LARKS' TONGUES IN ASPIC (1973)

• Robert Fripp - Guitar, Mellotron, Electric Piano, Other
• John Wetton - Bass, Lead Vocals, Acoustic Piano
• David Cross - Violin, Viola, Mellotron, Flute, Electric Piano
• Bill Bruford – Drums
• Jamie Muir - Percussion, Allsorts
• Richard Palmer-James - Lyrics

PROLOGUE

After Islands, Robert Fripp completely revamped the King Crimson lineup and came up with something somewhat stable. John Wetton was a huge improvement over Boz Burrell in the bass and vocal departments, prog's granddaddy drummer, Bill Bruford, came over from Yes and David Cross joined as KC's first violinist. Jamie Muir provided additional percussion and in the course of this album, greatly influenced Bruford's drumming style.

Larks' Tongues in Aspic is the result of King Crimson getting back on track and crafting a masterpiece. Owing to the triumvirate of Wetton, Bruford and Muir, LTIA is far more rhythmically focused than any of their previous albums, and David Cross on violin plays a fairly large role. In this album, King Crimson explores proto-metal and they're back to their old tricks with the avant-garde tendencies. It is fair to call parts of this the first prog-metal ever recorded but don't let that put you off. :D

TRACK-BY-TRACK

01 - Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Part I:
The album opens with a delicate marimba intro, but most seasoned KC listeners would know that despite its dainty innocent nature, there is something far more sinister and menacing lingering beneath. As it segues into a chilling violin section, it's clear there is a storm brewing and it isn't long before the song explodes into a cacophony of squealing Frippian leads, calculated guitar riffs and precise percussion. This gives way to an ambient violin section which is perhaps a bit longer than it should be (and better executed later on with Providence) - I find that this is the only weak point in the whole album. Just as the song appears to pick up, it is almost as quickly anesthetized.

02 - Book of Saturday:
Here, KC takes a completely different direction. Book of Saturday is also dainty and innocent, but it stays that way. It's a short jazzy song featuring Fripp's bright chords and backwards guitar effects over Wetton's contemplative bassline. It is striking just how personal and introspective it sounds.

03 - Exiles:
Exiles is in my opinion, the prettiest song King Crimson has ever written. Fripp's intricate acoustic work weaves in and out from Cross' poignant violin/mellotron theme and it's amazing how deeply intertwined all the instruments are. The song overall is highly expressive and evocative, uplifting with a hint of melancholy. The highlight for me is Fripp's fluid guitar solo which simply floats over the top towards the end of the song. I won't ramble any longer, it needs to be heard to be believed.

04 - Easy Money:
With its groovy bassline, sparse funky guitar licks and derogatory swagger, Easy Money is reminiscent of Ladies of the Road from Islands. It is certainly the most jam-oriented song on the album as it goes from a heavy rocker to a Frippfest. Most definitely a fun track.

05 - The Talking Drum:
The Talking Drum is a great climactic build-up of sorts with the hypnotic rhythm of Wetton, Bruford and Muir as the basis. Muir's conga drumming and Cross' violin antics give it an exotic feel which is perhaps better conveyed in live versions. The song goes into overdrive and grows louder and more frantic until Mr. Fripp snaps his finger and you break out of the trance ending up face down on the pavement.

06 - Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Part II:
Like the first part of this suite, the second part is dark, chaotic and intense. It delivers its payload in the form of unforgivingly obtuse metallic guitar riffs, pounding bass, squealing violin and exhilarating electric madness. I liken it to a blindfolded rollercoaster ride where the carriage continually ascends and your anticipation grows and grows while you're on the edge of your seat waiting for the plunge.

EPILOGUE

Larks' Tongues in Aspic is considered by a sizeable portion of fans to be their magnum opus although I personally prefer Red and Lizard. Nevertheless, it is a stellar album which represents yet another facet of King Crimson's musical exploration and innovation. They did not invent metal with this album, but they fused prog and metal, and most metal bands can only wish their music was as heavy and intense as some of the music here. Throughout its duration, LTIA is very consistent and instrumentally tight - in fact, the only change I would have is Greg Lake doing vocals on tracks like Book of Saturday and Exiles and there is only one weak point in the entire album.

I'm going to have to be getting this, heavy and intense KC is all good in my book.

Great review Seltzer. Easy Money is such a groovy track as you say but I have only heard this album 3 or 4 times. I need to listen a lot more I think.

I enjoy reading all your reviews! Had to take this out for a listen after reading through this. I must say, sometimes I fail to notice details such as this.
Can't wait for your Red review :D.

Nice concise review of my second/third favourite KC (like you Red just about pips it for me). I'm sure I read somewhere that all the lyrics were written by a friend of the band, who discussed lyrical concepts with Fripp then he'd just write them. Always intrigued me how R.F. always seemed to maintain a distance from the band yet ran it so tightly, great bandleader and ultimately I guess he is King Crimson.

I have never heard Lizard Seltzer but as you prefer it to this I'll have to rectify!
And I see you're listening to Arthur on last.fm :thumb:

Haha yes, I'm looking quite forward to reviewing Red but that'll be a little while away - I have 2 weeks until my mid-semester break. :)

I believe Fripp has only ever written lyrics for one KC song (the Great Deceiver). Peter Sinfield was hired as their full time lyricist through his friendship with Ian McDonald, then Richard Palmer-James through John Wetton and later on, Adrian Belew took the reins.

Lizard is great and fairly overlooked too. I'd say it was a bit of a risky departure in sound, even by KC standards.


Anyway, I'm trying to condense the reviews a bit more nowadays - I might even move away from the track-by-track format in later reviews.

I love Three of a Perfect Pair

I really dig "Three of a Perfect Pair", "In the Court of the Crimson King", "Indiscipline", "Happy With What You Have to be Happy With", "Sleepless", and "Thela Hun Ginjeet".

The only album I own is Cirkus - A Young Person's guide to King Crimson.

Any other recommendations, please PM me.

20th century schizoid man. duh.

An enjoyable read!

Great review of Larks'. Again we'll dissagree a bit about the score, tiiny bit too generous here :p John Wetton was brilliant though.

LIES The Clash recorded This is England and nothing else, and then shortly afterwards disbanded :mad:

Just wondering, what the hell happened to this thread.

I've got exams now for 3 weeks but I'll be reviving it after then - can't wait to review SABB and Red.:tramp:

I've been slacking with my King Crimson thread too, I only have 4 albums left to review.

I would just like to say thank you for opening my eyes up to King Crimson. I found that they are more of an aquired taste than an instantaneous understanding. It took a quite few good listens for it to really soak in for me. It might have been too much in one sitting. Now that it is a little more familiar to me, I can truly appreciate its larger than life qualities. And I think Seltzers reviews were outstanding.

MOONCHILD

"Moonchild" is both the best track on the album "In The Court of the Crimson King", and one of the most remarkable pieces in rock music - a fact that most people overlook, painfully missing the point by describing it as "boring", "noodle" and using other similar terms that would indicate a lack of patience, narrow tastes in music and, well, simply not liking it, so writing it off as therefore a bad thing.

Not so.

And so it is that I'm going to take this track offline and work on an analysis to help you understand just why it is so spectacular.

Moon Child - one of the most remarkable pieces in rock music

Cue up the start of the piece. Ready?

Here we have drifts of mellotron, and a repeating picked guitar figure, which is soon joined by a short, repeating guitar figure that is important. Listen carefully to it's soaring tones - those opening notes are remarkably similar to "Au Clair de Lune" by Claude Debussy.

Greg picks up on this quickly with the vocal line - a two-part affair that picks up on this figure, appending an answering phrase, and acquiring a light accompaniment comprising bell-like cymbals, and a regular falling soft tom-tom pattern. This is repeated, then the second part of the verse picks for an additional answer. The solo guitar takes the 1st "theme" and plays with it, before the second verse is presented with the ongoing light percussion.

Little tension is built - but the song does not demand it. This is not a dramatic song, and that is part of its progressive nature - it is painting, with striking lights and shades, a kind of watercolour-hued portrait of the Moon Child that is non-linear, which kind of pushes against the intrinsically linear nature of music, yet covers many angles;

"Dancing in the shallows of a river", "Dreaming in the shadow of the willow", "Talking to the trees of the cobweb strange". None of this necessarily describes a person, real or ficticious - to me, it describes the effects of moonlight on earth - the reflection in the river or fountain, the moonbeams "dancing" and "Waving silver wands", and the interplay of the moon's light on flowers, cobwebs and the sun dial. "Sailing on the wind in a milk white gown" and "Waiting for a smile from a sun child" are self- explanatory, and "Playing hide and seek with the ghosts of dawn" clearly refers to clouds.

So the music expresses the soul of these ideas - the subtle keyboard changes highlight this best.

You'll note that this is not standard song structure - there is a 3-part idea that is repeated 3 times for this first section, which could be seen as verse/chorus/instrumental x3, except that the "chorus" is in no way a chorus, but an extension of the verse.

Then we have the famous, widely hated instrumental section, which continues this expression - it seems a bit pointless to map it all out, but the first section appears to represent the rippling waters of the river - the willow, of course, will be on the river bank, and the slightly sinister edge that the music acquires could be expressing this.

We continue in the branches of the trees, "talking of the cobweb strange" - 5:28 might be expressing this, with tiny strands of melodic runs that pick up from each other. Just re-read the lyrics as this section plays out - it's not too hard to make your own mind up about what's being expressed.

The music of this section has an atonal feel to it - and some of the stylisations are strikingly similar to music in "Pierrot Lunaire", by Arnold Schoenberg. Listen to "Der Kranken Mond" - particularly the flute backing. An online recording of the entire work may be found online - note also that there are 4 sections of Pierrot directly concerned with the moon.

The interplay between the instrumentalists here is remarkable - all aiming for an overall series of pictures, or, rather continual moving image, with none taking centre stage, going into personal space every now and again, then rejoining the conversation, using a predefined set of ideas. This is not aimless noodle - this is carefully constructed. The point at which it all comes back together (around 10:45) is masterly - all parts drifting slowly towards each other, and the little major chord on the guitar clearly showing the "smile from the sun child" - all music from this point has this upbeat feel of morning approaching and the darkness lifting.

This latter is the key to this "improvisation", for what is happening here is an abstract representation of the song that preceeds it - the soul of the song is re-presented in music that verges on the onomatapaeic.


All of which serves to underline "Moon Child"'s position in the album - as the penultimate piece, it provides the necessary contrast from which to kick into the grand splendour of "The Court of the Crimson King". Indeed, if you have your stereo at the necessary volume to catch each and every tiny detail in "Moon Child", the title track is like a mighty rush of wind, and somewhat overwhelming. It's in this dynamic perspective that the true power of this album may be experienced - and you probably won't get it listening to compressed mp3s on your computer speakers or headphones. It's like hearing it properly for the first time - every time.

(Taken from a review I posted at ProgArchives).

Absolutely incredible album. Certainly one of the few prog rock bands (and albums) that successfully manages to fuse musical styles for the sake of making music that's theirs, not for some ideal to elevate rock. One of my top tens for sure.

peace,
-nick

And over a year later...
 

STARLESS AND BIBLE BLACK (1974)

• Robert Fripp - Guitar, Mellotron, Electric Piano, Other
• John Wetton - Bass, Vocals
• David Cross - Violin, Viola, Mellotron, Electric Piano
• Bill Bruford – Drums, Percussion
• Richard Palmer-James - Lyrics

PROLOGUE

Starless and Bible Black occupies an interesting position in the discography of King Crimson. In the wake of the great Larks' Tongues In Aspic (no pun intended), it is sometimes criticised a little more harshly than it deserves, and it doesn't help that it happens to be followed up by the greatest album in existence. For the recording of SABB, KC maintained the same lineup from the preceding album, minus Jamie Muir, their percussionist. Despite his monastically inspired departure from the music industry, he left a legacy in the form of his influence imparted upon Bruford and Fripp. Starless and Bible Black is, to some extent, a natural continuation of the proto-metal sound of LTIA. But whereas LTIA was a meticulously constructed album replete with precise composition, SABB was a gutsy endeavour in the improvisational direction. Only two of the eight songs were fully recorded in studio and the other six, four of which were improvised, were recorded live with background audience sounds taken out.

TRACK-BY-TRACK

01 - The Great Deceiver:
SABB dares not dally here and immediately kicks off with an uncompromisingly pummelling guitar/violin riff, the likes of which is to be a trademark for this album. As soon as you hear Wetton acerbically uttering the opening words, "Health food faggot" (which as an aside, are completely unrelated to homosexuality), it's patently obvious just how much Richard Palmer-James' direct lyrics differ from the comparatively chimerical lyrics of Sinfield. This song is also interesting in that it features Fripp's sole lyrical contribution to KC, the chorus line "Cigarettes, ice cream, figurines of the Virgin Mary". "The Great Deceiver", like "King Crimson", is clearly a synonym for the devil, and Fripp's line was instigated by his less than favourable view of the commercialisation of the Vatican. Fantastic song with KC in full assault.

02 - Lament:
In arrant contrast, Lament starts out as a subdued ballad. There are some nice vocals from Wetton who for two verses, plays the part of a washed-up rockstar reminiscing about his glory days. What follows is a sort of bizarro white funk popping segment from Wetton and it soon develops into an embittered tirade against the music industry, following on from the anti-commercialism theme of the previous track (and of Easy Money from LTIA). Wetton rolls out some nice basswork towards the end.

03 - We'll Let You Know:
We'll Let You Know is one of the improv pieces of the album. Like many of KC's jams, it starts out with a load of ambience and everything amalgamates before your very ears, but unlike most of them, this only clocks in at three minutes. I feel I should include a funk warning here: this song gets pretty damn infectious when Wetton and Bruford groove in lockstep underneath Fripp's dissonant soloing and lovely dinosaur noises (at least that's what I call them).

04 - The Night Watch:
The Night Watch offers a pleasant respite from cacophonous Crimson and is somewhat similar to Exiles from LTIA, but (and I'm swallowing my words here), even better. The artists amongst you might recognise that it shares its title with the name of Rembrandt's most famous painting. And indeed, this song was written about said painting, and the Dutch Golden Age in general. It's perhaps an unusual topic but don't let that put you off because this song, in an utterly captivating manner, manages to transport you back in time to 17th century post-war Holland. Wetton's vocals are quite nice and vastly improved from the previous album, but it's Fripp who really shines here with his gorgeous guitar motif. If you really want to know why Robert Fripp is so highly respected, you needn't look further than the ingenuous (and ingenious) solo contained within. Whereas 95% of guitarists go for the blistering in your face pentatonic approach, Fripp is the oddball who sits in the corner and comes up with these supernatural but strangely fluid arrangements of sustained notes. I can't really explain why this solo sounds so good; it almost seems to shift time.

05 - Trio:
Trio is a full improvisation between violin, mellotron and bass. It takes a while to get started (and is annoyingly, practically inaudible for the first minute) but as it gradually adopts a structure, it evolves into something quite splendid. The lush mellotrons are absolutely haunting and it evokes a meditative state of calm. It still dumbfounds me to think that this is an improvised piece.

06 - The Mincer:
The Mincer is actually the result of superimposing a few Wetton vocal lines over a live improv. It sets a creepy and menacing yet enticing mood, not so different to the Devil's Triangle from ITWOP. But unfortunately, it's rather directionless and meandering, and even Fripp's leads (in the style of the Lizard epic) can't save it. Amusingly enough, the recording ends quite abruptly from when the band ran short of tape during the live performance... it's a cool effect in my books.

07 - Starless and Bible Black:
SABB's S/T track opens the second side in amorphous fashion but doesn't really get going until halfway through. A review from the inlay booklet states that this album is at times similar to the "dark satanic mills" Blake talks about and suggests that you don't listen to it if you're depressed or contemplating life after death. It's easy to see what he means when listening to these last two tracks, and the claustrophobic mellotrons, bombastic rhythm work and hell-on-earth Frippisms featured here really give that claim credence.

08 - Fracture:
Fracture bears some similarity to LTIA Part II, both in form and melodic theme, but it manages to reach even greater heights. It's worth noting that sole composition credit goes to Fripp here and he claims it's the hardest piece he has ever played (this is live too). Its neurotic spidery fretboard patterns and colossal build-up make it possibly the most inaccessible KC piece there is. A fantastic way to close the album.

EPILOGUE

Despite its status as a studio album, Starless and Bible Black is, if anything, proof that King Crimson were as skilled as any jazz outfit on the live improvisation front. Even when wedged between Larks' Tongues in Aspic and Red, SABB certainly holds its own. In its best moments (The Great Deceiver, the Night Watch and Fracture), it is in fact better than LTIA although its lack of cohesion in places makes it weaker overall. Starless and Bible Black sets the stage perfectly for Red to blow the prog world away.

This thread is ruined because of that post about "Moonchild" right up there.

I love how he assumes that anyone who doesn't like is a narrow-minded, uncultured swine who doesn't understand anything and doesn't give the song a fair chance.

The first 3 minutes of that song are good, and then it delves into 8 minutes of masturbatory improvisation. Don't call me uncouth for thinking that. Jerk.

I admire his devotion but Moonchild is certainly a weak improv by KC standards... there are four superior to that on SABB alone! I'll agree that the transition between tracks is cool though.

I would contest that they have constantly progressed or innovated. Their 1980s reincarnation was definitely innovation, but not sure about their 1990s stuff at all. there is definite ifluence of other bvans (thrash metal bands maybe?). As for Robert Fripp being the only constant member, well it's HIS band!

Really it's been several bands over the decades, only called King Crimson because Fripp was at the helm and had rights to the name. Did you know that the 1980 band was originally called Discipline (whilst touring the material for that album), but recorded it as King Crimson? Probabably a commercial decision.

Bruford was perhaps right to leave when he did - they were stagnating. Not sure about the two drummers thing either.

I've been listening to King Crimson for a while, but seriously I have a long way to go. With a band as complex and diverse as them I think it will take another few years at least, maybe a lifetime to fully appreciate them.

I sometimes have to force myself to listen to their stuff because it doesn't exactly draw you in, but I know it will be worth it in the long run in terms of appreciation, enjoyment, and influence once I start writing my own music.

I've decided to stick to "Court of the Crimson King".
I've always thought this was a brilliant piece of work.
I never really got to like any of their other albums, apart from this one track called "one time", which is nice. It's from the Album "Thrak" which, unfortunately, doesn't appeal to me at all...
I'm glad to have CotCK, but it seems like that's all for me.
If anyone would like to suggest me another album, please feel free :)

I recently obtained the 2010 remasters of In The Wake Of Poseidon and Islands, and I think they sound ****ing excellent. :)

Hopefully their 80's stuff will get a nice Fripp/Wilson remaster-treatment next!

Wow, replies in my thread!!!

Well, I would suggest Red since it's the most amazing album in existence :D But maybe I should direct you towards In the Wake of Poseidon instead? It's the follow-up to ITCOTCK and is often seen as the companion album owing to its roughly similar structure and approach. And it's more consistent IMO.


Yeah, the ITWOP remaster sounds great! I still haven't listened to the Islands one yet. And here's to hoping :beer:

ICTCK is one of my top albums of all time. I also thought Posieden was pretty solid as well. Have not dabbled too much in other Crimson. I listeneed to Lizard, and Islands, but not enough to become familliar with them.

Your next step should be to check out Red and have your mind blown :D

Speaking of which, I started writing up my review for it a couple of days ago but I haven't gone back to it because I'm afraid that I simply can't do it justice. I end up scrapping everything I write about it.

Seltzer, I'm new here but a long time KC fan (since 1969) some insightful stuff--the only thing I'd disagree with is the use of the term "dinosaur" for KC--that implies the band became extinct because they couldn't adapt.

Otherwise, some thoughtful observations about their albums. KC is like The Pretenders in that the latter band is Chrissie Hynde and whomever is in it at the time--the same is true of KC; when all the other members left Fripp was, by default (for awhile with Sinfield), KC.

I don't know that I would call the 80's version all that innovative initially--Fripp had been hanging with Eno, Talking Heads and other bands in NYC at the time and absorbed much of their sound including taking on Adrian Belew as guitarist. While Belew had been around the block a time or two in a variety of bands, his vocal delivery was strongly influenced by David Bryne, John Lennon and David Bowie at the time (not just Bryne who was also strongly influenced in his own way by Bowie and others although Bryne's idiosyncratic delivery was a bit...unique at the time although it always reminded me MORE of Eno's vocals or with a touch of Bryan Ferry thrown in for good measure).

Having said that, I love the 80's incarnation as well which found their own "voice" bringing the influence of the past into the present and molding it into a "contemporary" progressive sound.

There's a lot of hate directed at Belew by some long time KC fans because he brought a distinctive "pop" direction to the songwriting. I never understood that--I think it was a refereshing change and Belew could be as avant garde as Fripp but also could recognize and follow up on a good melody without over complicating it when it wasn't necessary. He's a brilliant guitarist (easily Fripp's equal although is style is very different--as many here know he was hired by Bowie and even Talking Heads because he COULD imitate Fripp when necessary) and an outstanding songwriter when the muse is with him.

Ah, Gavin Harrison is also the drummer for Porcupine Tree, another "prog band".

I'm haven't listened to King Crimson much, but from what i have heard i'm not the biggest fan. It's not bad, just not something i'd go out of my way to listen to. However, i do respect the influence they have had on my all time favorite band Porcupine Tree.

Great review, you really did your research and I learned some things I didn't know.

by default, my fave prog band

have almost their entire discography

i'm even gonna check out their ProjeKcts soon

A tremendous artist and human being, Robert Fripp has inspired me in many directions.

Early in the summer of 1985, I was made aware (from a friend who worked for the same music company that I do now 25 years later) of a chance to study with Fripp, whom he knew I admired greatly. I was shown the magazine article, which I mulled over and eventually inquired into. Soon I found myself to be one of twenty two guitarists from around the world chosen to be the very first Guitar Craft Course.

Robert Fripp, it seems, had taken a teaching position at the American Society for Continuous Education in Claymont Court, West Virginia after serving on the Board of Directors, and this was his immediate task. I was 25 years old and welcomed the opportunity for what I would now consider as a "Rite of Passage".

In October that year, I arrived in West Virginia, at a cold and desolate train station late at night. It had been raining and thunder/ lightning echoed in the sky. I was picked up in a van and shuttled back to what turned out to be George Washington's Nephew's Estate. Most of us had arrived during the day and were already there. I entered into the behemoth mansion that would be my home for the next week, the lightning and thunder increased and I was sure that I had entered The Court of the Crimson King (King Crimson's first album, released in 1969).

We stood in a huge, dark-lit room introducing ourselves and anticipating something! As we mingled among ourselves, with the dramatic help of a lightning bolt to illuminate the area at the top of the stairs, stood Mr. Fripp. This was way too cool and I knew this was going to be life-changing. After greetings and small talk, we were advised to group into threes and fours, we were given the "New Standard Guitar Tuning’ that we would be working with but which none of us knew how to use. We were then informed that we had a gig this Wednesday (three days) at a local watering hole full of rednecks. Terror, delight, anxiety!

This was one of many devices used that week to break down our habits and force us to "Become Awake", as Gurdjieff would put it (a favorite study of Mr. Fripp by the way). We learned Alexander Technique, meditation techniques, various Zen-like activities like performing kitchen duties, enjoyed expertly prepared vegetarian cuisine, discussed musical philosophies over cold pints of home brewed ales, and of course music and technical instruction. The goals were to breakdown and eliminate old practice habits and thoughts and to develop a personal relationship with the instrument, to Become a voice for the Muse to be heard through.


Aside from the disciplined, mind numbing technical prowess this musician has worked towards, Fripp has always ventured into the Dark corners of the World's cultures, a dip into the Underworld if you will, and brought back with him new ways of expression on the guitar, he is without a doubt a true ‘hero' of the guitar in every sense of the Joseph Campbell Word.
Robert Fripp knows how to Remanifest.

Some of these new expressions were exotic scales and sounds from the Middle East and the Gamelan of Indonesia. These sounds on the guitar resonated heavily through me when I heard them then and still do today. So intrigued with them as I have become, they have led me to take up playing fretless guitar and studying ancient music, particularly Egyptian and Persian. From reading much of these music philosophies, I uncovered a universe of deep and metaphysical attributes associated with the creation of music and Creation itself. Of these attributes, one that I find ultimately pulling me towards it, is the Egyptian AUM. Known as OM in Hindu philosophy, it is said to be the Primordial Vibration of the Universe. This subject I hope to understand better and to expand on with the help of the Temple.

At times I have used sigilism, mantras and yantras during the composition process to engulf myself in the essence of what I am working on. This came to fruition with my three part composition for orchestra and fretless guitar, A'nen Sedjet and continues now as I create Initiatory inspired music and sound collages. I greatly look forward to learning advanced magical techniques to create further evolved music from Within.


- SB

he's a total dick in person, though

there was this KC fan message board, and you aren't allowed to address him in a "casual" manner

one of my friends did and he was banned

Robert is prickly. That's what makes him Robert. KC at the Greek Theater in Berkeley during the Beat tour. Best concert I have ever seen.

Fripp is in the new edition of The Wire talking about past present future King Crimson. The implication is that there will be a new album eventually and there is a sampler of new stuff going around that sounds quite promising.

Robert, if you're reading this, forgive the informality, but how about some nice Vinyl versions of Thrak, Happy and Power?

There is always hope.

Their first album is for me their best. Incredible drumming and that mellotron! Wonderful lyrics. They kind of went the way of Soft Machine after that. Harder and harder for me to get into.

I've got an original era gatefold pressing of In the Court of the Crimson King. I would have really liked to listen to it with my best friend had he not died of testicular cancer

RIP Optimus Prime

Fripp has always had that stern English teacher energy so this doesn't surprise me.

Yeah that guy's dead.