The 80’s King Crimson

The three albums created by the Fripp/Bruford/Levin/Belew line up of King Crimson are a curios trinity.

I'm not sure there have been any progressive music like it before or since. Granted the introduction of new technology enabled this line up to make some pretty freaky music for it's time. It must be said that the sound of the 80's are stamped all over their sound but deep within each release is a creative centre that Fripp never really visited again and for good reason. Fripp has often remarked that he errects 'pointed sticks' in his mind to stop him settling into a comfort zone that could lead to a creative desert. I believe that it is that very factor that makes these albums what they are.

Truly, there appears to little out there to compare these albums to and as it could be said that 'In The Court...' defines the genre in terms of sound you are left to wonder how much of an influence did these albums had on prog.

 

Edited by sigod

Blacksword wrote:  The challenge to not use cymbals at all was applied on Peter Gabriel 3, too, but that worked! I agree that PG3 is a much more successful album in terms of songwriting but I have to say that the sound of these albums is still light years ahead.   does define the genre in many ways. I maybe wrong but I wouldn't have thought 'Discipline' has had much influence. I have not heard anything like KC, to be honest, from any period of their career. In terms of it's influence on pouplar prog then maybe no but that said, how many people picked up and began to play the Chapman Stick as a result of these albums? It is an annoying trait of Fripp to develop a sound to the point where the masses might take interest and then throw it away. He always seems to choose the most difficult route to any given point but I guess that's his perrogative and I have had many a happy hour with the KC output as a result. He's still a difficult bast*rd to get to like though.

I only have Discipline also, and I'm not all that fond of it.

I'm actually a fan of a lot of 80s King Crimson - I just missed them 1st time around, and in the early 80s they seemed to be the only 1st generation prog act not producing insipid AOR. By '3 Of a Perfect Pair' the new formula was getting a bit tired, but side 2 of the vinyl version is up there with anything else they've done.

If you can, try to hear 'Absent Lovers', a live double set taken from this line up's final gigs. There's less of the 80s production gloss, and the live interplay between Fripp, Belew, Levin and Bruford is breathtaking.

I once owned Three of a Perfect Pair and I can recall I didn't hate it. Aside from that, I cannot remember what it sounds like.

Of all the KC I've heard, which is not everything by means, my favourite album will always be RED.

It is a truly visionary album, laying down the blueprints for the grunge scene that emerged many years later, albeit played alot better!!! Kurt Cobain thought it was the best album ever and you can hear the influence on tracks like 'Fallen Angel' and 'Red'

Sorry sigod, I'm digressing badly from your 80's KC theme..

I consider those three albums to be the single finest works of progressive rock in the 80s.

I still like the "Red" era better, but I would gladly trade every 80s neo-prog album (in addition to the contemporaneous works by the classic prog bands) for "Discipline" alone, and "Three of a Perfect Pair" and "Beat" are perfect examples of 80s technology and progressive ideals merging in a completely unexpected and unmatched way. I think several of the songs could have even been significant radio hits if they'd had some promotion behind them.

Plus, I heard "Neil and Jack and Me" about the same time I was beginning a lifelong love affair with the Beat writers.

Those three albums were my second favorite "avatar" of King Crimson.  I thought all three were excellent, from beginning to end.  They have to be taken on their own merits though, and not compared to other things.  And even if one doesn't like all the compositions on all three, when listened to as a trilogy (open-mindedly) they not only make a great deal of "sense" together, but display an inter-cohesive brilliance that only Crimson (via Fripp) could achieve.

I love 80's crimson.

I'm getting the Neal and Jack and Me dvd sometime after christmas!

Discipline was actually my first exposure to KC (as a fey 17 year old....) - played to me because I'd admired Belew's work with Bowie & Talking Heads.

Given the time these albums came out, their sound and production was stunning and, I believe, groundbreaking - at a time when many of the 'dinosaurs' were in creative decline, Fripp picked KC up by its bootstraps, and progressed.

I will always have great affection for these three albums, and I feel they are three of the best (certainly most consistent) albums of Fripp's career......to date