In his dairy of the period Fripp observes, “A supportive audience, one that filled the church. After c. 45 minutes they became restive. The promoter has asked me to play for 60 minutes at least. This is not ideal: I play for as long as is right. And, experience suggests that, for this music, 40 minutes is quite enough. But, I do as I’m told.” Being able to engage with the music some 18 years after the audience begins to get fidgety is something of a treat here. The exceptionally fluid solo tone Fripp uses in the course of the radiant Time Stands Still brings to mind the shimmering sound adopted on The Equatorial Stars, his collaboration with Brian Eno released the previous year. As he moves into the Minor phase, it’s a slightly more querulous-sounding scape that dominates and is thus perhaps more of a challenge for an audience. Nevertheless, it’s important to go through such apparent discomforts in order to experience the balm contained in At The End Of Time and Evensong, the latter being worth the price of admission alone. Sublime doesn’t begin to cover it.
