M. Bergeron | Colchester, VT United States | 03/28/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is a work of sheer beauty. The title track is magnificant pastoral of a simple piano progression and Fripp's soaring guitar and is worth the price of admission. The 'second side' is the abstract 'Index of Metals' 20-odd minutes of layered guitar and synth loops under some of the most beautiful axe-work Mr. Fripp has unleashed. The soon-to-be-dubbed "Frippertronics" technique is shown here in all of it's glory, tape saturation and decay...missing in the digital technique adds texture and timbre. No, this is NOT for everybody, but try a taste....it could become one of your favorite albums (as it is mine)"
"Aural Wallpaper"
C. Gardner | Washington D.C., D.C. United States | 04/05/2003
(4 out of 5 stars)
""Wind on Water/Evening Star" is one of the coolest pieces either of these musicians have ever collaborated on. On the first track it sounds like Eno looped Fripp's sparse pentatonic melodies and trills dozens of times, processing each in a different way to create an edifice that beckons the listener in...Then the clusters of sound are stripped away, revealing further "rooms" within (just like the title--"Wind on Water" is the English translation of Feng Shui, the ancient Chinese art of design). It and the following title piece are alone worth the price of this CD..."Wind on Wind" is an excerpt from "Discreet Music," Eno's 1974 ambient release. "An Index of Metals" begins with a dissonant, dial-tone like chord which gradually changes into a monstrous proto-industrial soundscape."
Astounding
Sean M. Kelly | Portland, Oregon United States | 09/23/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"While all Eno collaborations are amazing and have added and enriched the lives of all who made it and listen to it, for me, Eno's lps with Robert Fripp, and those with Cluster, are the most amazing that he made."Evening Star," Eno's 2nd and final (alas) lp made with Fripp, foreshadow Eno's ambient works to come, as it appears that Fripp was second fiddle on these reocrdings, adding his sinewy guitar as needed, and doing little else. Age and wisdom, of course, tell us that Fripp was much more involved than that, despite his sparse playing of his guitar.Whatever the case, "An Index of Metals" is quite possibly the most astounding piece of music in all of Eno's amazingly desperse canon, foreshadowing not only his pure ambient pieces, but the forthcoming industrial movement, as well, with his tape loops and prepared use of Fripp's guitar. An astounding number, to be sure- bleak, sparse, yet emotional and full of life.This lp has it all for fans of early textured ambient works, and is a must own."
Thank you, Robert Fripp, for perfecting this masterpiece
The Glass Guitar | 10/25/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I've always been an agnostic when it comes to remastered versions of classic albums. However, this brilliant album was remastered by Robert Fripp himself, along with Simon Heyworth. As a result, the integrity of the music is maintained while the quality of the recording stands head and shoulders above the remastering attempts of others.
"Wind on Water," which originally sounded more or less like solid chords, is revealed as an intricate network of looped sounds. "Evensong" likewise is exposed as having much greater depth than I ever suspected. As for "Evening Star," a piece of music so beautiful it seems as though it simply dropped out of heaven, it's even richer.
However, it is "An Index of Metals" that stands as a testament to the skill of Fripp and Heyworth. I've listened to this piece hundreds of times, and it never sounded like this. The depth, the clarity, and the dynamics that are present in this remastering are unparalleled in any remastered CD I've ever heard.
If you love this album, throw out your 1990 version and buy this one today."
The beginning
The Glass Guitar | 03/10/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The year is 2001. Fans like me are listening to U2 and King Crimson and are saying. Yeah! I like that music. In 1975 I was "discovering" Fripp and Eno in their own right. They both have influenced numerous bands over the years. They both have produced many fine albums with their own names on them.When I listen to "Evening Star", I realize that they already had "it" figured out in 1975. New albums like "Construction of Light" and various "Projekcts" by Fripp and cohorts have been described as "setting the stage for music in the next 20 years". Well, albums like "Evening Star" set the stage for the past 20 years. Many of the techniques used in the new albums are there in "Evening Star". These guys never cease to amaze me. I do not mean to downplay the new works by these two pioneers, but when you realize that we now have digital this and digital that; it makes their early work all the more amazing. This album contains some of the best ambient music available. The title track is a landmark in the genre. Anybody who likes ambient music, electronic trickery, and plain good music should listen to several works by Fripp and Eno (together and by themselves and producing and playing with other people). Whenever they play with other people, they can't help but rub off on them. This is one of their best."