King Crimson: Classic Or Dud

That would have required a 66-disk boxset.

I dreamt last night that Fripp and I were hanging around on the set of a Clint Eastwood film about country music. I played a few chords on an acoustic guitar; "That's utter bullshit," says Robert calmly.

lol

they're going on tour and coming here next month!! I just got tickets. so excited.

what should I expect?

listening to Thrak for first time now in preparation

(I am a huge fan of the 70s and 80s stuff, but just haven't gone further than Three of a Perfect Pair)

ooooooooh I really love the opener, why did I never listen to this

they're going on tour and coming here next month!! I just got tickets. so excited.

what should I expect?

I saw them in 2017 with more or less the same lineup (Bill Rieflin has subsequently died).

This was my conclusion:

He’s made statements to this effect many times in the past, but it was glaringly obvious from this concert that Robert Fripp is only interested in playing King Crimson music when he can find a way to make it interesting for himself. He has no interest in pushing his fanbase’s nostalgia buttons—yes, he seemed to say many times throughout the evening, you know this song, but it sounds like this now. Compare that with other prog rock bands, who do everything they can to re-create their albums onstage, even when they’re not just playing them front to back, and it’s hard not to admire the guy, whether you’re a fan or not. I like a lot of King Crimson‘s albums (basically, I ride with them from the debut up through 1974’s live USA, and have no use for anything after except for Radical Action), but even as I walked through the door of the Basie, I wasn’t sure I really needed to see them live. I came away very glad I’d gone.

yes, go, I feel like ever opportunity now is possibly the last one. the run of shows since 2014 have been some of my favorite concerts ever. I'm bummed they are splitting time with the Zappa Band at the show I'll attend, but what can you do.

Ugh I would go but I don’t want to sit through Zappa music nor near Zappa fans.

I saw Zappa's final US tour and enjoyed it at the time, but a Zappa revival/cover-band show is a nightmarish prospect.

(basically, I ride with them from the debut up through 1974’s live USA, and have no use for anything after except for Radical Action)

― but also fuck you (unperson), Saturday, June 12, 2021 10:49 AM (two hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

Radical Action the song or the live CD set? Because if the former, there are a lot of later KC songs that sound similar you would probably enjoy!

The live CD set. I can't listen to any KC albums after USA because of Adrian Belew.

Oh, gotcha. Valid, even though I kinda like AB sometimes

where do we fall on Lizard? I used to get shit for loving that one, but other than Haskell's "I just came from dental surgery" vocals, I think it's fabulous.

Lizard is the transition between the early, heavily arranged and overdubbed records and the looser, jazzier sound of Islands. Partly because of the vocals, to me it's by far the most grotesque KC album. Also, I feel like Fripp was chafing against the practise of setting Sinfield's words to music; I don't think he saw himself as a "songwriter" in those terms.

At their show rn. Outdoors. Boxed. Social distanced

Crying. This is amazing

They're playing here in a few days, but not outdoors, kind of a bummer

I saw them a few months before lockdown at Radio City Music Hall, right in the middle and only about ten rows back, and it was awesome. I thought my chest was going to explode from the dual kick drums pounding away.

god it was magical last night.

I see meme'd versions of the Schizoid face all over social media these days, how crazy is it that some random 24 year old computer programmer painted this thing that would become a part of internet culture 50 years later

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6l5Iksj2UY

That was far more satisfying than it really had any right to be.

Sometimes a piece of cultural ephemera comes out that fits so closely to my very niche interests I can't actually believe it exsits

Never mind Taylor Swift, here's the remake of Red we all were waiting for.

I am actually kind of shocked Fripp never tried to re-record his catalog.

he's got a real archivist mentality so I don't think it's that surprising. can't really re-record albums which feature improvs recorded on a specific day

But he's also absolutely fanatical about his masters and feuding with his labels. Doesn't matter now, of course.

idk if there's one prog musician who would argue that a note-for-note, practically indistinguishable re-recording of the original material was a TOTALLY DIFFERENT ALBUM I bet it would be him. doesn't he own the masters now? the original run of KC albums gets remastered and reissued every 6 months it seems.

anyway don't wanna derail and don't wanna bump a Bowie thread so I'll just say here that the riff on "Joe the Lion" is so cool

be careful what you wish for, i just had a nightmarish vision of the KC catalogue re-recorded with Toyah doing every vocal

might be good to add some sex appeal to the mix, maybe get the guys interested

I think the only re-recording that Fripp has done was to try to remove Gordon Haskell from KC history, having his parts redone by Belew and Levin in a few places. I guess there are also the multiple versions of Exposure, but I don't think that involved any subsequent re-recording.

then there's the mythical alternate release of Lizard which is basically the same performance but includes Fripp yelling "wrong!" every time another band member makes a mistake.

i need to hear this. all songs need a mythical alternative version with the overbearing patriarch of the band bollocking his mates all the way through

It's not just for Fall records any more!

Like his reaction to someone auditioning for his Guitar Craft school: "Not entirely wretched".

Listening to the new live album Music Is Our Friend, mostly recorded in DC in September, and it's pretty fucking amazing. I saw them in 2017 and Radical Action... is pretty close in spirit to the show I saw. This is much heavier, the sax solos are free-jazz-ier, and the drummers are going absolutely berserk. I didn't think I needed any more 21st century live KC albums, but this one might be their most crushing live record ever.

I recall the show I saw in 2017 (I think?) to be OK, but not this good. The drummers are more unleashed here, which is cool and which reminds me of the last (final?) tour I caught with Belew in 2008. Like, when you've got Gavin Harrison, let the dude do his thing, you know?

The show I saw in 2019 (referenced upthread) was this good. They’re really incredible live – and getting incredibler.

they were amazing this year, granted it helped that I was mega drunk, outdoors in socially distanced seating with good friends, but it was fantastic.

people were headbanging lol, and not even to 21st Century

Apparently this is the end?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQsrO8cVnJ0

It’s a bit equivocal, but Tony Levin says that 8th December was quite possibly the final King Crimson concert”.

https://tonylevin.com/road-diaries/king-crimson-2021-tour-part2-japan/tokyo-the-final-show

yes, Fripp and Singleton have been saying as much for a little while now and Fripp is being more explicit about it on his personal FB account this week. I'm really glad I was able to see each of these tours (until this year's which was not optimal as it was an opening slot for Zappa band, outdoors, and a shortened set), they were some of the best live shows I've ever experienced.

I thought the Zappa band was the opener.

I think it was supposed to be 'co headline' but AFAIK the Zappa band played last here. could be wrong. either way it was a much shorter set for crimson than the previous 3 hours ones they were doing.

Fwiw, hasn't Fripp pulled the plug on Crimson at least twice before?

This was very sweet - https://tonylevin.com/road-diaries/king-crimson-2021-tour-part2-japan/in-the-company-of-ghosts

lord, if that was it, i am mega glad I caught them finally this year

I regret not catching them this year (or ever). I guess there's always youtube.