptures appeals to you, this disc still shouldn't disappoint.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Let the Power Reverberate, June 19, 2008

By 

Bicycle Day - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: That Which Passes (Audio CD)

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 of the releases.

The cutting-edge textures are oftentimes quite metallic and non-melodic, but Fripp is attempting to expand the potential of the electric guitar. Each number reverberates through the mind, moodily dependent upon the feelings at that moment; essentially, a truly "live" experience during each listening.