“Exposure” is a difficult record. I’m not going to lie to you, but it is well worth listening to – even now as the retro-eighties sound is pumping through what is being called indie rock, this record is still sounds current, even though it was made in 1979. The reason I write about this record is two fold;
- it’s an amazing record that deserves a wider audience.
- it’s approach to collaboration, experimentation, and it’s artistic community
Robert Fripp, is best known as the brain behind “King Crimson” and in the traditional music story, he gets screwed by the record industry. After taking some time with an ill-fated trio, he becomes a studio musician, David Bowie and Brian Eno call and the next thing you know, Fripp is playing on David Bowie’s “Heroes”, and Fripp is in the game again.
However this time there is a bit of a twist, he teams up with unlikely collaborator. Daryl Hall (of Hall and Oates).
But wait, one of the most remarkable things about this record is the music. Ideas are floating in and out of this disk with every track. Multiple viewpoints in some songs to open abstraction in others, however Hall becomes the unknown hero of “Exposure”. His vocals are everywhere on this record – in ways that you would never imagine; sounding like a seventies metal god to emulating a film noir detective. While Hall is singing, Fripp is reaching out to the New York music community – playing along is: Brian Eno, Phil Colins, Barry Andrews, Peter Gabriel, Terre Roche among others. In fact, Fripp says the greatest thing about this record was the artistic community around it. People would drop in and give opinions or play a part and then continue with the day – one night Fripp and Blondie play together – performing Donna Summers’ big hit, “I Feel Love” as well as Bowie’s “Heroes”. What we are really talking about here is a true artistic community. I think that is really exciting and this recording is only stronger for it. Chris Stein (Blondie, TV Party) and Amos Poe (TV Party) would end up doing photography and video for the cover art bringing this community full circle.
“Exposure” in my mind is backwardly titled – its really about exposing the listener not the artist. In a way its similar to one of those paintings that just continually open up to the viewer pulling you in deeper – giving you more every time you look. In a world too full of artworks that might as well be pictures of Elvis on velvet, “exposure” delivers in a very rare way.