King Crimson reborn yet again -- the then-newly configured band makes its debut with a violin (courtesy of David Cross) sharing center stage with Robert Fripp's guitars and his Mellotron, which is pushed into the background. The music is the most experimental of Fripp's career up to this time -- though some of it actually dated (in embryonic form) back to the tail-end of the Boz Burrell-Ian Wallace-Mel Collins lineup. And John Wetton was the group's strongest singer/bassist since Greg Lake's departure three years earlier. What's more, this lineup quickly established itself as a powerful performing unit, working in a more purely experimental, less jazz-oriented vein than its immediate predecessor. "Outer Limits music" was how one reviewer referred to it, mixing Cross' demonic fiddling with shrieking electronics, Bill Bruford's astounding dexterity at the drum kit, Jamie Muir's melodic and usually understated percussion, Wetton's thundering yet melodic bass, and Fripp's guitar, which generated sounds ranging from traditional classical and soft pop-jazz licks to hair-curling electric flourishes. Bruce Eder
Tracklist :
1. Larks' Tongues In Aspic, Part One (13:36)
Bill Bruford / David Cross / Robert Fripp / Jamie Muir / John Wetton
2. Book Of Saturday (02:56)
Robert Fripp / Richard Palmer-James / John Wetton
3. Exiles (07:41)
David Cross / Robert Fripp / Richard Palmer-James
4. Easy Money (07:53)
Robert Fripp / Richard Palmer-James / John Wetton
5. The Talking Drum (07:27)
Bill Bruford / David Cross / Robert Fripp / Jamie Muir / John Wetton
6. Larks' Tongues In Aspic, Part Two (07:08)
Robert Fripp
Credits :
Robert Fripp – Guitars, Mellotron, Electric Piano, Devices
John Wetton – Bass Guitar, Vocals, Piano on "Exiles"
Bill Bruford – Drums
David Cross – Violin, Viola, Mellotron, Electric Piano, Flute on "Exiles"[9]
Jamie Muir – Percussion, "allsorts"
(assorted found items and sundry instruments)
Producer – King Crimson
6.3.24
KING CRIMSON — Larks' Tongues In Aspic (1981) Three Version (1987, Japan, EMI-Toshiba, 32VD-1122) + (1988, Virgin Japan, VJD-28003 | Serie Big Artist Collection) + (2012, RM | 2CD | King Crimson 40th Anniversary Series) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless
KING CRIMSON — Starless And Bible Black (1981) Four Version (1987, Virgin Japan, 32VD-1123) + (1988, Serie Big Artist Collection | Virgin Japan, VJD-28004) + (1990, Virgin Japan, VJCP-2306) + (2011, USA | RM | Serie King Crimson 40th Anniversary Series) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless
Starless and Bible Black is even more powerful and daring than its predecessor, Larks' Tongues in Aspic, with jarring tempo shifts, explosive guitar riffs, and soaring, elegant, and delicate violin and Mellotron parts scattered throughout its 41 minutes, often all in the same songs. The album was on the outer fringes of accessible progressive rock, with enough musical ideas explored to make Starless and Bible Black more than background for tripping the way Emerson, Lake & Palmer's albums were. "The Night Watch," a song about a Rembrandt painting, was, incredibly, a single release, although it was much more representative of the sound that Crimson was abandoning than where it was going in 1973-1974. More to that point were the contents of side two of the LP, a pair of instrumentals that threw the group's hardest sounds right in the face of the listener, and gained some converts in the process. Bruce Eder
Tracklist :
1. The Great Deceiver (04:03)
Robert Fripp / Richard Palmer-James / John Wetton
2. Lament (04:05)
Robert Fripp / Richard Palmer-James / John Wetton
3. We'll Let You Know (03:42)
Bill Bruford / David Cross / Robert Fripp / John Wetton
4. The Night Watch (04:40)
Robert Fripp / Richard Palmer-James / John Wetton
5. Trio (05:41)
Bill Bruford / David Cross / Robert Fripp / John Wetton
6. The Mincer (04:11)
Bill Bruford / Richard Palmer-James / Robert Fripp / John Wetton
7. Starless And Bible Black (09:10)
Bill Bruford / David Cross / Robert Fripp / John Wetton
8. Fracture (11:15)
Robert Fripp
Credits :
Bass, Voice – John Wetton
Guitar, Mellotron, Electronics [Devices] – Robert Fripp
Lyrics By – Richard Palmer-James
Percussion [Percussives] – William Bruford
Producer – King Crimson
Violin, Viola, Keyboards – David Cross (tracks: 3, 5 to 7)
KING CRIMSON — Red (1981) Four Version (1987, Japan EMI-Toshiba, 32VD-1086) + (1988, Serie Big Artist Collection | Japan, Virgin, VJD-28021) + (1990, RM | Serie The Definitive Edition | Japan, Virgin, VJCP-2307) + (2013, USA | RM | 2CD | Serie King Crimson 40th Anniversary Series) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless
King Crimson fell apart once more, seemingly for the last time, as David Cross walked away during the making of this album. It became Robert Fripp's last thoughts on this version of the band, a bit noiser overall but with some surprising sounds featured, mostly out of the group's past – Mel Collins' and Ian McDonald's saxes, Marc Charig's cornet, and Robin Miller's oboe, thus providing a glimpse of what the 1972-era King Crimson might've sounded like handling the later group's repertory (which nearly happened). Indeed, Charig's cornet gets just about the best showcase it ever had on a King Crimson album, and the truth is that few intact groups could have gotten an album as good as Red together. The fact that it was put together by a band in its death throes makes it all the more impressive an achievement. Indeed, Red does improve in some respects on certain aspects of the previous album – including "Starless," a cousin to the prior album's title track – and only the lower quality of the vocal compositions keeps this from being as strongly recommended as its two predecessors. Bruce Eder
Tracklist :
1. Red (6:17)
2. Fallen Angel (6:03)
3. One More Red Nightmare (7:10)
4. Providence (8:10)
5. Starless (12:17)
Credits :
Alto Saxophone – Ian McDonald
Bass, Vocals – John Wetton
Cornet – Marc Charig
Guitar, Mellotron – Robert Fripp
Oboe – Robin Miller
Percussion [Percussives] – William Bruford
Soprano Saxophone – Mel Collins
Violin – David Cross
5.3.24
KING CRIMSON — Discipline (1981) Four Version (1987, Virgin Japan, 32VD-1087) + (1988, Virgin Japan – VJD-28022 | Serie Big Artist Collection) + (1990, RM | Virgin Japan – VJCP-2308) + (2004, RM | HDCD | 30th Anniversary Edition) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless
When King Crimson leader Robert Fripp decided to assemble a new version of the band in the early '80s, prog rock fans rejoiced, and most new wave fans frowned. But after hearing this new unit's first release, 1981's Discipline, all the elements that made other arty new wave rockers (i.e., Talking Heads, Pere Ubu, the Police, etc.) successful were evident. Combining the futuristic guitar of Adrian Belew with the textured guitar of Fripp doesn't sound like it would work on paper, but the pairing of these two originals worked out magically. Rounding out the quartet was bass wizard Tony Levin and ex-Yes drummer Bill Bruford. Belew's vocals fit the music perfectly, sounding like David Byrne at his most paranoid at times (the funk track "Thela Hun Ginjeet"). Some other highlights include Tony Levin's "stick" (a strange bass-like instrument)-driven opener "Elephant Talk," the atmospheric "The Sheltering Sky," and the heavy rocker "Indiscipline." Many Crimson fans consider this album one of their best, right up there with In the Court of the Crimson King. It's easy to understand why after you hear the inspired performances by this hungry new version of the band. Greg Prato
Tracklist :
1. Elephant Talk (04:43)
2. Frame By Frame (05:09)
3. Matte Kudasai (03:47)
4. Indiscipline (04:33)
5. Thela Hun Ginjeet (06:26)
6. The Sheltering Sky (08:22)
7. Discipline (05:13)
8. Matte Kudasai (Alternative version) (03:51)
Credits :
Chapman Stick, Bass, Vocals [Support] – Tony Levin
Drums [Batterie] – Bill Bruford
Guitar, Lead Vocals – Adrian Belew
Guitar, Performer [Devices] – Robert Fripp
Music By – Belew (tracks: 1)
Music By, Written-By – King Crimson
KING CRIMSON — Beat (1982) Three Version (1987, Virgin Japan – 32VD-1088) + (1990, RM | Virgin Japan – VJCP-2309) + (2005, RM | HDCD | 30th Anniversary Edition) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless
Beat is not as good as its predecessor (1981's Discipline), but it's not too shabby, either. The '80s version of King Crimson (Robert Fripp, guitar; Adrian Belew, vocals/guitar; Tony Levin, bass; and Bill Bruford, drums) retains the then-modern new wave sound introduced on Discipline. The band's performances are still inspired, but the songwriting isn't as catchy or strong. The moody love song "Heartbeat" has become a concert favorite for the band, and contains a Jimi Hendrix-like backward guitar solo. Other worthwhile tracks include "Waiting Man," which features world music sounds (thanks to some stunning bass/percussion interplay), and "Neurotica" does an excellent job of painting an unwavering picture of a large U.S. city, with its jerky rhythms and tense vocals. With lots of different guitar textures, bass explorations, and uncommon drum rhythms present, King Crimson's Beat will automatically appeal to other musicians. But since they're fantastic songwriters as well, you don't have to be a virtuoso to feel the passion of their music. Greg Prato
Tracklist :
1. Neal And Jack And Me (04:23)
2. Heartbeat (03:54)
3. Sartori In Tangier (03:35)
4. Waiting Man (04:24)
5. Neurotica (04:49)
6. Two Hands (03:23)
7. The Howler (04:12)
8. Requiem (06:35)
Credits :
Chapman Stick, Bass, Backing Vocals – Tony Levin
Drums – Bill Bruford
Guitar, Lead Vocals – Adrian Belew
Guitar, Organ, Other [Frippertronics] – Robert Fripp
Lyrics By – Adrian Belew (tracks: 1, 2, 4, 5, 7)
KING CRIMSON — Three of a Perfect Pair (1984) Three Version (1986, Japan EG – VJD-28005) + (1994, EG – EGCD 55 | Serie The Definitive Edition) + (2004, RM | HDCD | Serie 30th Anniversary Edition) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless
Upon its release in 1984, Three of a Perfect Pair caused some unrest among fans of King Crimson. Most of their audience felt that the band had made a conscious and obvious decision to try to break through to a more mainstream pop audience. But in hindsight, this is hardly the case; it sounds unlike anything that was out at the time. Like 1982's Beat, Three of a Perfect Pair doesn't quite meet the high standards set by 1981's Discipline, but does contain a few Crimson treats. The opening title track has an unrelenting groove that never seems to let up, while "Sleepless" starts off with Tony Levin laying down some funky bass until Adrian Belew's trademark paranoid vocals kick in and assure the listener that "it's alright to feel a little fear." Also included are the seven-minute instrumental soundscape "Industry," and the cautionary tale of a "Model Man." This would prove to be the new King Crimson's last release for nearly ten years; the group disbanded soon after as its members concentrated on solo careers and other projects, until a mid-'90s reunion brought them all back together. Greg Prato
Tracklist :
1. Three Of A Perfect Pair (04:13)
2. Model Man (03:51)
3. Sleepless (05:19)
4. Man With An Open Heart (03:05)
5. Nuages (That Which Passes, Passes Like Clouds) (04:46)
6. Industry (07:20)
7. Dig Me (03:01)
8. No Warning (03:29)
9. Larks' Tongues In Aspic Part 3 (06:03)
Credits :
Bass, Chapman Stick [Stick], Synthesizer, Voice [Background] – Tony Levin
Drums [Acoustic Drumming], Electronic Drums [Electric Drumming] – Bill Bruford
Guitar – Robert Fripp
Guitar [Fretted, Fretless], Voice, Words By – Adrian Belew
Producer, Music By – King Crimson
KING CRIMSON — THRAK (1995) Two Version (2004, RM | HDCD | Serie 30th Anniversary Edition) + (2006, Japan, WHD Entertainment, IECP-10045) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless
The only progressive rock band from the '60s to be making new, vital, progressive music in the '90s, King Crimson returned from a ten-year exile in 1995 with THRAK, their first album since 1984's Three of a Perfect Pair. As with the '80s band, guitarist/ringleader Robert Fripp recruited singer/guitarist Adrian Belew, bassist Tony Levin, and drummer Bill Bruford for this incarnation of his classic band. However, he added to this familiar quartet two new members: Chapman Stick player Trey Gunn and ex-Mr. Mister drummer Pat Mastelotto. Effectively, Fripp created a "double trio," and the six musicians combine their instruments in extremely unique ways. The mix is very dense, overpoweringly so at times, but careful listens will reveal that each musician has his own place in each song; the denseness of the sound is by design, not the accidental result of too many cooks in the kitchen. Sometimes, as in "THRAK," the two trios are set against each other, in some sort of musical faux combat. In others, they just combine their respective sounds to massive effect. On "Dinosaur," perhaps the strongest track on the record, Mastelotto and Bruford set up an ominous tom-tom groove that supports an even more ominous guitar figure. The vocal, the musings of a long-dead sauropod, are vintage Belew, just as the freaky, falling-down-the-stairs solo in the middle is vintage Fripp. Other high points include the drum duet "B'Boom" and the two Belew/Fripp "Inner Garden" pieces. Allusions to earlier Crimson abounds, such as the form of "VROOM," for example, which is suspiciously reminiscent of "Red" (from the 1974 album of the same name), or the shout-out to "The Sheltering Sky" (from 1981's Discipline) in "Walking on Air." Thankfully, this never gets annoying, but instead acts as a subtle nudge and a wink to faithful fans. King Crimson came back in a major way with THRAK, and proved that, even in its fourth major incarnation, Fripp and company still had something to say. High-quality prog. Daniel Gioffre
Tracklist :
1 VROOOM 4:37
2 Coda: Marine 475 2:41
3 Dinosaur 6:35
4 Walking On Air 4:34
5 B'Boom 4:11
6 THRAK 3:58
7 Inner Garden I 1:47
8 People 5:53
9 Radio I 0:43
10 One Time 5:21
11 Radio II 1:02
12 Inner Garden II 1:15
13 Sex Sleep Eat Drink Dream 4:48
14 VROOOM VROOOM 5:37
15 VROOOM VROOOM: Coda 3:00
Credits :
Backing Vocals, Chapman Stick [Stick] – Trey Gunn
Backing Vocals, Electric Upright Bass [Upright Bass], Electric Bass – Tony Levin
Guitar, Effects [Soundscapes], Mellotron – Robert Fripp
Guitar, Voice, Words By – Adrian Belew
Music By – King Crimson
Percussion [Acoustic & Electronic] – Bill Bruford, Pat Mastelotto
13.7.22
DAVID TORN - Cloud About Mercury (1987-2019) APE (image+.cue), lossless
Tracklist :
1 suyafhu skin... snapping the hollow reed 8'21
(David Torn)
2 the mercury grid 6'33
(David Torn)
3 3 minutes of pure entertainment 7'09
(David Torn)
4 previous man 7'55
(Tony Levin, Bill Bruford, David Torn, Mark Isham)
5 network of sparks: the delicate code 4'52
(David Torn)
6 network of sparks: egg learns to walk - ... suyafhu seal 10'25
(David Torn, Bill Bruford, Mark Isham, Tony Levin)
Credits :
David Torn Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar
Mark Isham Trumpet, Piccolo Trumpet, Flugelhorn, Synthesizer
Tony Levin Chapman Stick, Synthesizer Bass
Bill Bruford Simmons Drums, Synthesizer Drums, Percussion
27.5.20
BILL BRUFORD - Feels Good To Me (1978) lp [24bits-96hz] FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless
The opener, "Beelzebub," is a furious staccato workout. Holdsworth trades eights with Bruford and Berlin executes loping basslines as Stewart waxes painterly with both organ and synthesizer. It's knotty and stops on a dime before charging into a beautiful solo by Holdsworth and resolving itself with the ensemble restating the theme. "Back to the Beginning" has one of four vocal performances by Peacock. It's a jazz tune -- funky, syncopated, and heavily and wildly lyrical both in groove and meter. It's a song about addictions and, given Peacock's sultry treatment, it's hard to tell if they are chemical, material, or sexual. The band works hard staying behind the singer but can't help but overshadow her.
On the two-part "Seems Like a Lifetime Ago," musical schizophrenia sets in. After a colorful pastoral intro, Peacock glides beautifully through Bruford's lyric of forlorn reverie accompanied by a gorgeous Wheeler solo. Then "Part Two" begins with her growling out the refrain and the band taking off for parts unknown. Hard funky rhythms call Holdsworth's lead guitar to move flat up against Bruford's frenetic drumming. They challenge each other dynamically as the rest of the rhythm section nervously dances around them. Holdsworth finally grabs the lead and plays a solo that is nothing short of breathtaking, giving way to a restatement of the theme and Bruford opening up the harmonic structure before bringing it to a transcendent close two minutes later. The album's six instrumentals are tight: they hold improvisational breaks to the limits of compositional dictation rather than vice versa. The most beautiful, "Either End of August," features Stewart and Wheeler playing unusual yet melodic solos that entwine with each other as the rest of the band struggles to keep the drama out of the music. They don't succeed entirely and the track is all the better for it.
The set closes with "Adios a la Pasada (Goodbye to the Past)," a collaboration between Peacock and Bruford. It's on Peacock's favorite theme: to emerge from love scraped and beaten, yet resolved to keep an open heart. The opening is spare and strange, coated with whispering keyboards and bass haunting the artist's every word. Then Bruford majestically leads the band, soaring into the heart of her lyric, "What it is/Is this/Is what it is/Forgive yourselves/Release yourselves from the past." The music opens up an entirely new sonic dimension, as if history, both musical and emotional, was being rewritten. And it was. Bruford has yet to issue a solo recording as powerful as Feels Good to Me. by Thom Jurek
Tracklist:
A1 - Beelzebub 3:16
Written-By - Bill Bruford
A2 - Back To The Beginning 7:09
Words By, Music By - Bill Bruford
A3 - Seems Like A Lifetime Ago (Part One) 2:30
Words By, Music By - Bill Bruford
A4 - Seems Like A Lifetime Ago (Part Two) 4:25
Written-By - Bill Bruford
A5 - Sample And Hold 5:12
Written-By - Bill Bruford, Dave Stewart
B1- Feels Good To Me 3:49
Guitar [Additional] - John Goodsall / Written-By - Bill Bruford
B2 - Either End Of August 5:27
Written-By - Bill Bruford
B3 - If You Can't The Heat 3:20
Written-By - Bill Bruford, Dave Stewart
B4 - Springtime In Siberia 2:43
Written-By - Bill Bruford, Dave Stewart
B5 - Adios A La Pasada (Goodbye To The Past) 7:56
Music By - Bill Bruford / Words By - Annette Peacock
Credits
Bass – Jeff Berlin
Featuring [With], Flugelhorn – Kenny Wheeler
Guitar – Allan Holdsworth
Keyboards – Dave Stewart
Percussion [Tuned And Untuned Percussion], Drums [Kit Drums] – Bill Bruford
Vocals – Annette Peacock
BRUFORD - One of a Kind (1979) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless
Tracklist:
1 Hell's Bells 3:33
Written-By – Gowen, Stewart
2 One Of A Kind - Part One 2:20
Written-By – Bruford
3 One Of A Kind - Part Two 4:04
Written-By – Bruford, Stewart
4 Travels With Myself - And Someone Else 6:13
Written-By – Bruford
5 Fainting In Coils 6:33
Narrator – Sam Alder
Voice [Alice] – Anthea Norman Taylor
Voice [The Mock Turtle] – Bill Bruford
Words By – Lewis Carroll
Written-By – Bruford
6 Five G 4:46
Written-By – Bruford, Stewart, Berlin
7 The Abingdon Chasp 4:54
Written-By – Holdsworth
8 Forever Until Sunday 5:51
Written-By – Bruford
9 The Sahara Of Snow - Part One 5:18
Written-By – Bruford
10 The Sahara Of Snow - Part Two 3:24
Written-By – Bruford, Jobson
Credits:
Bass [The Bass], Vocals [The Vocals] – Jeff Berlin
Drums [The Drums] – Bill Bruford
Guitar [The Guitar] – Allan Holdsworth
Keyboards [The Keyboards] – Dave Stewart
Producer – Bill Bruford
13.3.20
ANDERSON / BRUFORD / WAKEMAN / HOWE - Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe (1989-2010) 2CD / FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless
ANDERSON / BRUFORD / WAKEMAN / HOWE - An Evening of Yes Music Plus (1993) 2CD / APE (image+.cue), lossless
6.1.20
U.K. - U.K. (1978-2014) RM / SHM-CD / FLAC (image+.cue), lossless
Tracklist:
1 In The Dead Of Night 5:38
Written-By – Jobson, Wetton
2 By The Light Of Day 4:32
Written-By – Jobson, Wetton
3 Presto Vivace And Reprise 2:58
Written-By – Jobson, Wetton
4 Thirty Years 8:05
Written-By – Bruford, Jobson, Wetton
5 Alaska 4:45
Written-By – Jobson
6 Time To Kill 4:55
Written-By – Bruford, Jobson, Wetton
7 Nevermore 8:09
Written-By – Holdsworth, Jobson, Wetton
8 Mental Medication 6:12
Written-By – Holdsworth, Bruford, Jobson
Bonus Tracks
9 In The Dead Of Night - Single Version 3:03
10 Mental Medication - Single Edit 3:25
Credits
Drums [Kit Drums], Percussion – Bill Bruford
Guitar – Allan Holdsworth
Violin [Electric], Keyboards, Electronics – Eddie Jobson
Voice, Bass – John Wetton
3.10.18
CHRIS SQUIRE - Fish Out of Water [1975] LP [24-96] FLAC
Tracklist
A1 Hold Out Your Hand 4:14
A2 You By My Side 5:03
A3 Silently Falling 11:21
B1 Lucky Seven 6:57
B2 Safe (Canon Song) 14:53
Credits
Arranged By, Producer, Written-By – Chris Squire
Bass, Guitar, Vocals – Chris Squire
Drums, Percussion – Bill Bruford
Flute – Jimmy Hastings
Harp – David Snell
Leader [Brass Sections] – John Wilbraham
Leader [Horn Sections] – Jim Buck
Leader [String Sections] – Julian Gaillard
Leader [Woodwind Sections] – Adrian Brett
Organ [Pipe] – Barry Rose
Organ, Synthesizer [Bass] – Patrick Moraz
Piano, Electric Piano, Conductor – Andrew Pryce Jackman
Saxophone – Mel Collins
+ last month
JOACHIM KÜHN — Europeana : Jazzphony No. 1 (Michael Gibbs) (1995) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless
Europeana won the Annual German Record Critics' Award upon its initial CD release in 1995. ACT Tracklist : 1 Castle In Heaven 4:16 Fr...