DISCIPLINE

Discipline is the eigth studio album from King Crimson and it´s a comeback album. After a 7 year hiatus ( where Robert Fripp concentrated on other projects) since what most people see as their best album called Red, it´s a welcome return. Robert Fripp has again drafted Bill Bruford on drums, Adrian Belew ( Frank Zappa, Talking Heads and Bowie) is new on vocals and guitar while Tony Levin ( Peter Gabriel) is new on bass/ Chapman stick. Discipline is an album that you either hate or love. Many old time King Crimson fans have a hard time with the new eighties sound while many others hail Robert Fripp´s innovative and progressive approach to music.

The music has changed a lot since the seventies version of King Crimson which means that this third incarnation of King Crimson sounds almost like a new band. It was Robert Fripp´s intention to call his new band Discipline but he had a change of heart at the last moment and decided to use the King Crimson monecker.

The most significant change is the addition of Adrian Belew. A new vocalist always means something special to a band. His voice isn´t very distinct but it suits the music well. Personally I think he is a much better singer than John Wetton ever was or will be. The addition of an extra guitarist really boost the new sound of King Crimson.

The album starts with the song Elephant Talk which also brings humour into King Crimson´s universe and continues with the excellent Frame by Frame. Note the extremely fast guitar playing in this song from Robert Fripp and the beautiful sounding chords played by Adrian Belew. Matte Kudasai is another great song. It´s a bit more subtle than the two opening songs. You could call it King Crimson´s version of a power ballad. Indiscipline is a great noisy strange track where Bill Bruford shows some of his power. Thela Hun Ginjeet with it´s many samples and strange lyrics also has many great moments. The instrumental The Sheltering Sky is another highlight on the album while the title track which is a the last is also a great track.

The musicianship is astonishing to say the least. The interplay between the musicians and the individual performances are unique. Tony Levin´s use of the Chapman Stick brings something very special to this album that you won´t hear very often.

The production is just the way I like it. Clean and a bit cold. Everything is right in the mix and your in for an excellent audio experience with this album.

The cover art is very simple. Some sort of logo on a red background. I don´t know why but it suits the music well.

I heard this album for the first time about ten years ago and really didn´t like it much. It was too eighties sounding and cold for my ears back then. My taste has changed a bit since and I absolutely adore this album today. I´ll only rate it 4 big stars but I fully understand those who choose to give Discipline all 5 stars as it is one of the most innovative and groundbreaking albums on Prog Archives. I might upgrade this some time in the future. I hold it in equally high regard as In the Court of the Crimson King and Red. Discipline is a highly recommendable album.