In the Prog Seat: King Crimson-Our Favorite & Least Favorite Line-Up
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- čas přidán 7. 02. 2022
- Join Pete Pardo, Steven Reid, Ken Golden, Luis Nasser, Chuck Alvarez, Eric Porter and Chad Hutchinson as they discuss their favorite & least favorite line-up of King Crimson. #kingcrimson
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I love Louis Nasser's sense of humor.
He is hilarious 😂❤
The line up with Wetton and Bruford was explosive, Cross was magical too. Those three albums are top stuff, nothing can touch them.
What is the best Crimson solo album? I say it's "Exiles" by David Cross.
@@samdeatton181 And Damage.
Among those three albums, my favorite has always been 'Starless and Bible Black'.
Totally agree saw originals close up live, can’t be beat. Believe me people.
The Discipline line up is my favorite. The end of "Frame by Frame" where the 2 guitars play intertwining lines is one of the great moments in music history.
I can´t stand Adrian Belew! The only musician in the world who dances while playing prog. And his American accent - terrible! I miss John Wetton.
@@AP-sd1fl who cares about him dancing? Being unique was once championed by Prog.
Ignore 😅 There won't be a "you know what, that's a great point" with a crazy remark like that.
My favorite has to be the very first lineup, and a huge factor in this is Michael Giles. Such stylish and visionary playing and drum composition.
R.I.P to the great Ian McDonald 🙏 ✌️
The first is a groundbreaking masterpiece. Nothing comes close. At a time when musical innovation was at its peak, Crimson ruled them all. I guess you had to be there.
Totally saw the originals live. The recent line ups make a fool of them.
I just read the sad news about the death of Ian McDonald. RIP May he rest in peace
The Bruford and Levin rhythm section was great, but I have to say that the Wetton Bruford rhythm section for me is one of the best ever in rock music, the power that combo had was astounding.
Yeah, younger and more punkish.
Great show guys, love it. There is only one man who, I believe could have easily stepped into any Crimson era. A player of exceptional creativity, emotion, power and technique. The one and only Terry Bozzio.
Thanks Michael, Bozzio would certainly have been a fit for Crimson
I couldn't agree with you more, Terry Bozzio would have been an excellent fit for King Crimson, his monster drumming would have given the band such a giant sound, it definitely would have sounded very similar to his work with Frank Zappa. He's such a powerful drummer and i'm quite surprised that he never got snapped up by Fripp especially as Bozzio has collaborated with various Crimson members from Tony Levin to John Wetton to Pat Mastelotto to name a few. I would have loved to have seen Terry Bozzio play in any of the Crimson lineups, it would have been fantastic.
With his wife singing.
My favourite King Crimson lineup is Fripp, Wetton, Bruford and Cross, those guys together sounded super tight as a four piece with a monster sound, at times they sounded like a beefed up Mahavishnu Orchestra on steroids, from the fierce violin playing to the thunderous bass playing to the intense drumming and guitar playing. Their live improvisations and jams were always a treat to listen to, this incarnation had and could do it all.
My least favourite King Crimson lineup would have to be the current one from 2013 onwards, I always feel having one drummer is more than enough especially when it's Gavin Harrison but having three of them is just too much with all due respect to the other drummers Jeremy Stacey and Pat Mastelotto. Jakko Jakszyk although a very talented musician doesn't quite have the singing voice of the ones who previously came before him, Mel Collins and Tony Levin who are two guys you can always rely on to deliver in any situation I feel get lost in the mix due to all of the busy drumming. I think if that band was scaled down to a quintet then it would have sounded much better. I respect Fripp for wanting to try something different but this concept didn't and still doesn't work for me
I would have loved to have seen Eddie Jobson in King Crimson, he would have been excellent with Fripp, Wetton and Bruford if the band continued in 1975 onwards especially as he provided the overdubs for their USA live album. His violin and keyboard playing would have put them over huge with a giant sound
We agree on the weak 2013-current period. Wetton/Bruford were great. I really also like the Gunn/Belew combo
Best lineup: Fripp, Belew, Bruford, Levin. Actually, one or two years ago I would have said that Wetton/Cross era was my favourite, but I relistened whole King Crimson discography and I found 80s era so cohesive studio wise, that I couldn't resist. Of course, from the perspective of live performances, then I would probably pick Fripp, Bruford, Cross, Wetton.
Worst lineup: Fripp, Belew, Mastelotto, Gunn. I wouldn't say that the output was weak, but it was rather inconsistent. At moments they could be just brilliant (Level Five EP from 2001 with the title track and Virtuous Circle - those are one of a kind instrumentals), but for example The ConstruKction of Light was quite sporadic album, The World's My Oyster Soup Kitchen Floor Wax Museum is such a phenomenal song that I actually remember its whole title :D But then you got ProzaKc Blues... I want to agree that this is their worst song, but for me this spot is reserved for Prelude: Song of the Gulls - I'm close to despising that cheesy orchestration.
When you discussed about people who could enrich King Crimson, I thought that I really miss piano stuff in King Crimson. Not keyboards in general, but specifically piano. Like Tippett stuff, like Cat Food. So I started to think of ambitious keyboard players, that really like playing piano. Initially I thought about jazz pianists, but then I remembered Rick Davies from Supertramp... that guy might have brought interesting flavour to the whole idea of King Crimson, because he also enjoys jazz stuff, he can write really cool tunes balancing between jazz and pop (as King Crimson always did). One thing I'm not sure is that Rick Davies isn't really an improviser. So that could be an issue, but the idea is still intriguing.
I saw the THRAK double trio at Massey Hall in Toronto. T'was completely face melting!
King Crimson's first show was July 5th, Hyde Park 1969 opening for The Rolling Stones. Mick Taylor's first gig as a Stone. Love the music....
I find it quite telling, as well as compelling, that my favorite/best lineup for Crimson, as well as Yes, included Bruford. Nuff said!
Interesting discussion, guys. Not sure about lineup preferences, so I'm staying out of that. Ken was absolutely correct about the Talking Heads connection; Fripp played on Fear of Music, and Belew played on Remain in Light - both prior to Discipline.
There's also a David Bowie connection because Adrian Belew toured with Bowie in the late seventies while Robert Fripp was playing on Bowie's studio material.
oh man ,.. I would have loved to have been part of this one.. enjoy!
My favourite is the Discipline line up. That's the one that really grabbed me - not just the incredible music, but partly because it features some of my favourite musicians. Levin and Bruford? Oh yeah, I'll have some of that please. I knew little about Belew before Discipline, but came to see him as the icing on the cake in that line up. Saw them play the Royal Albert Hall and it remains one of the most memorable gigs I've been to.
Looking forward to the Prog gentleman and their expert insights. It is very hard to pick least favorite King Crimson line up ... a majority of the musicians were top shelf in their creative collaborations with Mr. Fripp. I would say that my favorite line up was the musicians who contributed to the Discipline album... very had to do a comparison. I feel the most favorite line ups will be close between the Red and Discipline musicians ... Starless is imho probably the best early era song that is a timeless song.
Yet another fantastic discussion that eased me through a dismal, rainy afternoon...
Glad you enjoyed it Colin.
@@ericporter344 Thanks, Eric. You guys are the most entertaining and informative bunch I know. Always look forward to these discussions...
@@noohoozfurra Thanks Colin, much appreciated
@@ericporter344 Entirely my pleasure, Eric...
My favourite Crimson line up is Red
1974.Bruford,Fripp,Wetton.Phenomenal!
Wow, this was so hard. The problem for me is my favourite King Crimson albums are the first two but as far as line-ups go, you can't go past the Larks to Red era, they really had something special happening during that era.
I've always seen The First Day album as an unofficial KC record. I would have loved to have seen more from Fripp and Sylvian.
I know Greg Lake stuff more for some reason and that was way back before 1974. I don't know much about the line ups but, it's all good. I enjoyed the listen.
Thanks for watching Darla
@@ericporter344 Thanks. Good day to you Eric.
And now we have the very sad news of the passing of Ian McDonald on Wednesday just gone
I appreciate the groups perspectives on KC and agree with most of what is said. As an older dude that first turned on to Crimson with their debut album, the original line-up remains my favorite, simply because the work was so ground-breaking. Nothing shaked up the musical landscape more than that first album. If the review panel included more long-time Crimso fans, I'd guess more of the conversation would have focused on the phenomenal work of Giles, McDonald, Lake, and Fripp and even the line-ups that followed up to Lizard.
Great lineup for sure on Court!
Favorite for me is Red, but actually I find myself drawn to Islands often and I agree with Chuck, it’s an underrated album, my least favorite is The Construkction of Light.
Chuck is right. Islands is greatly underrated. It's in my top five of their albums for sure.
Great, informative and engaging episode, kudos to all of you!
I'm glad that Pete and Ken ( I think? ) stuck up for Islands, it's a great 'fripping' album!! =D Having said that, any KC line-up with Bruffy on board is my fav... and I'm with absent Anthony, Porcupine Crimson would be very interesting to see!
Best era: 1968 to 1971 taking into account Giles, Giles and Fripp, Court, Poseidon and McDonald and Giles
Worst era: The current line up. The lack of a studio album and relentless live material only improved in the Elements box sets which embellished it all with archive material.
Rookie member: Mike Oldfield. I would be interested in seeing where he would take the sound. He often played bass and you could bring in guest vocalists past and present.
I've got to watch the new King Crimson documentary, should be out any time now.
Can't wait Tom! Thanks for watching
Favourite lineup Fripp, Wetton, Bruford, Cross & Muir. Lest favourite Fripp, Belew, Bruford, Levin
Three of a Perfect Pair was my first KC album buy on cassette and a mainstay in my Walkman, in the 1980s as a teenager.
"Carry On" is a nice song from some British band as well.
Excellent!
Excellent show, guys! I'm just getting into classic prog at 30 - better late than never, and this whole video hit the spot. Thanks, fellas!
Great discussion. When I was a kid in the 70s in Surrey (UK) I painted a cupboard in my bedroom with the big Crimson face and went on to paint a series of very dark red abstract paintings for my art college portfolio inspired by Red and one more red Nightmare but it was only when I watched a Fripp YouT video a year ago breaking down the guitar part for Fracture that I realised how much of the music had sailed right over my head. There is always something new to discover about KC.
Looking forward to watching this later - unfortunately cannot join en vivo. Cheers, 🍕
Awesome show.
1h49 of pure bliss.
Thanks for watching Arnaud
Loved this! Fripp, Wetton and Buford for me for best but I can't pick a worst because I love it all
Thanks for watching!
Great episode idea Eric!
Fripp, Wetton, Bruford : favorite lineup
I saw the "Double Duo" open for Tool. Great show,. Young crowd, many likely had no idea who KC was. Along the lines of what was discussed, Fripp was hiding in the shadows and not happy. At one point the crowd of 9000ish, started chanting Tool and booing. All stop. Maynard comes out. Tells the crowd off and that they wouldn't be who they are w/o KC influence and to show some respect. I wish I could recall exactly what he said. It was quite a sight!
That should have been recorded!! Kudos to Maynard for standing up for them.
80s lineup my favorite
For me, the bruford, wetton era is untouchable.
I love improv centre to the cosmos.
@ 9:22 Yes, that is the magical lineup. Love Discipline, (not so much Beat and Three of a Perfect Pair), but everything Fripp, Wetton, Bruford, and Cross did was amazing. I love the spaces between the players and the notes. If I had a time machine, I would go to the gig in Asbury Park, NJ on June 28, 1974, which brought us much of the USA release.
Most amazing presentation on one of the greatest bands of all time. On the line up of Trey Gunn, Mastelotto, Belew and Fripp would urge the panelists to watch "Eyes wide open 2003" concert on YT. It’s one of the powerful and engaging performances by the KC quartet ever. Anthony is bang on with this one guys , you probably missed it. 👍🤘
That's a great one
@@wolf1977 absolutely mind blowing 🔥👍
@wolf @seaoftranquility also The Young Persons Guide to King Crimson is a fantastic compilation done by Robert Fripp giving adequate flavour of various albums and line ups
I saw that lineup in 2000 in Cincinnati and it was a killer show. That’s my favorite lineup
Love 'em all. Starless And Bible Black lineup is my favorite.
Excellent analysis by everyone. This was so tough because the Discipline lineup was so good but my guilty favorite was the double trio. That lineup sounded so big and on the edge of disaster I just loved the musical conflict between the players and they were such a beast live.
Least favorite is Construction of Light lineup and here's why: I think Bruford and later Levin added a level of "swing" and improve to the music that was sorely missed when they were gone. The COL lineup was talented but the music was too angular and straight. The beauty of the best Crimson was how the most difficult songs could dance and move around Fripp's angular and almost mechanical playing.
Have been enjoying these videos. Like the Levin-Buford-Belew-Fripp
lineup the most. There is a late night TV video of them doing Elephant Talk. What's memorable is that one can actually see Fripp smile (almost chortling) when Belew makes the elephant sounds.
The Bill Bruford Autobiography is back in stock at, Burning Shed. Mine is autographed so the rest of the stock should be.
The founding lineup had more songwriting/composing chops (MacDonald was at least as significant in this as Fripp and Sinfield) than any other KC group in my opinion, their best vocalist in Lake, and Sinfield at the top of his lyrical game. I would have to put them first, with Belew/Bruford/Levin/Fripp as a very close second, as Belew is a phenomenal frontman, guitarist, and songwriter, and Bruford's greatness goes without saying. Then, the Wetton/Fripp/Cross/Bruford group. Probably not an accident that Bruford features in two out of three of my favorite line-ups.
Ian was the guy who could complete songs. Bob was the guy who was versatile on classical guitar licks, very fast, and he got a liking to electric guitar. Mike really liked drumming. Greg had such a voice and learned bass very quickly. These guys were made for each other, but then in their tweens, after their teens, they split.
That's how it goes, they were completely stupid young brats that time. Gifted though.
What is the world coming to!? I find myself agreeing with Steven again!! I remember hearing Frame by Frame in the mid eighties, I was about 6, and it just blew my mind Great video!!
Never got to see them live but from the footage I've seen I'd have to pick the mid 90s touring line up where you had the Discipline quartet + Pat & Trey
Discipline Era for me, no question
Starless and Bible Black is a pure masterpiece. Put on some headphones late at night with the lights down and let that album take you places. Be careful!
My favourite albums span the different eras and I'm very tempted to go for the Discipline era, but having seen them live in 2018 I just have to go for that live line up with the three drummers. Fripp had come to terms with his past and having already added the first era stuff back in on previous tours he also did some of his 80s stuff, without AB alas, and he really seemed to be enjoying himself. Jakko Jakszyk did a great job handling vocals from different original vocalists and the whole band was absolute killer.
Strictly speaking there were four drummers there, the fourth being the sadly departed Bill Rieflin who had been the third drummer plus keyboards in a previous line up, but was just on keyboards this time. You might say he showed admirable restraint for the entire concert.
Filled in a lot of gaps lately so I now have all studio albums up to Thrak, not much interested in anything later, probably have the best of that period live on Radical Action to Unseat the Hold of Monkey Mind.
Great show gents. Tried to see every tour of KC since 1984. I started with the Red Lp and listened forwards (and backwards) from there. My take:
Favorite line up: Larks' Tongues in Aspic
Least favorite line up: In the Wake of Poseidon (it's a sophomore slump and then some)
Wishful thinking performer to add: Brian Eno whether with the feather boas, the two Revoxes, or the producer's chair...
When I saw them in Spring 1981 at Manchester Polytechnic they were calling themselves Discipline.
I like Steven and Pete and Luis got on the KC bus during Discipline. I was fortunate to see this lineup during the Perfect Pair era and they did not disappoint! Although I must admit Larks is my favorite album like many others, I prefer a bit of Belew in my KC, but with Levin and Bruford.
The lineup of Fripp , Belew, Mastalotto and Gunn is my personal favorite.
Until I discovered SoT I hadnt taken much notice of the Disciline era of Crimson, however now I have to say that they come close to be kng a favorite, though I'd go with the Wetton/Bruford/Cross line up on the Great Deciever. least favourite I'd echo the ConstruKction of Light choice. I think McLaughlin would be a great addition as I think that The Dance of Maya and You Know You Know have a sort of Crimsonality about them, I also wonder what would happen if Fripp got together withThundercat.
I bought Thrak when it came out in the 90s, and I had no idea at the time that they were an old band, or at least a band of old dudes, because the music was so radical and current. The double trio era remains my favorite, followed closely by the early 80s version and the Wetton era. But I love Adrien Belew so much, that anything he is on I pull out first.
The worst would be the Earthbound lineup, because what the heck was that?
Agree, Crimson had 🔥 on Thrak
King Crimson. Ken is spot on. There is no bad line up. I discovered King Crimson in 1980, but I went back. I love The Court, Larks Tongue, and Red, but as a!ways with Fripp at the helm my favorite line up is Fripp, Belew, Bruford, and Levin. The trilogyy of Disipline, Beat, and Three Of A Perfect Pair is great. I saw them one time in 1995. It was the the Thrak/ Vrooom tour. They played songs from the trilogy. It was in a beautiful theater. I had a great seat. It was a great concert.
28:53 - I appreciate the Ron Carter shoutout.
Good job, gents! My favorite is Discipline era, least is Islands lineup, and my outside addition would be Vernon Reid
Thanks George, missed you tonight!
Interesting choice...A real mindbender, although obviously no longer possible, would've been to hear Shawn Lane play Fripp's music
What Ken said about the difference when Adrian played his Strat as compared to the Parker is where I checked out on them too, he did such magic with that Strat.
It's an almost unique situation, so many lineups and studio albums and not one bad one in the bunch. My favorite is the Discipline band because they seemed to have the most "fun" on stage, but how much "better" are they from the Great Deceiver lineup?... Its more a matter of taste than capabilities, you can't go wrong with any of them.
29:57 - VERY good way to put it my friend. I always felt like 80's and 00's Crim were on about different things but as far as line ups go it's the yang of THRAK, and there's a lot of the 80's stuff in the 90's.
great discussion. something about that first lineup that's always endearing to me.
maybe re visit the topic with Zappa?
I won't make it hard for myself and I will just pick Fripp, Jakszyk, Levin, Collins, Rieflin, Mastelotto, Garrison, Stacey as my favorite King Crimson line up. For my least favorite I would aslo agree with almost everyone, it is the "The Construkction of Light" line up.
The person I would like to see in King Crimson: David Sylvian. I love the Damage: Live record he and Fripp did together, and I would really love to hear more of that.
Fripp asked Sylvian in the early Nineties to re-form K.C. and he, obviously, turned him down.
i like the bruford, wetton, muir, cross, lineup. robert fripp and his wife been posting videos on CZcams lately still plays great.
another line up was amazing during the sylvian fripp tour in 93' mastletto gunn fripp sylvian and michael brooks with his infinite guitars they came in Paris and i missed them i missed them unfortunatly but got the CD with tracks from rain tree crow "every colour you are " somthing like that ....:-)
Wow. I decided a couple of weeks ago, after listening to the Heavy ConstruKction live set, that the Double Duo was my least favorite lineup of KC. But I didn’t expect ALL of you to agree. (I love Islands, by the way.)
Great Show Pete. I knew you were going to say John McLaughlin..in the late 70's or early 80's Fripp & McLaughlin gave a joint interview with each other..I remember it being a very strange double Q & A . I think it was in Musician magazine which I don't think is in press anymore. I wonder if at time of the joint interview they ever considered working with each other..I agree with McLaughlin is on equal terms with Fripp and that would have been awesome if those two musicians had done something together. I'm not as familiar with newer lineups so I'll pick the Lark's Tongue line-up..I did see Crimson during Discipline tour at the Uris Theatre in NY and it ranks as a Top 5 show for me..and I saw them at the Pier in NY where Bruford came out first went to the front of the stage and started playing a some beats on a drum set up center stage and Belew followed him on and instead of going to the guitar he joined Bruford on the drum with his back to the audience and facing Bruford . the audience went nuts..What a great way to start the concert..
To me McLaughlin is on a higher "tier" than Fripp playing-wise. Fripp is a noted band leader/writer & pioneer in guitar sounds/processing but for flat-out playing it's McLaughlin fo me (and by a good margin). Also seems to me that Fripp is into a lot of repeated/almost hypnotic guitar lines, not something that McLaughlin really uses so not sure how their two styles would belnd. Plus McL's sheer speed, he'd have to really slow down to allow Mr Fripp to keep up
K.C. with McDonald and Giless was their best.
Hey Luis, I just got my copy of the KC transcriptions two week ago : )
My whacko dream line up of King Crimson in the spring of 1986(The fourth dual colored album in green with a violet symbol). Might be utter chaos and completely out there, but it´s a fun thing to think about.
Guitar: Robert Fripp
Main Vocals: Kate Bush
Bass: Cliff Burton
Drums: Neil Peart
Percussion: Manu Katché
Flute, Keys, Vocals, Lyrics: Peter Gabriel
Keys, Textures, Sound Effects: Klaus Schulze
Sound Effects/Sound Design/Production: Merzbow
Belew was the much needed blood transfusion for Crimson for the 80s, as Trevor Rabin was for Yes.
I would also go with Eddie Jobson [he made some violin overdubs on the live USA] for the Red-era instead of Cross. And we would have had Bruford, Wetton and Jobson playing together. That is 3/4s of UK :)
Agreed & some Crimson fans dislike him for similar reasons as they don't see it as the "classic" version of their band
Love this conversation, cheers guys. KC is one of my three top favorite progressive bands for sure, I love every line up. I think Lizard and Islands are so overlooked and underrated, unbelievable albums. I believe its Mel Collins as guest on Red, not McDonald by the way. Great talks
they are both on Red actually.
my mistake they sure are, even though there's only two tunes w sax on the album
It’s weird I have no interest really in this music but I totally enjoy the show .
Thanks for watching Chris
Some people I’d like to see with Crimson.
1. Patrick Moraz
2. Rick Wakeman
3. Terry Bozzio
4. Marco Minnemann
My least favorite line up is The Construkction of Lightt
My favorite line up is the Bruford/Wetton/Cross and Fripp
I´ll never forget my first exposure (also a good album by Fripp, hehe) to King Crimson: Despite being a digital native and growing up with the internet I got really into heavy music in 2013, listening to it on occasion in the years prior to that. I never heard about KC - my first prog endeavours were ELP and Jethro Tull a few years prior. On my thirteenth birthday I got a wide variety of classic and modern Metal/Rock on CD- Motörhead S/T and Aftershock, Metallica And Justice for all, Trivium, Monster Magnet and my uncle sent me In the Court - because King Crimson had been one of his favourite bands since the early 70s. I did not know that they had other albums - I was very fascinated by the cover and that there were so less songs on it - I knew TAAB of course, so I thought it might sound similar to Jethro Tull. I was completely blown away by it on first listen and two months later I decided to give Pink Floyd a try, then Yes and so on. King Crimson truly changed my life in terms of music. My parents and most of my friends hate them despite the odd song or two. Nowadays due to being older and the internet and streaming being even more established than it was a decade ago these magic moments happen very rarely.
Great show! Great minds! How about, Fripp, Gavin Harrison, David Sylvian, Kerry Minnear, and Percy Jones with Eno producer!?
Thanks Jeff, cool suggestions
The Red period was awesome.
Excellent show prog crew! I couldn't make the premier as I was in Seattle seeing Dream Theater.
My favorite KC line-up is the Discipline era. It was my introduction to them. I was a young teenager when I heard Discipline, it felt and sounded very accessible, but mind blowing when you really listened.
My least favorite is the newest line-up. Amazing, but no studio albums and no dates on the last tour in the PNW.
Someone I'd like to see in KC? Allan Holdworth... I can see it work in a very weird way! lol
Edit: Thank you Luis for bringing up Elfman's Big Mess album. It's great out there prog.
Thanks Jason, hope you enjoyed DT show
@@ericporter344 Thanks, it was a great show and nice setlist. The sound/mix could of been better, the only negative.
It would be intriguing to see/hear what happens if Serj Tankian joined KC: strong personality, incredible voice, different background.
Larks tongues, islands , in the court ,red.
I’ve been starting off the day with Dave Pike’s "Jazz for the Jet Set", and now i’m gonna watch you guys as usual. Good coffee and some nerdy King Crimson shit… can’t go wrong with that.
My favorite line up is the one with Fripp, Belew, Levin and Bruford.
Favorite lineups: Fripp-Bruford-Wetton and Fripp-Belew-Levin-Bruford.
Least favorite: the most recent with Jakko and three drummers.
Well, Fripp announced in the seventies at some stage, that he will go "commercial" after a while. Playing his "Hits". That is what he was doing in these last years. With a bunch of very good musicians, having fun and earning some bucks for a change. It is a very good cover band though. Have you seen them lately? They are extremely good. Transcendental in passages, something that before only was achieved by the John McLaughlin "Inner Mounting Flame" Live set. You just get immersed into these three drummers in front, because you see them and try to follow their movements because you can see it better than fingers on fretboard or organ, and then something happens to your ears, you realize the complexity of the whole. A magic setup like that. The drummers were put there as well as a distraction and attraction at the same time.
I guess, you never saw them live.
Sad sad news Ian MacDonald has passed away RIP 🙏
My favorite is probably the Wetton era. My apologies for bragging/name dropping but I had the chance to play Starless with John Wetton and speak with him personally and he was super super nice and willing to talk about music and KC. As for least favorite, I can't choose!
What an amazing experience that must have been
@@ericporter344 Easily one of the top experiences of my life. If you go to my channel, there is a video of it if you are interested. Thanks again for all of the entertainment.
@@StarlessBandNJ I will check it out, thanks!
A good watch !
Lots of qualifying and hedging and finessing (I think they call it cheating?😉)… but heck it.
As least favorite, I also have to pick Belew-Bruford-Fripp-Gunn-Mastelotto just due to “The ConstruKction of Light.” I’ve never been able to get into that album.
Favorite is a hard call among, for various reasons:
• Discipline: The interlocking guitars; the nostalgia factor - I was a senior in high school and KC’s reunion was an unexpected bright spot in an otherwise miserable time in my life, and the amazingly innovative sound and structure to the compositions. Deep and serious… but also whimsical and fun.
• Court: More nostalgia factor as it was the first KC I was exposed to (’77-ish) and the whole thing was just mind-blowing, from the instrumentation, songwriting, playing, dynamics… all of it.
• Larks’ through Red is tough: they all have the incomparable Bill Bruford; he and Wetton are so powerful yet graceful as a rhythm section. Compositionally, I lean toward Red and Starless. If “guests” Cross, Collins, and McDonald count as being part of the “line-up,” then I pick Red as I love horns (woodwinds, brass) and violin. If not, then Starless. (Also, if never having played live takes points off for Red: Starless.)
For any ‘70s line-up, I would be intrigued, no matter how unlikely this would’ve been, to hear what Ornette Coleman would brought to Crimson,
In the ‘80s, and additionally in the realm of plausibility due to his collaborating with Bruford and Levin, I think Mark Isham would’ve made an interesting addition.
Best line of the night…Steve said “there’s more going on, but they’re not saying anything”. 👍👍
The Discipline era line up is my favourite. Every member brought something different stylistically, and it all merged together beautifully. Red and Lark's are my favourite albums, but the Belew-Levin era is the best live sound, imo.
Saw Fripp, Wetton, Cross and Buford in 73'-74'. 2 in Central Park May 26 73' July 4, 74'(final show of that iteration) NY Academy of Music September 22 73' and Asbury Park 74' Very very very intense!! 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Wow, yeah, in that last concert in the seventies I saw them, the crowd completely was going crazy wagging their long hair in frenzy, jumping up and down.
That was, when the energy was there. Was a couple of months after the first concert in the Zoom Club in Frankfurt, where they even before tried to test their new material.
Check the "Zoom" recordings from their website.
Well, in that Zoom concert, being a smallish Club, a bit bigger than the Marquee in London, Cross even played a flute. And Muir was center stage, banging on plastic bottles and Blech behind him. Right of Muir was Herr Fripp. Left was in the middle that bass, what's his name, Wetton, links davon der junge Herr Bruford, und auf der ganz linken Seite der junge neue schüchterne David Cross. Der hatte da auch tatsächlich auch eine Flöte angespielt.
Was a great concert though, although most peeps rather talked about nonsense, beer and such.
Therefore the official recordings are marred by a lot of chatter and clatter.
But, that was for me the second initiation of the music, the music which kept me to listen to music as such.
Ok, sort of, Karl Heiz Stockhausen had with a performance years before opened my spatial ear with multiple loudspeakers around the listener space.
KC was going much longer than Mahavishnu. Maybe trying to get hold of that initial energy, which the "Flame" was inducing.
They did their best. Never came close.
That's life.
GG
I think the first King Crimson album I heard was In The Wake of Poseidon sometime in the mid to late 70's. It has always been a very special album to me. The album cover art is really nice too. Not mentioned in this video probably because it has its own lineup. But several albums around that period had album specific lineups.
I saw the five piece on 8/7/08 at the Park West in Chicago. Levin played Stick on almost everything, except maybe two songs, but it was all about Harrison and Mastelotto that night. Also, kudos to the hippie guy wildly dancing to Elephant Talk.
Best lineup: Larks (wish Muir would have stayed longer)
Worst: Lizard (Fripp fired McCullough and Haskell after recording)
Favourite lineup has to be the Wetton era, probably with Muir to add his magic - so the pre-Larks tour although the 4 piece that existed until just before the recording of Red was unbelievable live. A hypothetical 1974-5 Fripp, Wetton, Bruford, Jobson lineup could have been the best of the lot if they'd gelled.
Honourable Mentions - Discipline quartet, and the various recent live 3 x drummer lineups.
Least favourite - Lizard, never got into that one. Love Islands, like Wake & bits of the '90s stuff, hate Lizard - so that has to be my least favourite lineup.
Great discussion, guys. For me, nothing beats the '80s era (i.e.: "Discipline," "Beat," "Three of a Perfect Pair."). A perfect amalgam of post-punk, prog and the undefinable quality that is KC! (of course, that period was my introduction, so I'm somewhat biased). To this day, I listen to those albums - and Adrian's solo catalog - frequently.
Watched this 4 hours of exhaustive speculation about possible King Crimson line-ups...TWICE! O.K., I slept through it once. But, I admit, it reminded me that I was guilty of having Fripperthoughts over the years, too, only I ended up confronting him and obtaining some actual insight. So, in case anyone gives a shit...first of all, I did see him do a Frippertronics solo performance at Club Passim in Harvard Sq. possibly around the time he did one at The Kitchen and the question and answer portion wasn't going well...there seemed to be crickets in the small audience at times, so, I was right up front, and by default I volunteered a couple of questions. Bill Bruford was my favorite drummer, and I asked what happened when Crimson split up and if they'd consider playing together again, which he didn't want to discuss at the time. However I did ask him who his favorite drummer was. He said Michael Giles (who I love, too), because he had so many great ideas, he always had to struggle to keep his solos shorter. Then I brought up what I referred to as the legendary complex break in the middle of "Schitzoid Man" and he went right into it on his guitar! So, since I also knew it, I accompanied him by tapping on my chair perfectly in sync! Who else can say they did that?? O.K., besides EVERY OTHER drummer he played with in King Crimson every single night...whatever. Btw, is it possible that the person who saw Fripp talking about playing with Max Roach around that time confused it (over 40 years ago) with Fripp talking about playing with MAGGIE Roach? He said he'd just finished producing her record and she decided to fall to the street in the middle of New York City and "primal" (she could SCREAM, too, remember her on "EXPOSURE"? Yikes!!). He ended up having to explain to a policeman that he wasn't a rapist, he was a record producer and she was happy they'd just finished making her record. Also, btw, years later when I saw Fripp open for Steve Vai doing his ambient thing, Mike Mangini got me backstage and while everyone was talking to Steve, Mike and Mike (Kinneally), I happened to see Fripp by himself and felt bad, so I walked over to shake his hand. He doesn't do that, I found out (germs?), but we "chatted" once again...I said I liked what he'd done with Peter Gabriel and asked if he'd ever work with him again and he said "No, he doesn't need me anymore." Maybe Peter wasn't thrilled with his production? I didn't say that...but a lot of people did. Anyway, Fripp's doing O.K., now, I guess. Oh yeah, btw, I don't think Fripp would ever work with David Cross again. He said what he'd played for King Crimson U.S.A. sounded so awful, they removed it and overdubbed him with Eddie Jobson! CHEERS!!
Fripp and Max! Oh damn, release those tapes.