On October 10, 1969 the album 'In the Court of the Crimson King: An Observation by King Crimson' was released. Peter Townshend of The Who called it "an uncanny masterpiece". Rolling Stone thought it "pretentious" and Melody Maker said "It gives little idea of their true power on stage but still packs tremendous impact". The album's opening track, '21st Century Schizoid Man', burst through hi-fi stereo speakers with an avalanche of sound. Songs like 'Epitaph' and the album's title track employed heavy use of a keyboard instrument called the mellotron, which used pre-recorded tape loops of strings and woodwinds to create an orchestral effect.
At this point in their history, the band consisted of Robert Fripp (guitar), Michael Giles (drums), Greg Lake (bass, vocals) and Ian McDonald (keyboards, sax and flute). Lyricist Peter Sinfield also served as a roadie and light and sound manager in the band's early days playing in clubs around London. On July 5th of that year the group's 'big break' came opening for the Rolling Stones at Hyde Park, playing for more than 600,000 people. By the time of the first album's release, a small but devoted cult of fans had already come into being.
Crimson toured America for the first time in November and December of 1969, playing alongside many popular bands of the period and distinguishing themselves with doom-laden song lyrics and tight instrumentation. Added to this was the interesting sight of Fripp, the lead guitarist, who had made the decision after the first eight performances to play on stage seated on a stool.
The second Crimson album, 'In the Wake of Poseidon', was recorded amidst a host of personnel changes: Greg Lake would soon depart to form the immensely popular Emerson, Lake and Palmer; McDonald and Giles would quit to perform as a duo (McDonald would ultimately end up in the "supergroup" Foreigner). Added to the studio line-up was Peter Giles on bass, Keith Tippet on piano, Gordon Haskell on vocal and Mel Collins playing saxes and flute. Much of Poseidon, even the overall layout and sound, resembled the first album. 'Pictures of a City' opened side one, in much the same tone and manner that 'Schizoid Man' opened the previous album. Side one closed out with the album's title track, a mellotron-laden doom opus in much the same style as the first album's 'Epitaph'.
Side two, however, contained the unique and stylish 'Cat Food', a moment in which music and lyrics combined to create something unlike anything ever heard before. Add to this 'The Devil's Triangle', an extended instrumental of an almost orchestral nature, and the value of the second album was almost assured. This did not, however, prevent critics from citing the similarities, and many used this as a pre-mature indication of the band's demise.
Much of what did make Poseidon interesting was the use of characters and settings from mythology. This was most certainly Sinfield's concept, and the idea was extended even to the album cover artwork. The intent was to perhaps draw parallels between ancient and modern times, and to employ these ancient myths as context for a greater purpose that had never been previously attempted in popular music. This tendency to use themes of a grandiose nature would lump Crimson together with several other British bands of the time into what would be called "Art Rock" or "Progressive Rock". As work for 'Lizard' progressed, lumping KC together with the likes of Yes, Emerson, Lake and Palmer and Genesis seemed more a matter of convenience to rock critics than anyone else. Fripp's interest in jazz became evident on this album, and his involvement in the 'Centipede' project allowed a free outlet to this expression. Many players from this scene played on the third album: Andy McCulloch, Robin Miller, Marc Charig and Nick Evans
. Jon Anderson of Yes also provided guest vocals to side two's 'Prince Rupert Awakes'.
The third album was unique in that, for the most part, Fripp tended to remain in the background, providing tasteful acoustic guitar playing while Robin Miller's oboe soared above the proceedings. What also made this album unique was the critics' reactions to it. No more wishy-washy critiques and "I sort of liked this song, but...". Most critics either loved Lizard or hated it. This tendency towards outright hostility on the part of some elements of the Rock Press would hound King Crimson for the rest of its days.
On December 3, 1971, 'Islands' was released. A quiet and subdued album, it is less of a statement and more of a diary of what the new band was all about. From the original, only Fripp and Sinfield remained. Added to the fold were Mel Collins, who had guested on 'Lizard' as flute and saxman, Boz Burrel on bass and vocals, and IanWallace on drums. This quartet, now aided on stage from time to time by lyricist Sinfield on the VCS3 synthesizer, toured extensively prior to the album's release. Fripp had already gone public with his conviction that record albums were of only secondary importance; the real enjoyment for Fripp, the musician, was live performance.
The music for 'Islands', like 'Lizard', was composed entirely by him. Few doubted at this point that Crimso was Fripp's band. Perhaps this is why the British Rock Press was not too surprised to report at the beginning of the new year that Sinfield was leaving King Crimson. Undaunted, the band prepared to carry on with an American tour that spring. One of the gigs played, on March 27, 1972, was in support of Yes. This would prove to be the last concert that drummer Bill Bruford would play with his Yes band-mates, and, as such, would become an important milestone in King Crimson history.
On April 22, Robert Fripp returned from the American tour, but Boz, Ian and Mel did not. Many critics and fans would feel that, musically at least, the band was pulling in different directions. The other three were obviously rockers, whereas Fripp the intellectual, Fripp the experimentalist, desired different musical results. (Ian Wallace and Mel Collins would later become successful studio session men; Boz Burrel became a founding member of the group Bad Company). Some live tapes culled from the American tour were remixed as 'Earthbound'. This may or may not be the KC's first live album, depending upon your point of view. Atlantic records never even released the album in the States, and the British version was deleted before too long.
The problem was, quite simply, mediocre performance mixed with poor sound quality. This would not prevent true Crimheads, including this writer, from enjoying the album for what it was: the first live (legitimate) recording of the band available. The old war-horse 'Schizoid Man' was there, along with an extended version of one of 'Islands' stand-out cuts, 'A Sailor's Tale'. To this day, 'Earthbound' remains available only to record collectors and has never been released on compact disc.
Fripp spent the remainder of that Spring in 1972 re-acquainting himself with several persons who would be catalysts in bringing about the most important, and musically the best Crimson line-up to this point. RF had occasion to first meet Bill Bruford in 1970 during the Poseidon period, when it seemed uncertain that Crimson would even continue. Peter Banks had just left Yes, and Fripp was offered the job of lead-guitarist (later filled by Steve Howe). Fripp turned down the offer, and Bruford continued as Yes' drummer, but an acquaintanceship had been established.
John Wetton, like Fripp, came from the Bournemouth area, and the two met each other in college. Wetton played bass in the group Family, and was well respected on the instrument. Fripp had almost been successful in enlisting Wetton to join during the 'Islands' period (freeing up Boz to concentrate on vocals), but Wetton reportedly sensed the tension and declined.
Jamie Muir, mystic, madman and player of tuned percussion instruments, had been active in jazz and avant-garde circles for several years. Fripp relates that, when he called Muir to talk of joining the band, Muir seemed to indicate that the call came as no surprise, as if he had expected it for years.
To round out the new band's sound, Fripp, usually content with a reed or sax man, decided instead upon the violin as the fifth instrument. David Cross worked with singer P.J. Proby and a folk-rock group called Ring. Cross also played keyboards, allowing some dexterity within the band: Fripp, too, had begun to experiment with the mellotron and other keyboard instruments.
During this seminal phase, Fripp himself had undergone a bit of a personal transformation. His shoulder-length, shaggy hair was now almost completely gone. Keeping his hair now cropped short, he also chose to grow a beard, which, combined with his already idio-syncratic stage presence, made him look almost sinister. Perched upon his stool, black Les Paul guitar in hand, Fripp would spend more time staring at the audience then at his guitar. This was certainly anti-rock in nature, or at least designed to convey a sense of seriousness to his endeavors. Fripp became known as the Mr. Spock of rock.
Much of 'Lark's Tongues In Aspic' was written and performed publicly in England well before the albums early 1973 release. "Magic" became a buzzword associated with this era of Crimson, due to reviews in Melody Maker about this incarnations ability to improvise, as well as Fripp's tendency for linking ESP, mysticism and the creative process in his discussions with interviewers. More than any other Crimson recording of the 70's, this album conveys KC's ability to distill tension from musical enterprise. It is also the one album that still sounds fresh, 25 years after its inception. The album lyrics were provided by Richard Palmer-James, with vocals by Wetton.
The albums' opening composition, 'Larks Tongues In Aspic, Part I' is as difficult to categorize as anything that can be heard recorded on vinyl up until that period. Is it rock? Avant garde? Jazz? Does it matter? 'Exiles' and 'Easy Money' were at opposite poles: one a moody and cryptic ballad, the latter a cynical expose of 20th Century Materialism. The instrumental that closes out the album, 'Lark's Tongues In Aspic, Part II', continues to be played live even in the 90's. A favorite of Crimheads, the tune features a heavy-guitar chord riff beautiful in its simplicity. Cross' violin provides the necessary counterpoint with a strange melody that stays with you hours after the song is over. Add to that a most unusual time-signature and Muir in the background flailing away on gongs and cymbals with metal chains, and you've got the ingredient for classic Crimson.
Here at last was a Crimson that appeared stable enough in its personal and musical relationships to maintain some longevity. Unfortunately, after injuring himself on stage in a previous concert, Jamie Muir suddenly left on February 17, reputedly to join a monastery. The remaining quartet embarked upon a successful European and American tour that spring. In August the band began rehearsing songs to be included on their upcoming 'Starless and Bible Black' album. 'The Great Deceiver', a bitter attack on the commercialization of the Vatican, and 'Lament', a satire of the music business and rock music managers in particular, were both throwbacks to the '21st Century Schizoid Man' brand of near-metal hard rock, whereas 'Fracture', despite its climactic ending, contained moments of calm and a guitar-solo midsection that continues to impress guitar students to this day.
The album, eventually released early the following year, included many compositions recorded in Great Britain and Europe at live shows. This came as a complete shock to listeners of the album; all crowd noise (if any) had been edited out, and the tightness of the band was more indicative of a studio performance. Gone were the days of the 'Earthbound'-era live shows. This was a perfectionists' band.
Much of the cynicism inherent in the lyrics from the S&BB period stems from the band's extensive touring schedule and a conflict with Management over royalties. Unknown to Fripp at this time was the fact that one band member was less than happy with touring. "Most of the time our improvisation comes out of horror and panic", David Cross is quoted as saying. That attitude, an unwillingness on Cross' to take part in further touring, and Fripp's own realization that touring had become a surrealistic, Fellini-esque experience would eventually prove to be the nail in the coffin of the 70's era King Crimson.
'Red' was recorded in July of 1974. A month earlier, the band, unknown to anyone at the time, had played its final gig at New York's Central Park. "For me, it was the most powerful since 1969", Fripp commented in his journal. Much of the power still inherent in the band was evidence on 'Red' in the title song, a heavy-guitar instrumental that is still played to this day. Side two contains two extended pieces. The first, 'Providence', is a live instrumental with an ominous feel and effective use of Cross' violin on the intro (Cross was credited more as a session player on this album). The album closes out, appropriately, with 'Starless', a more-than-typical outing that is actually reminiscent of earlier material, and ends with a mellotron-delivered crescendo. Ian McDonald and Mel Collins both provided sax on various cuts, and the achievement of this album is its melding of elements of old Crimson and new.
The 'Providence' cut from 'Red' had been recorded, along with several other songs, near the end of the group's final U.S. tour, in Rhode Island. The remainder of these songs constitute the 'U.S.A.' album. 'U.S.A' made no pretense of studio polish. All the crowd noises were there, complete with shouts of 'Bruford!' and 'Fripp!' while the musicians walked on stage. This could be called the first legitimate Crimson live album, a far cry from the poor sound quality and marginal effort of 'Earthbound'. Strangely enough, the album remains unavailable today on compact disc.
The album opens with the (at last!) first available live version of 'Lark's Tongues In Aspic, Part II', a cut that you knew would sound better live, and does. 'Lament' and 'Exiles' round out side one. Side two opens with an improvised instrumental, 'Asbury Park', followed by 'Easy Money'. Closing the album is 'Schizoid Man', appropriately closing out this period of Crimson history. King Crimson, as a seventies band, would 'cease to exist'.
Fripp gave three reasons to the press why King Crimson had been disbanded. "The first is that it represents a change in the world. Second, whereas I once considered being part of a band like Crimson to be the best liberal education a young man could receive, I now know that isn't so. And third, the energies involved in the particular lifestyle of the band and in the music are no longer of value to the way I live".
Fripp blasted the rock music business in general as a "dinosaur institution" and lamented in the change of audience behavior that required a band to beat the crowd into submission with sheer volume in order to get them to listen. This attitude would explain the sudden change in plans from touring at a point when Ian McDonald had been slated to re-join the band. Certainly both Bruford and Wetton were disappointed with RF's decision. John Wetton would ultimately go on to form the group U.K. and the immensely popular Asia. Bruford, whose history with Crimson was not yet complete, would form Earthworks and record and tour with U.K., Genesis, and other important artists, including a re-union tour with Yes.
For the remainder of the 70's, Fripp's life continued to change and evolve. Many of these changes were of a personal and philosophical nature, and far too complicated to divulge here. Suffice to say that paramount in this change was a belief that the world order would collapse and economic ruin was imminent. Fripp did a great deal of touring as a solo artist, performing his 'Frippertronics' at various small venues. In addition, he produced recordings and played guitar with a variety of musicians: Peter Gabriel, Brian Eno, David Bowie, Daryl Hall, the Roches and Blondie. In late 1979 Fripp released 'Exposure', his first solo album.
In 1980 Fripp began one of his most unusual associations, given his past work, with a band called 'The League of Gentlemen'. This was essentially a dance band. A new style of playing was evident, both fluid and rhythmic. The sound of the guitar had changed: the searing, fuzz-box solos were replaced by a warmer, more colorful guitar tone. But dissatisfaction with the LofG rhythm section prompted Fripp to proceed to the next incarnation of King Crimson.
Adrian Belew's group, Gaga, had opened for the LofG on five occasions. After calling old Crimson colleague Bill Bruford, auditions for a bassist landed Tony Levin, a veteran bassist also proficient on a new ten-stringed instrument called the Chapman Stick. On April 30, 1981 the group Discipline made its first public appearance at a pub in Bath, England. Certainly Fripp had reservations about resurrecting the name King Crimson, especially in light of how deeply he buried it in 1974. After all, the music business was essentially the same monolith it had been, and now the King Crimson name had become almost synonymous with the 'Art Rock' and 'Dinosaur Rock' excesses rejected by the Punk generation. The name was used, apparently, after a certain democratic agreement among all its members.
Democracy is not the only unusual element of 'Discipline'. Not only was this the first time that Americans (Levin and Belew) had been members of KC, but this was the first KC with a guitarist other than Fripp. Belew also provided vocals and wrote the song lyrics. An added element to the band's sound involved the advent of the guitar synthesizer, and the guitar's newfound ability to sound virtually like anything. 'The Sheltering Sky' features a soaring guitar phrase by Fripp that evolves into an almost orchestral effect (no more mellotrons!). In 'Elephant Talk', Belew's guitar-synth screeches out a wail like...., well like an elephant talking. Belew uses a slide on 'Matte Kudesai' to emulate the sounds of seagulls. And so on.
From a musical standpoint, 'Discipline' has a completely different sound than 70's-era Crimson. Many 'purists' partial to the old songs blasted this album, but the fact is, this is the most consistent album since 'Lark's Tongues In Aspic', and perhaps the best. And it introduced a whole new generation to King Crimson.
The summer of 1982 saw the advent of a musical first: a King Crimson album with the exact same personnel as the previous album. In 'Beat', the group pays homage to the 'Beat Generation', opening with 'Neal and Jack and Me'. 'Heartbeat' has the distinction of being not only an almost typical-sounding love ballad, but the closest KC ever came to having a 'hit'. So what is going on here? Did Fripp sell out the King Crimson name to make money? Did KC become commercial?
A lot of the cuts on 'Beat' actually bear a strong resemblance to the instrumental forays of the '73-74 Crimson, especially 'Requiem'. What was established on the previous album and is just as important on 'Beat' is the relationship between Fripp and Belew's instruments, and the manner in which the two guitars weave in and out of each other. Often what appears as a phase shift or a difference in timing is in fact a calculated effect. Fripp's complicated cross-picking patterns and Belew's ability to bend sounds from his guitar made this virtuoso interplay a delight for guitar fans. King Crimson had always been a guitar-players band, and now even more so.
Perhaps the primary difference between this version of King Crimson and the 70's version was the fact that, on the older albums, 'songs' (music with lyrical accompaniment) where written with lyrics as a context. That is, Sinfield and Palmer-James supplied a lyrical content the KC musicians used as a starting point for musical embellishment. Belew, on the other hand, wrote both music and lyrics. One criticism leveled against Belew is that his song writing is too 'pop' oriented to fit as King Crimson material.
On March 24, 1984, the third album in the Fripp, Bruford, Levin Belew trilogy, 'Three of a Perfect Pair' was released. The importance of Belew's song writing is even more in evidence on this album. The title song, 'Sleepless' and 'Man With An Open Heart' are all somewhat pop-oriented in comparison to past KC work, although with a distinctive Crimson sound. Indeed, 'Man With An Open Heart' is indicative of KC's use of varying world influences: Oriental, African and Indian motifs.
An instrumental called 'Larks' Tongues In Aspic, Part III' closes out the album (and 1980's King Crimson) with an appropriate reference to this past work of greatness. Certainly Fripp intended this as 'closure', as it was clear that he had grown dissatisfied once again with group dynamics. It is not known publicly how mutual the dissatisfaction was. Certainly, Bill Bruford had cause to be wary of Fripp's intent to re-form the band again in light of the sudden disintegration in 1974. Bruford publicly recounted how careful the other band members were with Fripp during rehearsals from the very beginning, fearful that a wrong note or un-welcome opinion would end everything. Fripp had always been very critical of the former Yes-man's drumming: ironic given the fact that Bill Bruford is truly a drummer's drummer, one of the most respected in the world, and the man who left Yes when the band was on the verge of super-stardom in order to join King Crimson and do what he believed in.
During the King Crimson recordings of the 1980's Fripp recorded two truly unique and beautiful albums of electric guitar music with Andy Summers of the Police. These albums would indicate a sense of direction for Fripp that had nothing really to do with a conventional group situation, at least one involving the usual bass-drums-guitar combo. Suffice to say that Fripp's heart was no longer in King Crimson. Like the Islands/Earthbound era KC of 1972, there seemed to be four individuals calling themselves King Crimson, capable of making great music, but ultimately pulling in four separate directions. The quartet toured Japan and North America in support of 'Three of a Perfect Pair' in 1984 and then called it a day. There were no dramatic press releases or bitter allegations, only an apparently amicable parting of the ways.
Fripp departed the recording scene for a number of years to devote himself to Guitar Craft, a sort of 'guitar seminary' based upon Fripp's principles of combining head, hands and heart into a unified technique of guitar playing. This endeavor eventually led to the formation of The League of Crafty Guitarists. Fripp also became involved with a group called Sunday All Over the World, and recorded an album with a female vocalist named Toyah Wilcox called 'The Lady and the Tiger'. Today, Toyah Wilcox is also known as Mrs. Robert Fripp.
In 1991, a gentleman by the name of Toby Howard created an internet newsletter called 'Discipline'. The intent here was to disseminate information about Fripp and past King Crimson members to interested persons via e-mail or newsgroups. The first issue of 'Discipline' was a humble affair with only a single posting: someone stating a rumor that King Crimson might re-form. Concurrent to this event was the dissolution of Robert Fripp's long-standing relationship with his Record Management, EG Records. Fripp's estrangement from EG, along with Bill Bruford's continued involvement with EG via the re-formed Yes, prevented an immediate return to recording of KC.
Meanwhile, Tony Levin had returned to studio work as well as touring with Peter Gabriel. Adrian Belew had embarked upon a solo career. Besides Guitar Craft, Fripp recorded and toured with vocalist/guitarist David Sylvian. Two key members of Sylvian's band included Trey Gunn, who played the Chapman Stick , and Pat Mastelotto on drums.
Fripp's idea for the Double Trio appeared, according to him, "in a flash while driving east past our village church towards Salisbury one afternoon in the Autumn of 1992". The idea here was to feature two drummers, two bassists/stick players and two guitarists. This was, essentially, a double version of the basic rock-band format. The assemblage of Fripp, Bruford, Levin, Belew, Mastelotto and Gunn released a mini album called 'VROOOM' in 1994, and in 1995 released much of the same music, in a re-mastered form, along with added cuts on a CD called 'THRAK'.
Thrak, at almost 60 minutes running time, is an overwhelming experience. The sound, as one would expect from a double trio (with the guitar, stick or drum pairs playing unison parts at times) is thick but not muddled. Stylistically, the content is some of the most intense Crimson music ever heard. The main theme of 'VROOOM' is heard in several places on the album, providing a unification of purpose not heard since the '70's era.
A double-CD of live recordings from a 1994 concert in Argentina was released under the title, 'B'Boom'. Most of Belew's more pop-oriented songs from 'THRAK' appear here, including 'People', with it's sardonic lyrics, and 'One Time', featuring a haunting melody reminiscent of The Police. What really rounds out the performance is the presence of older tunes, such as 'Frame by Frame' and 'Sleepless' from the 80's era, as well as 'The Talking Drum/Lark's Tongues In Aspic, Part II' from the 70's. Perhaps most powerful is the double-trio re-working of 'Red'.
What is most evident in 'B'Boom' is the amazing repertoire now available to this version of KC in the 1990's, with many selections from a 'bygone era' receiving a new lease on life. Even 'Schizoid Man' was being played at various venues the following year, causing understandably ecstatic crowd response from old Crimheads in attendance.
Meanwhile, the King Crimson internet newsletter, now known as 'Elephant Talk', or 'ET', was gaining an even wider readership. King Crimson and internet technology seemed to fit together like (insert appropriate metaphor here). The internet also afforded KC and its' members the opportunity to publicize its myriad solo projects and offshoots, like Fripp and Gunn's involvement in the Robert Fripp String Quintet, and a project called The California Guitar Trio, comprised of former members of Fripp's League of Crafty Guitarists. The internet allowed for a more intimate and non-corporate feel to the distribution of KC and related products, now handled by Discipline, the divorce from EG Management having been finalized.
The King Crimson double trio toured quite extensively in support of 'THRAK'. During these concerts, the Discipline Global Mobile Unit in 'record mode' captured many improvisations for posterity. One of the origins for 'THRaKaTTaK', according to the liner notes, was debate on the subject in the 'ET' newsletter. Here is a gratifying example of a group's fans having real and positive impact on the content of released material.
Much of 'THRaKaTTaK' is comprised of unstructured, free-form music reminiscent of the improvs recorded for 'Starless and Bible Black' ('This Night Wounds Time', from SABB, is reprised here, in title at least). To say that 'THRaKaTTaK' is non-commercial is understatement. One reviewer described it as 'music to have nightmares by'. Another 'ET' reader uses it as background music for playing the PC game, 'Quake'. It is most assuredly a recording for true Crimheads only.
Debate raged on 'ET' for some time with regard to the merits of the double trio, 90's KC, or whatever label you prefer to call it. The double trio is in fact the most powerful KC ever to have existed, but probably has yet to reach it's full potential. It operates, as King Crimson always did, in the realm of technical virtuosity, surrounding the listener with eclectic sound timbres, unusual metric attacks and shifting harmonic planes. These elements, when first introduced to the untrained ear, sound dissonant and foreign. King Crimson, as always, demands the listener's full attention.
