ROBERT FRIPP / THE LEAGUE OF GENTLEMEN - GOD SAVE THE KING

In the late seventies, after King Crimson broke up (not permanently, thank dog) when Robert Fripp said "the top of his head blew off", Fripp first recorded the wonderful, but still King Crimson-like Exposure. He then tried some experiments to redefine his sound. First, on the above mentioned album, he added "Frippertronics", a method of using two tape recorders linked together and feeding back to each other to create a looping effect. He then tried varying his style. Since he was then living in the wrong end of the seventies, he tried incorporating the prevailing popular styles into his music. His foray into (yuck!) disco produced God Save The Queen/Under Heavy Manners. He then formed a punk band, The League of Gentlemen, to back his guitar pyrotechnics. This album is made up of selections from the two releases.

The disco album fared much worse of the two. While Fripp added some okay playing, the beats and riffs were just too repetitious to be anything but annoying. And off-key moaner David Byrne makes the track Under Heavy Manners embarrassing, if not completely unlistenable.

The League Of Gentlemen is much better. While the punk band can't really keep up with the Frippster's guitar, it appears that this was a stepping stone to what would become the next incarnation of Crimson.

2.5 stars, rounded up.