The Complete Recordings 1981 - 1984

The most exquisite moments in music are when you connect with the other players, when you fly, when you touch the spirit and the audience is there with you.

Andy Summers, One Train Later

Having crossed paths briefly in the ’60s in Bournemouth where Fripp took over Andy’s guitar chair in the band at Bournemouth’s Majestic Hotel, it wasn’t until 1981 - when Summers wrote to Fripp - that the two guitarists would work together. 

With King Crimson fresh from recording the now classic album ‘Discipline’ after a considerable break, Fripp was immediate in his response to Summers’s suggestion of working together. And though The Police were busy with the recording and touring of ‘Ghost in the Machine’, the two guitarists somehow managed to find time to experiment, develop and record the first of their two albums.

Whilst ‘I Advance Masked’ showcased the skill and differing guitar techniques of the two players with heavy influence of Fripp’s multi-rhythmic playing evident, their second 1984 album ‘Bewitched’ was a more melodic affair with the inclusion of additional personnel including bassist Chris Childs and Sara Lee, and as Fripp put it, “the album is a lot more Andrew than it is me”.

Almost 40 years later - during plans to reissue the original albums and searching for the original tapes - Summers came across four new tapes in a Los Angeles vault. Not only was most of the original material on those tapes, but a treasure trove of previously unreleased material, early versions, alternative versions of tracks were unearthed.

From that, eleven unreleased tracks were arranged/edited and newly mixed and, along with an alternative take of “Maquillage” and an early slower version of “Parade”, a third mini album titled ‘Mother Hold the Candle Steady’ was created. More previously unreleased tracks such as Balinese and Brainstorm and delights such as an early mix of New Marimba were also discovered by David Singleton in the process of collating and mixing this collection.

In addition, this package includes an audio documentary titled ‘Can We Record Tony?’ which is from a series of cassettes Fripp kept containing their original exploratory improvisations.   

Tracklist

CD 1 - I ADVANCE MASKED 

I ADVANCE MASKED

UNDER BRIDGES OF SILENCE

CHINA - YELLOW LEADER

IN THE CLOUD FOREST

NEW MARIMBA

GIRL ON A SWING

HARDY COUNTRY

THE TRUTH OF SKIES

PAINTING AND DANCE

STILL POINT

LAKELAND / AQUARELLE

SEVEN ON SEVEN

STULTIFIED

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL:

BRAINSTORM 

NEW MARIMBA (EARLY MIX)

BALINESE

SEVEN ON SEVEN (REPRISE)

CD 2 - BEWITCHED 

PARADE

WHAT KIND OF MAN READS PLAYBOY

BEGIN THE DAY

TRAIN

BEWITCHED

TRIBE

MAQUILLAGE

GUIDE

FORGOTTEN STEPS

IMAGE AND LIKENESS

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL:

TRIBE (ORIGINAL VERSION)

MAQUILLAGE (ALT ORIGINAL MIX)

CD 3 - MOTHER HOLD THE CANDLE STEADY (Previously Unreleased) :

IMPUDENT PRELUDE

BRAINSTORM

TREMORS

TURKISH KITCHEN

SKYLINE

FOI UM OPTIMO DIA

SAN ANTONIO BLUES

MOTHER HOLD THE CANDLE STEADY

ENTROPY PULSE

NINJA ACID DANCE

STEP N’ FETCHIT

MAQUILLAGE II

PARADE II

CAN WE RECORD TONY (EDIT)

BLU-RAY – All content in 24/96 Hi-Res

I ADVANCE MASKED 

As CD including

NEW MIXES STEREO

NEW MIXES SURROUND (Also in DTS-HD MA 5.1 Surround)

ORIGINAL MIXES 

BEWITCHED 

AS CD plus:

NEW MIXES STEREO

NEW MIXES SURROUND (also in DTS-HD MA 5.1 Surround)

ORIGINAL MIXES

MOTHER HOLD THE CANDLE STEADY

STEREO

SURROUND (also in DTS-HD MA 5.1 Surround) 

CAN WE RECORD TONY (COMPLETE)