''I Advance Masked'' is a 1982 album by English guitarists

Andy Summers Andrew James Summers (born 31 December 1942) is an English guitarist best known as a member of the rock band the Police. Prior to joining the Police, Summers had been a member of several bands during the 1960s, including Zoot Money's Big Roll ...

and

Robert Fripp Robert Fripp (born 16 May 1946) is an English musician, composer, record producer, and author, best known as the guitarist, founder and longest-lasting member of the progressive rock band King Crimson. He has worked extensively as a session mu ...

. It is the pair's first of two album collaborations and it consists of 13 instrumental tracks.

Background

Summers and Fripp had met in

Bournemouth Bournemouth ( ) is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. At the 2021 census, the built-up area had a population of 196,455, making it the largest ...

in the early 1960s. Summers grew up in the town and was at the time the guitarist of the

Zoot Money George Bruno "Zoot" Money (17 July 1942 – 8 September 2024) was an English vocalist, keyboardist and bandleader. He was best known for playing the Hammond organ and for his leadership of the Big Roll Band. Inspired by Jerry Lee Lewis and Ra ...

Big Roll Band. Fripp was attending the

Bournemouth and Poole College The Bournemouth and Poole College (BPC) is a well established educational provider which delivers further education, higher education and community based courses in Bournemouth and in Poole on the south coast of England. It is one of the large ...

, where he had enrolled to study economics, economic history and political history. When Fripp and his band the Majestic Dance Orchestra secured their first regular gig at the Bournemouth Majestic Hotel, they replaced Zoot Money and Andy Summers who had just moved to London. Fripp and Summers remained friends over the years, and as soon as they had a break in the touring and recording schedules of their respective bands,

King Crimson King Crimson were an English progressive rock band formed in London in 1968 by Robert Fripp, Michael Giles, Greg Lake, Ian McDonald (musician), Ian McDonald and Peter Sinfield. Guitarist Fripp remained the only constant member throughout the ...

and

The Police The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. Within a few months of their first gig, the line-up settled as Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar, primary songwriter), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussi ...

, they met for some jams that eventually led to an album. Fripp and Summers recorded at the Arny's Shack studio in

Parkstone Parkstone is an area of Poole, in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole district, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. It is divided into 'Lower' and 'Upper' Parkstone. Upper Parkstone – "Up-on-'ill" as it used to be known in ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

. According to Summers, the album was "a synthesis of two guys who grew up playing guitar, heard the

Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

, listened to jazz, have been influenced by Oriental music and

Steve Reich Stephen Michael Reich ( ; born October 3, 1936) is an American composer best known as a pioneer of minimal music in the mid to late 1960s. Reich's work is marked by its use of repetitive figures, slow harmonic rhythm, and canons. Reich descr ...

, but still happen to be playing in a rock context. Every track started the same way, just two guitars. On some of them I played a little bass or put on a bit of percussion or string synthesizer. There are no drums but you don't miss them. Some of it is very accessible and some is very avant-garde". The cover painting is by American pop artist

James Rizzi James Rizzi (October 5, 1950 – December 25, 2011) was an American pop artist who was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. Biography Rizzi graduated from University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida. He came up with the idea of 3D multiple ...

. The title track was released as a single with "Hardy Country" on the flip side.

Bewitched

Fripp and Summers recorded a second album, ''Bewitched'', in 1984. In contrast with ''I Advance Masked'', ''Bewitched'' was more of a pop-sounding record. According to Summers, this time the album was about two highly skilled and educated guitarists "meeting on a different mountain and learning how to work together. So much of guitar playing in this sort of situation is human psychology. How do I get the very best out of Robert Fripp in the studio? And we did it. It's a balanced record." The only single from the album, "Parade", was supported by a music video but it failed to chart. Summers described the finished album in 2024 as "sort of ahead of its time."

Track listing

Personnel

* Robert Fripp – electric guitars, Moog and Roland synthesizers, Roland guitar synthesizer, Fender bass, percussion * Andy Summers – electric guitars, Moog and Roland synthesizers, piano, Roland guitar synthesizer, Fender bass, percussion Technical personnel *Tim Summerhayes, Tony Arnold – engineer *Andy Summers, Michael Ross – design *

– cover *

Jill Furmanovsky Jill Furmanovsky (born 1953) is a British photographer who has specialised in documenting rock musicians. Life and work Born in Southern Rhodesia, Furmanovsky emigrated with her parents - her father subsequently worked at an architecture prac ...

– photography

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1982 collaborative albums A&M Records albums Robert Fripp albums Albums produced by Robert Fripp Andy Summers albums Instrumental duet albums