| God Save the Queen/Under Heavy Manners | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by Robert Fripp | ||||
| Released | January 1980 | |||
| Label | Polydor, E.G. | |||
| Producer | Robert Fripp | |||
| Robert Fripp chronology | ||||
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God Save the Queen/Under Heavy Manners is an album by Robert Fripp, released on the Polydor Records label in 1980 (US catalogue no. PD-1-6266).
The album largely consists of Frippertronics, with much of the work being performed by improvisation. On the Under Heavy Manners side of the album, the effect was modified in what Fripp described as "Discotronics", adding a solid drum beat and bass line to create a dancier sound.
The original planned title for the album was Music for Sports, but Fripp eventually decided to choose a title unconnected from colleague Brian Eno's Music for... album series.
This record has never been released on CD. However, the track "Under Heavy Manners" and a longer and retitled version of "The Zero of the Signified" (called "God Save The King") with an added guitar solo are on the abridged Robert Fripp & The League Of Gentlemen God Save the King CD release.
All compositions by Robert Fripp.
Fripp conceptually considered the Frippertronics of God Save the Queen and the Discotronics-based Under Heavy Manners as two independent pieces contained within one album, leading to the duality of the album's title, and the album's sides being designated as "Side A" and "Side One."
The guitar loops for the five tracks were recorded live in concert during 1979, with drum and bass parts added later that year by Buster Jones (bass) and Paul Duskin (drums). All of the tracks are instrumental, bar "Under Heavy Manners", which features words half recited, half sung by David Byrne (credited using the pseudonym "Absalm el Habib").
The track "God Save the Queen" bears little resemblance to the British national anthem, although it is based on the opening notes of that tune. It was inspired by a comment from an audience member, who suggested that, as the performance was taking place on the tenth anniversary of the Woodstock Festival in August 1979, Fripp should reprise Jimi Hendrix's performance of "The Star Spangled Banner".