Robert Fripp – Let The Power Fall, 1981 Editions EG – 28MM 0035 Japan Vinyl LP + Insert
ORIGIN : Japan.
LABEL : Virgin Records.
CONDITION OF COVER & INSERT : EX-.
CONDITION OF RECORD: EX+.
RECORD GRADING DEFINITIONS
MINT: Never opened, still in original shrink wrap.
NM: Opened, appears unplayed.
EX: A few very light surface hair-line marks with no major deterioration to the sound quality.
VG: A few light scratches and/or scuffs creating audible background noise. There is no skipping or jumping on this record unless indicated in the condition description.
A plus or minus (+ or -) denotes slightly better or slightly less than a grade, eg. VG+.
Each record has been cleaned and played to ensure the accuracy of the following grading
Let the Power Fall Review by Dave Connolly
Let the Power Fall is an album of Frippertronics, which to the uninitiated can sound like electrical hum. In reality it's a technique developed with Brian Eno, which allows the guitarist to play against a tape loop of sustained notes. With Frippertronics as his mantra, Robert Fripp creates impressive instrumental structures by building layers of sound atop one another. This sort of ambient music is conducive to a specific frame of mind, but like Eno's Discreet Music it rewards the careful listener. Let the Power Fall can be seen as a refinement of the music explored on earlier Fripp & Eno collaborations, though with Eno out of the equation the songs take a decidedly more mathematical bent. The record begins with "1984," picking up where Under Heavy Manners/God Save the Queen left off. The song titles are better seen as successive numbers in a catalog than specific dates, as they're all of a piece. You could make a case that "1984," "1987," and "1988" are the most impressive constructs, but it's foolish to put much meaning behind that. While Fripp employs the same soothing waves of sound that Eno used on Evening Star and Discreet Music, there's only so much that can be made from Frippertronics (think Yosemite Sam and his coconuts), and the end result feels a little cold and remote when compared with Eno's warm ambient textures. Let the Power Fall may be the ideal album of Frippertronics, yet it's a technique that, while fascinating at times, has its own limitations.
