King Crimson: Classic Or Dud

Will track down Absent Lovers

I had Absent Lovers when it was a bootleg back in the early 90s -- the version of "ToaPP" is particularly awesome. Pretty sure it's their last concert before breaking up.

The '82 tour discs (collectors club releases, all) have fripp ripping into some pretty expansive versions of the Sheltering Sky, as well better-than-the-album takes on the Beat tracks.

That was kinda easy

Daaaaaaaamn this is fierce

Compare and contrast, quartet vs. double trio.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdlbkVWYmW4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQ_72lms-OM

Shockingly, '90s fashion more '80s than '80s fashion.

This is the lineup, from 2008, I wish stuck around: Fripp, Belew, Levin, Pat and Gavin from Porcupine Tree, who brings so much. And none of that lame Trey Gunn dude.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1w0vxQ-ueCI

Like, listen to the drums on this one alone ...

'absent lovers' is so much better than the '80s studio records, i listened to it a ton in college. listening to that youtube it sounds, uh, nerdier than i remember but still amazing.

Level 5 is by far the best of the latter-day Larks Tongues sequels

I thought The Power to Believe as a whole was quite underrated as a record.

I played those two Frame By Frames at the same time. Really gorgeous, but you have to be clever with the pause button.

dectet

Power To Believe, like so much of KC's studio stuff, is surpassed by contemporaneous live material. I think you can even hear the crowd noise on the "studio" version of Level 5.

That Larks' box set:

http://www.dgmlive.com/diary/photos/13oct6v.jpg

The idea of Fripp and Toyah on a celebrity game show, even for charity, is doing my head in. I hope somebody records this and puts it on youtube.

http://www.itv.com/presscentre/ep2week19/all-star-mr-mrs

http://www.dgmlive.com/diary/photos/T&R.jpg

I recall being similarly surprised when he turned up on I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here! to welcome back Toyah (who had just been evicted). He was really relaxed on it, too.

Sort of reminds me of when Faith No More's drummer was a contestent on "Who Wants to be A Millionaire:"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_iNK0mBKrQ

His buddy he brought along is "Robert, Rob Trujillo.

I'm kind of not surprised that Fripp would be on a show like this. He's a surprisingly funny and entertaining guy in his own weird way.

maybe he will announce boastfully that he did it for the tail
that seems to be his way

Footage from Koyaanisqatsi set to "The Court of the Crimson King":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2dgtXzNhgo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=1tYgwk_ngek

Sorry, been drinkin'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tYgwk_ngek

The Internet provides

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64VGyoIyBgc

The overdubbed Soundscape is pure class.

That's lovely. Who would ever guess Robert Fripp was such a heartwarming ol' softy?

There's something both kind of sad but also completely predictable and, yes, sweet about Fripp and Toyah not having kids. Having worshiped Fripp for so long as a teenager, I can totally see why the thought of him as someone's dad is horrifying. But there's also something kind of sad about someone for whom culture, mum and "what is proper" not having the chance to pass that along as a parent. OTOH, it's abundantly clear that these two not only love each other deeply but have a rip-roaring sex life, so...

I actually had some suspicions that Fripp was a pretty chill guy; I think he just is very particular about his own work and doesn't really care about his own image. In interviews he usually comes off as a bit snobbish but if you read closer he uses a lot of self-depreciating humor.

That game show clip has a serious lack of guitar shredding.

<333333333333333

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

Incredible final comment from Fripp (well, Robert Fripp), set-up around the 9-minute mark.

Wow/ugh, I've never seen him in this context before:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3FUcSHeJJg

yeah fripp toured with those guys a few years ago. I know he opened with soundscapes to the massive yawns of most of the attendees. I didn't go, kind of which I had.

I understand he was often booed, too. In a recent Mojo interview he was actually apologetic. He said he'd practiced hard to keep up with the shredders during the concluding jam, but figured (incorrectly) that he was free to do something more mediative during his opening set.

why does metalheads never want 2 chill

They're all so hyperactive. There's a dude I know who turns out to be a Berklee educated secret shredder. He seems pretty mellow, but his office walls are adorned with all these stupid 10-string guitars in ugly shades of black and neon green, with silly active pick-ups and spider web decals and crap like that. Outliers in his tastes are the Cure and Zappa, but he's the kind of guy who can listen to Yngwie un-ironically. And I can't even imagine doing it for a laugh. I know, despite being a Cure fan - or maybe specifically because of it - he hates the Smiths, but I wonder if he at least recognizes that Johnny Marr is an awesome guitarist? Or that Robert Fripp is so equally, uniquely awesome? Or that Richard Thompson is a more talented, more creative guitarist than most of his "Flight of the Bumblebee" shredder favea?

Then again, guitarists like Satriani and Vai have session/studio backgrounds. They can play anything and are confortable with lots of different music. Which means they play the shit they play on purpose and by preference.

they have bad taste inherently but every once in a while do something great; like that steve vai solo in PIL's "ease" which is one of my favorite guitar solos ever

I like a few Yngwie albums. When he's got a good vocalist on board, he can put out some quality metal.

Gah, the vocalists are often what kills what little these sorts of dudes have to offer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6i6Pbpc0z4

ok, Street Lethal is kind of badass, sort of like Judas Priest with additional hyperactive guitar. The Paul Gilbert solo is the low point of the song really, just an undifferentiated mass of super fast licks with no discernable phrasing or emotion.

Nah, this song sucks for many of the reasons you point out. Is it a boilerplate Priest song ruined by the shredding? Or a shredder outing ruined by the sub-Priest vox?

I'm ok with the sub-Priest vox, but ymmv

I've had a certain admiration for Vai since seeing him with Zappa Plays Zappa. I keep meaning to give Flexable a proper listen. I give Satriani some props for writing a tune with Verdi's 'enigmatic scale'. Wasn't Sonic Youth his favourite band in the 90s? I don't listen to any of this on the regular, though, esp when Pat Metheny keeps cranking out new albums.

yngwie was on NPR the other day and was interesting to listen to (talk, not play). I guess he has an autobiography out.

Hey Steve Vai:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0iq8q92swY

About the only thing that could get me to start cheering for Whitesnake to start playing again:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evmb46sjhc4