I've long irritated prog fans and hoped to inspire prog haters by saying I can just play Court or Yes Fragile and they'll scratch that pompous itch in a way that's more fun, vital and actually rocks more than any other annoying shit. I really need to explore Red again as everyone is singing its praises here.

Not crap (even if they released a lot of crap).

Larks Tongue and In The Wake of Poseidon are also great. They were fucking awesome live.

InMySoul77 wrote: Fri Oct 06, 2023 4:45 pm I just listened to Red again this afternoon and am still blown away by how good it is. Ripping bass tone. I need to check out more of their stuff.

IMO Red is the best of that period of KC.

There used to be a live broadcast from a Denver station that featured them covering Pharoah Sanders. IIRC it was pretty good.

Edit: I guess Fripp released it.

https://www.dgmlive.com/tour-dates/170

shocked i haven’t responded in this one.

absolutely not crap. first era is hit or miss & clearly they’re trying to figure things out. but you can see how its going to get good.

Larks, Starless and Red are tremendous.

Old me hated Discipline but I have come to appreciate it. After that I just stop which is not uncommon for bands that keep putting out stuff. It’s kind of impossible to follow it all when you’re catching up.

Always hit and miss. Instrumentals from the 3 70s albums with Bruford are probably my top picks and get the band a NC from me. The 80s stuff is pretty good. Most of the lyrics are pretty embarrassing from any period. THRAK and Construcktion of Light were so pointless I didn't even bother with the other later one.

Apparently Red was a sonic reference for In Utero, per Kurt? Honestly don't hear much there, but a funny bit of trivia if true. Pretty on the fence about King Crimson, but some cool stuff and heavy riffs amongst the jazz-flute whimsy.

biscuitdough wrote: Mon Oct 09, 2023 10:13 pm THRAK and Construcktion of Light were so pointless

Ooof, just tried to listen again after years. No thank you.

I’m not sure I’d even be a musician today if not for the minutes/hours/days/years listening to KC, especially their instrumentals like Larks Tounges, Red, The Sheltering Sky, Sartori In Tangier, Nuages, Industry, etc.

ITCOTCK has *majesty*, which is why I prefer it over so many prog bands of that era. “Epitaph” seems to channel something ancient, medieval that sends chills down my spine. “In The Court” and “Moonchild”, if you can break away from Vincent Gallo’s creepy image for a spell, are standalone masterpieces of writing and production. And good lord those Mellotron strings are the most gorgeous ever.

Also the guitar interplay between Belew and Fripp from Discipline forward is INSANE. Frame By Frame, Thela Hun Gingeet, Neil And Jack And Me, The Howler, Three Of A Perfect Pair… they wrote the book of counterpoint guitar playing.

And Bruford, who was so good they now need 3 drummers to replace him.

Also boasted the two finest bassists ever: Wetton and Levin

Yeah I guess I’m a fanboi

Was in a big Red mood over the past two or three weeks. Holy smokes, is that a cool rock record. Have liked it for a while, but it seems to really fit this time of year for some reason. I feel that if Red hadn't been released back in the day but came out as a quasi-math-y/post-hardcore sort of thing in the nineties, it would've been massive. It has a cinematic grandeur. Some badassery and poetry. But it's perfectly reigned in and plays to its strengths, is never too indulgent. Have heard other things by King Crimson, from different periods, and plan to investigate further, but man, Red is the business.