King Crimson: Classic Or Dud

Cue your golf swing.

Wow... Mind = blown.

Very cool! thx ned

"that's some really wild stuff"

In The Lounge of the Crimson King

More on Belew's fourth-rate David Byrne impersonation - "I repeat myself under stress, I repeat myself under stress." Geddit? Hilarious, eh? Anybody who finds that remotely amusing in any way should be avoided.

Dave Q really killed it on this thread, huh? I like lots of KC but I hardly ever find myself playing them. When I do, it's either Larks' Tongues or Beat.

I think Belew's a pretty terrible lyricist but that was kinda the point, right? The lyrics weren't supposed to stand out. It was all about the music at that point.

Met this guy tonight who said he'd done tarot card readings with Adrian Belew, back in '83 or so

the story just got weirder from there

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILSVAUjd5QI&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Fripp speaks

excellent...wish it was longer

2009 Crimson, with Porcupine Tree drummer as second drummer, was awesome live.

so, who is buying the 13 CD, 1 DVD, 1 Blu-Ray of Larks' Tongue In Aspic?

http://www.dgmlive.com/news.htm?entry=3916

Just registered for DJM live site just so I could hear a sparse guide track for "Islands" the song. Boz sounds like he's singing into a cheap condenser mike, but otherwise it's quite lovely.

'Islands' is the worst album ever made by anybody.
― dave q, Friday, February 15, 2002 7:00 PM (10 years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

NO.

its kind of weird to imagine that King Crimson only played a fixed amount of concerts when they were active. it feels like they're able to just create more and more live bootleg material at will, even if it was phyiscally impossible for them to have played that many dates.

So many of them are pretty dodgy quality though, aren't they?

http://static.rateyourmusic.com/lk/l/w/dd360157ea8e506661983ea7336800bc/4330188.gif

classic:

'released in three separate editions to satisfy the merely curious and the expectant collector'

so, who is buying the 13 CD, 1 DVD, 1 Blu-Ray of /Larks' Tongue In Aspic/?

http://www.dgmlive.com/news.htm?entry=3916

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWaz8xfFjuE

Guess Fripperlips is done for good?

http://ultimateclassicrock.com/king-crimson-robert-fripp-quits-music-business/

Hope he enjoys retirement!

He's been retired for a while, I believe. Couple of years? Also, for what it's worth, he was semi-retired for pretty much the second half of the '70s, too.

Yeah, this is not new news.

Wait, hold up:

A multi-disc deluxe edition of the 1973 Crimson classic ‘Larks’ Tongues in Aspic’ is set for release in October and will include 13 CD’s, a DVD and a Blu-Ray disc.

13 CDs!?!?!

Disc details at the bottom of this page: http://www.dgmlive.com/news.htm

So basically a bunch of live discs previously sold through the site. That's cool though. Band in the Muir era was neat.

Wasn't aware Kanye had sampled "Schizoid Man," which Fripp seems pissed he didn't get paid for. Wonder if he ever paid any royalties for quoting "Surrey With The Fringe On Top" in "Moonchild?"

I figured Fripp was done, but this is the first time I ever heard him say it (I know he said he wasn't going to tour anymore some 4-5 years ago), maybe I'm just not paying attention

Fripp got paid for Schizoid sample, but iirc only after going straight to Kanye and the two of them presenting a united front to the label. He was very careful never to criticize West, even though he could have for not clearing the sample ahead of time.

fripp did an album with mel collins and jakko jakwhatsit last year, so he hasn't been retired for 4 years. it was a bit disappointing, definitely not the new lease on KC I think they were hoping for.

Well it certainly wasnt the new lease on KC I was hoping for.

If the '72-74 lineup reunited I would buy a ticket in about 5 seconds flat. Anything beyond that, I don't really care.

Pretty sure Cross & Wetton are the only ones game for that.

I'd be up for another outing of any other combination that the last 2 though (the Jakko one or previous I mean).

Fripp has such a narrow comfort range anymore that I wouldn't see him live unless he personally invited me into his living room to hear him play. I don't need the grief while he tries to figure out whether he can midwife any music.

Mentioned it before, but the last King Crimson tour I saw - Levin, Belew, Fripp, Mastelotto and the drummer from Porcupine Tree - really was awesome. There was a Fripp-less Crimson that toured with Dream Theater a couple of months ago. Believe it was basically Belew and his all-kid band, plus Levin and Mastelotto.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wpTOxb1nFw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGJ_IC8OZMo&feature=relmfu

Looks like every one in a while on tour the drummer from Tool sat in for a few songs as second (third?) drummer.

Why have Belew, Lake, Levin, Gunn, Wetton & Mastelotto never toured together? All of them seem quite happy to tour Crim material sans Fripp.

Straightforward q: what do you guys reckon the best live version of 'Fracture'? I remembered the Asbury Park one killing it, but I just listened to it and was kinda not feeling it so much. Haven't dug out the live box in a while.

The Central Park show the from the folloeing day is to my mind the best, followed by the one of the 2 versions on the Great Deceiver, can't remember which one.

Thx

Central Park = one of the KCCC releases?

i would totally go see any lineup, even without fripp, again. missed the belew/levin retrospective lineup thing last time it went though. I would have loved to have seen 21st century schizoid band also (who jakko was in). I think jakko was the wrong person for fripp to bring in for that last release, he's too much of a follower; he's fine, but not distinctive in any way.

I dunno, any approximation of KC without Fripp seems kind of missing the point. I did see 21st Century Schizoid Band and I thought it was fairly pedestrian

I have a hard time believing Fripp is truly retired.

Retired and working harder than ever. He reminds me of a border collie patiently working the livestock (UMG, Sanctuary, etc) into a corral to be taken to slaughter.

Considering Fripp often lead guitar schools and workshops over the past few decades whose main point appeared to have been indoctrinating students in his precise methods and reshaping them in his (musical) image, it's actually really easy to imagine Crimson without him. Send in the clones!

PS My apologies for my previous, absurd outburst. I am a longtime ILM lurker that has made only tentative comments to the forum recently, and will try to remain a lurker -- I have learned an absolutely unquantifiable amount from years of following the threads here. I just love King Crimson. And only want to add that anybody that has yet to hear the wonderful pre-Crimson 'Cheerful Insanity of Giles, Giles, and Fripp' album is in for a treat (especially in light of discussion of recent positive discussion of the 'pre-REAL-Genesis' LP, 'From Genesis to Revelation' -- it's not the Crimson that was revealed by 'In the Court of ...', but it's a terrific pop record. I had a Kornyphone/TAKRL bootleg of it since I was a teenager, but Fripp finally acknowledged it's existence and you can now buy a legitimate and remastered version of it. They've removed Fripp's somewhat gauche and unfunny between-songs narration, but that was part of its charm ... although some of the comedy seems less 'charming' by today's standards.) (A great album anyway.)

― marjory gatorade, Monday, October 12, 2026 9:21 AM (two hours ago)

oh, please, do continue posting. we could always use more posters around here... just because i didn't read one of your posts is no reason to be dissuaded. also i like your display name, so, you know, stick around.

will also second the "Cheerful Insanity of Giles, Giles, and Fripp" rec, it's a fun record and while I don't find the humor particularly funny it is a pretty fascinating snapshot of a certain time and place. very Monty Python, though it predates them. the period between that record and In the Court is pretty fascinating - "Under the Sky" and "Make it Today" are great songs, would've been awesome to hear what a GG&F follow-up would've sounded like.

i do quite recommend the brondesbury tapes, some wonderful tracks... you could put together a theoretical "second giles, giles, & fripp" album from those songs, really, even if you would have to put "wonderland" on it.

Clips of San Diego bubbling up and Boz is all over the map, what is going on with him I wonder.

off-topic booming post inspiration but -- everything Virgin put out in their Henry Cow / Gong / Robert Wyatt / Faust days if you're looking for something to listen to and can re-imagine adrian belew but exceeding expectations, kavus torabi's recent gong records are way way way worth a listen

thank you to reggie (qualmsley) --- I've been wondering about Torabi's picking up the torch from Daevid Allen but haven't heard any of 'his' Gong albums yet. But I know of him well from his role in the latter-day Cardiacs --- I'm of the camp that thinks 'LSD' is absolutely fantastic (RIP T.S.) --- and have enjoyed Knifeworld and The Monsoon Bassoon. Where does he get all that energy from? Dunno, but he's a great guitarist and very entertaining interviewee (especially in the several YouTube videos I've seen where he's answered basically the same Cardiacs-related questions over and over i.e. when did you first see them? What was it like crash-learning the prehistoric-era Cardiacs repertoire for the Special Garage Concerts? Where was the group headed at the time of 'Ditzy Scene''s release and related concerts, and what was his role in making LSD (L.S.D.) a reality?) -- always funny, gracious, self-deprecating, and full of new details for each appearance. (And ditto for the podcasts and interviews he's done about Gong.) So yes, I need to see where Gong is at now, thx for the reminder!

the only band I can think of right now that transcends having zero original members is Tangerine Dream who just have put out consistently good stuff with an evolving line up for quite some time at this point.

the only band I can think of right now that transcends having zero original members

Napalm Death would like a word. (Did you know they covered a Cardiacs song once?)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hu5fDVMC0P4

Friday's Beat show in Denver has been cancelled, presumably due to low ticket sales.

thats wild, nearly all the shows on their first run sold out didn't they? despite the universally positive reviews maybe people just aren't interested in seeing this twice.

xxp - if you enjoy Kavus' stuff with Knifeworld you will definitely like the newer Gong albums. I think Daevid made it clear that he didn't want the new incarnation of Gong to sound like something he would do, but rather evoke the same feeling. its not as goofy a cosmic voyage but it's a cosmic voyage all the same. and a lot of Gong's trademarks like loads of glissando and rocking out in odd time signatures are still there. personally I actually prefer the newer trilogy slightly to the Radio Gnome one.

new Tangerine Dream are very cool as well. they still do studio albums but their main thing seems to be these ~30 minute improvised sessions which they do at every live show now I think, some of which get standalone releases. its a very Tangerine Dream thing to do and maybe where Edgar would've wound up had he not been doing 4 soundtracks every year.

"is it the same band" is a pretty complex question. there's kind of a spiritual element to it in my view but obviously you can argue that any way you want. with Discipline becoming King Crimson and Cinema becoming Yes you can accuse them of doing it for record sales but at that point they'd been professional musicians for over a decade, of course commercial concerns factor in. they're not just gonna get regular jobs. King Crimson I think are a band that could pull it off, I mean they only had one original member by the time of their second album and neither he nor any of the vocalists really embodied the band. but what the 80s band is doing is just so different, and when they did try to sound a bit like their chaotic old selves on ToaPP it didn't quite work out, imo Belew's first side is clearly the better one.

I can't say I'm too surprised this tour is faltering. Carey was the magic ingredient and without him it seems like the whole thing is falling apart. I would have gone to see them with Carey if they'd come to my town but I wouldn't cross the street to see them with Bozzio. As akm says upthread, if Carey wasn't available they should have gone with Mastelotto. If he wasn't available either then it's time to put this thing to bed.

yeah sales have not been as good this time. the napa show was maybe 3/4 full and last time it was totally sold out. I suspect not having a member of Tool on the roster has hurt a bit.

that said I did hear the San Diego show was better; no tech problems, but Bozzio not really thrilling anyone.

yah idk this is fuckin fire id be so stoked to see this irl

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4-Wkwbgcic

that was one I checked out because it's one that Bozzio should definitely have down, but it still feels kind of lackluster vs his drumming on the original version

jfc, it's StSanders live

Building off the discussion above, Gong absolutely but also I think Soft Machine have put out some very good records recently and they transcend the no original members thing quite nicely still.

yeah that would have been cool to see if they'd played it in Napa. but they did not.

I'm hearing the Vegas show went much better, plus they are getting in another guitar tech for the tour.