It was supposed to be a double (with McDonald's Birdman suite). As it stands, it inevitably faces comparison with the debut, especially in the initial sequence, but Pictures is more jazz, Cadence more pop, and the title track (in which the 12 archetypes of the cover are listed) more solemn. Now a producer with Sinfield, Fripp employs a more dramatic use of the mellotron, especially in The Devil’s Triangle, drawn from Holst's The Planets. Tippet's dada piano shines on Cat Food, an anti-consumerism satire.
more