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Was Pete Sinfield essential for King Crimson?
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Valdez1 View Drop Down
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Points: 351 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Valdez1 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 29 2024 at 17:38
Originally posted by Grumpyprogfan Grumpyprogfan wrote:

Originally posted by The Dark Elf The Dark Elf wrote:

Originally posted by omphaloskepsis omphaloskepsis wrote:

Originally posted by dr wu23 dr wu23 wrote:

Well he did lyrics on the first 4 yet ...Larks Tongues, Starless , and REd are exceptional lps ...so the band obviously did not need his lyrics later so no he was not essential thoiugh he certainly set the tone for the atmosphere on early lps.



Agreed^

KC's early vocalists-" Haskell, Boswell"  didn't have the lyrical chops that John Wetton had.  Lake wrote decent lyrics, yet ELP employed Sinfield lyrical skills from Brain Salad Surgery through Love Beach.Wink  

Except Wetton didn't write the lyrics during his tenure with King Crimson, Richard Palmer James, one of Wetton's buds (and original guitarist for Supertramp), was the lyricist. And I think I appreciate Palmer-James' lyrics more than Sinfield's. "The Night Watch" is an outstanding bit of poetry.
And then in the 80's through 2009, Adrian Belew wrote the lyrics.

 Belew had some great lyrics also. and some that were not.  I remember when I first heard Elephant Talk, Sleepless, I was impressed.   Model Man had great simple lyrics.  A far cry though from the doom laden, heavy, medieval fantasy, and somewhat sci-fi Sinfield lyrics, which I enjoy above all else.   

Who wrote "The Letters" anyway... I forget. 

The Song STILL with Greg Lake singing is classic fantastic Sinfield... Whole food Boogie and the rest of Sinfields album seemed to miss the mark for me.

I liked Brain Salad surgery when I was young... Not so much anymore.

 I wish Boz had been around longer with KC. His vocals on Earthbound were killer even if recorded poorly. Wetton was the Star Singer after Greg Lake.  He also did some terrific Ballads .  Haskell no slouch either with his quirky singing style.   All good.   

The Power to believe is the album that lost me... Me no like much, lyrically or musically.  Every time I hear BUDE, I feel embarrassed. 

 TCoL had good stuff,  but I don't like the way it was produced or "Engineered" by "Machine". 
(whoever he was).   Sounded like the band was compressed in a soundproofed Bathroom with no air.   But Heavy Construkction fixed that... much better.  I actually thought the penis of an alien buried in gelatin was a nice touch.

And Palmer James... fantastic lyrics that took up where Peter left off, albeit with a fresh, more relatable style.

Is Sinfield still with us BTW?  ...Peter?


Edited by Valdez1 - February 29 2024 at 17:48
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Not essential but happily welcomed in those early years.  I'll leave it at that.
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Originally posted by The Dark Elf The Dark Elf wrote:

Originally posted by omphaloskepsis omphaloskepsis wrote:

Originally posted by dr wu23 dr wu23 wrote:

Well he did lyrics on the first 4 yet ...Larks Tongues, Starless , and REd are exceptional lps ...so the band obviously did not need his lyrics later so no he was not essential thoiugh he certainly set the tone for the atmosphere on early lps.



Agreed^

KC's early vocalists-" Haskell, Boswell"  didn't have the lyrical chops that John Wetton had.  Lake wrote decent lyrics, yet ELP employed Sinfield lyrical skills from Brain Salad Surgery through Love Beach.Wink  

Except Wetton didn't write the lyrics during his tenure with King Crimson, Richard Palmer James, one of Wetton's buds (and original guitarist for Supertramp), was the lyricist. And I think I appreciate Palmer-James' lyrics more than Sinfield's. "The Night Watch" is an outstanding bit of poetry.
And then in the 80's through 2009, Adrian Belew wrote the lyrics.
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Originally posted by omphaloskepsis omphaloskepsis wrote:

Originally posted by dr wu23 dr wu23 wrote:

Well he did lyrics on the first 4 yet ...Larks Tongues, Starless , and REd are exceptional lps ...so the band obviously did not need his lyrics later so no he was not essential thoiugh he certainly set the tone for the atmosphere on early lps.


Agreed^

KC's early vocalists-" Haskell, Boswell"  didn't have the lyrical chops that John Wetton had.  Lake wrote decent lyrics, yet ELP employed Sinfield lyrical skills from Brain Salad Surgery through Love Beach.Wink  
Except Wetton didn't write the lyrics during his tenure with King Crimson, Richard Palmer James, one of Wetton's buds (and original guitarist for Supertramp), was the lyricist. And I think I appreciate Palmer-James' lyrics more than Sinfield's. "The Night Watch" is an outstanding bit of poetry.
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Originally posted by dr wu23 dr wu23 wrote:

Well he did lyrics on the first 4 yet ...Larks Tongues, Starless , and REd are exceptional lps ...so the band obviously did not need his lyrics later so no he was not essential thoiugh he certainly set the tone for the atmosphere on early lps.


Agreed^

KC's early vocalists-" Haskell, Boswell"  didn't have the lyrical chops that John Wetton had.  Lake wrote decent lyrics, yet ELP employed Sinfield lyrical skills from Brain Salad Surgery through Love Beach.Wink  
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Well he did lyrics on the first 4 yet ...Larks Tongues, Starless , and REd are exceptional lps ...so the band obviously did not need his lyrics later so no he was not essential thoiugh he certainly set the tone for the atmosphere on early lps.

Edited by dr wu23 - February 29 2024 at 15:04
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Pete was essential for early KC.   ELP should have hired somebody else to write lyrics for Love Beach.
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Pete’s lyrics were some of the finest ever penned at the time. Absolutely yes they were essential and gave the entire first 2 albums their personality and vibe. In 1969 -70 people just weren’t doing instrumentals unless they were over 50. (Brigadoon, Paul Mauriat, maybe the ventures lol). Those lyrics as sung by Greg Lake created King Crimson and I doubt if RF could have scored so well without them.

Edited by Valdez1 - February 29 2024 at 14:20
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Points: 10424 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Easy Money Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 29 2024 at 13:12
Pete was essential to early KC, not only for lyrics but also overall direction and concepts. He provided a light show for concerts and dabbled on synths on a couple albums including Lizards and the processed drum solo on Earthbound. He was definitely part of the band.
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Originally posted by Gordy Gordy wrote:

Originally posted by Moyan Moyan wrote:

Originally posted by Grumpyprogfan Grumpyprogfan wrote:

For me, lyrics are the least important part of an album, that is, unless they are so corny, schmaltzy, or predictable that they ruin it.

Pete was involved in four KC albums - don't feel his input was essential.
Pete Sinfield was the one who first introduced King Crimson to surreal concepts. The band successfully dealt with fantastical, emotional, and occasionally storyline elements as a result of Sinflied's thoughts. No Sinfield, no early King Crimson's uncanny masterpiece(s). And that was the first stage of the rocket that launched them into orbit.

Hey Svet we could use your help adding albums to your suggestions Z Machine and Legs on Wheels, which I just added
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Originally posted by Moyan Moyan wrote:

Originally posted by Grumpyprogfan Grumpyprogfan wrote:

For me, lyrics are the least important part of an album, that is, unless they are so corny, schmaltzy, or predictable that they ruin it.

Pete was involved in four KC albums - don't feel his input was essential.
Pete Sinfield was the one who first introduced King Crimson to surreal concepts. The band successfully dealt with fantastical, emotional, and occasionally storyline elements as a result of Sinflied's thoughts. No Sinfield, no early King Crimson's uncanny masterpiece(s). And that was the first stage of the rocket that launched them into orbit.

Hey Svet we could use your help adding albums to your suggestions Z Machine and Legs on Wheels, which I just added
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Originally posted by Grumpyprogfan Grumpyprogfan wrote:

For me, lyrics are the least important part of an album, that is, unless they are so corny, schmaltzy, or predictable that they ruin it.

Pete was involved in four KC albums - don't feel his input was essential.
Pete Sinfield was the one who first introduced King Crimson to surreal concepts. The band successfully dealt with fantastical, emotional, and occasionally storyline elements as a result of Sinflied's thoughts. No Sinfield, no early King Crimson's uncanny masterpiece(s). And that was the first stage of the rocket that launched them into orbit.
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For me, lyrics are the least important part of an album, that is, unless they are so corny, schmaltzy, or predictable that they ruin it.

Pete was involved in four KC albums - don't feel his input was essential.
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In my opinion, Pete Sinfield's King Crimson was the best. Also, I think that if there wasn't the Sinfield era, there hardly would have been Fripp's experimental phase of King Crimson because there would be nothing to start with. Was Pete Sinfield essential for King Crimson? I believe he was. What do you think? Discuss.

Edited by Moyan - February 29 2024 at 10:29
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