God Save The Queen / Under Heavy Manners

Armed with a guitar and two Revox tape recorders, Robert Fripp embarked on a self-proclaimed "small, mobile and intelligent" tour of record stores, canteens and other small venues across Europe and North America, from April to August 1979. God Save The Queen/Under Heavy Manners was the first release made from recordings of that tour. The album's first side presents three tracks of pure Frippertronics: a method of performing with tape-loops that Fripp conceived with Brian Eno on their (No Pussyfooting) album for Island Records in 1973. The term was coined by lyricist Joanna Walton, Fripp's girlfriend in the late 70s. There's a certain beauty in the otherworldliness of the slow-building, somewhat hypnotic loops of delayed guitar. One might argue, "heard one, heard them all," but that would miss the point; Frippertronics were meant to be experienced in real time, as in active listening. Anyway, the second side presents Discotronics, or Frippertronics augmented with a disco beat! Here, drummer Paul Duskin and bassist Busta Jones provide the rhythm, while Talking Head David Byrne (credited as Absalm el Habib) adds voice, including the memorable pronouncement "I am resplendent in divergence." The album also first outlines his Drive to 1981; Fripp used this stage of his career to challenge nearly every preconception, real or otherwise, of the music industry-from touring to business practices to audience interaction. Fripp next assembled a band with Barry Andrews on organ, Johnny Toobad on drums (eventually replaced by Kevin Wilkinson), and Sara Lee on bass. The "team" played a total of 77 gigs and recorded an album, 1981's The League of Gentlemen—a reference to Fripp's first band in Bournemouth in the 1960s. The self-proclaimed "new wave instrumental dance band" furthers his foray into dance music, and provides a crucial link to what would come later. Fripp then released a second album of Frippertronics, entitled Let The Power Fall. However, this burst of solo work would ultimately grind to a halt; with the Drive to 1981 complete, he transitioned to the Incline to 1984. By 1981, Fripp had returned to the UK to start his next venture, capping a brief but interesting period of activity.