Released
50 years ago this month, the debut LP from Fripp & Eno, (No
Pussyfooting), is marking its golden anniversary. As well as being a
notable cornerstone in the evolution of ambient music, the album's
technical innovations are worthy of appreciation. It's a minimalist
approach which primarily used Robert Fripp's guitar as the principal
sound source (although Eno does incorporate some synth into the
background loops of the second track). The key innovation here is Eno's
implementation of a dual reel-to-reel tape system, which linked the two
decks in such a way that sounds recorded on one deck were carried over
by the tape for playback on the second, which in turn would feed the
sound back to the first. The effect was to create a long echo effect
with a correspondingly extended decay envelop. The result was a droning
sound, which multiplied a single note into near infinite overlapping
layers, where subtle variations in playing could create complex harmonic
interactions. The album, using this technique, includes two side-long
compositions, recorded at discrete sessions nearly a year apart: "The
Heavenly Music Corporation" on side one, and "Swastika Girls" on side
two. The title for the latter song originated with the discovery of a
porno magazine fragment on the pavement, which Eno happened upon while
walking towards the studio the night of the mix. The page featured the
title phrase, along with a photo of naked girls with swastika emblems on
their arms. The fragment was brought to the studio and kept on the
mixing desk throughout the production.
While the titles for the
album and "songs" offer zero indication of any real connection to the
sound of the record, the cover photo is quite a literal interpretation,
showing the two artists sitting in a small mirror lined room, with
infinite reflections receding off into the distance. They are separated
by a small table, upon which are a series of "nudie" cards, displayed
in a manner which appears to suggest some sort of perverse Tarot
reading.
At the time of its release, the album was very poorly
received. The record label was utterly opposed to it, given that Eno
was launching his post Roxy Music solo career in parallel with the
issuing of this bizarre and inexplicable album. With "Here Come the
Warm Jets" featuring mostly radio friendly pop music, they were fretting
over fans and critics becoming confused by the non-sequitur nature of
(No Pussyfooting). The album did receive some favourable reviews, but
most critics ignored it, and commercial sales were minimal enough to
ensure the album stayed well away from any charts. Yet in retrospect,
and with the benefit of hindsight, the visionary nature of the album has
become far more apparent, and subsequent reappraisal has elevated it to
a substantive level of influence and admiration. It certainly had an
impact on artists like David Bowie, who would soon involve both
musicians in some of his most innovative works.
