Music Banter - One song to introduce someone to a band

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Gang Starr; "JFK 2 LAX" - Moment of Truth

Somebody's gotta do King Crimson and all their phases...

First phase: Symphonic-Prog (The "In the..." albums)

While 21st Century Schizoid Man is probably their best song, I don't think it reflects their overall sound, which had more classical overtones rather than jazz overtones in 21st Century Schizoid Man. Essentially 'Wake' is the same as 'Court' but 'Wake's' songs are slightly weaker (Cat Food over Moonchild being the exception). I think this narrows it down to Epitaph and In the Court of the Crimson King. Both tracks make great use of the mellotron and are prime examples of King Crimson's epic, classically influenced sound. Personally, I think Epitaph works better as a stand-alone track and much easier to digest, where In the Court is supported by it's position as the epic conclusion for the album.

Spoiler for Epitaph:

Second Phase: Jazzy-Prog (Lizard and Islands)

The first reaction would be to eliminate Islands from this discussion, but we'll wait. 'Lizard's' title track is great, but a 25 minute epic is not the way to introduce someone to a band. Cirkus is a great track, but it's more along the lines of the first phase rather than the second. So this leaves the remaining 3 tracks from 'Lizard' and 'Islands'. If there is anything about this phase of KC, it was probably their most light-hearted phase, see Happy Family which is a satire of the Beatles history. The only' Islands' track that fits both the light tone and the jazzier influences is the raunchy Ladies of the Road. And between the 3 mediocre tracks on Lizards and Ladies of the Road, I would choose Ladies of the road.

Spoiler for Ladies of the Road:

Third Phase: Experimental Rockish-Prog (Larks', Starless and Red)

The best song of this phase is Starless, but I think it's more of a Frankenstein song made from elements of the band's entire past. The experimental nature of this period came from Fripp's creative guitar playing and the use of many different instruments, especially the percussion. If there is one song that encompasses all those traits, it's Larks' Tongues in Aspic (Part I). The opening 3 minutes of meandering percussion, followed by the violent outbursts of band the the ensuing jazzy coda make this a great starter piece. Not only does Larks' Part I contain all those elements, it leaves you wanting more material, compared to songs that exhaust you with their scale and climax, i.e. Fractice, Red, Starless Larks' Part II...

Spoiler for Larks' Tongues in Aspic (Part I):

Fourth Phase: New Wavey-Prog aka the Crimson Heads/Talking Kings (Discipline, Beat, Three)

I refuse to acknowledge Three of a Perfect Pair, and the only track I genuinely like from Beat is Requiem (which is more like the next KC phase than this one). Not to mention, Discipline is certainly in the conversation as King Crimson's best album. Of all the songs from Discipline, I feel the best intro to this period would be Indiscipline. It has that new wave groove but maintains the darker edge that KC has when doing their take on it.

Spoiler for Indiscipline:

Fifth Phase: Experimental Metal-Prog (Thraak, ConstruKction, Power to Believe)

This is the phase I have the least familiarity with, but I still can make a recommendation. Between Thraak and ConstruKction, you may have a decent EP, maybe an LP. The final album, The Power to Believe feels much more inspired than the previous 2 albums. The track that best exemplifies the phase is Level Five. I think Eyes Wide Open is a better song, but again, it does not fit the overall feel of this phase. Level Five takes the metal aspects that have been marinated with the KC mentality and cooks it to near perfection. If anyone has heard John Paul Jones' solo work, it's very similar to the stuff KC was doing at the time (which may or may not have anything to do with Fripp playing guitar on both).

Spoiler for Level Five:

Phew!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Urban Hatemonger (Post 1204397)

Nooooooooo, War Pigs is just a boring dirge that seems to go on forever.
Go with Hand of Doom instead.

Well I like WP but yes it is a dirge. But then, so are a lot of Ozzy-era Sabs songs --- Iron Man, Black Sabbath, Warning, Wizard --- or at least could be taken that way. It does however fit well into the sort of thing Sabbath were doing, at least at the beginning.

It is indeed hard to pick one song that typifies Sabbath in the "first" era; as I mentioned at the beginning this sort of thing is hard to do for any band. How do you represent maybe a lifetime's work in a few minutes and just one song? Which is what makes it so challenging, so frustrating but ultimately so much fun.

Dio Sabbath, no problem. You're definitely looking at "Heaven and Hell" or "Die young", but Ozzy era much harder.

Okay then, how about this, one of my true favourites from "Master"...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Electrophonic Tonic (Post 1204515)

Somebody's gotta do King Crimson and all their phases...

Thanks EP: I was looking for something like this on KC last week. I'll have a listen and let you know what I think. Great job!
:thumb:

This is the one for The Standells.

The cover was not kidding, either. Just when this song was starting to get airplay and revive The Standells after facing their fate as a 1-hit wonder with Dirty Water, someone (I think Gordon McLeandon - spelling possibly off) decided to go out and ban this, resulting in a nation-wide rejection of what is the ultimate Standells song. Only a few stations played it after the outcry and an appearance on the Art Linkletter show which I think featured a debate about the record.

There's a lot I can choose from, but for an introduction to those who don't really know (in my area, I happen to possibly be the only one who knows of them), this is a good place to start or at least one of them.

@Bob Yes, very well. I probably love Toys Go Winding Down even more than Blue Collared Tweakers. My main reason for going with that choice is that particular footage in the video at Woodstock 94. By asking us to include a video, if possible, it became more than "which one song would you blah blah" to "which one song with a video would you..." and thats where my mind was. If I want to intro someone to Primus, I want them to see that amazing crowd doing a supermosh. Best part about this is that now we have two Primus picks. :P

@Electrophonic Tonic Well done with the King Crimson!

@Screen13, nice choices!

Alright, sorry for those like myself with ****e RAM and/or ****e internet connections, but here is a full, cohesive Buckethead one-song-per-style-and-band. And it's gonna be a doozy.

But this will damn well be definitive because I am a semi-professional Buckethead historian and fan. Let's jump right in:

Al Gorgone: Siege (2005)