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King Crimson are one of the paradigms of progressive rock. The band was in
reality three different bands during its lengthy career, each of these
incarnations quite different from the other, with Robert Fripp, the band's guitarist and founder,
the only constant member. Their recorded output is quite varied. All of
the albums mentioned below have been re-released on CD unless otherwise
noted. King Crimson I (1969-72) created immense, orchestrated albums,
with strong ensemble playing and some improvisation. Songs range from
heavily orchestrated pieces, with particular use of Mellotron (comparable
at times to the Moody Blues or
Gabriel-era Genesis) and occasional power
guitar chords from Fripp, to soft, gentle
ballads. The band line-up during this period was unstable, which helps to
account for the diversity displayed on the albums. In The Court Of The
Crimson King is probably the best. In the Wake of Poseidon
features excellent contributions from Keith Tippet on piano. These two are
recommended. The last two studio albums by KC I betray Fripp's growing pre-occupation with minimalism.
Lizard is a little more left field than the first two, perhaps a
bit too uneven and inconsistent, and definitely wacky. Islands is
much smoother, more orchestrial and more relaxed, bordering on the
soporific. Earthbound was the last KC I release, a live album,
which became a tradition of sorts with KC. It has poor sound quality, but
contains the definitive live reading of "20th Century Schizoid Man" from
the debut. King Crimson II (1973-75) were a much heavier proposition, the
frontal lobes approach to rock. A useful comparison would be the Mahavishnu Orchestra lineup of 1972-74.
John McLaughlin was a clear influence on Fripp's guitar style and KC II had a similar
approach to fusion as McLaughlin's
outfit. Starting from scratch again, Fripp was
joined this time by David Cross on
violin, Jamie Muir on percussion, though neither would stay the distance,
and John Wetton on bass and Bill Bruford (late of Yes) on drums, a formidable rhythm section. Bruford is probably the most sympathetic
musician to have worked with Fripp and he
would turn up again in KC III. KC II was characterized by a lot of solo
improvisation and full blown group jams, very heavy and very loud. Many of
the tracks on the albums from this period originated from live
performances, with overdubs added later in the studio. Often referred to
as Crimson's "mature period," the albums are uniformly excellent, strong
on material and performance. The Mahavishnu comparison is particularly
telling on the first, Larks' Tongues in Aspic. Amazing guitar
playing, excellent drumming and strong bass, the kind of record that gives
"art rock" a good name. Starless and Bible Black is more severe,
the two highly improvisational group jams that form side two are superb,
with Fripp being particularly innovative, but
some of the shorter, loosely defined tracks on side one tend to dissipate
the effect. Red is the full fruition of the promise on the previous
two albums. It is consistently sure-footed. Red is focused power,
the best of these middle period recordings and, IMO, the best King Crimson
album. A heavy album, but very expressionistic. Complex rhythms abound. Fripp's range and conceptual rigour are
extraordinary. Side two contains the most beautiful piece of music
recorded by the band, "Starless." The long guitar passage in the middle
section is stunning in its effectiveness and simplicity. It should be said
that guitar and drums dominate this album more than on the previous KC II
albums, so this may not be to everyone's tatse. But this *is* King
Crimson's masterpiece. All three KC II studio albums are highly
recommended to fans of progressive *rock* music. The band dissolved again
with a live album, recorded before but released after Red (it
contains parts of the same concert used as a basis for Red) with
violin overdubs by Eddie Jobson.
USA is a good live album of the wrong material, with one exception,
a superb and at the time otherwise unavailable track called "Asbury Park."
The best live material by KC II is found on the 4CD live retrospective
The Great Deceiver, which has some unique group improvs. Not the
best place to start, but once you have absorbed the studio albums and
acquired a taste for this phase of the bands career, it is a very
worthwhile investment. King Crimson III (1980-84) was the nearest the
band got to danceable, pop music, albeit with complex underlying musical
structures. Fripp retained the services of Bruford and enlisted new members Adrian Belew (guitar/vocals) and Tony Levin
(bass/stick). Although the musicianship is of a very high order, the bands
instincts are haphazard. Adrian Belew
had a disproportionally large influence on these albums and his instincts
on guitar are not ideally suited for creating interesting rock music. Bruford uses electronic drums but they don't
detract too much. Levin's stick is impressive. Fripp eschews power guitar for ultracomplex,
intricate, repetitive rhythm patterns. This line up therefore is
characterized by a fusion of musical complexity and technology - the music
had obviously changed a great deal. Discipline is probably the
best of these albums, being the most focused and also the most accessible.
It has a great range in moods and is the most complete of the 80s
releases. And probably the best place to start with KC III too.
Beat is more relaxed and more pop-orientated but still has some
interesting material. Three of a Perfect Pair is the least
rewarding of this trio of albums. Some tracks work very well, Bruford again impresses, but this is by far the
poppiest album released by the band. They disbanded in 1984 and marked
their demise with two live releases, but this time on video. There are a
number of compilations which offer an alternative introduction to the
band. The best is A Young Person's Guide to King Crimson, a double
set arguably featuring the best tracks from all KC I and KC II albums,
though some in edited form and Lizard is conspicuous by its
absence. Of course, the '80s material is not represented at all. The CD
only compilation The Compact King Crimson couples all but one track
each from the two most commercially successful King Crimson albums, In
The Court and Discipline, with a number of other tracks. Note
that only one track represents KC II and as such this compilation is
seriously flawed. However, it is widely available. The ambitious 4CD set
The Essential King Crimson: Frame By Frame is a lengthy
retrospective which contains three discs of previously released material
plus one live CD of unique recordings. This would have provided an
excellent overview of the band (even Lizard is represented), if Fripp had resisted the temptation to tamper so
much with the original recordings. Some of the lengthier studio tracks,
which tend to be among the more essential tracks, have been severely
edited for some reason. But, with these reservations in mind, this is
recommended as a good introduction to the band, and it will never be
redundant because of the live disc.
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I split the discography into three sections because the band's music falls
into three distinct periods:
Early period: In the Court of the Crimson King, In the Wake of
Poseidon, Lizard, Islands.
Middle period: Earthbound (Live), Lark's Tongues in Aspic,
Starless and Bible Black, Red, USA (live).
'80s version: Discipline, Beat, Three of a Perfect
Pair.
These periods are drastically different, and to listen to the albums
without knowing who recorded them, one would probably think they're the
products of different bands. In effect, this is actually the case: the
only musician who was present throughout the history of the band is the
mastermind behind the whole thing, Robert
Fripp himself. Each period is marked by a complete turnover of
personnel (except, of course, for Fripp, and
Bill Bruford, who returned from the middle
period lineup for the '80s version). I will mention here that
Earthbound was performed with early period personnel; however, I
placed it with the middle period albums because in my opinion, it's much
closer musically to the albums that followed it than to those that
preceded it. As is the case with prog rock in general, odd time
signatures are frequently found in music throughout the band's history. Peter Sinfield's lyrics on the early
period albums, and Richard W. Palmer-James' lyrics on the middle period
albums, are regarded by many as self-indulgent and pretentious. Well, such
lyrics are often found in prog rock, but even with that consideration,
these lyrics are embarrassing-not only to the band, but to its fans, and
to the world of music in general. Adrian Belew's lyrics in the 80's version are much
easier to deal with-they're often quite inventive and evocative, and (dare
I say it) actually pretty good. All three periods also feature a great
deal of...experimentation with structure, harmonics, and instrumentation.
Fripp's guitar is the one identifiable thread
that runs throughout; pick any Crimson album at random, and you'll find at
least a couple places where he cuts loose with one of his fast, clean,
somewhat dissonant, Frippian solos. Following
are notes on the individual periods, along with recommendations for
albums. I believe that all the music within any given period is consistent
enough stylistically that if you like one album, you would almost
certainly like the others from the same period.
Early Period: The lineup of King Crimson has always been highly unstable,
and this is especially true in the early period, which featured (in order)
Greg Lake, Gordon Haskell, and Boz Burrell on bass; Michael Giles, Andy
McCulloch, and Ian Wallace on drums; and Ian McDonald and Mel Collins on
sax, with various other players sitting in on various occasions. The
early Crimson albums are much more "orchestral sounding" than the others
and give the impression of being more deliberately composed and arranged.
The heavy use of the Mellotron in some songs probably contributes to this
impression. These are the albums on which one would look for the classical
influences that often typify progressive rock, and some material has a
distinct gothic feel. You can also find some very nice jazzy material at
times. And the first track on the first album, "21st Century Schizoid
Man," might even be considered the prototypical heavy metal song. For
recommendations, I'd start with albums from the other two periods (well,
that's where my preference lies). Seriously, though, Court would be
the early period album to start with.
Middle Period: I will unabashedly admit that these are not only my favorite
Crimson albums, but among my all-time favorites, period. The music is
dominated by the thunderously heavy rhythm section of drummer Bill Bruford and bassist John Wetton, overlaid with Fripp's incredibly precise guitar playing. On
Larks' Tongues and Starless and Bible Black, violinist David Cross has moments of counteracting the
heaviness with a light, delicate touch; at other times, he dives headfirst
into the fracas. Percussionist Jamie Muir adds some very nice textures to
Lark's Tongues. The music, if one wanted to categorize it, might
best be described as sophisticated heavy metal, with perhaps some jazz and
psychedelic influences. It's characterized by long, intricate
improvisations-not the kind in which one guy solos over a riff played by
the others, but a continuous interaction in which everyone is "playing
off" what everyone else is doing. This is a fairly risky approach, and I'm
given to understand they produced some truly awful stuff onstage this way.
But the stuff that found its way onto vinyl (and/or CD) is very
interesting, compelling, and unique music. It often creates an ominous,
even threatening feeling-low and slow, as if it's biding its time. Other
times, the guys just blast it out at you. I think of it as music that
could sink a battleship. Back when I was a young, single guy, a couple
friends and I liked to get drunk and/or stoned, drive far out into the
country with the express purpose of getting lost, and then try to find our
way back. Well, middle period King Crimson is the musical equivalent, and
you don't run the risk of killing yourself or someone else in a wreck,
getting arrested for DUI, or running out of gas and meeting up with those
mountain guys from "Deliverance" while hitch-hiking to a gas station
that's probably not open anyway. For recommendations, I'd suggest
starting with Red and working backwards; Starless next, then
Lark's Tongues. Much of the material on the three available albums
was actually recorded in concert, although this is not noted on the
sleeves. And the boxed set The Great Deceiver provides four CD's
worth of live recordings of the band from this period (obviously, a $50+
set of disks isn't a good recommendation for someone who's not familiar
with the band, but it is essential for someone who's already deeply into
them). Anyway, Red would present the new listener with the least
amount of unfamiliar ground. Then, working backwards as suggested, the new
listener would gradually find more "new territory."
80's Version: Bill Bruford returned for this
lineup, joined by bassist/stick player Tony Levin, guitarist/vocalist Adrian Belew, and Fripp. Actually, it wasn't until after they had
begun rehearsals and had already put some music together that it became
apparent that this group should be a reincarnation of King Crimson;
previously, Fripp's thought had been to call
this particular band Discipline. The '80s Crimson is much more
technically and electronically oriented than previous versions. It's an
extremely tight, precise band. The middle period Crimson took you for long
drives out into the country to get lost, or they'd smash you over the head
with a sledge hammer; these guys created highly polished, perfect gems of
music for you to stand there and admire. Belew's wailing, anarchic guitar style
forms an intriguing contrast to Fripp's
precise, exact-and disciplined-playing. Belew also brought with him a sense of wit
and good humor, which the band had previously lacked. For
recommendations, I would suggest the new listener check out Beat
first. Some suggest taking them in chronological order (in other words,
Discipline first, then Beat, and ToaPP), which would
mean from the most accessible to the least. But I believe that Beat
showed a distinct jump in quality and actually represents the band much
better than its predecessor.
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90's King Crimson Reviews:
The first album by the 90's incarnation of Crimson was Thrak, which featured the
talents of Robert Fripp and
Adrian Belew on guitars, Trey Gunn and
Tony Levin on stick and Bill
Bruford and Pat Mastelotto on drums. As the first new King Crimson album in 10
years, Thrak certainly does not disappoint. It combines the best elements of the
70's and 80's sound, and sets them in the context of the 90's, with the usual disjointed
flow of pieces one comes to expect from a King Crimson album, ranging from serene, laid
back songs with vocals, to strange and dark instrumentals, to out and out nightmarish
pieces (like the title track). Recorded live in the studio, this album is in places more
experimental than anything Crimson have attempted before, and IMO certainly sounds as
fresh and exciting as previous albums such as Lark's Tongues in Aspic or
Discipline. Texturally the sound is more diverse than the 80's sound with the
resurrection of the Mellotron (played by Robert Fripp) and
the addition of guitar synths, which are used to create surreal shifting soundscapes
with haunting atmospheres. As always, in the midst of apparent chaos, the musicianship
is top notch, and this is most evident in the middle section of "Sex Sleep Eat Drink
Dream", where two themes, apparently in different time signatures, somehow manage to
co-exist. (In fact Bill Bruford commented that he could
give a 2 hour lecture on what's going on in this section - I believe him!)
The ConstruKction of Light (2000) is the long awaited follow up album to
Thrak, and features a trimmed down line-up, without
Bruford or Levin. Sounding
heavier and even less accessible than Thrak, it explores the darker side of its
predecessor with mixed success. Whereas Thrak was interspersed with mellower
songs, here there is nothing to break up the relentless flow, and listened to as a whole
the album comes across as quite stark, even a little overbearing. IMO there are some
strong tracks to be found (and to be fair they are mostly long and make up about half
the album), but other tracks are just plain irritating, like "The World's My Oyster Soup
Kitchen Floor Wax Museum", which unless you really enjoy self-punishment, I would only
recommend listening to if you want to rid yourself of an unwelcome guest.
From what little I have heard of the live album, Thrakkattack, it is mostly
improvised, highly avante-garde, and makes for very difficult listening. Recommended
only for the most adventurous listener. As an introduction to the 90's period King
Crimson I would recommend starting with Thrak, and the E.P. Vroom
(very similar to Thrak) first. -- Daniel Briggs
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Kingston Wall
Kinzoku Ebisu at Baja Prog 2006 - Kenta Asanuma (drums), Makiko Kusunoki (keyboards, voice),
Takehiro Kojima (fretted and fretless bass, bass pedals) and Daichi Takagi (electric guitars)
Basil Kirchin and his father Ivor, in the big band days
Keith Petty is Kirlian Aura
Kitaro
Koenji Hyakkei - I believe this is the most recent Angherr Shisspa line-up:
Kyoko Yamamoto (vocals), Miyako Kanazawa (keyboards, voice), Tatsuya Yoshida (drums, vocals),
Keiko Komori (reeds, voice) and Kengo Sakamoto (bass, voice).
Kolinda
Paul Kollar in concert, circa 1980
Kopecky - Paul (drums), William
(bass/sitar/keys) and Joe (guitar/voice) Kopecky
Kosmos - (not in photo order) Alex Crow (keyboards, programming), Michel "Away"
Langevin (drums, sounds), Vincent Peake (bass) and Jetphil (guitars)
Carlos Plaza - Musical director of Kotebel
Kraan in 1972