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King CrimsonAlbums ReviewedIn The Court of the Crimson King (1969)Red (1974) Discipline (1981) In The Court of the Crimson King(1969)While the seeds of progressive rock were sown before this album, with bands like Procol Harum, The Mothers of Invention and The Nice exploring classical elements and extended suites in rock music, it was In The Court of the Crimson King that established the benchmark for the genre. Originating from an unsuccessful 1968 album, The Cheerful Insanity of Giles, Giles and Fripp, guitarist Robert Fripp and drummer Michael Giles enlisted vocalist and bassist Greg Lake, multi-instrumentalist Ian McDonald, as well as lyricist Peter Sinfield (who named the group after the devil). Like a lot of progressive rock, there's little middle ground when forming an opinion; listeners will either be enchanted by their ambition and virtuosity, or be turned off by their lengthiness and pompousness. King Crimson do seem to escape the critical condemnation often handed out to their progressive rock contemporaries (although a review at the time wrote scathingly that if Wagner was able to join a rock band, he'd pick King Crimson), largely because of their ability to constantly stay on the experimental side of halfway. Fripp, the only constant member of the group, has successfully charted a course through five decades of popular music, embracing metal and new wave without ever seeming either in step or out of step with the rest of the world. The exception is In The Court of the Crimson King, the group's only gold album and a huge influence on the ensuing genre. There's not too much to say about their debut album that hasn't been said already, but given its quality and influence it's also foolish to ignore it. The abridged version of everyman's opinion is that In The Court of the Crimson King has five songs. Four of them are terrific. 'Moonchild', the exception, starts off nicely enough but quickly descends into ten minutes of directionless noodling. Unless you're completely adverse to progressive rock, it's difficult to disagree with this consensus. '21st Century Schizoid Man' starts off with a powerful assault, with a distorted Lake vocal and a tangible jazz influence through McDonald's saxophone and Giles' complex drumming, a song that has few points of comparison in the rock canon. 'I Talk To The Wind' is the gentle ballad, while 'Epitaph' and the title track are more conventional progressive rock epics. The performances match the material; Giles is an excellent drummer, Lake's vocals and bass are superb, while McDonald's multi-instrumental ability provides fluidity to the arrangements. Sinfield's lyrics don't necessarily bear up to close scrutiny, but they're respectable enough and the fantasy themes set out the agenda for a lot of the progressive rock that would follow. Sadly, this is the original lineup's only complete album; Lake decamped to Emerson, Lake and Palmer soon afterwards, and the others sunk into obscurity, leaving Fripp to soldier on with a completely revamped lineup. 
Feedback: KM writes
Feedback: Jon Green writes Red(1974)Simultaneously majestic and paranoid, intense and beautiful, Red is a magnificent recording. Due to group tensions, King Crimson was reduced to a three piece by 1974. Bill Bruford, swiped from Yes, puts in a monstrous performance behind the drums, founder Robert Fripp has a bag full of guitar riffage, while John Wetton is proficient enough on bass and vocals to ensure that he isn't outclassed in such illustrious company. 'Red' and 'One More Red Nightmare' are both evocative and intense; the former (an instrumental) spirals out of control, while the latter is a paranoid account of a fear of flying. Bruford's percussion is notably innovative in the latter, producing a clattering riff. Sitting between these two pure hard rock songs, complete with powerful drumming, feedback and distorted bass, 'Fallen Angel' starts off as a delicate ballad, but it ends up as intense as everything else with Fripp's dissonant one note lead spicing up the chorus. The core band is augmented with saxophones and wind instruments, also present for the absolutely majestic closer 'Starless', easily the standout track on an excellent album. The first five minutes consist of a lovely jazzy piece, merely an entree for the stunning instrumental passage which culminates in a rip-roaring climax. 'Starless' is a riveting twelve minute epic. In fact, all four of the songs on Red are riveting; there is always a focus and intensity, while there are a multitude of catchy riffs on each song. Unfortunately it wouldn't be King Crimson without one obligatory wankfest; in this case, 'Providence', a violin led jam culled from a live show. Personally, I don't mind the piece at all; it actually becomes enjoyable once a solid rhythm kicks in. 'Providence' is definitely the low point of Red, but it's hardly an unmitigated disaster and fits in the album reasonably well. If you've been reading carefully, you may have noticed that adjectives like "majestic", "evocative" and "intense" keep appearing; it's not a coincidence.
Discipline(1981)Seven years after breaking up his band in the wake of Red, Fripp reconvened King Crimson with Bruford and two new members. Apparently Fripp had meant to break up King Crimson for good (he retaught himself guitar from scratch after Red), but was so impressed with his new group (originally named Discipline) that King Crimson was the only name that fitted. The result is a compendium of world class instrumental virtuosity; Robert Fripp is joined on guitar by new vocalist Adrian Belew, a technological whizkid who is able to coax all sorts of exotic noises out of his instrument. The rhythm section is even more impressive: drummer Bill Bruford is only allowed to cut loose on 'Indiscipline' (there's a hilarious section of Fripp's diary included in the liner notes, where Fripp lays down a fascist set of rules for Bruford including a cymbal ban), but enlivens Discipline with African percussion sounds which blend well with Tony Levin's excellent Chapman stick and bass work. Despite the talent on command King Crimson play extremely well together, forming ornate but understated textures. Belew is a capable vocalist, sounding uncannily like Talking Head David Byrne on the funky and clever 'Elephant Talk', and delivering the smooth ballad 'Matte Kudasai'. Both 'Thela Hun Ginjeet' and 'Indiscipline' have amusing spoken passages; the latter is a study of painting appreciation while the former is an account of an attempted mugging featuring plenty of guffaws. The tightly constructed 'Frame By Frame' may be the best song here, while the two instrumentals that conclude Discipline are far more focused than some of King Crimson's more infamous efforts. While Discipline is an interesting exercise, introducing virtuosity to the new wave ideals of energy and conciseness, it's far less hard-hitting than Red; it has a certain air of intellectualism and austerity that isn't particularly engaging, even though it's very worthy musically.
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Written 2001-2007, Graham Fyfe
