Whilst earlier soundscape albums had presented live performances more or less intact, this was the first to use the raw material and consciously manipulate and fashion it into something else.
As Fripp observed "although the music is taken from live performances, it would not have sounded like this in any one performance - although it might have done."
Terrifyingly bleak in places and beautifully uplifting in others, Fripp regarded it as a companion album to A Blessing of Tears – “a personal eulogy to my dear Mother” he wrote in the sleeve notes at the time. That Which Passes he says is “a series of reflections on mortality and dying.”
As with most Fripp releases the critics were divided. Total Guitar recognised Fripp’s pioneering work but felt it was little more than “an academic exercise in weirdness.” Wire magazine on the other hand felt it to be a “surprisingly emotional result.” That would certainly apply to the final track, A Time To Die, which carefully unfolds into a melancholic suite that somehow captures the mixed bitter-sweet feelings of loss and celebration of a life well lived.
Perhaps the reviewer in Rock And Reel had it right when it said “Seemingly more ‘conventionally’ structured, it’s a beautiful piece of dreamy, modern classical music.”
All of the recordings are taken from live soundscape performances in 1995, from two venues - The Goethe Institute of Buenos Aires during the week beginning on the evening of Monday 3rd April and continuing through to Sunday 9th April, 1995 and Washington Square Church on Friday 8th and Saturday 9th September 1995.
Originally released in 1996, with no plans to reissue it one CD, it is now available as a download. The extensive artwork that accompanied the album will be made available as a pdf for viewing on your PC at a later stage.
