King Crimson: A Tribute To One Of The Most Influential Progressive Rock Bands

In the Court of the Crimson King

When King Crimson released In the Court of the Crimson King in 1969, a year after the band formed in London, the world discovered a music that has never gone away.

At times, it is a rush of raw energy that mutates into an impossible balance of light and shade.

This was the stuff of musicians who had no fear of stepping boldly into the unknown.

Led by crafty guitarist Robert Fripp, who later added his own magic to David Bowie's "Heroes", King Crimson got big fast with this release. --Paul Clark

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Epitaph, Vols. 1-4

Japanese limited edition issue of the album classic in a deluxe, miniaturized LP sleeve replica of the original vinyl album artwork.

Includes 4 CDs. The first limited edition pressing comes with a bonus disc entitled "Collectors' Club Sampler 1".

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In the Wake of Poseidon

To celebrate King Crimson's 30th anniversary, Robert Fripp has remastered the catalog utilizing the latest in 24-bit technology.

This follow-up to 'In The Court Of The Crimson King' continued to expand King Crimson's classical influences into a stunning rock format. Includes the tracks 'Piece-A Beginning' & 'Cadence And Cascade'

2004 reissue of the progressive rock act's 1970 album adds two bonus tracks, 'Cat Food' (single version) & 'Groon' (Cat Food B-side). On the DGM label

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Lizard

LIZARD can be seen as the third album in the trilogy that makes up Crimson's first phase, which began with IN THE COURT OF THE CRIMSON KING.

The musical and lyrical concepts are more complex than on the first two albums, the arrangements more elaborate. Pete Sinfield's lyrics, already full of surreal mystical imagery, changed by turns more inaccessible and slightly psychedelic.

Horns play a much larger role on LIZARD, the horn section injecting some punch into the production, and Mel Collins' flute and sax emerging as an important solo voice.

Things turn slightly harsher on tracks like "Indoor Games", a catalogue of people's private indiscretions, and "Happy Family" an allegory obviously about the then-current breakup of the Beatles.

As always, there's a beautiful ballad ("Lady of the Dancing Water", singer Gordon Haskell's finest moment) included amidst all the uproar.

Crimson's peers Yes are even represented, as Jon Anderson makes a guest vocal appearance on the title cut, a throwback to the semi-mythical lyric approach of KC's debut.

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Islands

Islands is the album that cemented King Crimson's American fan base, being the basis of their groundbreaking 1972 US tour.

Includes the tracks 'Ladies Of The Road' & 'Sailor's Tale'.

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Earthbound

Originally issued as a mid-price album in June 1972, Earthbound consists of highlights from Crimson's US tour from January to March of that year recorded on stereo cassette.

Rejected for release by their American record company at the time, (due to poor sound quality) Earthbound was the first 'official bootleg' issued by a major rock group.

It must have come as something of a shock for fans of their meticulous studio output to hear such a raw, aggressive sounding band. Declan Colan Music. 2005.

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Ladies of the Road

Never so much a band as a halfway house for guitar-prodigy Robert Fripp and an ever-shifting lineup of sympathetic musicians and fellow travelers, King Crimson has become one of prog rock's most enduring, if unlikely, purveyors.

Culled from the band's decades-deep vaults, this live recording documents Crimson's relatively stable 1971-72 roster of Fripp, bassist-vocalist Boz Burrell, drummer Ian Wallace, and Mel Wallace on flutes, sax, and mellotron.

Taking Crimson's repertoire as a starting point, the band uses its previous avant-baroque flourishes to leaven its edgy, manic flights of improvisation.

What these performances lack in commercial accessibility is overwhelmed by their ferocious execution and free-form ambitions--and even some occasional musical humor, such as turning the stately "In the Court of the Crimson King" into a brief blues romp.

And if fans wondered just how far afield Fripp and company could venture in their showcase solos for their signature "21st Century Schizoid Man," the second disc here serves up 11 frantic examples, edited together into one massive, live disc-length megamix. --Jerry McCulley

Double CD, special edition of live performances during 1971-72 drawn from the archives of the King Crimson Collectors' Club.

The first CD is a series of performances beginning with the play-in shows at the Zoom Club, Hamburg through to the final Earthbound tour of America.

The second CD is a compilation of sax and guitar solos played during performances of 21st Century Schizoid Man throughout its life. DGM records. 2002.

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Larks Tongues in Aspic - 30th Anniversary Edition Remastered

Larks' Tongues in Aspic was was recorded and released in early 1973 and was the first King Crimson album to not have the influence of Peter Sinfield's elaborate conceptual lyrics and references.

Other major differences on this album include David Cross' violin instead of the saxophone players of earlier recordings, and using dual percussionists, with Muir being more experimental by using various improvisational instruments including bicycle-horn bulbs, bullroarers, sheet metal, toys, and gongs hit with chains. Wetton's strong playing gave the band a more distinctive bass than found on any previous albums, and Fripp's guitar became more aggressive than before.

1. Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Pt. 1
2. Book of Saturday
3. Exiles
4. Easy Money
5. Talking Drum
6. Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Pt. 2

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Starless and Bible Black - 30th Anniversary Edition Remastered

The only songs on Starless and Bible Black that were recorded entirely in the studio were "The Great Deceiver" and "Lament". The rest of the album's tracks were taken from live performances during the tour that followed the release of Larks' Tongues in Aspic.

Jamie Muir had left do to a personal spiritual crisis, and the band was kept in the dark about the real reason for his departure, they thought is was due to injures he received while performing during a show.

Bruford was able compensated for the loss of Muir, but the band was beginning to become divided. Cross became increasingly frustrated with his acoustic violin being drowned out by Bruford and Wetton's strong playing which was compared to a flying brick wall.

Cross was voted out of the band after the end of the 1974 tour.

1. Great Deceiver
2. Lament
3. We'll Let You Know
4. Night Watch
5. Trio
6. Mincer
7. Starless and Bible Black
8. Fracture

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Red 30th Anniversary Edition Remastered

By the time the album Red was recorded, Robert Fripp had become withdrawn from the band. The direction of the recording sessions was left in the hands of Wetton and Bruford.

Despite this, Red was one of the strongest and most consistent King Crimson albums to up to this point. It has been described as "an impressive achievement" for a group about to disband, with "intensely dynamic" musical chemistry between the band members that resulted in a record "aggressive and loud enough to strip the wallpaper off your living room wall".

"One More Red Nightmare" had lyrics by Wetton, and is the first Crimson track with vocals to be solely written by instrument playing members of the band.

David Cross was out of the band at this point, but does appear on "Providence", which was recorded live at the Palace Theatre, Providence, USA, on June 30, 1974 during the previous tour, and on "Starless". Former band members Mel Collins and Ian McDonald also helped complete the album.

Red remains a very popular album, John Wetton, told Robert Fripp that according to the producer of Nirvana's early albums, Red had been very important to Kurt Cobain. It was rated the Number 1 album of 1974, and 50th greatest album over all by users of Rate Your Music.com, and in 2001, Q magazine named it as one of the 50 Heaviest Albums of All Time.

1. Red
2. Fallen Angel
3. One More Red Nightmare
4. Providence
5. Starless

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USA: 30th Anniversary Edition

Released after the King Crimson disbanded, USA was recorded live during this version of the group's final tour of the United States. Despite the "bootleg" quality of the tracks, it was very well received by fans and critics.

Due to problems on the original tapes, Eddie Jobson of Roxy Music was brought in to do studio overdubs of some of the violin and keyboard parts.

The 30th anniversary release added the tracks "Fracture" and "Starless".

1. Walk on... No Pussyfooting
2. Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Pt. II
3. Lament
4. Exiles
5. Asbury Park
6. Easy Money
7. 21st Century Schizoid Man
8. Fracture
9. Starless

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The Collectable King Crimson, Vol. 1

One of the most exciting King Crimson line-ups and one of the hardest rocking was the mid-70s version of Robert Fripp, John Wetton, Bill Bruford, and David Cross, especially when they played live in concert.

The 2006 double-disc release, The Collectable King Crimson, Vol. 1. is made up of two shows from 1974 -- Mainz, Germany, and Asbury Park, NJ, USA -- with only four songs repeated on each disc.

All of the tracks from Crimson's live 1975 album, USA, plus more, are included.

Disc: 1
1. Improv: The Savage
2. Dr. Diamond
3. Improv: Arabica
4. Exiles
5. Improv: Atria
6. The Night Watch
7. Starless
8. Lament
9. Improv: Trio
10. Easy Money

Disc: 2
1. Walk On...No Pussyfooting
2. Larks' Tongues In Aspic: Part II
3. Lament
4. Exiles
5. Asbury Park
6. Easy Money
7. Fracture
8. Starless
9. 21st Century Schizoid Man

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The Great Deceiver, Vol. 1

It may not be in the same form but at the very least it is available again.

In 1992, Robert Fripp, in association with Caroline Records, released The Great Deceiver (Live 1973-1974). It was a lavish four-CD box, packaged in a long box with an amazing book that exceeded all previous efforts to document their live offerings.

In contrast, the preceding year's Frame by Frame had been a very scant set offering little unissued material, and also included some edits and overdubs of canonical catalog tracks that angered fans.

Epitaph, another four-CD collection, was compiled from the group's early live shows in 1969 with rather dodgy sound.

The Great Deceiver was the grail in that it documented what most would agree was the classic Crimson lineup: John Wetton, Robert Fripp, Bill Bruford, and David Cross.

It went deep and it ran long. And while sound quality was an issue in some places, for the most part it satisfied because it covered their material featured on the band's two greatest albums (before the band re-formed with Adrian Belew and Tony Levin), Larks' Tongue in Aspic and Starless and Bible Black (and a track or two from Red).

When the set was deleted it began to command hefty sums among collectors. The music is now back in circulation but with a different presentation -- it's now available as two double-disc sets that retail at a 1998 list price.

The first pair of CDs details the concerts from 1973 and part of 1974. The track listing is the same, with the applause and announcements and bits of Fripp & Eno's No Pussyfooting (which had not yet been released ) as walk-on and walk-off music.

The sound quality ranges from very good and at times excellent to other times when it's simply very good. It's far above conventional bootleg standards of the time and -- dare it be said -- easily better than any live material the band had issued before in compilation form.

In fact, this set sounds cleaned up in many ways from the original box, but there is nothing in the notes to suggest that.

The complete performance notes are also included in each collection as well.

The only real drawback was the handsome scrapbook that appeared in the box set. To get a look at that you will have to go to the DGM website for a gander, since it is posted in full there.

The consolation prize is that even at retail these recordings total a full 30 percent less than the box set did.

For anyone interested in King Crimson's groundbreaking mid-'70s period, the music here is absolutely essential listening even with track repetition -- there was so much improvisation going on that every performance is considerably different. ~ Thom Jurek, All Music Guide

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The Great Deceiver, Vol. 2

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The Collectable King Crimson, Vol. 2 Live in Bath 1981

Adding to the already dizzying array of King Crimson live material is this second volume of the Collectable King Crimson, which hosts two gigs from 1981 in a double-disc set.

The two discs vary in sound quality, but in terms of performance they are both fiery, exuberant and frequently stunning.

Disc one has been retrieved from a cassette bootleg recording and has been restored as well as possible. The back cover notes that the quality is "fair."

It sounds like an audience recording, but that said, this is the actual recording of this version of King Crimson's -- Belew, Fripp, Bruford and Levin -- first gig!

In fact, it's so early, they were called Discipline at the time.

Done in a tiny club where one had to walk across the bandstand to get to the bathroom, the performance is just raucous and furious, intensely focused and wily at the same time.

"Discipline," "Thela Hun Ginjeet" and "Red," played for the first time since the last Crimson tour in the mid-'70s, finds the bass sound simply off the map, a big fat boom just careening around and forcing the guitars to go at it harder.

Bruford's playing is all over the place as the archetypal center. Fripp and Belew actually challenge each other in the crescendos.

The final cut is "Lark's Tongues in Aspic, Pt. 2" and it's played faster than it's ever appeared either live or on record. And it works, the sweat, grime and excitement of this small gig is in every single moment.

Disc two is a different story in that its sound quality is absolutely excellent.

The set list is a bit different in that there is material from both Discipline and Beat present. In fact, it's divided almost in half with both "Red" and "Lark's Tongues in Aspic, Pt. 2" being present.

While that bottom end of Tony Levin's is still there, it doesn't squall as much as it does on the boot made in Bath, England on disc one.

The performance is refined and powerful, with Belew truly having become Crimson's front man by this point.

Fripp, not being a terribly competitive sort, the pressure is completely off him and Belew sings like he's performing with the Talking Heads.

The instrumental interludes in tracks such as "Matte Kudasai," "The Howler," and "Elephant Talk," are among the most instinctive and telepathic the band ever performed.

There is something unexpected in every tune. And as for what they lack in pure nervous energy on the second disc, they more than make up for with cohesiveness.

These may all be songs you've heard dozens of times before, but not like this. ~ Thom Jurek, All Music Guide

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Discipline

The title says it all and the title track further demonstrates the concept as the band runs through a series of incredibly intricate, ever-changing guitar patterns and time signatures.

When Robert Fripp resurrected the King Crimson banner for this 1981 release, he assembled an amazingly skilled--indeed, disciplined--group of musicians. But this record is not so much about skill as it is about transforming the complex into the beautiful.

By turns explosive ("Indiscipline"), driving ("Thela Hun Ginjeet"), and quietly meditative ("The Sheltering Sky"), Adrian Belew (whose vocals and lyrics reflect his tenure with the Talking Heads) injects a degree of manic humor to the proceedings.

All this technical proficiency would be for nothing if these weren't such wonderfully compelling songs. --Percy Keegan

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Beat

Beat is an album filled with varied guitar textures, highlighting Robert Fripp's Frippertronic tape techniques, explorations and Bill Bruford's uncommon drum rhythms. 8 tracks.

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Three of a Perfect Pair: 30th Anniversary

Three Of A Perfect Pair is one of King Crimson's most adventurous albums.

It features several free-form instrumentals as well as four Adrian Belew compositions.

6 bonus tracks are 1. King Crimson Barber Shop 2. Industrial Zone A 3. Industrial Zone B 4. Sleepless (Tony Levin Mix) 5. Sleepless (Bob Clearmountain Mix) 6. Sleepless (Dance Mix by F. Kevorkian).

15 tracks in all.

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Absent Lovers: Live in Montreal 1984

When Robert Fripp recreated King Crimson in the early '80s,he started with a blank slate.

The new order of the day was funky, circular patterns that were equal parts Balinese Gamelan music and Talking Heads' REMAIN IN LIGHT.

Reprising his role as post-Hendrix guitar hero on the latter, Adrian Belew was a driving force in the new Crimson, his more poppish, light-hearted sensibilities proving the perfect foil for Fripp.

Aside from a couple of videos, this is the only live document of that aggregation, recorded in 1984 at their final performance.

The African-inspired rhythms of the percussive, polyrhythmic "Thela Hun Ginjeet" and "Waiting Man" are contrasted by Belew's David Byrne-ish vocals as well as his and Fripp's guitar fireworks.

Belew's arsenal of bizarre sounds blends with Tony Levin's high register Chapman Stick melodies to fine effect on "Elephant Talk".

The countryish (!) "Matte Kudasai" is one of the group's loveliest ballads, achingly delivered.

KC's venerated free-form fury is showcased well on "Industry", "Dig Me" and "Lark's Tongues In Aspic".

ABSENT LOVERS offers a rare live view of one of the '80s most progressive (in the literal sense) bands.

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King Crimson - Neal and Jack and Me (Live 1982-84)

Neal and Jack and Me resurrects two stellar and long out-of-print King Crimson videos, Three of a Perfect Pair: Live in Japan 1984 and The Noise: Live in Frejus 1982, lacing them with a few tasty extras, including a video clip for "Sleepless."

Crimson's 1980s lineup--Adrian Belew, Robert Fripp, Tony Levin, and Bill Bruford--is for many fans the quintessential incarnation of Fripp's still-evolving cast of virtuosic characters.

In both shows, these artists embody all that's great in progressive music: instrumental prowess, yes, but also deft interplay, daring improvisation, and a synthesis of unique musical visions into something far greater than the considerable sum of its parts.

The Frejus show was filmed, while the Japan show was videotaped. Picture quality isn't great, but the DVD improves on the contrast and color vibrancy of the original releases.

Likewise, sound quality is adequate: neither exemplary nor substandard. It's all about the music.

Note: The version of Three of a Perfect Pair: Live in Japan 1984 included on this release is that of the 1991 reissue, which has a slightly different running order than the original 1984 release and omits the song "Discipline." --Michael Mikesell

Line Up:
Adrian Belew ­ guitar & lead vocal
Robert Fripp ­ guitar
Tony Levin ­ bass, Stick & vocal
Bill Bruford ­ drums & percussion

Brand new DVD of King Crimson in the 1980's. Showcasing one of the defining live acts of the period.

As Robert Fripp puts it "Records and live performance are two worlds. One is a love letter, the other a hot date. Crimson were always the band for a hot date."

These two concerts offer different and contrasting snapshots of the 80's Crimson: Live in Frejus, heavily featuring material from the album Beat and filmed on tour in Europe with Roxy Music; and Three of a Perfect Pair showcasing the band's triumphant 1984 Japanese performances.

Three Of A Perfect Pair - Live in Japan 1984
Track Listing:
Three Of A Perfect Pair
No Warning
Larks' Tongues In Aspic Part III
Thela Hun Ginjeet
Frame By Frame
Matte Kudasai
Industry
Dig Me
Indiscipline
Satori In Tangier
Man With An Open Heart
Waiting Man
Sleepless
Larks' Tongues In Aspic Part II
Elephant Talk
Heartbeat

The Noise - Live in Frejus 1982
Track Listing:
Waiting Man
Matte Kudasai
The Sheltering Sky
Neil And Jack And Me
Indiscipline
Heartbeat
Larks' Tongues In Aspic Part II

DVD Extras: Sleepless video - Tony's Road Photos - Discography

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VROOOM

This 31-minute set of improvs and live sessions reunites the awesomely tight Fripp/Bruford/Belew/Levin axis with additional sonic assault from bassist Trey Gunn and percussionist Pat Mastelotto.

Belew bellows three whacked-out songs ("Sex Sleep Eat Drink Dream" is the keeper) and the ensemble's avant garde grit is showcased to great effect on the furious title track. --Jeff Bateman

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THRAK

For guitarist-composer Robert Fripp, the visceral power of rock music has always been an inspiration.

Since forming King Crimson in the late '60s, few instrumentalists have done more to extend the sonic range of the electric guitar or rock song structure than Robert Fripp.

But the guitarist also counts world rhythm musics, 20th Century classical composition, modern jazz and contemporary electronics among his many interests.

With THRAK, Fripp and King Crimson have created their most compelling synthesis of art and noise, a thrashing suite made up of contrasting, interconnected motifs.

This groaning beast of an album is fabricated from the roiling roar of dissonance and classic power riffs and animated by a complex series of rhythm changes, opulent lyric contrasts, heady contrapuntal interplay and stunning solo flights.

In rethinking his concept of King Crimson, Fripp has reconstituted the band as a double trio, in which Fripp teams with Stick virtuoso Trey Gunn and drummer Pat Mastelotto, while lead vocalist-guitarist Adrian Belew answers back with bassist Tony Levin and electronic percussion innovator Bill Bruford.

Together they achieve a rare blend of intuitive power and formal design, from the classic King Crimson rumble of "Vrooom" to the menacing variations of "Dinosaur", on which Belew's Lennonesque vocal echoes Fripp's pride in having avoided extinction, as the band exhumes the bones of the Beatles, Hendrix, Bartok and the late Romantics from their fossil digs.

But THRAK offers a wide range of textures and moods. With its bell-like arpeggios and flute-like ornaments, the ragaish "Walking On Air" is as lovely a ballad as Crimson has ever produced.

"B'Boom" finds the drummers in an electro-acoustic dialogue, meshing haunting urban-industrial sounds into a ritualistic percussive web of African-styled polyrhythms.

The crashing rhythmic cycles of the title tune are an avuncular nod to today's meanderings of noise, while the funky "People" and dreamy "One Time" present song structures ready-made for progressive college programmers.

THRAK is a diverse, dynamic, polished recital.

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B'Boom: Official Bootleg - Live In Argentina 1994

When King Crimson regrouped in late 1994 (after being apart for more than ten years), they were not planning on taping one of their first shows together for release as a live album later on.

But after completing a successful tour of Argentina, the band discovered that a poorly recorded bootleg had surfaced, and it was costing fans a pretty healthy sum.

So like many other bands before them, King Crimson decided to beat the bootleggers and release an official live album themselves.

The resulting two-CD set is worthy of any serious Crimson fan's time, due to an excellent song selection, inspired playing, and crystal clear sound (taken directly from a DAT soundboard tape).

The classic '80s lineup, which appears on B'Boom, is that of Robert Fripp, Adrian Belew, Bill Bruford, and Tony Levin, joined by new members Pat Mastelotto (drums) and Trey Gunn (stick).

Name your favorite Crimson tune, and chances are it'll be here -- "Red," "Elephant Talk," "Matte Kudasai," "Frame By Frame," and more. Also included is a simply raging version of the colossal rock track "Indiscipline," as well as intriguing new material ("Vroom" and "Thrak").

A great live document of King Crimson. Greg Prato, All Music Guide

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Thrakattak

Robert Fripp's schizophrenic creation King Crimson has stood the test of time since its inception in the early '70s.

The group's envelope-pushing dogma has resulted in THRAKATTAK, a collection of live instrumental works and group improvisations from the 1995 world tour.

This would be an intriguing concept if it were any other band. With Crimson's current lineup featuring a "double trio"--Fripp/Adrian Belew (guitar), Bill Bruford/Pat Mastelotto (drums), Tony Levin (bass) and Trey Gunn (Warr guitar)--this set is nothing short of mind blowing.

"Thrak" (from 1995's THRAK) starts off on a jarring note but only hints at what lies ahead.

The unearthly "Fearless And Highly Thrakked" begins with dissonant piano/synth samples and percussion rattlings in a raging torrent before succumbing to a collage of futuristic sound effects.

Next, if you think the title "Mother Hold The Candle Steady While I Shave The Chicken's Lip" is a little weird, the sounds it produces will leave you a little disturbed.

Later, the epic "This Night Wounds Time" is a startlingly programmatic piece that exercises all facets of the group's talent.

A reprise of "Thrak" ends the program, but not before Crimson has expanded the possibilities of sound and technology.

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Cirkus: The Young Person's Guide to King Crimson - Live

While there have been many line-ups of King Crimson, each of the different performing groups of musicians has made its contribution to the band's consistent and ongoing reputation as one of the best live rock bands of any era.

Every decade from the 60s to now has had at least one and sometimes more Crimson live line-ups and CirKus - originally issued in 1999 as a 30th anniversary celebration of the group's live output - offers an effective introduction to Crimson as a touring outfit.

From the Fillmore West in San Francisco in 1969, via the Concertgebouw Amsterdam in 1974, Through the Spectrum Montreal in 1984, and on to Nakano Sun Plaza Tokyo in 1995 & various other points in between, all eras of Crimson are represented with a variety of the band's most enduring music.

Crimson live has always been a very different beast in the concert hall compared to the studio recordings and CirKus reflects this.

It's the ideal starting point for any curious listener who might be interested in the broader live Crimson catalogue. But make no mistake; CirKus is no mere sampler.

Carefully chosen, cunningly sequenced and with the audience sounds/ambiance cross-faded to sound like two continuous concerts CirKus makes for a complete and fascinating listen in its own right. Pinnuk.2006

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Deception of the Thrush: A Beginners Guide to ProjeKcts

"Best Of" companion CD to "The ProjeKcts" Boxed Set

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The ProjeKcts

When is a band not a band? When it's a ProjeKct!

This is the redoubtable King Crimson, dividing into "fractals" of their full "double trio" and gigging over two years, in an ongoing research and development for the next album and tour; edited into a listening experience as varied as it is satisfying.

P1, recorded at London's Jazz Cafe in late 1997, recalls the improvisations that graced Crimson gigs on the Thrak tour: intricate playing from Robert Fripp and Trey Gunn, underpinned by Bill Bruford's fluid drumming.

P2 was gigged extensively in Europe and the US in the first half of 1998; the music alternates between tight ensemble playing in the "ConstrucKtion" numbers, and rugged riffing in "Sus-tayn-Z" and the title track, where Adrian Belew's V-drumming comes into its own.

P3 was the last and possibly most intriguing: five nights at Austin, Texas last March--rock as chamber music (almost).

Pat Mastelotto's drumming really lets rip in P4.

Listening to such tracks as "Deception Of The Thrush" or "ProjecKtion" brings an astonishment similar to Discipline-era Crimson. It's about taking a current "big thing"--electronica in this instance--and pushing it to logical extremes by dint of sheer musicianship.

If you want to know why Fripp turned down a Court Of The Crimson King 30th anniversary tour, here's your answer: 4CDs of innovation and consolidation for the next phase of King Crimson.

Hard, abstract and happening, this is music to savour. --Richard Whitehouse

Description
What is always so intriguing about King Crimson is how the group's personnel can continuously evolve while maintaining a constant musical vision. Nowhere is this better illustrated than in the massive 4-disc set THE PROJEKCTS, which chronicles the splintering of Crimson's "double trio" of the '90s into four separate units, or "projekcts", each lead by the incomparable Robert Fripp.

Each of the four discs in the set captures one of the projekcts in a live performance somewhere between 1997 and 1999.

Projekct One, with Fripp, Trey Gunn, Tony Levin, and Bill Bruford, proves to be the most rambunctious of the four, providing dynamic interaction and stunning displays of energy on disc one.

Projekct Two, featuring Fripp, Gunn, and Adrian Belew (on electronic drums!), is full of distortion and digital samples the likes of which will singe your synapses.

Projekct Three is similar, this time with Pat Mastelotto on drums, but with a definite world music influence not heard on the other discs.

Lastly, Projekct Four, the same lineup as Projekct One but with Mastelotto, is the most mesmerising of the four, providing a magical listening experience for any who wish to make the incredible journey.

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King Crimson: Deja Vroom

Celebrating 30 years of King Crimson, DEJA VROOOM features previously unreleased material, including re-edited concert footage from Tokyo throughout the 1990's.

Songs include: "VROOM VROOM," "Dinosaur," "Elephant Talk," and "Walking On Air".

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The ConstruKction of Light

After spending time as a sextet, pioneering art rockers King Crimson reconvene as a quartet for THE CONSTRUKCTION OF LIGHT.

Noticeably missing from this lineup are longtime drummer Bill Bruford and inventive bassist Tony Levin.

However, leader Robert Fripp, Adrian Belew, Trey Gunn and Pat Mastellotto carry on the Crimson tradition with a set of exploratory works that touches on everything from the blues to mind bending aural flights of fancy.

After splintering into its various fractals in the late '90s, this version of Crimson is recharged and eager to explore new ground, evidence of which lies in the amusing "ProzaKc Blues", which finds Belew with a heavily altered vocal, wallowing in despair, though with tongue firmly in cheek. More futuristic textures come with the dynamic title track.

The disc's most esoteric cut, the unforgettably titled "The World's My Oyster Soup Kitchen Floor Wax Museum", is of special note, a bizarre stream-of-consciousness exploration that's sure to have listeners double-checking the lyric sheet.

Finally, there's a bonus track from ProjeKct X, one of the aforementioned Crimson splinter groups,which pushes the limits of sonic manipulation.

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Heaven and Earth

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Level Five

Japanese 2002 release featuring 5 tracks, 'Dangerous Curves' (new song), 'Virtuous Circle' (new song), Level Five (new song), 'The Deception Of Thrush' & 'The ConstruKction Of Light'.

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Happy with What You Have to Be Happy With

Released in 2002, a teaser to the subsequent album The Power to Believe (2003).

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The Power to Believe

King Crimson's The Power to Believe has been a long time coming--band-leader Robert Fripp has always stated that they'll only record when music is ready to be recorded. But no matter how painful the waiting, it's always worthwhile: Fripp and his ever-changing personnel never fail to fascinate and challenge.

The Power to Believe is no exception, opening with its title track, an echoing a cappella romance sweetly delivered by vocalist (and co-guitarist) Adrian Belew. The song is reprised three times later: once with jangling eastern percussion rising to a climax of soaring guitar: again as a sci-fi extravaganza harking back to Crimson's glorious past: and finally as a closing a cappella repeat.

In between lies the disciplined, purposefully varied and often mind-blowing instrumentation you expect from some of rock's most accomplished musicians.

"Facts of Life" is dirty prog blues, a more complex version of Jerry Cantrell's solo work, ending with what sounds like two trains on a collision course. "Dangerous Curves" is like a low-key "Kashmir" rising in intensity to a storming metallic crescendo. Then there's the filthy rock of "Happy...", with its sarcastic refrain "We're gonna re-peat the chorus"--Adrian Belew clearly and rightly berating younger outfits for their lack of artistic ambition.

All in all, it's a tremendous effort. --Dominic Wills

Description:
King Crimson guitarist/founder Robert Fripp's famous quote that "King Crimson is a way of doing things" has seldom seemed truer than on THE POWER TO BELIEVE.

The group's second studio album as a quartet in the wake of old hands Tony Levin and Bill Bruford's departure fits fully into the ever-shifting but consistently regenerative Crimson continuum. "Level Five" and the multi-part title track are pounding, counterpoint-filled tunes that hark back to Crimson's oft-revisited touchstone "Larks Tongues in Aspic".

Along the way, Fripp, Adrian Belew and company also manage to venture more fully than ever into the Balinese Gamelan sound they first began exploring on 1981's DISCIPLINE, and drummer Pat Mastelloto throws in some electronic flavours that nod to drum-and-bass and garage beats.

The dark, intense angularity that is a Crimson trademark is offset by a couple of ethereal, ambient electronic soundscapes, but there's plenty of hard-prog thrashing for those who were turned on to the band by their tour with heavy rockers Tool. And naturally, there's plenty of intricate musical invention for the longtime fans who expect nothing less.

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EleKtriK

This audio-only companion to the Eyes Wide Open double-DVD package features King Crimson performing at Kouseinenkin Hall in Tokyo, Japan, on April 16, 2003.

The quartet of Adrian Belew (guitar/vocals), Robert Fripp (guitar), Trey Gunn (Warr guitar/fretless Warr guitar), and Pat Mastelotto (drum traps/buttons) is a neo-progressive and practically industrial-sounding force to be reckoned with, emerging from the fraKctionalization of the double-trio version of the group -- which also included contributions from Bill Bruford (percussion) and Tony Levin (bass/Chapman stick).

Now pared down to its essence, the band is leaner and able to effortlessly maneuver through some of the most challenging material to bear the King Crimson moniker. There is an undeniable and virtually palpable sense of drama that becomes magnified by the reserved and respectful Japanese audience.

This becomes all the more pronounced during Fripp's "Introductory Soundscape" solo, which is an opening prelude to Belew's "Power to Believe I (A Cappella)" haiku. The arrangement provides several new angles and narrow aural slipstreams during "ConstruKction of Light" and "Happy With What You Have to Be Happy With."

The quartet also momentarily reaches back to the double trio for a strikingly intimate "One Time." The instrumentals "Level Five," "Dangerous Curves," and the fourth installment of "Larks' Tongues in Aspic" are among the highlights as they demonstrate the seemingly psychic powers and singular thought processes that unify this aggregate into equaling, if not in some ways besting, previous incarnations with their imaginative interactive improvisations.

Belew is once again impressive as he trades licks with Fripp, cajoles some stellar solos, and, as always, complements the unit as a solid, versatile vocalist and equally inspired lyricist.

EleKtrik serves both new and well-versed listeners with an accurate portrayal of King Crimson in performance circa 2003, and is recommended for all interested parties. ~ Lindsay Planer, All Music Guide

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Eyes Wide Open

King Crimson: Eyes Wide Open is a double live DVD from Sanctuary.

The band's lineup for these shows is Robert Fripp, Adrian Belew, Trey Gunn, and Pat Mastelotto.

Disc one contains Live in Tokyo, recorded at Kouseinenken Kaikan in April 2003 during the world tour in support of The Power to Believe album. Includes the songs "ProzaKc Blues" and "Elecktrik".

Disc two contains Live in London, recorded at Shepherd's Bush Empire in July 2000 during their European tour in support of The ConstruKction of Light album.

Includes the songs "Dinosaur" and "Sex, Sleep, Eat, Drink, Dream." This second disc offers additional improvisation pieces with unusual viewing options. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

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