Fripp & Eno "The essential Fripp & Eno" (1994)

This compilation of the recorded collaborations between guitarist Robert Fripp and producer/conceptualist/musician Brian Eno is taken from two album-length recordings made for the Island subsidiary Antilles in 1974 and 1975, No Pussyfooting and Evening Star, with an unreleased 1979 session added on. "The Heavenly Music Corporation" and "Swastika Girls," totaling 39 minutes, make up the whole of No Pussyfooting. Both of these pieces are slowly evolving reel-to-reel tape experiences that are hypnotic and remain revelatory decades later. "Wind on Water" and "Evening Star" account for half of the latter album's first side; they are easily the two most beautiful and "melodic" cuts issued by the pair.

The remaining 22 minutes are the previously unissued, four-part "Healthy Colours." These cuts are radically different from their predecessors -- they're more rhythmic, employing digital drum loops, a plethora of dynamic samples, and a wider array of sound effects and treatments. They also point at future projects: Eno's collaboration with David Byrne on My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, and King Crimson's reunion album, Discipline, thereby making them compelling listens, while the earlier material is still essential listening decades after its initial release.

1. The Heavenly Music Corporation

2. Swastika Girls

3. Wind On Water

4. Evening Star

5. Healthy Colours I

6. Healthy Colours II

7. Healthy Colours III

8. Healthy Colours IV