On
Andy Summers and
Robert Fripp's second album, Bewitched, the duo offered a new batch of their instrumental songs, which turned out to be much more rock-oriented than their texturized 1982 debut,
I Advance Masked. The album was originally going to be a more musically varied affair -- at the time,
Summers talked about recording calypso and Tex-Mex/
Ry Cooder-like tunes with Fripp, but they never saw the light of day. Like its predecessor, it contains plenty of great guitar work, with songwriting being stressed over instrumental virtuosity. For example,
Summers and Fripp know how to subtly insert challenging sections into their songs (such as the 7/4 time signature in "Maquillage"), without making them seem like an obvious attempt to impress fellow musicians. Although '80s-sounding electronic drums are primarily used for backbeats (such as the track "Train"), it doesn't take away from the album's charm. Whereas their last album featured a few compositions that were quite
King Crimson-like, their sophomore effort contains a few that sound like
Police instrumentals (the title track). Unfortunately, Bewitched would prove to be
Summers and Fripp's last collaboration together. ~ Greg Prato