Gone To Earth

Sylvian’s career since leaving new wave art-rockers Japan has been an eclectic one to say the least, yielding successful collaborations with luminaries such as Can’s Holger Czukay, Italy’s Arturo Stalteri, trumpeter Jon Hassell, and, as here, prog guitarists Robert Fripp and Bill Nelson. “Gone To Earth” is Sylvian’s masterpiece of understatement, a quiet, contemplative recording of variable moods, environmental contrasts, and introspective moments.

In this best of all synergistic worlds, Sylvian’s chums produce some of their most remarkable moments on record. Fripp’s contributions, veering from the angelic (“Taking the Veil”) to the hypnotic (“Gone to Earth”) are as original as anything he’s previously committed to tape. Bill Nelson outdoes himself on the provocative “The Healing Place”, generating a repeating guitar fragment suggestive of eternal melancholia. Also on hand are Japan members Richard Barbieri, whose febrile atmospheres enhance the already beguiling surroundings, and percussionist Steve Jansen, whose deft touches provide the song’s organic anchors when necessary. These human tone-tacticians raise “Gone To Earth” to an even higher level of artistry.