Breathless

Robert Fripp dismantled King Crimson in 1974 at the height of their critical reputation, then spent the late 1970s developing Frippertronics — a tape loop system that allowed him to perform solo, layering guitar lines over themselves in real time. Exposure (1979) was his first solo album.

Breathless features Daryl Hall — yes, of Hall & Oates — delivering one of the more unexpected vocal performances in art rock history. The combination of Fripp's angular production and Hall's mainstream pop voice creates a tension that the song uses deliberately.

Fripp's career outside and around King Crimson is as extensive and distinctive as the band itself: collaborations with Eno, the Guitar Craft teaching tradition, the League of Crafty Guitarists. Exposure is the best starting point for the non-Crimson work.