[This guest post was written by @wlukewindsor about number 971 on The List. The album was also submitted by wlukewindsor.]
I bought my copy of Exposure in the mid-80s, if I remember right, on black disc, and from a physical record shop. I can’t remember why it called to me (I bought it without having heard any of it) but I knew Fripp’s work pretty well as a contributor to David Bowie’s post-Berlin material, Peter Gabriel’s solo albums, and some of his other work as a band-leader and solo artist. I was present in my early teens at one of the first King Crimson Discipline gigs in Poole, and of course Fripp was a local hero (I grew up in Bournemouth). I remember being particularly taken by his work on Bowie’s Scary Monsters (and the resultant screaming).
But Exposure is different. It really shouldn’t work as an album given the at first seemingly random curation of alternate takes, unreleased material, and other ‘could be commercial’ odds-and-ends. But it does, in a way that some of Fripp’s more single-minded projects don’t: watching that recent documentary about King Crimson was a powerful reminder of how solipsistic Fripp’s musical worlds can be, and Exposure has an eclectic charm which captivated me from the first listen. It also contains some fine work by the vocal contributors (especially the less well-known Terre Roche), and the recontextualisation of Here Comes the Flood (including creaky chair) in a stripped-down version surrounded by Frippertronics and apocalyptic musings of his favourite esoteric philosophers is one of the best things I’ve ever heard. There’s even Darryl Hall (and there would have been more if not for industry woes)! And Peter Hammill (who normally grates but is wonderful here singing Joanna Walton’s lyrics). I don’t truck with completism so I’m not going to reference the many versions of this album – I’m stuck in 1979 as I think it’s just good as it is and don’t want to spoil its perfection although I am kind of intrigued to hear more of the songs as originally sung by Hall: as I write this I’m listening to Sacred Songs (which was recorded first but released afterwards and has some familiar moments).
If I have a favourite track (and really it’s best in context) it’s NY3: I’ve never enjoyed an argument so much. I’ll leave the other tracks up to you…
I’ll give Fripp the last word:
“Musical elation is my only consolation”.
You Burn Me Up I’m a Cigarette
Luke Windsor
Manchester, England
April 7-10, 2024
[Alt text for accompanying image: A photo of a black vinyl copy of Robert Fripp’s Exposure playing on a black turntable. The album cover sits beside the turntable. The album artwork is a stylized photo of the artist, wearing a black suit and tie, with a striped shirt. A close-up photo of an eye is in the background, tinted blue. The artist and album name are in black font in the top left corner.]
https://1001otheralbums.com/2024/04/16/robert-fripp-exposure-1979-uk/