The title is intended to be humourous. Not the ‘unreleased works’ part - that’s accurate. It’s the ‘startling genius’ bit. It’s worth mentioning if only because there’s something in the public perception of both Fripp & Eno that suggests there might be mild surprise at the thought of these two musicians having a laugh. The standard portrayal of the duo as “rock intellectuals” is as inaccurate as any such one-dimensional description would be. They have, of course, been frequent collaborators and friends for many years. From their first, groundbreaking (and planned for a 2008 reissue in expanded form), ‘No Pussyfooting’ album - through to the more recently issued ‘Equatorial Stars’, the duo has been one of the most innovative & intriguing contemporary musical partnerships. They have witnessed their approach to electronic music grow from being regarded as so non commercial & potentially career threatening that the release of their first album was delayed by management & record company for almost two years, to a point where they are two of the most frequently heard musicians in the world. Eno wrote the start-up music to Windows 95, Fripp performed the same task for Vista. Perhaps they’ll jointly produce whatever Windows 2012 is called and join the dots in a circle spanning 40 years?

In the interim there’s this album. “Unreleased Works of Startling Genius” is a series of musical snapshots, ideas, tunes, pieces, covering a period of several years. Selected by Brian Eno, most are issued here for the first time on CD. The musical content is as varied in mood as one might expect from such disparate time periods. The unifying factor, that which makes this series of recordings so compelling, is the sense that comes across of the duo’s own continued fascination & delight in finding new ways of exploring & presenting their shared musical adventures.

The initial manufacturing run of the album will be issued as a limited edition 2CD set showcasing the music in different ways. CD1 offers the first 12 pieces in segued form with only track 13 (regarded by both musicians as one of Fripp’s finest recorded performances) separate, while CD 2 offers the 13 pieces individually. When the initial run is exhausted; a single CD of the music as presented on CD1 will become the standard release edition.