THRAKATTAK

THRaKaTTaK is a divisive release among King Crimson fans, and there's good reason why it should be so. Rather than being a conventional release of studio renditions of existing compositions, or a live performance of songs and improvisations, THRaKaTTaK blends various improvisations performed in conjunction with THRAK (the instrumental) on the 1995 tour supporting THRAK (the album) into one long ambient piece. The overall effect is much like Frank Zappa's technique of xenochrony, or Neil Young's Arc album.

It's an experiment which would be repeated on the Schizoid Men disc of the Ladies of the Road live release, but I think it works somewhat better here. The trick is in not expecting anything resembling a conventional song structure, but accepting it as a sort of noisy, industrial-tinged ambient piece. Approach it like that, and you'll find it much easier to appreciate.