"North Star" from Exposure - kindly contributed by Andrew Keeling

Accompanying guitar chords (in traditional tuning) to Darryl Hall's essentially improvised soul-like vocal are:

1) The song is in E major and in 4/4 with a swung crotchet/quaver triplet rhythm (it might thought of as being in 12/8). The first chord: f#m7 - no low F# - the bass takes the F#. The two-note glissando run-up in the guitar prior to the chord [the anacrusis] is 4th and 5th string respectively e-f# (4th string) and b-c# (5th string) );

2) The little two-note glissando again (which is an important feature providing movement) and then a standard E major chord. This happens throughout the verse. The f# minor7 and E major chords accompany the North Star..North Star...We stare... vocals;

3) Up to c#minor (for words Within..With you...) on the 9th fret (the little two-note glissando run-up is still on the 4th/5th string but shifted-up to glissando from 9th-11th fret, falling just right for the c# minor chord); then down to the second fret f# minor chord. Then a B7 susp. barre on the second fret (from 5th string) to complete the verse;

4) The central section (I stand in the hallway) is open A 5th string as a pedal-pitch, with the top two strings for the following descending dyad's: C# (1st) A (2nd); followed by B/G#; to A/F#; then G#/E; into the two note glissando on strings 4 & 5 fret 2-4 and the B7 susp. chord (2nd fret) for the cadence;

5) The structure then repeats.

6) The overall harmonic scheme is: f#m7 (ii7) - E major (I) - c#minor (vi) - f#m (f#m7) (ii/ii7) - B7susp. (V7 4-3).

This period Fripp is mainly stripped-back to point-up Fripp's Bennett/New Wave interests. Unusually, North Star is also a love song. At the time no-one knew that in due course King Crimson would return to active service, which makes NS research material for Discipline's Matte Kudesai. Everything about North Star points to the shift away from the classical Progressive-Rock - certainly away from Mellotrons - which King Crimson had initiated, into a simpler, possibly leaner Eno/Bowie experimental/minimalist style with an overriding American way of doing things. Fripp was close-up to this living in New York at the time, had recently played with Blondie and was exposed to many of the contemporary NY New Wave influences. However, Exposure continues to explore structural concerns (i.e. juxtapositions of material) found in the context of King Crimson Mks I, II and III, yet applied here in a slightly different way. It's as though the move to New York allowed Fripp to continue exploring his own emerging musical voice, as well as finding new ways to navigate King Crimson into the future.

(AK - 08-08-06)

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