DISCIPLINE

Trendy has never sounded so cool.

King Crimson's 'Discipline' is an example of an album that was groundbreaking for one genre, when the band was famous for doing something completely different. In 1981 Post- Punk reigned supreme among Art Rock bands, and KC decided to join the rollercoaster, and when they do that, they always stay on the very first car.

While 'Discipline' very strictly speaking is still Progressive Rock, mostly because of the song structures, it has a massive New Wave and Art Punk influence, using it's basic formulas. Imagine Talking Heads wanting to make some Prog. This is the guaranteed result. Thanks to the eighties-ish reverberated guitars and the David Byrne-esque vocals, 'Discipline' remains a classic not only for Prog rock but also for New Wave and Post-Punk, surprisingly enough. However King Crimson aspects are obviously heard, especially in the crazy instrumentation, where Robert Fripp, Tony Levin (on bass) and Bill Bruford (on drums) give the best of their skills to produce a technical monster of an LP. This actually might be one of the greatest albums for musicians delivered by KC.

'Discipline' is extremely rigid, cold, neurotic, and nervous sounding most of the time, however there so much intelligence behind this effort; every sound is trying to reproduce something, such as seagulls, the police, or tons of others. The lyrics might sound to some a little pretentious, but I find them extremely interesting, even when Adrian Belew is repeating several times during 'Indiscipline' 'I repeat myself when under stress'. This line is sort of reassumes how King Crimson's art is on their eighth studio album.

The thought provocations start with the very beginning of the album, 'Elephant Talk', a brilliantly executed piece greatly embed with peculiar, possibly satirical, lyrics and vocals. The crazy musicianship of Robert Fripp and Tony Levin will make musicians drool for sure. 'Frame by Frame' is even more technical, a highly progressive piece that comes pretty darn close to perfection, a typically King Crimsonesque mix of virtuosity and original songwriting. Other highlights are here and never will be forgotten, like what could be the most impressively structured piece 'The Sheltering Sky', the most experimental and mellow song here, or also the madness of 'Thela Hun Ginjeet' and the more appealing and beautiful 'Matte Kudasai'.

One of those albums that relies on it's era, and at the same time is a potent and effective reflection of the era that it was released in. Essential album for not only Prog Rock, but also for Post-Punk/New Wave.

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