Re-assessment of Manafon

[camphorvan]

Same process as Blemish for me; less of a 'my GOOOOOD that's AWFUL' with Manafon when I first listened to it. Listened to the odd track now and again. Then listened whilst doing something else for I think the third time. Realised - actually, I really like this. Just had a period from Jan - Feb where it was constantly playing. I love to sing along with it. Karaoke Sylvian. Oh yes.

Actually, I think it's one of the strongest things he's ever done. Subtler and more refined than Blemish. Better. More 'honeyed' if you know what I mean; deeper layers. Love the story elements of the songs. Also like the CD design (normal one in the end - I was in interested in the music primarily although I do like the designy stuff) much better than Blemish - those little bits of paper annoy me a bit though; great concept but easy to tear and spoil.

All in all I really enjoy listening (and primarily singing along) to Manafon. 125 Spheres I LOVE as well as the 1st track. The rest blur into one for me which usually I'd hate but with this I enjoy almost approaching it as one big piece of music.

So, enjoyable. Can anyone recommend some Fripp guitaring CD's similar to the type of nutter turbo guitar he played on The First Day/Damage. Love that style.

C

[baht habit]

So, enjoyable. Can anyone recommend some Fripp guitaring CD's similar to the type of nutter turbo guitar he played on The First Day/Damage. Love that style.
C

As best as I'm aware, Fripp has never actually displayed such a consistently prominent attack on any other recording as he had on The First Day. I suppose that some of the early 70s stuff with King Crimson (i.e. Red) has a similar crunch but that material is sadly dated as it stands firmly within the progressive rock idiom, plus the rhythm section wasn't nearly as tight as what we are used to hearing from world class musicians nowadays. The three releases from the 80s KC lineup were fabulous for their time but Fripp mostly contributed those unfathomable fingerpicking foundations in his new standard tuning while deferring to Adrian Belew's quirky style for most of the outlandish thrills provided on guitar.
Fripp's session work with Bowie on the albums Heroes and Scary Monsters is quite fierce and off-the-cuff, though he preferred to explode in short frantic outbursts rather than express himself with expansive solos.
His solo album Exposure from 79 is pretty good, as it is an odd hybrid of punk, pop and prog - I guess that is actually 'new wave'. His work on Daryl Hall's Sacred Songs and Peter Gabriel's 2nd release (1978 - "scratch") includes some ripping moments, but for the most part he keeps himself in check in accordance to the songwriters' material.
You may want to give a listen to some samples of the songs from The Repercussions Of Angelic Behavior (1999) by Fripp, Trey Gunn and drummer Bill Rieflin and see if that might be something you might want to check out further. Fripp shreds on a good bit of those songs, though he also utilizes a lot of different effects which make his instrument sound nothing like a guitar. As a matter of fact, the song Blast Part 1 & 2 actually is a rearrangement of what was initially titled Protopunk, a tune originally performed on The First Day tour in 1992. But do keep in mind that the entire release is instrumental, which may not always appeal to everyone.
I cannot bring myself to recommend any of the output from Crimson since they had reunited in 94. Fripp does erupt from time to time but since he spends an equal amount of effort on contributing soundscapes, there does seem to be a lack of presence on his part - especially since he has surrounded himself with musicians who enjoy making their presence felt. Plus, in my opinion, the material has flat out reeked.
I'll give it more thought and see if I can come up with anything suitable.

[camphorvan]

Thank you Baht. We've had our differences in the past but you do know about the musico and thank you for your response. I know the solos from the PG and Bowie stuff. Ah it's a shame I like the guitar shreddingness of Fripp. I'm also interested in how to achieve some of those weird tunings he uses that I've heard about and would he use them for a whole song (i.e. all instruments or just the guitar). I always play in standard tuning and have experimented with, but never really played in a drop tuning - unusual as I am in quite a heavy rock band.

I've been reading Fripp's diaries on his website which I've enjoyed.

Anyhoo. I'd be interested to hear what you thought of Manafon with the benefit of time to digest it.

C

[Drake]

So, enjoyable. Can anyone recommend some Fripp guitaring CD's similar to the type of nutter turbo guitar he played on The First Day/Damage. Love that style.

C

The latest Crim, "The Power to Believe", maybe?

[camphorvan]

Is the guitar properly nutzoid? If so, sounds like the puppy for me!

[Simonp]

I'm still listening to Manafon more than anything else from his back catalogue. It's a beautiful cohesive modern work and I love it.

[baht habit]

Fripp's preferred guitar tuning is this:
6th string - C
5th string - G
4th string - D
3rd string - A
2nd string - E
1st string - G
So it's perfect fifths upward from the low C, with a G on top.
Just as a forewarning, if I were you, I would check out samples of any recent Crimson (1994-2003) before purchasing those. They simply lack any strong compositional aspect (provided by Sylvian) and spontaneity (provided by Fripp) that is prevalent on The First Day. Unfortunately, Fripp morphs into the Mr Spock of Rock for the Egghead Sect when he produces music under the Crimson banner - somewhat creating mathematical exercises which seem to be tacked on to each other rather than fitting together with any fluidity (sort of like the worst traits within Rush or Yes ). And when not having to wrack his mind attempting to make something musical out of those exercises, Adrian Belew's concept behind writing songs has basically become to assimilate the most familiar elements of Lennon/McCartney into his quirky pop sound.

As for Manafon, I've responded most positively to the cd from the first listen. Due to the minimalistic nature of the music, it seems as though Sylvian has pushed himself to respond with a greater sense of melody. I feel his lyrics are rather strong throughout. I have enjoyed his gradual departure from personal observations in order to create character composites or going with his own style of story telling. Random Acts Of Senseless Violence is probably my favorite track. 125 Spheres remains my least favorite track. In my opinion, pianist John Tilbury is probably the most valuable player, as he brings the necessary amount of convention to the proceedings to properly offset the overwhelmingly unique abstractions which make up the contents on Manafon.
Though I must admit that I alter the track sequence and I was also compelled to add Sleepwalkers to the cd as the first track, even if it was not Sylvian's intention. I cannot help it, I am a drummer and need to hear some great percussion once in a while - so that eases me quite smoothly into the material which follows. I placed The Department Of Dead Letters directly after Random Acts because they flow together quite well.
Here is an amateurish attempt on my part to add Tilbury's playing into the otherwise sparse introduction of Small Metal Gods:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=CFFSTE0B

[Drake]

Do not agree.

King Crimson is one of the few 70s band that still have something to say today. The Power to Believe is a beautiful wall of guitars - but also a collection of great compositions.

[camphorvan]

Thanks for that - I'll have a little play around with that tuning. I've listened to some Crimson now and I must admit I do like some of it and don't like other stuff. Some of it is meandering a bit and some I think is really strong. So I think you're both right!