Travis & Fripp – Discretion [TrackList follows] – Panegyric (DVD-A & CD)

by | Sep 29, 2014 | SACD & Other Hi-Res Reviews

Travis & Fripp – Discretion [TrackList follows] – Panegyric GYRSP2 (2 discs of same program: 1 CD + 1 DVD-Audio) [9/22/14] ****:

(Robert Fripp, elec. guitar; Theo Travis, alto flute & soprano sax)

Guitarist Robert Fripp, familiar to many for his involvement in King Crimson, took some time off from preparing the first live tour of that group since 2008 to recording these live collaborations with Theo Travis, who has been a member of Steven Wilson’s band. They were recorded in hi-res multichannel at concerts they gave in Cornwall, Barcelona and Rome. This is their fourth recording made together. They did minimal studio overdubs prior to mixing down the multi-track masters to hi-res stereo for the DVD-A.  Why they didn’t work with the original multichannel masters, considering this is music so well-suited to that, is not explained.

However, the sonics of the 48K/24-bit tracks on the DVD (which plays on any DVD player, which is probably why they didn’t release it on SACD) are really clean and glorious. And you can use one of the pseudo-multichannel processors on the two-channel signal if you wish to have some excellent surround soundfields.

The eight tracks range from a short 3:23 to eight and nine-minute lengths. They cover a wide-ranging area, from intimate smaller sounds to blasting grandeur. There is clearly a great deal of empathy and invention in the spinning out of music that these two create. The myriad of sounds from the three instruments and the various electronic gadgets involved demand a hi-res delivery, and the DVD-A disc does just that – far superior to the closed-in, opaque sounds of the included standard CD. This is the same sampling and bit rate as many of the hi-res Pristine Audio albums, and shows the hearable advantage of 24-bit word length.

TrackList:

The Power to Believe/ Pastorale; Soaring and Gliding; Rotary Symmetrical; A Careful Distance; Refract; Duet for the End of Time/ The Power to Believe; Forgotten Days; Rhapsody on the Theme from Starless

—John Henry

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