Live In Paris

As most folks likely to be reading this already know, Brian Eno and Robert Fripp gave a controversial series of performances in the summer of 01975. Both had grown weary of the pressure to be "rock stars" and so delivered partially improvised material of the sort Eno would begin labeling "ambient" just a few years later. Unsuspecting audiences either expanded their brains or sat in confusion; some, I recall reading, actually got up and left. Not helping matters were technical problems that marred several of these shows. The one from 25 May 01975 at the Olympia in Paris, however, came off perfectly!I remember spending a full year tracking down this recording when it was only available as a double-LP bootleg entitled *Air Structures*. That was in 01979, and I found it almost as breathtaking as the original studio versions but obviously incomplete. For one thing, the final side entitled "An Index of Metals" was a single drone quite unlike the studio version on *Evening Star* and clearly continuing past what could be fitted on a vinyl record.A few other bootlegs of material, one of the same show (25 May 01975 at the Olympia in Paris) and one of a subsequent show (8 June 01975 at the Palladium in London), eventually surfaced with other titles, eventually ending up on CD with more complete renditions. Copies still occasionally turn up on eBay.This is the intended definitive "official" release of the 25 May show, improved by the addition of stage tapes recently discovered in Brian Eno's extensive collection of unreleased material. Those fortunate enough to have found *Air Structures* will recall much of this material and appreciate the vastly better production.Unfortunately ... this explains the three stars ... it is still incomplete! "Wind on Wind" (a lengthy rendition of what Eno would release separately as *Discreet Music*) on CD-1 has been inexplicably cut to around five minutes. As a result, the CD now clocks in with just a little over 30 minutes of music on it! There was plenty of room on the CD for the entire piece. As it stands, some of the mood is lost. I found myself longing for my old copy of *Air Structures* (or the bootleg CD entitled *Stars in Paris*) which gave listeners the whole thing.Moreover, the version of "An Index of Metals" on CD-2 ends with such jarring suddenness that on the first listening I wondered if my power had suddenly gone out! This, too, is hard to understand because upon checking, I found that this CD has just over an hour of music on it. It could have held at least ten more minutes, and possibly, with judicious editing of earlier material, the entire recording of what is still easily the best single piece of "dark ambient" ever made!I also found myself preferring the *Air Structures* evocative titles ("Peter's Clock" and "Oaken Gates") to the more whimsical ones here ("A Near Find in Rip Pop," "A Fearful Proper Din," etc.), but that's a lesser complaint than the above. In short, if you're looking for a complete recording of that famous show, this isn't it, and it's disappointing given what this package costs! What's here is worth having if you're a maniac collector who absolutely must have everything Fripp & Eno ever did together, but I'd hesitate to describe this as an absolutely definitive rendition of what was probably the best of those shows.

I purchased "No Pussyfooting" and "Evening Star" when released in the 1970s, and have remained a fan of this collaboration ever since. The now antiquated technology (two revox tape machines, set up as they were) produced for my ears a musical experience superior to that subsequently produced via digital means by Professor Fripp. As Professor Eno had gained a reputation as one who had mastered the studio as a kind of musical instrument, it never occurred to me that any of this music would be done live -- despite Fripp having done exactly that with his "Frippertronics" tour of record shops and coffee houses just a few years later. I have longed for more Revox Frippertronics for years, the Soundscapes series having done nothing for me. Here it is. It crackles with spontaneity and the excitement of two forward thinking musicians who knew they were on to something. If you are inclined toward Fripp & Eno, and Fripp's later "God Save The Queen," and the magnificent "Let The Power Fall," you must hear this spectacular music. I can't get past it to listen to crowd reaction, reputed to be staunchly negative. Surely it was surprising in the ears of the uninitiated. Great art often requires a period of wrestling.

Quick delivery for a superb product.

It's really exciting to hear how this material was received by live audiences in '75, sounds like it was polarising...much like the music itself which falls between rhapsodic and malevolent! You hear it on the first CD, the crowd gets restless waiting for something more 'rock' to happen, even annoyed and vocal. But by the second CD the remaining audience is quiet and I imagine going with the flow. Personally, when I heard the first side of Evening Star it was a revelation and hearing the live versions many years later is a real treat. The chemistry between the two musicians is magnificent, and stage 2 of these sweeping ambient dialogues is presented beautifully in their recent Equatorial Stars release.

This is what you get from the mix of a professional musician and a non-musician. Entertaining, but not as good as No Pussyfooting.

This sounds SO much better than the bootleg versions, and the packaging is sufficiently nice that I bought this even though I'd already bought the mp3s off the DGM website. An essential concert; certainly in my top five concerts I wish I could have attended. But the audience is clearly struggling to make sense of it, so maybe I too would have been baffled in 1975; who knew the Fripp & Eno collaboration would end up being so influential?

The raw tapes have circulated in trading circles for years, but this is a lovely upgrade! They also did something I used to do with the vinyl records: include sections played at different speeds 8'). Too much coffee -- speed it up! Tired and have insomnia? -- play at 16 rpm. . . .

This is a brilliant performance and it's a pleasure to have it finally see the light of day. My only minor quibble is I wish it was on vinyl but if you're a fan of these two gents do not hesitate. Very well recorded too. Highly recommended. A++

Having bought their two releases when they came out on vinyl i am thoroughly enjoying this aural experience as i write this review. Quality of recording is far better than I thought it would be once past the introductory track one. An excellent purchase.

You have to be very patient to get past the audience yelling out.

Sound experiments which will have caught a lot of people off guard.

Excellent

Endlich wird dieser zeitlose Klassiker offiziell veröffenlicht. Unter den Sammlern kursierten natürlich Aufnahmen von diesem Paris Konzert 1975, aber diese neuen Aufnahmen toppen alle mir bekannten.Wer die beiden Fripp/Eno Alben :"No pussy footing" und "Evening Star" liebt und schätzt- wird hier nicht enttäuscht.Diese frühen Kollabarationen als echo- und bandschleifenunterlegte Frippertronics- Ragas nehmen in vielem Facetten das spätere "Ambient" Konzept vorweg. Hier aber noch eher mit dem atonalen Eno "Idiot glee" und virtuosen Gitarrenläufen von Fripp.Damals waren sie ihrer Zeit voraus und stießen bei vielen Zuhörern auf Unverständnis, sie wurden "ausgebuht", auch heute ist diese Musik nicht leicht zugängich und nur was für den "Kenner".Eno steuert auf der 3.Cd die Original Loop Bänder dazu, so dass eine sehr interessante Werkschau bzw.ein Vergleich mit dem sogenannten "work in progress", möglich ist.Als Bonus gibt es dann noch die "Later on" Single B-Seite, die auch stilistisch in diese Zeit passt.Was will man mehr: über 2 1/2 Stunden Musik fürs Geld und ein informatives booklet mit Abbildungen von Original Tickets, Plakaten etc. zu dieser Minitour der beiden "Avantgarde Götter".(Tap your foot to wind- Zitat aus einer Kritker-Rezension des Avantgarde Klassikers "Eskimo" von den "Residents".)