Warning Message From Robert Fripp

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Sid Smith, himself acting on behalf of Robert Fripp, has asked me to post the following two messages here, the first written by Robert Fripp, the second by Sid who is looking after KC's website.
FROM ROBERT FRIPP
Inside King Crimson DVD and CD
A statement from Robert Fripp and DGM

The Inside The Music series is a "pot of gold" for Bob Carruthers & 
classic rock productions. It addresses a valuable & useful area of 
popular music studies; but in a cheap, nasty & cynical fashion that 
exploits everyone & scams the artists, the music & the fans.

Bob Carruthers is a likeable, personable & slippery, evasive character 
who has upset nearly everyone whose music he has, in some way, 
presented.

If transparency & accountability are two features of the ethical 
company, then Classic Rock Productions must be considered ethically 
challenged in extremis. Given my 38 years of hard experience as a 
professional within the music industry, Bob Carruthers' company would 
be better named Classic Crock Productions.

Robert Fripp,
World HQ, April 22nd 2005.

FROM SID 

Inside King Crimson

In recent days I’ve received a number of enquiries from KC fans 
regarding a DVD entitled Inside King Crimson 1972 – 1975 and a CD, 
Inside King Crimson 1975-1979, Classic Rock Productions.

Potential purchasers should understand that neither item has been 
approved nor licensed by Robert Fripp, the copyright holder of the 
music.

As with many other products in this series, fans hoping to see full 
performances will be disappointed. In order to get around the copyright 
act, the DVD is marketed as a ‘critical review’.  In this context, 
snippets of footage under 20 seconds are deemed legal.

The majority of the content is made up of critical opinions by 
journalists, musicians, etc. On the Inside King Crimson DVD there are 
10 second bursts of music.

The two bonus tracks are recycled from the John Wetton Ultimate 
Anthology, another product advertised by Classic Rock Direct.  John did 
not give approval of the original release or its use on either of these 
King Crimson items.  John, in common with many other artists featured 
in this series, has never received any royalties.

Elsewhere, other bands and musicians are becoming increasingly annoyed 
at the kind of sharp practice that recycles small clips, inferior sound 
quality and scripts and commentary riddled with inaccuracies.

Caravan are asking their fans to boycott this kind of material.

Their manager, Mark Powell, writes “You may be aware of releases by 
CLASSIC ROCK PRODUCTIONS on both DVD and CD. The material is in breach 
of contract or simply illegal. The band have not received royalties. 
The disputed titles are, 'WITH STRINGS ATTACHED' and 'NOWHERE TO HIDE'. 
Despite continual objections, Classic Rock Productions continue to 
exploit these recordings. These recordings have now been passed to a 
third party, who licensed them in good faith. These releases are now 
subject to dispute.”

Consequently, DGM is actively taking steps regarding both Inside King 
Crimson release and urges KC fans NOT to purchase them.  Whilst DGM 
understands that there is a demand for rarely seen and archive footage 
of the band, Inside King Crimson is not that product.

For several months DGM has been undertaking research on producing a 
compilation of archive video footage of the band in all its 
incarnations. It is likely that the resulting DVD will include all the 
tracks mentioned on the Inside King Crimson DVD (minus constant 
interruptions and critical asides) in addition to many more 
performances, several of them seen for the first time.  A full press 
release itemising tracks and performances will be announced once 
licensing and clearance negotiations have been concluded.  In the 
meantime, we ask fans to be patient and to avoid the Classic Rock 
Productions.

Sid Smith
Author of In The Court of King Crimson

SOME FURTHER COMMENT BY SID ABOUT THIS ISSUE:

A glance at some comments from the proud owners of Classic Rock 
Productions over at Amazon and elsewhere on the internet gives some 
clue as to what King Crimson fans can expect if the Inside King Crimson 
becomes available.

“This is quite simply a con! . . . I was looking forward to seeing the 
"rare footage of Atom Heart Mother" - it lasts 10-15 seconds!. DO NOT 
WASTE YOUR MONEY!”

“This set of DVD's must be a con, pure and simple. Terrible reviews 
dumbed down with no new material or insights. . .These discs are 
advertised as suitable for college students and study groups, I don't 
get the joke! Best not to buy this drivel, it only encourages more of 
the same.”

“Oh dear...proclaiming to be the 'definitive critical review', this is 
nothing more than a DVD of talking heads, most of whom love Pink Floyd 
just like you or I. The trouble is, you and I probably could have made 
some more interesting comments!”

Inside Supertramp
“There were little snippets of live performances by Supertramp but this 
was overshadowed by a running commentary by the reviewers. It lasted 
just 63 minutes.”

It is a commentary documentary and nothing more. . . The total time 
that you actually see and hear Supertramp is negligible.  You’re lucky 
to see about 12 minutes of fragments from past performances (out of 63 
minutes running time). (excerpted from prog-nose review)

Inside Nirvana
“Very poor dvd . . . no full live videos . . .just 5 seconds clip from 
MTV Live and Loud, MTV Unplugged, and Saturday night live.”

Inside Deep Purple
“The criticism is along the lines of "Machine Head is good, Who Do We 
Think We Are isn't", and the revelation that Smoke On The Water is a 
"classic riff". Nothing the reviewers' commentary will be new to Purple 
fans, and indeed some is inaccurate or at least incomplete.”

Uriah Heep
But the quality of performances and sound/video is quite another 
matter. . .They were omitted from previous DVD releases due to poor 
quality of sound/video or due to poor performance or because of poor 
sound mix (check the version of Lady in Black present), and now we get 
them on "Ultimate Anthology"!

Best wishes,

Sid

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Dick Heath Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Special Collaborator Jazz-Rock Specialist Joined: April 19 2004 Location: England Status: Offline Points: 12798	Topic: Warning Message From Robert Fripp Posted: April 22 2005 at 10:16
	Sid Smith, himself acting on behalf of Robert Fripp, has asked me to post the following two messages here, the first written by Robert Fripp, the second by Sid who is looking after KC's website. FROM ROBERT FRIPP Inside King Crimson DVD and CD A statement from Robert Fripp and DGM The Inside The Music series is a "pot of gold" for Bob Carruthers & classic rock productions. It addresses a valuable & useful area of popular music studies; but in a cheap, nasty & cynical fashion that exploits everyone & scams the artists, the music & the fans. Bob Carruthers is a likeable, personable & slippery, evasive character who has upset nearly everyone whose music he has, in some way, presented. If transparency & accountability are two features of the ethical company, then Classic Rock Productions must be considered ethically challenged in extremis. Given my 38 years of hard experience as a professional within the music industry, Bob Carruthers' company would be better named Classic Crock Productions. Robert Fripp, World HQ, April 22nd 2005. FROM SID Inside King Crimson In recent days I’ve received a number of enquiries from KC fans regarding a DVD entitled Inside King Crimson 1972 – 1975 and a CD, Inside King Crimson 1975-1979, Classic Rock Productions. Potential purchasers should understand that neither item has been approved nor licensed by Robert Fripp, the copyright holder of the music. As with many other products in this series, fans hoping to see full performances will be disappointed. In order to get around the copyright act, the DVD is marketed as a ‘critical review’. In this context, snippets of footage under 20 seconds are deemed legal. The majority of the content is made up of critical opinions by journalists, musicians, etc. On the Inside King Crimson DVD there are 10 second bursts of music. The two bonus tracks are recycled from the John Wetton Ultimate Anthology, another product advertised by Classic Rock Direct. John did not give approval of the original release or its use on either of these King Crimson items. John, in common with many other artists featured in this series, has never received any royalties. Elsewhere, other bands and musicians are becoming increasingly annoyed at the kind of sharp practice that recycles small clips, inferior sound quality and scripts and commentary riddled with inaccuracies. Caravan are asking their fans to boycott this kind of material. Their manager, Mark Powell, writes “You may be aware of releases by CLASSIC ROCK PRODUCTIONS on both DVD and CD. The material is in breach of contract or simply illegal. The band have not received royalties. The disputed titles are, 'WITH STRINGS ATTACHED' and 'NOWHERE TO HIDE'. Despite continual objections, Classic Rock Productions continue to exploit these recordings. These recordings have now been passed to a third party, who licensed them in good faith. These releases are now subject to dispute.” Consequently, DGM is actively taking steps regarding both Inside King Crimson release and urges KC fans NOT to purchase them. Whilst DGM understands that there is a demand for rarely seen and archive footage of the band, Inside King Crimson is not that product. For several months DGM has been undertaking research on producing a compilation of archive video footage of the band in all its incarnations. It is likely that the resulting DVD will include all the tracks mentioned on the Inside King Crimson DVD (minus constant interruptions and critical asides) in addition to many more performances, several of them seen for the first time. A full press release itemising tracks and performances will be announced once licensing and clearance negotiations have been concluded. In the meantime, we ask fans to be patient and to avoid the Classic Rock Productions. Sid Smith Author of In The Court of King Crimson SOME FURTHER COMMENT BY SID ABOUT THIS ISSUE: A glance at some comments from the proud owners of Classic Rock Productions over at Amazon and elsewhere on the internet gives some clue as to what King Crimson fans can expect if the Inside King Crimson becomes available. “This is quite simply a con! . . . I was looking forward to seeing the "rare footage of Atom Heart Mother" - it lasts 10-15 seconds!. DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY!” “This set of DVD's must be a con, pure and simple. Terrible reviews dumbed down with no new material or insights. . .These discs are advertised as suitable for college students and study groups, I don't get the joke! Best not to buy this drivel, it only encourages more of the same.” “Oh dear...proclaiming to be the 'definitive critical review', this is nothing more than a DVD of talking heads, most of whom love Pink Floyd just like you or I. The trouble is, you and I probably could have made some more interesting comments!” Inside Supertramp “There were little snippets of live performances by Supertramp but this was overshadowed by a running commentary by the reviewers. It lasted just 63 minutes.” It is a commentary documentary and nothing more. . . The total time that you actually see and hear Supertramp is negligible. You’re lucky to see about 12 minutes of fragments from past performances (out of 63 minutes running time). (excerpted from prog-nose review) Inside Nirvana “Very poor dvd . . . no full live videos . . .just 5 seconds clip from MTV Live and Loud, MTV Unplugged, and Saturday night live.” Inside Deep Purple “The criticism is along the lines of "Machine Head is good, Who Do We Think We Are isn't", and the revelation that Smoke On The Water is a "classic riff". Nothing the reviewers' commentary will be new to Purple fans, and indeed some is inaccurate or at least incomplete.” Uriah Heep But the quality of performances and sound/video is quite another matter. . .They were omitted from previous DVD releases due to poor quality of sound/video or due to poor performance or because of poor sound mix (check the version of Lady in Black present), and now we get them on "Ultimate Anthology"! Best wishes, Sid

Guests Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Guest Group	Posted: April 22 2005 at 10:29
	Ok, good info, never heard of it, though

Gentle Ronnie Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member Joined: March 17 2005 Status: Offline Points: 540	Posted: April 22 2005 at 11:34
	Beat the **** out of Classic Crock Productions! I am very gentle, you see.

BleedingGum Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member Joined: April 21 2005 Location: Canada Status: Offline Points: 257	Posted: April 22 2005 at 11:58
	Thank you for the info. :)
	...this is called....BleedingGum ... !

yarstruly Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member Joined: September 29 2004 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 1282	Posted: April 22 2005 at 12:28
	Thanks for the warning!

bluetailfly Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member Joined: January 28 2005 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 1383	Posted: April 22 2005 at 15:14
	I've seen these DVDs in the CD rack, I think for ELP and Pink Floyd, and you can te;; by looking at them that they are rather cheaply produced. They do have a big warning about how these haven't been authorized by the band, etc. So I've been wary of them. They really should also make it clear that they do not feature extended footage of the band in concert or in the studio, etc. However, I DO like the idea of having critical documentaries of prog bands, if that is in fact what these are. And I wouldn't want the featured band to have "authorized" it. If it was well written and it incorportaed interesting, relevant footage of the band and footage of known prog rock critics discussing them, I think it would be something of value and I would welcome that sort of product. Edited by bluetailfly
	"The red polygon's only desire / is to get to the blue triangle."

Kotro Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Prog Reviewer Joined: August 16 2004 Location: Portugal Status: Offline Points: 2809	Posted: April 23 2005 at 15:59
	I really suspect this company, their cathaloges always seemed to me a collection of cons. The only thing good in Classic Rock Productions were Mostly Autumn. And even they have deserted!

Arsillus Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member Joined: March 26 2005 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 7374	Posted: April 23 2005 at 16:30
	I don't know...that live KC footage is looking pretty tempting.... I've seen one of those DVDs before at a friend's house. I was just mad at the fact I wasted an hour of my life watching that horrid garbage; my friend felt the same way and he bought it!