Programming note: This week, I’m handing the car keys over to some special guests whose music tastes and opinions I respect enormously. I asked each of them to share an album they’ve had in heavy rotation this year. New release, hidden gem, genre classic, the choice was theirs. I hope you have as much fun reading these as I did. Stay tuned for more fun weekly themes to close out the calendar year. I’ll be back with fresh music picks on January 8.
Enjoy!
Hello! 😊👋
Welcome to a new edition of the Daily Music Picks newsletter!
Today’s music pick comes courtesy of guest writer
, the man behind the fantastic LP newsletter, which you should subscribe to if you haven’t already. He revisits Robert Fripp’s excellent solo debut from 1979 that became a foundational blueprint for rock.Genre: Progressive Rock, Experimental
Label: Polydor
Release Date: June 1, 1979
Vibe: 🎸
Exposure was part of a wider project running across three simultaneously issued albums: this one from Fripp, Peter Gabriel’s second solo album (Scratch), and Daryll Hall’s ‘Sacred Songs.' Hall was also supposed to be the lead vocalist on Exposure, but his record company took fright at the idea. This music is far removed from the smooth soul of Hall and Oates.
Robert Fripp is one of rock’s great innovators. When he wound up the first version of King Crimson in 1974, he took his guitar craft further with the development of ‘Frippertronics,' a tape loop system evolving from his experiments with Brian Eno.
If anything, Exposure is the blueprint for the second version of King Crimson. Tracks such as “Breathless” and “Disengage” feature the Fripp guitar style of Crimson’s Discipline. Elsewhere, Hall’s voice brings emotion and depth to “North Star,” and Frippertronics adds a unique feel to “Chicago” (and elsewhere throughout).
We hear samples of JG Bennett, a major influence on Fripp at the time, predicting a new ice age before Gabriel offers a stripped-down version of “Here Comes the Flood”—just voice, piano, and glistening guitar.
This album shows it is possible to achieve a coherent overall sound while presenting diverse songwriting. No other guitarist has a tone and an approach to playing like Fripp. The performances he oversees here are never buried under the weight of his approach.
If you enjoy King Crimson, especially the Discipline / Beat / Three of a Perfect Pair trilogy, you will find much to enjoy here. Exposure explores deep philosophy and radical musicianship while remaining an enjoyable, beautiful listen.
👉 Don’t forget to click the album image to stream the album on your favorite platform 👈