King Crimson gone for good? (1 Viewer)

I was thinking about King Crimson the other day, and when I popped into BB with a $10 coupon I thought I might pickup a
cd or two from their catalogue. Except there wasn't even a plastic divider card in their racks. I stopped by Borders on the way home and there was ONE cd...the first album. There is so much stuff in these stores, would it kill them to have a few titles in stock from this band?

There's always Amazon...

Lot's of stuff here too:

http://www.disciplineglobalmobile.com/index.htm
http://www.elephant-talk.com/

They're out of favor with the general public. Have been for about 20 years- and I like it that way!

As for new material/performances, Trey Gunn left the band last year and Tony Levin is slated to replace him. However, I've been hearing that Fripp is considering retiring from live performing.

In addition to Kevin's and Mike's info...

Crim's contractual obligations with Virgin have expired, and from here on, DGM / Fripp / Crim will take ownership of the classic catalog... in this transition period there seems to be low stock in many stores... but the catalog will be re-issued soon... ITCOTCK is the first one out and it alone is a new remaster from newly-found master tapes... the rest of the catalog reissues will be the same as the 30th Anniversary editions.

Any news on DVD-A or SACD releases?

(I am a big fan, but not so much of their more recent stuff...)

Not a peep on hi-res... an SACD ITCOTCK has been scheduled for 3-4 years, but has never materialized... they're probably waiting to see if there's even going to be any hi-res format survivor before going forward.

Meanwhile, give their latest studio effort, The Power to Believe, a try... a very cohesive work, with many stunning passages... thought to be one of their very best by various-era Crim fans.

Greg- Thanks for suggesting the Power to Believe. I kind of really didn't like the Construkction of Light at all, but now looking over on Allmusic.com that one got 2 stars while TPTB got 4 stars...

The Power To Believe is a much better album than The Construkction Of Light. One of my favorite albums of 2003.

Jason

Shoot, now that I've read up on the Power to Believe, I think I have to get Level 5 and that Happy disc too. Drats.

The Power to Believe is very reminiscent of what I liked about Thrak. Not so crazy about The ConstruKction of Light, but every Krim album is a very different journey.

I liked both Vrooom and Thrak. Shoot, I've liked everything from Lark's Tongue up to Thrak. But likewise, not TCOL at all. I have the Happy CD and the Power to Believe on the way. When I found I didn't like TCOL, I blamed it on Bill Bruford's absence. He's not on the two I'm getting either, so it'll be curious...

Do not underestimate the chops of Pat Mastelotto!... PM owns that band these days... there is so much going on at his drumstool it is as if there are still two percussionists back there, reminiscent of Bruford / Muir.

The consensus is that, despite inclusion of at least 3 essential Crim tracks, TCOL suffers from questionable production choices... in particular, Mastelotto's electronic kit sounds muffled, recessed, toy-like... when in fact his playing is ferocious... Power has rectified that issue with the hiring of an outside producer, Machine... and now PM's drums (now a hybrid kit) burst forth like a volcanic eruption... it also doesn't help that TCOL starts off with a bit of a clunker, Prozakc Blues... to me, TCOL is a keeper if only for Frakctured, arguably Fripp's finest moment.

Anyway, Power rights all previous wrongs, you won't be disappointed... also recommended: Heavy ConstruKction... live from the first tour in support of TCOL... lotsa improvs... this Crim excels at improvs.

Yeah, starting off TCOL with Prozakc Blues did not help! I'll listen to the two I'm getting, and then maybe go back and take a look at the others. Thanks!

ConstrucKtion of Light did indeed suffer from production issus. Also, a couple of the pieces were not completely gelled yet.

For example, the title track is a brilliant composition, and I have and have heard many versions. The worst, by far, is the performance of the album. The rhythm is stilted and too slow, and the instruments aren't mixed very well to make it cohesive. It was also a mistake, IMO, to split it into multiple tracks.

The version on the Level Five tour EP is stunning, a world of difference. And seeing it live is jaw dropping.

Listened to the Happy CD last night, and the Power to Believe twice today. Happy is just OK, but I kind of like TPTB. There are hints to a lot of their older stuff in there.

Shoot, now I want to pick up the ConstruKction of Light again just to get Lark's Tongues in Aspic IV.

Addicting, isn't it...

Even if TCOL is somewhat flawed, it does contain three essential, all-time Crim classics -- LTIA 4, FraKctured and the title track... you can find better performances of LTIA 4 on the live discs, but FraKctured is found on only one other concert CD, Heavy ConstruKction (also very highly recommended), and the studio version is definitive... they didn't perform this extremely difficult piece very much, it might even be officially 'retired'... so I'm afraid you need TCOL if only for that.

TCOL has grown on me over the months and years, and I've come to accept its deliberate production characteristics... I just gotta remember to skip ProzaKc when I spin it.

I was just looking over on allmusic.com and they don't have listed the Cirkus live disc I picked up a while ago. Import from Holland, so maybe not released here? (Virgin, not DGM.)

And, any preference for B'Boom or Vrooom Vrooom?

Cirkus might be out of print, but not hard to find in the used bin.

Vrooom Vrooom, hands down... B'B is made up of live tracks by the Double Trio early in its existence (1994), so new material was being broken in, and it's OK, but... VV is live tracks of this band in full flight... one disc is from NYC, Nov 1995, and the other from Mexico City, Aug 1996, their final concert... includes a rare latter-day performance of 21st Century Schizoid Man.

Cool. I have both, and was trying to decide if I want to make my own compilation (what I did with the Great Deceiver), or just keep one.

I did get TCOL on ebay yesterday. $3! (Same guy has a bunch more for $6. Can't figure that one out. All say new and sealed...)

IMO, the version on Happy is superior to the album cut. A stronger, more intense performance, and no stupid vocals at the end.