DISCIPLINE

Perhaps because I'm a fan of Tony Levin's work with basically 75% of Dream Theater in Liquid Tension Experiment as well as some of Adrian Belew's solo stuff.

But I've never been a big fan of "Discipline", "Beat" or "Three of a Different Pair". This era of Crimson has always been defined as a prog approach to the 80's sounds of new wave and post-punk sensibilities (or lack thereof). Sometimes it made sense, sometimes it did not, but nevertheless, I have marched down a path of no return. With my favorite Crimson albums reviewed, I must now review my least favorites.

Unlike "Three of a Different Pair", which had maybe one slightly catchy tune in the self titled track, it was basically blase tunes and spastic atonal playing. "Discipline" at least had a few tracks of note. "Elephant Noise" was not one of them. Belew's guitar playing resembling an elephant was fun and quirky, but his constant shouting and billowing of random words of alliteration was not. It grew old real fast.

"Frame by Frame" was nice. This is a good demonstration of the so called "Rock gamelan" sound that Fripp was looking for with interlocking and intertwining guitar melodies and riffs, as well as minimalist repetition. "Matte Kudasai" is fairly restrained for a Crimson track, almost ballad-like with its wilting lullaby mentality. Nothing super groundbreaking, but a pleasant song to listen to. This was probably due to Belew's tendencies to veer towards more pop-rock songwriting, so there's a balance between the accessible and unnatural. "Indiscipline" falls in the latter category, with Bruford just jamming in and out of time to his heart's content. Belew's talking underneath still Levin basslines underpin and a dark, broody jam filled with tension, angst and pot-punk influences.

"Thela Hun Ginjeet" is probably one of my favorites off the record. That repetitive guitar strumming "rock gamelan" style returns in full force behind a funky Bruford groove that just doesn't stop. It's a noticeable track for having almost no cymbals on it whatsoever. Bruford experimented with cymbal-less acoustic sets, and the band's dabbling with African type poly rhythms only emphasized the connection. "The Sheltering Sky" is a perfect example of that. Bruford begins the track by playing a traditional African slit drum, while Belew and Fripp use unique guitar synthesizers to distort their sound even further. Once again, the gamelan influences are prevalent and the track becomes almost meditative at times, while the closing title track is almost like a recap of the influences and styles heard previously throughout the album.

Sure, I'd consider it a throwaway track, along with "Elephant Noise" but for the most part this is a fairly solid album. Not only did it define the Crimson sound of the 80's. but unlike 'Beat' which felt uninspired and "Three of a Perfect Pair" which felt half-assed, there are a number of tunes that are both groundbreaking in style ("The Sheltering Sky", "Indiscipline") that that mesh with catchy, listenable tunes ("Matte Kudasai", "Thela Hun Ginjeet"). By the far the best and most telling record of 80's King Crimson.

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