From: bjornl@sics.se (Bj|rn Lisper)
Subject: Re: King Crimson Beginner
Organization: Swedish Institute of Computer Science, Kista
	<1992Nov11.134526.10051@vax.oxford.ac.uk>
Date: Thu, 12 Nov 1992 08:49:42 GMT

In article <1992Nov11.134526.10051@vax.oxford.ac.uk> bain1@vax.oxford.ac.uk
writes:
>In case anyone is really interested, here's a list of KC albums with a few
>notes. ...

Some of my personal views on some of the albums added...

>Islands (1971) is a trifle more relaxed, some would say 'boring' than the
>previous, but is worth getting for the utterly AWESOME guitar bit on 'Sailor's
>Tale'.

See below.

>Earthbound (1971) was recorded on the American tour and has now been deleted.
>Copies are easily found secondhand but beware, this is not an album for the
>sound quality freaks amongst you - some of it was recorded in the back of a
>truck in the rain! It does contain the definitive live Schizoid Man as well as
>two improvisations and a drum solo played through a VCS3 (!)

Yes, the sound quality is dismal but I still this is a very good album. It
has a hard edge that points towards the next KC lineup with Bruford, Wetton 
etc. Especially good is the live version of "Sailor's Tale" that I think
beats the studio version on "Islands" by miles! Great Fripp guitar here,
streams of tortured fire against a background of cold mellotrons.

>Starless and Bible Black (1974) O! Rapture! What can I say about this album?
>It's orgasmic. Eight tracks, al but the first two recorded live (not that
>you'd know). Lots of Improvisation and some VERY freaky violin playing. I
>can't go on, I'm getting goose pimples!

Me too! "Fracture" is one of the best pieces of music I know.

>Red (1974) A bit of a let-down, although it does contain the finest recorded
>track by KC in the form of 'Starless' - there's only one guitarist in the
>world who could play an eight-minute guitar passage on four notes and still
>make it the most emotional experience you've ever had.

I wouldn't call this album a letdown. I think it is on par with SaBB.

>There's also a (not very good) live album from this period called 'USA', but
>it's been deleted and I've not heard it.

Delete "not" in "not very good". I think this album was the perfect
conclusion of this incarnation of KC. The live version of "Larks'
Tongues..." which opens the album is great and it also has very good live
versions of "Lament", "Easy Money" etc. (And: a third version of "25th
Century Schizoid Man", as distorted as usual.) Too bad it was deleted.

Let me also pull a plug for Fripps solo album "Exposure" that came in 1977.
If you like SaBB etc you'll most likely love this album too. It covers a
broad range of styles from heavy SaBB type tracks to Frippertronics.

>As far as the later three albums go (Discipline, Beat, and Three of a Perfect
>Pair) I've not heard these, but they are supposed to be very different again.
>More than this I dont't know, but Eric Tamm seemed to like them.

Yes, these are very different. I like them but they can't be compared with
the mid era albums. Fripp is (with a few exceptions) not playing much power
guitar, instead his guitar is often moving in intricate repetitive rythm
patterns interleaved with other instruments. Lots of polymetrics in here.
Adrian Belew definitely has a big influence on these albums. I find
"Discipline" and the first side of "Beat" the best.

Bjorn Lisper
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