The group's definitive album, and one of the most daring debut albums ever recorded by anybody. At the time, it blew all of the progressive/psychedelic competition (the Moody Blues, the Nice, etc.) out of the running, although it was almost too good for the band's own good -- it took King Crimson nearly four years to come up with a record as strong or concise. Ian McDonald's Mellotron is the dominant instrument, along with his saxes and Fripp's guitar, making this a somewhat different-sounding record from everything else they ever did. And even though that Mellotron sound is muted and toned down compared to their concert work of the era (e.g., Epitaph), it is still fierce and overpowering, on an album highlighted by strong songwriting (most of it filled with dark and doom-laden visions), the strongest singing of Greg Lake's entire career, and Fripp's guitar playing that strangely mixed elegant classical, Hendrix-like rock explosions, and jazz noodling. Lineup changes commenced immediately upon the album's release, and Fripp would ultimately be the only survivor on later King Crimson records. Bruce Eder
Tracklist :
1. 21st Century Schizoid Man (including Mirrors) 07:21
2. I Talk To The Wind 06:05
3. Epitaph (including March For No Reason and Tomorrow And Tomorrow) [08:47]
4. Moonchild (including The Dream and The Illusion) 12:13
5. The Court Of The Crimson King
(including The Return Of The Fire Witch and The Dance Of The Puppets) [09:25]
Total time [43:54]
Credits :
Greg Lake - Bass Guitar, Lead Vocals
Michael Giles - Drums, Percussion, Vocals
Robert Fripp - Guitar
Ian McDonald - Keyboards, Mellotron, Woodwind, Vibraphone [Vibes], Reeds, Vocals
Peter Sinfield - Words By, Other [Illumination]
7.3.24
KING CRIMSON — In The Court Of The Crimson King (1969) Three Version (1987, Japan, EMI-Toshiba, 32VD-1063) + (1990, RM | Serie The Definitive Edition | Virgin Japan, VJCP-2301) + (2009, UK, Discipline Global Mobile, KCCBX1 | RM | 5CD BOX-SET | King Crimson 40th Anniversary Series) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless
KING CRIMSON — In The Wake Of Poseidon (1970) Three Version (1988, Virgin Japan, VJD-28002 | Serie Big Artist Collection) + (1990, RM EG | Virgin Japan – VJCP-2302) + (2010, UK Discipline Global Mobile, KCSP2 | King Crimson 40th Anniversary Series) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless
King Crimson opened 1970 scarcely in existence as a band, having lost two key members (Ian McDonald and Michael Giles), with a third (Greg Lake) about to leave. Their second album -- largely composed of Robert Fripp's songwriting and material salvaged from their stage repertory ("Pictures of a City" and "The Devil's Triangle") -- is actually better produced and better sounding than their first. Surprisingly, Fripp's guitar is not the dominant instrument here: The Mellotron, taken over by Fripp after McDonald's departure -- and played even better than before -- still remains the band's signature. The record doesn't tread enough new ground to precisely rival In the Court of the Crimson King. Fripp, however, has made an impressive show of transmuting material that worked on stage ("Mars" aka "The Devil's Triangle") into viable studio creations, and "Cadence and Cascade" may be the prettiest song the group ever cut. "The Devil's Triangle," which is essentially an unauthorized adaptation of "Mars, Bringer of War" from Gustav Holst's The Planets, was later used in an eerie Bermuda Triangle documentary of the same name. [In March of 2000, Caroline and Virgin released a 24-bit digitally remastered job that puts the two Mellotrons, Michael Giles' drums, Peter Giles' bass, and even Fripp's acoustic guitar and Keith Tippett's acoustic piano practically in the lap of the listener.] Bruce Eder
Tracklist :
1. Peace - A Beginning (00:49)
Robert Fripp / Peter Sinfield
2. Pictures Of A City (including 42nd At Treadmill) (08:01)
Robert Fripp / Peter Sinfield
3. Cadence And Cascade (04:38)
Robert Fripp / Peter Sinfield
4. In The Wake Of Poseidon (including Libra's Theme) (07:58)
Robert Fripp / Peter Sinfield
5. Peace - A Theme (01:15)
Robert Fripp
6. Cat Food (04:54)
Robert Fripp / Ian McDonald / Peter Sinfield
7. The Devil's Triangle ((i) Merday Morn; (ii) Hand Of Sceiron; (iii) Garden Of Worm) (11:36)
Robert Fripp
8. Peace - An End (01:53)
Robert Fripp / Peter Sinfield
Credits :
Bass – Peter Giles
Drums – Michael Giles
Guitar, Mellotron, Electronics [Devices] – Robert Fripp
Lyrics By, Artwork By [Sleeve Design & Inside Painting] – Peter Sinfield
Piano – Keith Tippet
Producer, Directed By – Peter Sinfield, Robert Fripp
Saxophone, Flute – Mel Collins
Vocals – Greg Lake
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 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
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)
27.2.24
BRIAN ENO — Before and After Science (1977-2004) RM | Original Masters Series | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless
Before and After Science is really a study of "studio composition"
whereby recordings are created by deconstruction and elimination: tracks
are recorded and assembled in layers, then selectively subtracted one
after another, resulting in a composition and sound quite unlike that at
the beginning of the process. Despite the album's pop format, the sound
is unique and strays far from the mainstream. Eno also experiments with
his lyrics, choosing a sound-over-sense approach. When mixed with the
music, these lyrics create a new sense or meaning, or the feeling of
meaning, a concept inspired by abstract sound poet Kurt Schwitters
(epitomized on the track "Kurt's Rejoinder," on which you actually hear
samples from Schwitters' "Ursonate"). Before and After Science opens
with two bouncy, upbeat cuts: "No One Receiving," featuring the offbeat
rhythm machine of Percy Jones and Phil Collins (Eno regulars during this
period), and "Backwater." Jones' analog delay bass dominates on the
following "Kurt's Rejoinder," and he and Collins return on the
mysterious instrumental "Energy Fools the Magician." The last five
tracks (the entire second side of the album format) display a serenity
unlike anything in the pop music field. These compositions take on an
occasional pastoral quality, pensive and atmospheric. Cluster joins Eno
on the mood-evoking "By This River," but the album's apex is the final
cut, "Spider and I." With its misty emotional intensity, the song seems
at once sad yet hopeful. The music on Before and After Science at times
resembles Another Green World ("No One Receiving") and Here Come the
Warm Jets ("King's Lead Hat") and ranks alongside both as the most
essential Eno material. David Ross Smith
Tracklist :
1 No One Receiving 03:52
Bass, Guitar [Rhythm] – Paul Rudolph
Drums – Phil Collins
Fretless Bass – Percy Jones
Performer [A Gong-gong And Stick] – Rhett Davies
Synthesizer, Guitar, Percussion [Synthesized], Piano – Brian Eno
2 Backwater 03:43
Bass – Paul Rudolph
Drums – Jaki Liebezeit
Guitar [Rhythm], Brass, Piano – Brian Eno
Chorus, Piano ['jazz'], Synthesizer – Brian Eno
Drums – Dave Mattacks
Timbales [Brush] – Shirley Williams
Voice [From The Ur Sonata] – Kurt Schwitters
4 Energy Fools the Magician 02:04
Chorus, Keyboards, Vibraphone – Brian Eno
Drums – Phil Collins
Fretless Bass – Percy Jones
Guitar [Modified] – Fred Frith
5 King's Lead Hat 03:56
Bass – Paul Rudolph
Drums – Andy Fraser
Guitar [Guitar Solo] – Robert Fripp
Guitar [Rhythm] – Phil Manzanera
Performer [Metallics], Guitar [Rhythm], Piano [Piano Solo] – Brian Eno
6 Here He Comes 05:38
Bass – Paul Rudolph
Drums – Dave Mattacks
Guitar – Phil Manzanera
Synthesizer [Yamaha Cs80, Moog], Piano – Brian Eno
7 Julie with... 06:19
Bass, Bass [Harmonic] – Paul Rudolph
Bells, Synthesizer [Mini-moog, Cs80, Aks], Piano, Guitar – Brian Eno
8 By This River 03:03
Electric Piano [Bass Fender] – Möbi Moebius
Piano [Grand], Electric Piano – Achim Roedelius
Synthesizer [Cs80] – Brian Eno
Written-By [Co-written] – Moebius, Roedelius
Bass – Bill MacCormick
Guitar [Cascade] – Fred Frith
Keyboards, Bells, Guitar [Melody], Synthesizer [Moog] – Brian Eno
Performer [Time] – Shirley Williams
10 Spider and I 04:10
Bass – Brian Turrington
Keyboards, Synthesizer [Aks] – Brian Eno
6.1.20
ROXY MUSIC – Roxy Music (1972-2015) RM | Platinum SHM-CD | FLAC (image+.cue), lossless
Tracklist :
1 Re-Make / Re-Model 5:10
2 Ladytron 4:21
3 If There Is Something 6:33
4 2 H.B. 4:30
5 The Bob (Melody) 5:48
6 Chance Meeting 3:00
7 Would You Believe? 3:47
8 Sea Breezes 7:00
9 Bitters End 2:02
Credits :
Bass Guitar – Graham Simpson
Drums – Paul Thompson
Guitar – Phil Manzanera
Saxophone, Oboe – Andy Mackay
Songwriter [All Songs By], Voice, Piano, Cover – Bryan Ferry
Synthesizer [Synthesiser], Tape – Eno
24.6.19
TANGERINE DREAM - Encore (1977-1995) RM | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless
1 Cherokee Lane 16:19
Peter Baumann / Christopher Franke / Edgar Froese
2 Monolight 19:54
Peter Baumann / Christopher Franke / Edgar Froese
3 Cold Water Canyon 18:06
Peter Baumann / Christopher Franke / Edgar Froese
4 Desert Dream 17:30
Peter Baumann / Christopher Franke / Edgar Froese
Credits
Written-By, Performer – Chris Franke, Edgar Froese, Peter Baumann
23.4.17
ENO – Another Green World (1975-1996) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless
+ 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...