line up 1 (1973)

- Brian Eno -- tape units, synthesizer

- Robert Fripp -- guitar

- Brian Eno (solo efforts)

- Robert Fripp (solo efforts)

- King Crimson (Robert Fripp)

- The League of Gentlemen (Robert Fripp)

- Roxy Music (Brian Eno)

Genre: experimental

Rating: **** (4 stars)

Title: (No Pussyfooting)

Company: Editions EG

Catalog: EGS 102
Year: 1980

Country/State: UK

Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+

Comments: reissue

Available: 1

Catalog ID: --

Price: $35.00

I originally bought "(No Pussyfooting)" as a senior in high school.  That would have been about four years after it was originally released.  I knew who Robert Fripp and Brian Eno were.  Admittedly I wasn't a big fan of either King Crimson, or Roxy Music.  Still, this was an album I kept running into as I started to check out lesser known and less commercial music.  Living overseas at the time, this wasn't an album available to me through the military post exchange so I ended up buying a copy at a local record store - taking about opening your eyes to a totally different world of music !!!  I can remember showing the album (Willie Christie's cover was striking) to friends who (with the exception of Mark), were completely unimpressed by my aural explorations.

Co-produced by Fripp and Eno, the album featured a pair of extended instrumentals 'The Heavenly Music Corporation' and 'Swastika Girls.'  I'm not a musician and I'm not a technology geeks so if you're interested in all the details of what the pair played and how the recorded their parts, this isn't the place to look.  Enough to say the two tracks melded Eno's interest in tape delay looping experiments with Fripp's "Frippertronics" sound where he added live guitar over the resulting tape loops.  Eno reported initiated the collaboration, reached out to Fripp, inviting him to his London home studio. That interaction led to the first of the two "songs" - 'The Heavenly Music Corporation.'  Roughly a year later the pair regrouped at London's Command Studios resulting in the second track 'Swastika Girls.'  Over the years I've listened to this album dozens of times and to this day I have mixed feelings about it.  On one hand it's an album that critics and a small cadre of loyal fans rave about. The sound was certainly different for its time.  It's now a staple on lists of "groundbreaking" and "influential" album.  At the other end of the spectrum, Chris Blackwell's Island Records was unenthused about releasing the album.  When it was released, it sold minimal copies in the States and the UK.  In the UK it was issued with a massive price discount, but that did little to stimulate sales.  If you were among the handful of initial buyers, I'm guessing it took some effort to get into this new world of ambient sounds.  Perhaps it was like completing military basic training - getting through the training (and sitting through the entire album) were themselves a cause for celebration.  Both King Crimson and Roxy Music fans were certainly left to wonder what they'd gotten themselves into. That was the case for me.  The first time I played the LP I lasted about seven minutes into side one.  Today, on those rare occasions I slap it on my turntable, I can easily sit through the who thing, enjoying it as sort of "background" music - particularly side two.  

There's no way this is for everyone and even the biggest fans are liable to admit it can get kind of boring, but those who are interested in a little experimentation may find it worth tracking down.  (I'd suggest checking it out online before reaching for your wallet ...) 

"No Pussyfooting" track listing:
(side 1)

1.) The Heavenly Music Corporation (instrumental) (Robert Fripp - Brian Eno) - 20:53 rating: **** stars

Reported recorded in two takes, 'The Heavenly Music Corporation' exemplified the way their collaboration worked.  Eno recorded the background looping tape with Fripp adding electric guitar over the 21-minute composition.  The track is also a great example of how my opinion of the album has changed over the years.  The first time I heard it was one of those WTF moments.  I couldn't believe I'd fallen victim to hype and shelled out five dollars for something that was as irritating as an dental drill.   I remember lasting about seven minutes ...  While it still isn't conventional, or mainstream, today it sounds rather conventional.  For goodness sakes, there are even shadows of a melody buried here. What was  groundbreaking in 1973 is just par for the course today.  Extra star for the track's historical value.  

(side 2)
1.) Swastika Girls (instrumental) (Robert Fripp - Brian Eno) - 18:52 rating: **** stars

Yeah, the title made you do a double take ... it was apparently inspired by a porn magazine photo showing naked women doing Nazi salutes.  Eno ripped the photo out of the magazine and taped it to the studio wall during the recording session.  Based on the underlying loop, initially the track had a more jittery feel than side one.  In contrast, Fripp's guitar work was more melodic and entertaining on this performance.

 © Scott R. Blackerby May, 2025