Ah, when I was a teenager, this was (and still is) one of my favorite albums. A band changes direction completely, creates something totally new and loses the interest of their old fans. There are three albums that somewhat relate to each other, where an artist or a band changed their direction completely and created something the fans hated first, finding their audience much later.<p>King Crimson: Discipline. A mixture of quirky pop which at the first listen sounds simple, but when you dig into it turns into something completely different. Nice tight package of brilliant tracks, played by extremely talented musicians. Math music you can hum in the shower. The band kind of disappointed their old fans coming from the album Red to this one. I like both albums a lot.<p>Talk Talk: Spirit of Eden. Pop megastars got all the studio time they wanted. Instead of creating another mega hit after The Colour of Spring, they hired tens of musicians, turned off all lights from the studio and sampled the mistakes and off-takes together creating a new genre, which was later known as post rock. You kind of sink into their world when listening to this, finding new things even after decades of listening. 20 years later Radiohead did a similar change of direction and got really popular. The record company sued Talk Talk for their album in the 80's.<p>Miles Davis: On the Corner. Oh how the jazz audience hated this album. Miles wanted to get the young black audience, and created a funky kraut masterpiece of an album. Cut from tape by the mighty Teo Macero, it sets a standard of sampling used by the hip hop artists a decade later. As all the other albums I mentioned here, put some good headphones on and it's crazy how you can sink into the music. Repetitive in a similar way as Discipline, but instead of looking into pop and post punk, this one takes its influence from funk, krautrock and jazz.<p>If you have a mind that can appreciate any of these albums, the others will tickle the same cells in your brain.
Honestly - you should really just go through their discography in full sometime. There are a lot of great tracks off In Court of the Crimson King (I Talk to the Wind being a favourite of mine) along with Red (Starless being one I'd highlight). It's a band that sort of faded into obscurity IMO - being muscled out by bigger names from that era like Yes, Genesis and Pink Floyd, all of which are definitely worth listening too, but King Crimson has got something special.
I remember seeing them in Edinburgh in the 70s. People were arriving late and chatting. Robert Fripp folded his arms and stood their silently for several minutes, looking at the audience as if they were vermin. Everyone went quiet and looked around at each other in embarrassment. Then, once you could have heard a pin drop, they started playing. Great.<p>You could see some amazing bands back then - I saw Beefheart three times.
Grew up listening to these guys (in fact, even in the womb I was at their concerts) and I would certainly say that their music has shaped who I am for the better.<p>It is absolutely bonkers that they (or, Fripp at least) are still playing music after 50 years and still touching the hearts of so many people.<p>A little bit off topic -- but we had a new consultant join our team and the only personal effect he brought with him was a grateful dead dancing bears mug. I have no idea what he does but we were able to connect over our love of good music and still today are good friends.
Robert Fripp released a new playlist, in youtube[1], named Music For Quiet Moments. It is an instrumental album and quoting from the description:<p>`
Robert Fripp's "Music for Quiet Moments" series. We will be releasing an ambient instrumental soundscape online every week for 50 weeks. Something to nourish us, and help us through these Uncertain Times.
`<p>1. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbnpw-XH5DOFvCUsuoNNbUlRDns-sfxpp" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbnpw-XH5DOFvCUsuoNNb...</a>
I saw Belew give a lecture in 1986 and remember being just mesmerized by his “avant dobro”.<p><a href="https://youtu.be/UD-GrAMUzO8" rel="nofollow">https://youtu.be/UD-GrAMUzO8</a><p><a href="https://youtu.be/24DKSkOQzm8" rel="nofollow">https://youtu.be/24DKSkOQzm8</a><p><a href="https://www.fretboardjournal.com/features/adrian-belew-and-the-avant-dobro/" rel="nofollow">https://www.fretboardjournal.com/features/adrian-belew-and-t...</a><p>Then there’s the whole <i>Toyah and Robert’s Sunday Lunch</i> thing.<p><a href="https://toyahwillcox.com/toyah-roberts-sunday-lunch/" rel="nofollow">https://toyahwillcox.com/toyah-roberts-sunday-lunch/</a><p>WTF... and yet. Such intensely creative and talented people. Wha’s like them? Damn few.
“Discipline” is one of those albums that totally changed the way I thought about music.<p>When I was a kid I was really into classic prog rock (i.e. Yes, Genesis, ELP, etc.) and was mesmerized by Bill Bruford’s playing and technique on “Close to the Edge”, which led me to this incarnation of King Crimson.<p>One song in particular that really stuck out to me was “Thela Hun Ginjeet”, which includes a recording of Adrian Belew recounting an experience being heckled on the street, but until I read the Wikipedia page for the album I had no idea it was secretly recorded by Fripp and wasn’t scripted (including the maniacal laugh at the end). It blew my mind that they were able to create this soundscape that turned a recording of a totally sane Belew into what I thought was a paranoid schizophrenic.<p>Each song on the album stands on its own, and it’s probably my favorite in King Crimson’s discography.
This band is truly amazing and they just keep getting better. Their recent live albums from 2017-2018 are some of their best releases. I think HN would really appreciate the technical talent of this band.<p>Here's Danny Carey (Drummer from Tool) talking about this album and how the title track influenced his style. <a href="https://youtu.be/SsxSm1xCR-E?t=175" rel="nofollow">https://youtu.be/SsxSm1xCR-E?t=175</a> You can definitely hear how that song influenced Tool's signature sound years later.
There are very few albums that I can say that I have a clear memory of listening to them for the first time. Discipline is one of them. It was spring break of my freshman year of college and the drummer in the band I was playing in asked me to keep his CD collection in my room over break because there were occasional break-ins to rooms of people gone for the week. I listened to a lot of music new to me, but the one that grabbed me by the throat was Discipline.<p>Over time, I became a bigger and bigger fan of Crimson. My favorite era was the 74–77 incarnation which shed a member with each album until it finally collapsed, although the current line-up which has focused entirely on live performance is just amazing. I regret not getting the chance to see them live, and suspect that between Covid and the aging of the band that I never will see them live, but it's a truly amazing group of musicians (albeit one whose membership has been unstable since the start. The 80s trilogy of albums was the longest run without a lineup change in the band's history.)
<i>Indiscipline</i><p>The lyrics and the main groove of this song auto-play in my brain at least once a month. These words must resonate with other people here. They must.<p>> [Verse 1]<p>> I do remember one thing<p>> It took hours and hours but..<p>> By the time I was done with it<p>> I was so involved, I didn't know what to think<p>> I carried it around with me for days and days..<p>> Playing little games<p>> Like not looking at it for a whole day<p>> And then, looking at it<p>> To see if I still liked it<p>> I did<p>> [Verse 2]<p>> I repeat myself when under stress<p>> I repeat myself when under stress<p>> I repeat myself when under stress<p>> I repeat myself when under stress<p>> I repeat-<p>> The more I look at it<p>> The more I like it<p>> Heh, I do think it's good<p>> The fact is...<p>> No matter how closely I study it<p>> No matter how I take it apart<p>> No matter how I'll break it down<p>> It remains consistent<p>> I wish you were here to see it!<p>> [Outro]<p>> I like it<p>Interestingly, it looks like King Crimson has recently officially uploaded the goods to YT.<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tH3phKBbVLs" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tH3phKBbVLs</a>
I loved this album when it came out! (Just pulled it up on Spotify, it's been several years!)<p>This and Beat and Three of a Perfect Pair were continuously played back in those days.<p>I remember repeatedly calling my local classic rock radio station requesting Frame by Frame. They never played it, unsurprisingly!<p>Another favorite from a few years before is Fripp's solo album Exposure [1]. Great vocals on some tracks by Darrell Hall of Hall and Oates. Changed my thinking about that guy! Also a wonderful version of Here Comes the Flood with Peter Gabriel, with great Frippertronics going on throughout. Great stuff!<p>1: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZA3qLXj8bA" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZA3qLXj8bA</a>
As a massive music nerd, I can think of very few bands who have played for over 50 years and keep on reinventing themselves.<p>Most bands decline over the years, but not King Crimson. That said, I have to say the double trio lineup is my favorite era of theirs.<p>The only other band that IMO comes close in keeping high quality for 50 years is probably Magma. The only difference is that they're mostly staying the same (not in a bad way, mind you), and not necessarily reinventing themselves. Instead they're just getting more refined.
I was a Bowie fan in the 70s and very excited about his work with Robert Fripp (for example, the e-bow line in Heroes). Then a musician friend introduced me to Fripp and Belew's King Crimson. The opening track, Elephant Talk, of this album (Discipline) is eye-opening.
<i>Discipline</i> is also the name of a prog-rock band from Detroit Michigan. I've been lucky enough to see them live, and their 2 albums are great:<p><i>Push and Profit</i> <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Push-Profit-Discipline/dp/B000260FRA/" rel="nofollow">https://www.amazon.com/Push-Profit-Discipline/dp/B000260FRA/</a><p><i>Unfolded Like Staircase</i> <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Unfolded-Like-Staircase-Discipline/dp/B000260FRK" rel="nofollow">https://www.amazon.com/Unfolded-Like-Staircase-Discipline/dp...</a><p>Funnily enough, I listened to Discipline (the band) before listening to Discipline (the album).<p>King Crimson fans should give Push and Profit a listen at the very least :)
I remember seeing Frame by Frame on ‘The Old Grey Whistle Test’ in 1982 [1] and being blown away by every aspect of it - and puzzled. What do the lyrics mean? Why would Fripp sit in the dark wearing a suit? Almost forty years on and the whole album still intrigues me, which I guess is one measure of greatness.<p>[1] <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrXgcp01JaI" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrXgcp01JaI</a>
"We were in a part of London that was a dangerous area" - apparently that incident occurred in Notting Hill Gate; that's hardly a rough neighbourhood. Parts of Notting Hill are definitely seedy, but I wouldn't be nervous waiting for a bus there at night.
A lot of people I knew in the 80's punk scene would trash prog rock as being too polished (think YES' Relayer with a single track on a side). Yet we all loved Discipline (some secretly). Prog as it was, it was still raw power.
I've (so far) met Fripp, Levin, Jaksyzyk, and Mastellotto...all great dudes. Every iteration has something interesting to offer, and the combined talent pool really is staggering.
I saw KC open with Discipline in Orlando, a couple of months back. Levin was there with Fripp. The show was as good as you'd imagine.<p>I think a lot of the audience only knew their first album; some folks left when it got heavy. As for me, Discipline is one of my favorite albums by any band - followed by Starless.<p>My (adult) kids really liked that Fripp screwed with us by saying no pics because the band would pose when it was over - which they did not. Ha. Fripp being Fripp.
Yes. I bought this on vinyl when it first came out. This was my first introduction to King Crimson. And surprisingly, when I bought Court of the Crimson King in college, I could hear the thread that connected their first album to the first album by them I ever bought. The more I listened to it, the more I took it apart, the more I broke it down, it remained consistent.<p>I still think it's good!
I wish you were here to hear it!
I came to KC via Fripp because I'm a Brian Eno fan - 1980s.<p>And even tho ELP was a first love, Court is one of my least favorite KC albums (ref: Greg Lake, Pete Sinfield). I like it well enough just not as much the stuff with Bruford (Yes was another 1st lv).<p>sidebar: Leaned yesterday that Jon Anderson sung on a track on Lizards
Am I the only one who likes what King Crimson did until the 70s, and does not understand the direction they went with Discipline? I have tried listening to it and later albums, but I never got it. Anyone here can help me better appreciate King Crimson's music from the 80s on?
<i>”Tony had the Chapman Stick, which no one had used before”</i><p>Serious question: has anyone aside from King Crimson and acolytes used it since? I remember the hype in the 80s music magazines but it never seemed to break out. What happened?
If anyone is also interested in sorta psychedelic 70s progressive things, and likes a faster more punky slant, I would highly, <i>highly</i> recommend checking out Cardiacs. Their music is magical.
don't forget to look at belew's solo work from the 80s. lone rhino and twang bar king are two of my favourite albums from the era. think of discipline or beat without the discipline brought by fripp. like indiscipline run gloriously amok.