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King Crimson: The Condensed 21st Century Guide to King Crimson 1969-2003
by John Kelman
Few groups have been anthologized as often as progressive/art rock band King Crimson. Perhaps it's the group's ever-changing lineup, or that guitarist/co-founder Robert Fripp has the habit of disbanding successive groups when they've fulfilled their purpose, with long gaps between the reincarnations. Since 2004 there have been two Discipline Global Mobile box sets documenting Crimson in great detail: The 21st Century Guide to King Crimson: Volume One 1969-1974 and Volume Two 1981-2003. The Condensed 21st Century Guide ...
Continue ReadingKing Crimson: The Collectable King Crimson Volume One
by John Kelman
In 1973-74, King Crimson was not just a powerful progressive rock group capable of navigating guitarist Robert Fripp's most challenging writing to date. It was also a potent improvising unit, able to shift on a dime from elegant simplicity to visceral crunch. The expansive The Great Deceiver (Live 1973-1974) demonstrated how exciting this group was. The Collectable King Crimson Volume One allows those without deep pockets to hear the music for themselves, and it also offers something new to those ...
Continue ReadingThe Great Deceiver (Live 1973-1974)
by John Kelman
Despite bassist/stick player Tony Levin stepping in to replace departing touch guitarist Trey Gunn, the incarnation of King Crimson that released The ConstruKction Of Light (Virgin, 2000) and considerably stronger The Power To Believe (Sanctuary, 2003) seems to be, at the very least, on hiatus. While Crimson's only remaining original member, guitarist Robert Fripp, has reconvened with 26-year Crimson veteran guitarist/drummer Adrian Belew for ProjKct Six, the future of Crimson proper is uncertain. This is, consequently, as ...
Continue ReadingThe 21st Century Guide to King Crimson Volume Two: 1981-2003
by John Kelman
While Robert Fripp—erstwhile leader and only remaining member of the group that literally shook the foundations of the rock world in 1969 with In the Court of the Crimson King (Discipline Global Mobile)— rankles at those who call the continually evolving band King Crimson a progressive rock band, what band better fits the term progressive? Merriam-Webster defines the word progressive as: “making use of or interested in new ideas, findings, or opportunities," and “moving forward or onward." ...
Continue ReadingKing Crimson: In the Wake of Poseidon
by John Kelman
With guitarist Robert Fripp's acquisition of the rights to all past work of King Crimson--including recently discovered original master tapes of the group's first album, the epochal In the Court of the Crimson King--comes a reissue of Crimson's second album, In the Wake of Poseidon. Otherwise identical to the 30th Anniversary Edition that's been out since '02, the reissue now includes the single version of “Cat Food" and its flip side, “Groon." While that may not seem ...
Continue ReadingKing Crimson: In the Court of the Crimson King (Original Master Edition)
by John Kelman
In the liner notes to Against the Clock: The Best of Allan Holdsworth, drummer Bill Bruford said of his mid-'70s work with Holdsworth: “Even from here in the UK, the sound of US guitar players across the pond sitting up and taking notice was deafening." The same could be said about King Crimson's debut album, In the Court of the Crimson King, except it wasn't just guitar players who sat up and took notice. The arrival of King Crimson in ...
Continue ReadingThe 21st Century Guide to King Crimson: Volume One 1969-1974
by John Kelman
Of all the groups to emerge from the late '60s-early '70s heyday of British Progressive Rock (capitals fully intended), no group has reinvented itself more frequently and, perhaps, more rapidly than King Crimson. As time has gone on the group's ostensible leader Robert Fripp has refashioned the group through periods of high melodrama to nuevo metal and just about everything in between. Until recently, new fans who wanted an overview of the band had to satisfy themselves with the 4-CD ...
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