Right. Since the system obviously is having a nervous breakdown, this is the best I can do. It has a problem with colour tags now, it would seem, so assume all tracks to be Green, which they are. Maybe I'll have to work out some new system of rating that doesn't involve colours.... gaaahhhhh!
Title: Discipline
Artist: King Crimson
Genre: Progressive Rock
Artist Reaction: No problem here; I’ve been slowly getting into KC through my History of Prog thread, and have liked what I’ve heard so far. I also attempted their discography in my journal but only got a few albums in before I left the forum last year.
Genre Reaction: Are you kidding me? I’m all about anything to do with prog (other than ELP, early Yes, most of really early Floyd etc etc etc …. )
Familiarity: As above
Suggested by: Frownland
A Little Background: One of the premier movers of the 1970s progressive rock scene, King Crimson are namechecked by just about any artist you can name, and are still going today. Some say Robert Fripp is an alien...
Expectations: I should expect a high Love I would think
2 Elephant Talk:Reminds me of some video game I used to play, kind of shimmering guitar lines that put me in mind of early Police. Vocal reminds me somewhat of Beefheart, more spoken than sung, with a horn of some sort making elephant noises I guess. Intriguing, though hardly the best start I could have hoped for. Oh yeah, the “singing” also reminds of the B52s. Great guitar work of course, but seems more like the guys messing around than anything serious. Given the title, I guess that would not be too far from the truth.
4 Frame by Frame: I suppose I would have to say I love the guitar work here, given that it’s Fripp, wouldn’t I? Well, no I wouldn’t. But I do. It’s ****ing amazing, and I fully endorse his reputation as a guitar legend. This is a more straight-forward song than the opener, Adrian Belew has a voice that I feel would have fit in very well with the Alan Parsons Project. In fact, both they and Genesis must have listened to Crimson, as I can hear elements of at least this song in both their later work. Really good stuff. Something of an abrupt ending though, which is a little jarring.
4 Matte Kudasai, Please Wait: Parts of this definitely remind me of “Albatross”, very laid-back and relaxing, and the vocal when it joins the music works seamlessly into the overall pattern. This one isn’t long enough. Really nice.
(3) Indiscipline: I’m not crazy about the lyric here or the way the vocal is delivered, but musically I see this as a companion to some of Van der Graaf Generator’s work. Very heavy. Another abrupt ending.
(3) Thela Hun Ginjeet: Very fast and funky guitar; again I hear elements APP would take for some of their work in the seventies. Again, the narrative style of some of the vocal doesn’t gell with me personally. I read the story, I know what it’s about; I just don’t feel it works, not for me. The music drives it along well, and maybe I could get into it given a few more listens, but on first listen it kind of annoys me a little.
(5) The Sheltering Sky: Like the softer, more relaxed nature of this: the gentle percussion merges really well with the horns, which sound like something out of an old movie about the Romans or something. Oh I guess the horns are on synthesiser, or maybe that “Frippertronics” that he’s renowned for. No horns credited. Maybe it’s all guitar? Cool anyway. Very cool.
(5) Discipline:And we end on a second instrumental. A little odd, that, but I’m not complaining. Not to go on about APP, as I know I am, but this really reminds me of “Urbania” off
Stereotomy. Great stuff to close with.
Conclusion: It’s a little too experimental and random for me. The music is great, but there’s no real cohesion on the album. It’s more like a collection of ideas they put together, which is fine, but it doesn’t connect with me in any real meaningful way. Definitely would not be one of my favourites; I’m sure there are better. Not a bad album, but surely not their best?
So, Love or Hate? Well, on balance it would have to be a Love (3) though I would have liked to have scored it higher. Maybe next time.