Bookmarks: Favorite KC Songs ~ Covers ~ ProjeKcts Boxset
Also see: Robert Fripp ~ David Cross ~ John Wetton
From: "kevin walker" <> Date: Sun, 27 Feb 2005 Subject: The enigma that is
King Crimson
Hi everyone... KC have always driven me kinda mad you know.....a love hate
relationship to their musical output, OK, I LOVED ITCOTCK......if they'd just
made this one masterpiece and faded into the sunset, that would have been plenty
for me. The absolute orgasmic power of Schizoid Man, Greg's distorted vocal tore
me apart as a young man, late at night, yes after lots of alcohol, (the track
just seems so complex and dark with Fripps neurotic guitar ever powerful) and
maybe the odd chemical buffer against the realities of living in my northern
English working class town, where things *arty farty* were considered something
you didn't talk about!
Id certainly Talk To The Wind on many occasions on my Sunday ramble over the
local moorland, usually in the soggy heather under a rain filled iron grey sky.
"Epitaph" is a superb soaring and dark song with very obscure pessimistic lyrics
but really is a very complex track that combines different rhythms and timing,
also I must say percussion is brilliant. A string of brilliant albums followed,
Lizard, Islands, Larks Tongues, then the mindbogglingly stupendous Starless and
the masterpiece that is Red, more accessible than Larks or Lizard and so much
POWER!!.
"Starless" is probably the best track of the album, a stunning mini- suite,
characterized by the wonderful vocal interpretation by Wetton, but also an
incredible final instrumental excursion by this power trio, arguably the best KC
song ever.
Anyway enough of all that, the point was/is ...the 80's KC...........Discipline,
Three of a Perfect Pair, THEN the 90's....Vrooom, Thrak, a large glut of jam
session live albums (too many), culminating in the 2003's The Power To Believe.
Sad to say this period of Fripps vehicle wasn't my cup of tea. Not enough of
those majestic mesmeric melodies, too much repetitive riffy non tunes, too much
jerkiness (for the sake of it?). Free Jazz style rock?
I bought most of the albums hoping for another *Red* but just got more of this
stuff......I mean, don't get me wrong, I like a lot of jazz but somehow Fripp
and co were taking the piss here, not a tune in sight!! OK, so there Ive been
for years, just playing the old albums and supposing that there will be no more
great songs.......until, very recently, I acquired a copy of the KC dvd Deja
Vrooom, showcasing the *double trio* version of KC, Ive watched it over and over
as it intrigued me somewhat and to cut this short (cos Im probably boring you)
Ive been converted...fully, I have seen the light!!
This brand of metal/avante garde prog is (in its way) just as powerful as the
early stuff, don't ask me why, but seeing Messrs Belew, Brufford, Levin etc on
this dvd brings out the true depth of these great tracks that Ive never played,
Fripp is as great as ever, and what a great vocalist/guitarist Belew is.
Watching these guys play is an absolute humbling experience IMO, what can I
say...after all these years, I GET IT!!!
In this music, Robert Fripp is finally able to execute the mix of mathematical
precision and sonically stunning vision he always intended for KING CRIMSON and
through it all, they have maintained their professionalism and have influenced
hundreds of bands in the Avant-garde, Progressive and Heavy Metal area, always
being ahead of their time. No abacraping here.......... Cheers, Kev
progressivemusicforum@yahoogroups.com
From: "Michael Irish"
I did some trading at the store yesterday, picking up .... and "Schizoid Dimension: A
Tribute to King Crimson." The bands are as follows:
Controlled Bleeding: "Talking Drum; David Cross (former Crimsky violinist):
"Exiles"; Brand X: "Red" & "Neil and Jack and Me.";
Chrome: "Moonchild."; Melting Euphoria: "Lark's Tongues in Aspic Pt.
I"; Alien Planetscapes: "A Sailor's Tale"; Architectural Metaphor:
"Cirkus"; Pressurehed: "21st Century Schizoid Man"; Astralasia:
"I Talk to the Wind"; Xcranium: "Cat Food"; Spirits Burning:
"Red"; Solid Space: "In the Wake of Poseidon."
I did a quick search last night, and found pages for some of these bands. Is anybody
familar with their recordings or performances?
From: "Alexandre A. S."
I haven't seen it, but some of the artists are familiar. CONTROLLED BLEEDING is supposed
to be electronic, techno stuff... You should be familiar with DAVID CROSS, he played
violin in KC :) BRAND X Is Percy Jones' fusion/jazz band, mostly known because Phil
Collins was a member for a while. CHROME is some weird electronic experimentalism stuff.
From: "willfred"
Well...............Brand X started out as a Phil Collins fusion side-project to Genesis in
the mid-seventies, but he eventually left. Fusion of varying quality over the years ( my
fave track was always Cambodia ). Musically, they were about the same with or without
Collins. Controlled Bleeding started out as a second-generation industrial act very
clangy/noisy) and developed a more gothic/religious sound in parallel. There is a
compilation of the goth/ambient side of their personality on Projekt records which is
pretty good. David Cross is the ex-King Crimson violinist ( from 72-74) who does a more
fusion-y thing on his solo stuff. Chrome was Damon Edge and Helios Creed ( Edge died a
couple years ago(?)) and used to be a wacked-out combination of Faust, guitar wank, and
industrial/post-punk. Excellent stuff ( best albums: Alien Soundtracks, Blood On The Moon
). After their album Into The Eyes Of The Zombie King ( Helios went solo around 1983 ),
they turned into bad synthy poop. After Damon Edge died, Helios got the rights to the name
and started releasing his own version of Chrome ( less electronic, more guitary ). Chrome
(pre-1983) and Pere Ubu were my two fave dark/surreal/post-punk bands. Melting Euphoria
are a fairly new band ( about 3-4 years old? ) on Cleopatra who do their own take on the
Gong/Ozrics space-rock thing. Good, but derivative.
From: =?ISO-8859-1?Q?Kimi_K=E4rki?=
> But I'm quite happy Bill Bruford joined King Crimson in 1973. IMO it is better
usage for his talent. In Yes he'd never be able to discover himself as a master of
improvisations.
Yesshh!!! IMHO Crimson did benefit in this deal too (not that Michael Giles and Ian
Wallace were bad drummers...). Larks Tongues in Aspic and Red are among the finest
recorded moments of prog-history. Starless and Bible Black does not appeal to me as
pleasing, although the playing is incredible (if I remember correctly, it is all live in
SaBB).
From: "Michael Irish"
> "We are, as I am, prog-rock pond scum. Our hopes for the future are to burn
you out." hahahaha!! Great quote... who said this?
The above quote (which I think of as a badge of honour for everybody who loves progressive
rock) is from the press party announcing the formation of Discipline Global Mobile Records
and the release of the King Crimson "Epitaph" boxed-set. There's a photo of the
original Crimson together again, with Robert Fripp, Michael Giles, Greg Lake, and Ian
McDonald. Everybody looks in fine health, though it wouldn't hurt Greg if he lost a few
pounds. There's also an extended interview with Robert Fripp. Here's the address: www.furious.com/perfect/fripp.html
From: "George Khouroshvili"
> speaking of Crimson, do they have any 'light', optimistic or all-around happy
songs? Just being manic doesn't count :) Maybe it's time to make the case for Yes and
Crimson as polar opposites in prog....
'Peace' from "In the Wake of Poseidon" (both 'a Beginning' and 'an End') are
quite "positive" philosophically speaking. and 'The Night Watch' from
"Starless and Bible Black" is just _so_ beautiful that it certainly deserves a
mention. i didn't keep any of the 80s KC albums, but i think that several >songs I
think I'll agree with the statement about King Crimson & Yes being "polar
opposites in prog". And I prefer the first one (though Yes is one of my favorites
too). For some reason I feel attraction to the ...(I can't find the proper objective, but
it is not "dark" or "pessimistic", because the positiveness is also
presented in their songs) philosophy of Crimson and VDGG. Yes, "Peace" is
a "light" song, but I don't think that "The night Watch" can't be
described as this, because it's a little bit melancholic (like many of their songs:
"Islands", "Exiles", "Book Of Saturday" etc. etc.) 80's KC
also has a "light" song - "Matte Kudasai" (maybe "Model Man"
too). I can't remeber any more (though Adrian Belew has a lot on his solo albums). By the
way, Julius, can you explain me why you don't buy their 80' & 90's albums. I like them
also (and probably more than Lizard or In the Wake..., for example), they can do great
improvisations, the "mood" of KC is still alive and the musicians are perfect. I
prefer Bruford / Cross / Fripp / Wetton line-up, but Belew / Bruford / Fripp / Levin (Gunn
/ Mastelotto) is also fine (IMO).
From: drj_saro
sure...i liked "Discipline" well enough when it came out (even though i thought
that it sounded like *Talking Heads get smart*, and _that_ disappointed me because i
always thought of KC as _leaders_ NOT _followers_!) , but then "Beat" and
"ToaPP" came out and it all sounded the same (i know that is an
over-simplification, but it's true enough). i had a tape of a live show, and that was
enough for me...the versions sounded _much_ better live, so i didn't _need_ the records. i
bought the 90s stuff, but still think that the "Double Trio" "sounds"
better on paper than they do....i _did_ really like the RF String Quintet and
"Damage", tho.
From: "Michael Irish"
Regarding recent posts on E-Prog, I've put together a KC-Lite song list (soon available
via DGM Records):
1) Moonchild
2) I Talk To The Wind
3) Peace: A Theme
4) Cadence and Cascade
5) Lady of the Dancing Water
6) Prince Rupert Awakes
7) Book of Saturday
8) Heartbeat
9) Matte Kudasai
10) One Time
11) Waiting Man
12) The Sheltering Sky
13) The King Crimson Barber Shop Quartet
14) Walking On Air
Robert Fripp's Soundscapes can be included to give a wash, a backround of sound from which
the individual tracks appear from.
From: "George Khouroshvili"
>...What I DID purchase was _Absent Lovers_, the new King Crimson 2CD, *live in
Montreal 1984* (3 of a Perfect Pair tour)...Yippee!!!!!!
...Absent Lovers is a pearl!!! And it's impossible to compare this album with any tribute.
From: "George Khouroshvili"
<>
>From: <>
> Here's a philosophical question. Take the album "Thrak" from King Crimson
and compare it to one of their earliest albums. Do you think this is the same band ?
If not, do you think it's right to keep the same band name for the two different
groups ?
Well, this was a meaningless question IMO, but as far as KC is my favorite
band I've decided to reply.
1. Thrak. IMHO this album is much closer to the 70's Crimson than "Beat",
for example. Of course, "Thrak" isn't revolutionary thing. But I can't recall
any 90's album by any prog-giants that would be so impressive and non-nostalgic.
2. The band. King Crimson is not the sound or style or members (excl. Fripp). It's the
idea, the feeling, the attitude, the philosophy, etc. That's the main thing about this
band. They've never recorded more than
2 albums which were similiar in music style. So you may also say that Wetton-era KC is not
the same band that recorded "In the Court..." or "Islands"
3. I think it's up to band members if to keep the name or not. And we have nothing to do
with that.
As long as the "KC ghost" is around this band it's KING CRIMSON. Or we should
demand nowdays Genesis changed the name of the band (they had to do this much earlier
then), the same thing about the PINK FLOYD and many others.
From: "George Khouroshvili"
<>
>This week's tribute subject is KING CRIMSON, it's artists and related off-shoots
such as Frippertronics, ProjeKct 2, etc. So how about some good Elephant Talk!!!
My favorite band! It's difficult to count the number of great musicians that went
through KC and played in such the bands like ELP, YES, UK, ASIA, Roxy Music, Camel, Pink
Floyd, Uriah Heep and many more. The 1st thing I've heard from King Crimson was "In
the Court of the Crimson King". "In the Wake of Poseidon" &
"Lizard" didn't impressed me as the previous one and I decided better to check
out ELP. I collected some of their albums and once a friend of mine gave me KC's
"RED". When I 1st heard "Fallen Angel" and "Starless" I
became an absolute "schizoid man". Bruford / Cross / Fripp / Wetton incarnation
is still my favorite. I don't think it's necessary
to describe the whole story of me
turning into the "crimsoid". I have all their albums (except Frame by Frame -
Essential King Crimson), UK, ASIA, some albums by Bruford, Belew, Wetton, Fripp (though I
still don't see any reason to release such the huge amount of Soundscapes - 3 CDs would be
enough). I love both improvisations and melodic songs from King Crimson. The only problem
I had with their albums was improvisational "THRaKaTTaK" (though some pieces are
quite good). By the way, I bought my 1st D.Bowie CD ("Heroes") because of
Fripp's participation. Recently I've discovered David Cross' solo works. Probably he makes
the best albums of all ex-KC members. Now I have his "Big Picture",
"Testing to Destruction" & "Exiles". Everyone who loves 70's
Crimson must have these. I've ordered David's "Memos from Purgatory" &
"Low Flying Aircraft" (Keith Tippett, David Cross and others) from Red Hot
Records but they are still on the way. By the way, folks, if anyone has any info about
David Cross (especially his activities before and after KC, participations, etc.), please,
e-mail me. I'm trying to start an info letter for KC fans in Russia, who doesn't have
Internet access (mostly in regions) and there are lots of questions about David. Any help
is highly appreciated. And back to albums by David Cross - if you like The Larks' Tongues
In Aspic, Starless & Bible Black & Red try his stuff. It sounds like the
development of this style.
From: Vaportrode@aol.com
Results of survey at elephant-talk.com; fans favorite King Crimson song I was surprised to see how much people preferred
Wetton tracks to Adrian's King Crimson Track Votes Pct.
----------------------------------------------
Starless 80 14.26%
Fracture 60 10.70%
Larks' Tongues In Aspic Pt. II 42 7.49%
The Sheltering Sky 20 3.57%
Easy Money 18 3.21%
Epitaph 18 3.21%
Larks' Tongues In Aspic Pt. I 16 2.85%
Red 14 2.50%
Book Of Saturday 12 2.14%
The Night Watch 12 2.14%
Thela Hun Ginjeet 10 1.78%
Waiting Man 10 1.78%
21st Century Schizoid Man 10 1.78%
Starless & Bible Black 9 1.60%
Exiles 9 1.60%
Fallen Angel 9 1.60%
Frame By Frame 9 1.60%
In The Court Of The Crimson King 9 1.60%
Sailors Tale 8 1.43%
Indiscipline 8 1.43%
We'll Let You Know 7 1.25%
Discipline 7 1.25%
One Time 7 1.25%
VROOOM 7 1.25%
Asbury Park 7 1.25%
Neal & Jack & Me 7 1.25%
Sartori In Tangier 6 1.07%
Dinosaur 6 1.07%
Providence 6 1.07%
Islands 5 0.89%
I Talk To The Wind 5 0.89%
Sleepless 5 0.89%
In The Wake Of Poseidon 4 0.71%
Elephant Talk 4 0.71%
The Talking Drum 4 0.71%
The Great Deceiver 4 0.71%
THRAK 4 0.71%
Cat Food 4 0.71%
Three Of A Perfect Pair 4 0.71%
Formentera Lady 3 0.53%
A Voyage To The Centre of the Cosmos 3 0.53%
Cirkus 3 0.53%
Matte Kudasai 3 0.53%
Sex Sleep Eat Drink Dream 3 0.53%
Requiem 3 0.53%
Doctor Diamond 3 0.53%
One More Red Nightmare 3 0.53%
Walking On Air 3 0.53%
Cage 2 0.36%
Cadence & Cascade 2 0.36%
The Devil's Triangle 2 0.36%
The Howler 2 0.36%
The Letters 2 0.36%
This Night Wounds Time 2 0.36%
Moonchild 2 0.36%
The Law of Maximum Distress 2 0.36%
Larks' Tongues In Aspic Pt. III 2 0.36%
Lizard 2 0.36%
People 2 0.36%
Trio 2 0.36%
VROOOM VROOOM 2 0.36%
VROOOM VROOOM: Coda 2 0.36%
Travel Weary Capricorn 1 0.18%
Two Hands 1 0.18%
Lady Of The Dancing Water 1 0.18%
Get Thy Bearings 1 0.18%
Dig Me 1 0.18%
Radio II 1 0.18%
THRaKaTTaK Pt. II 1 0.18%
Pictures Of A City 1 0.18%
Peace - A Theme 1 0.18%
Industry 1 0.18%
Neurotica 1 0.18%
A Man, A City 1 0.18%
The Fright Watch 1 0.18%
The Golden Walnut 1 0.18%
Lament 1 0.18%
Groon 1 0.18%
Happy Family 1 0.18%
Heartbeat 1 0.18%
Ladies Of The Road 1 0.18%
Peoria 1 0.18%
Total Responses 561 100.00%
From: "Antoni
Lopez Singla" <>
I know versions of 21st. Schizoid Man availables on the following CD: - ELP:
Then & Now. - Greg Lake: Live At The King Biscuit Hour. (also The Court of
the Crimson King). - Greg Lake: From the Underground... The Official Bootleg. -
PFM: 10 Anni Live. - After Crying: Elso Evtized. Also I have this CD with
versions of King Crimsons songs: - David Cross: Exiles (Exiles). - Steve
Hackett: The Tokyo Tapes (The Court of the Crimson
King - I Talk To The Wind). - Asia: Live Mockba (Starless - Book Of Saturday). -
John Wetton: Chasing The Dragon (Easy Money - Starless - Book Of Saturday). -
John Wetton: Akustika (Book Of Saturday). - John Wetton: Hazy Monet (Book Of
Saturday - Starless). - John Wetton: Tokyo 1997 (Easy Money). - John Wetton:
Nomansland (Book Of Saturday - Easy Money - Starless - The Night Watch). - John
Wetton: Sub Rosa (Book Of Saturday - Easy Money). - John Wetton + Richard
Palmer-James: Monkey Business (Easy Money - The Night Watch - Book Of Saturday
-Starless). - The Wallace/Trainor Conspiracy: Take A Train (includes a song
called Evidoid Suite with fragments of 21st. Century Schizoid Man with Ian
McDonald).
From:
Christopher Robbin <>
I dunno if any of you have seen or heard it yet, but I found the King Crimson
The ProjeKcts boxset today at Record Town. This thing is AWESOME!!! There's one
entire disc devoted to each of the four ProjeKcts. Disc one is Fripp, Levin,
Gunn and Bruford (on ACOUSTIC drums). Disc two is Fripp, Gunn and Belew (on
electronic percussion, no guitar or vocals from Belew) Disc three is Fripp, Gunn
and Mastelotto Disc four is Fripp, Gunn, Levin and Mastelotto All I can say is
this music is amazing. There's lots of great Fripp soloing, lots of cool improvs
and in general just fantastic music. I'll report more as my listening continues!