If you want to know what the future of rock guitar will sound like, don't bother hooking up speakers to your crystal ball–the answer can be found in the grooves of this record. A duet album between Police guitarist Andy Summers and Robert Fripp, I Advance Masked winds up being a sort of manifesto for the guitar synthesizer. One of the reasons I Advance Masked is so convincing is that Summers and Fripp don't feel compelled to show off every possible sound the new technology has made possible. Instead, they dip into their bag of tricks only when the music deems it necessary, thus driving home the point that the guitar synthesizer isn't a replacement for the electric guitar but a useful addition to its sonic possibilities.

The proof, of course, is in the music. From the evocative pastels of "Girl on a Swing" to the feedback-tinged drive of "I Advance Masked," Summers and Fripp manage quite a range of expression while maintaining consistently high standards in both technique and invention. "Girl on a Swing" features a lead line whose fluidity and articulation seem closer to that of a woodwind than a guitar, while "Hardy Country" pits an insistent ostinato pattern against shimmering swells that wash into cymbal crashes. Because there is no rhythm section, aside from the occasional percussion provided by Summers and Fripp, the pulse has a tendency to turn static. But the two guitarists manage to turn even that to their advantage by playing the repetitious patterns for texture. Toss in a few genuine surprises–like the space-age gamelan effect achieved in "Stultified"–and you have an album that not only enlightens but entertains. And that's the kind of breakthrough that is becoming all too rare in rock & roll. (RS 382)

J.D. CONSIDINE