Brian Eno is MORE DARK THAN SHARK

INTERVIEWS, REVIEWS & RELATED ARTICLES

Mojo DECEMBER 2014 - by Mike Barnes

FRIPP & ENO: LIVE IN PARIS 28.05.1975

3-CD set of the duo's mixed reception at the city's Olympia Theatre

Think confrontational live albums and the dangerous rock'n'roll of The Stooges' Metallic KO and Suicide's 23 Minutes Over Brussels spring to mind. We can also add this proto ambient set. Despite the duo stating their intent with No Pussyfooting, this was the height of prog flamboyance and a rock audience was expecting something more dynamic than this Terry Riley-inspired tape loop-based performance. The evening begins with loops running on their own to projected films; the audience soon starts booing and catcalling. The musicians take the stage to cheers and Fripp quietens the crowd with some breathtakingly intense guitar soling, as Eno manipulates the soundscapes. But waves of vocal disapproval rise again. There's some beautiful music on offer and a bonus disc of Eno's onstage loops for those keen to explore his methodology... or to hone their heckling skills.