Despite the rigours of getting Discipline/King Crimson off the ground in 1981, Robert managed to return briefly to the world of Frippertronics. Following appearances in Philadelphia and London earlier in the year, New York was the location for two separate residencies.
In July he played at Washington Square Church and the following month at a venue called Inroads in Soho’s Mercer Street for one week. Visitors to the concerts included guitarist Vernon Ried and legendary jazz drummer, Max Roach.
After the usual process of slowly building the loops, Fripp comes out to play some remarkable solos. Perhaps the centre piece of this recording is Loop and Solo II where one note eagerly pushes the other out of the way in order to be heard. Containing a barrage of truly ferocious soloing its undoubtedly some of Robert’s most hair-raising playing. Though Loop And Solo III is somewhat calmer it is no less passionate and Fripp brings the concert to a jaw-dropping conclusion.
In reconstructing this concert Alex “Stormy” Mundy has done a remarkable job given the technical challenges facing him. “I managed to sync up the solos with the loops which were on separate reels. The only guide that I had was that you could hear the loops from Robert’s guitar pickup when he wasn’t soloing.”
