Jean the Birdman

A top-quality collaboration between two art-rock authorities materialised in 1993, when avant-pop stalwart David Sylvian teamed up with King Crimson head honcho Robert Fripp for the stupendously excellent ‘The First Day’ album. ‘The First Day’ was an astonishingly adept record that effortlessly redefined the boundaries of modern-day progressive rock, while laying down some purposeful, superior-quality guitar grooves and spacey, patented Frippertronics courtesy of Fripp, expertly blended with some of Sylvian’s most confident and upfront vocals. While this sort of masterfully crafted neo prog-rock possesses not an iota of commercial-chart aspiration, it does constitute a rare, wondrous gift for aficionados of the genre, not to mention faithful fans of both Sylvian and Fripp. Check out the intentionally kaleidoscopic, appropriately surreal video clip for the sole single from this historic partnership, the cerebrally rugged and funky pop-rock composition ‘Jean the Birdman’.