Fripp & Eno – (No Pussyfooting) (1973)

Number one in Britain and successful in the States,

So round the table me and label bosses contemplate,

You've got to get a second home and hang with Chrissie Hynde,

And get yourself some Ray-Bans, 'cos boy you know it's time,

For your Eno, Eno collaboration...

So wrote Half Man Half Biscuit, but this is where it all started, Brian Eno's 1973 collaboration with King Crimson's Robert Fripp.

In a visit to Milton Keynes last week, there's a fantastic hospice shop in Centre:MK selling second hand CDs, vinyl, and musical instruments. Despite having my head turned by some lovely guitars, I calmed down and limited myself to a couple of CDs, including this one.

It's just two, twenty minute long pieces, combining Eno's early experiments with tape loops to create his ambient sound, and Fripp's Frippertronics - his electronic treatment of his guitar sounds. The Heavenly Music Corporation starts with a low drone, before the soaring guitar comes in, swooping in and out, with short bursts of mayhem as Fripp indulges himself in yet another solo, before calming to a gentler conclusion as the aeroplane guitar lands at the ambient airport.

Swastika Girls is lighter and more repetitive in the opening minutes, while fading from theme to theme, before Fripp turns the guitar on, with his swooping and diving sound, creating a really lovely soundscape.

This won't be for everyone, but I really enjoy this early experiment, and will keep returning.

Link to full album, stretched to over five hours. Enjoy!

4* - innovative, puzzling and enchanting. A great experimental album.