THE PROJEKCTS

I posted four instead of five stars only because the first two projekcts are less compelling to me than 3 and 4. The latter two are phenomenal. Perhaps its Pat's percussion? Along with Projekct X, they represent a high point in passion and ingenuity. Someone pointed out to me the Kc represents King Crimson, and the spirit of the band is more alive in 3 and 4 than in the latest studio releases, TCOL and TPTB

One of the best releases by KC in any arangement during the last decade, The ProjeKcts is a 4 disc set with variations on the KC lineup on each one, each being a winner, really interesting throughout, excellent playing and the various musicians seem to be really enjoying the freedom presented to them to improvise within on the discs.

improvised music. a superb mix of jazz, metal, ambient, space rock. It requires some time to fully enjoy it but it will reward you with 4cd of greath music. Caution: it is nothing like previous or next albums by KC

I rate it two stars because you must be crazy to love this music. So if you are, go, grab the CDs and listen to them. Encore. And Encore.

These 6 musicians play with KC since many years and in THRAK, they played all togheter for the first time, we called it the Double Trio (two guitars, two drums, two basses). And suddenly, they feel they were missing something. But what?

They decided, as suggested by Fripp, to play improvisations LIVE, in different lineups, just to see what could get out from this. (I had the chance to saw ProjeKct Two at the Montreal Jazz Festival (could you imagine KC at a Jazz Fest?). That night was so special and bizarre, with Belew at the drums...). After these LIVE experiments, they formed the 2000 KC lineup with Belew, Gunn, Mastelotto and Fripp and recorded few albums.

ProjeKct 3 and 4 represents clearly they reached something of their own, and you will find in these CDs the Beginning of the latest (and now broken) KC lineup. Very intersting, but you got to be crazy !

Very strange live improvs from various line-ups of King Crimson members. A mix of enjoyable and boring instrumentals...

CD I is ProjeKct One - "Live At The Jazz Cafe". Mostly jazzy improvs, highlights being the slower "1ii2" and "2ii3".

CD II is ProjeKct Two - "Live Groove". A mix of the spacey improvs that can be found on "Space Groove" and new material that would eventually become the base for "The ConstruKction Of Light". Highlights include "Sus-tayn-Z" with oriental influences, the slow paced/electronic oriented "The Deception Of The Thrush" and the rocking "ConstruKction"s. The "Vector Shift"s and "Live Groove" are arrangements of the studio improvs found on "Space Groove".

CD III is ProjeKct Three - "Masque". A 54 minute improv divided in 13 pieces with the drumming of Pat Mastelotto really bringing some cohesion to the music. The slower parts 5-8 are the best moment on this album.

CD IV is ProjeKct Four - "West Coast Live". Probably the weakest of the four ProjeKcts with totally incoherent improvs. The only enjoyable tracks on this CD are "Ghost 1-3" and "Ghost 2-3". The rest are boring with a reprise of "Deception Of The Thrush" from ProjeKct Two and attains a summum of stupidity with the "farting" "Ghost 2-1".

Rating: 58/100 ("Live At The Jazz Cafe") + 76/100 ("Live Groove") + 70/100 ("Masque") + 53/100 ("West Coast Live")

If you are a King Crimson fan - die hard one - this is an excellent box set. But if you are not but you appreciate the kind of jamming music or improvisations you might also like this set. But if you expect something like song-orientated music, this is definitely not for you. It's a bit hard for most people to accept this kind of live set which comprises mainly free flow music and practically no song is presented. However, if in the live set of King Crimson like "Heavy ConstruKction" you appreciate tracks like "Improv: Munchen" you might enjoy the music presented here. For me personally I purchased this box set merely I was so impressed with the cover artwork. Indeed, inside each CD sleeves there are dozens of wonderful artwork with similar style and nuance. I love this box set very much - it's artistically incredible! As for the music itself I enjoy this set because it helps me understands the subtleties of each musicians styles and sounds. Right after enjoying this set usually I spin other KC albums to get it compared on song orientated set. As far as giving opinion, I have to be fair with general people which might possibly consider this album is a nonsense - nothing in it. But frankly, this is not bad at all. To make it the best opinion I would give this box set worth for completionist - two stars rating. Keep on proggin' ..!

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW

This 4 cd - Box Set is really something so much more than beatiful. The incredible techical skills of the four sub- crim formations is terrific, the simply way to describe these cds in which the KC music re- invent itself again and again and again, is Masterpiece. At the first time you listen to it, then you might feel a little maybe upset, because it's not not easy to deal with this kind of music, totally improvised, but once you get into it, it will become like a sort of drug (of course in a good way :-) ). I bought the box set one week ago and I've listened to the whole of it several times, and the more I listen to it, the more I like it, the fact is no matter how I break it down, it remains consistant (to say it with KC own words....)

ProjeKct One - Live At The Jazz Cafè : this is my favourite along with Three and Four; this one is an album with various moods, the music flows from jazzy improvv trough some Fripp soundscapes, with great moments of harmony between the P1 line up (Fripp Brufford Levin Gunn).

ProjeKct Two - Live Groove : In my opinion this is the "worst" of them all, though it has some very enjoyable moments like "Deception Of The Thrush", which is presented in a slightly different way, anyway the improvvisations are not good as in the other three discs, (interesting listening to Adrian Belew work on drums, not bad at all!)

ProjeKct Three: probably the best one, simply fantastic list of quite aggressive improvvisasions troughout the whole cd, simply incredible believing that there are only three persons to play : Fripp, Gunn, and the best choice in matter of drums for a work like this: Mastellotto.

ProjeKct Four : Almost on the same line as P1, this disc alternates aggressive, almost metal music sections, with the much more quiet "Ghost P.1" and "Ghost P.2", excellent tracks also "Hindu Fizz", and of course the well known "Deception Of The Thrush"

A 5 stars rating all the way, to a must that every Prog lover should own.

I don't really know what to call this. It's not really prog, it's not jazz, it's not fusion. It's sui generis. It's improvised music made with electrified instruments by some of the most talented and creative musicians alive. A lot of it is dark and nasty and ominous in that Crimson-manner, almost like a soundtrack to some dystopian sci-fi film about the destruction of humanity by machines. In any case, it's absolutely brilliant and a huge feast for my ears and brain.

In the 90's, King Crimson was finally able to share in recorded form the transcendent improvisation that characterized the 73-74 lineup. The release of "The Great Deciever" boxset made the studio albums pale in comparison. Something had been happening with this band that went beyond ordinary rock and jazz, and beyond ordinary songwriting. King Crimson fulfilled its mission best when they stepped out into the unknown and improvised.

When the "Double Trio" formation came together for the VROOOM EP and the THRAK album, Robert Fripp looked back to the sound of "Red" for inspiration, and came to consider the possibilities for this group improvising as the Wetton/Cross/Bruford/Fripp lineup had.

However, the first experiments in Double Trio improvising were disappointing. I suppose some people like ThraKattaK, and I pretended to like it for a summer, but it really is a lot of poorly integrated noise. Improvisation for the Double Trio was mostly limited to a free section in the one song, Thrak.

However, Fripp doggedly pursued the improvisation idea subsequently, in the idea of "fractalizing" King Crimson into different ProjeKCts. The idea was that, just like in the "Starless and Bible Black" era, King Crimson would develop material for the next album organically, on the road, through improvisation. The group would convene in different touring units with different lineups, and each lineup would develop its own techniques and material.

ProjeKCt One is the one that sounds most like 70's King Crimson, largely because it is the ProjeKCt with the acoustic drummer, Bill Bruford. It is also the lineup that makes the best use of Tony Levin's abilities. His bass and stick work often serve as the seed out of which the pieces grow. ProjeKCt one's improvisation style is closer to jazz than the other ProjeKCts. It is worth checking out the Collector's Club release of this group as well, because even though the group only played for six nights, there is a remarkable diversity of material. Another thing that is reminiscent of 70's crimson is that Robert Fripp often uses his soundscapes like a mellotron, providing a wide, grand sonic landscape to contextualize the work of the other players.

ProjeKCt Two began as a studio improvisation exercise, with Adrian Belew abandoning the guitar and serving as the entire rhythm section. This was accomplished with Roland's new (at the time) V-Drums, which allowed for the programming of a bass line to be triggered by the kick drum.

In ProjeKCt Two, Fripp and Gunn alternate between the roles of atmposheric soundscapes and traditional guitar soloing. The studio release is probably the more definitive embodiment of this group, but the "Live Groove" album presented in this box set demonstrates how the pieces developed in the studio translated into a rocking live show.

ProjeKCt two is probably the lineup which had the most personality of its own, adopting a science fiction mythology, paying tribute to Sun Ra by writing "Space is Still the Place" on the album cover, and having the largest original playlist.

ProjeKCt Three is probably the weakest part of the set. This group plays material that is recognizable from ProjeKcts Two and Four, but in a less inspired way. One contrast between the album presented here and the Collector's Club version is that Pat Matelotto's subsequent remixing of the material was considered another dimension of the group's creative process. ProjeKCt Three has the best album cover, PJ Crook's evocative painting of a masquerade ball, but perhaps only the very first piece on the album, a soundscape-heavy improvisation, fulfills the mysterious promise of the artwork.

ProjeKCt Four is the real surprise of the set. On this album, Pat Mastelotto's heavy electronica and triggered loops propel Levin, Gunn, and Fripp into what is arguably a unique form of music. It is hard, heavy, and breathtaking. If the subsequent King Crimson had sounded like this, I think the albums would have recieved more attention. The improvisations are less free than ProjeKCt One, because the other musicians must match the beat of the electronic drumming, but the energy released on frenetic pieces like "Ghost" is unlike anything else being played at the time. For my money, ProjeKCt Four is the most groundbreaking music of the entire set, because a new form of music was being explored here.

Back in the 90's, I awaited the arrival of this set with reverent anticipation. This music, though it doesn't carry the official name of King Crimson, stands as evidence that Robert Fripp and the revolving cast of King Crimson were still at the forefront of the music of progress, decades after inventing it.