Posts tagged Bill Bruford

(Review from progreviews.com)

National Health was envisioned by its founders Alan Gowen and Dave Stewart to be a progressive rock orchestra playing the most dense, audacious music they could conceive. Despite composing some of the best music of the Canterbury scene, the original plan failed due financial difficulties and lineup shuffles.

Consisting of demo sessions from 1975 and radio sessions from 1976 (and some later after last album tidbits from winter 1979), “Missing Pieces” demonstrates how promising the original vision really was.

Following a brief wind piece performed by Mont Campbell, the first track of note on Missing Pieces is the dizzying “Paracelsus”, also composed by Campbell and originally used as an audition piece for unsuspecting drummers.

“Clocks and Clouds,” a Stewart composition, is a song composed in the Classic Canterbury style; however, Amanda Parsons’ vocals sound a bit anemic here. Next is the swampy and dense “Agrippa,” performed by the original line up. “The Lethargy Shuffle and The Mind-Your-Backs Tango” begins with an angular boogie and works its way into more familiar Hatfield territory.

“Zabaglione,” a Campbell composition, is perhaps the most complex track and gives a hint of the massive potential of the original lineup. “Starlight on Seaweed” is a beautiful, spacey Campbell art song, tastefully arranged by Dave Stewart and Barbara Gaskin.

For the National Health fan, this album is more than likely indispensable.

Line-up:
- Dave Stewart / keyboards
- Alan Gowen / keyboards
- Phil Miller / guitars
- Steve Hillage / guitars
- Phil Lee / guitars
- John Greaves / bass & vocal
- Mont Campbell / bass
- Bill Bruford / drums
- Pip Pyle / drums
- Amanda Parsons / vocals (3,6)
- Barbara Gaskin / vocals

Track List:
01. Bouree – 0:53
02. Paracelsus (inc. Bouree reprise) – 5:36
03. Clocks and Clouds – 6:47
04. Agrippa – 8:22
05. The Lethargy Shuffle & The Mind-Your-Backs Tango – 9:19
06. Zabaglione – 7:47
07. Lethargy Shuffle Part 2 – 4:36
08. Croquette for Electronic Beating Group – 3:51
09. Phlakaton – 0:25
10. The Towplane & The Glider – 5:12
11. Starlight On Seaweed – 3:07
12. Walking The Dog (extract) – 0:25

Link in comments.

Alan Gowen, Amanda Parsons, Bill Bruford, Dave Stewart, National Health, Phil Miller, Pip Pyle, Steve Hillage

King Crimson – KCCC38 Live In Philadelphia (1996) (@256)

22 Dec 2009

(Review from allaboutjazz.com)

As ever, the Crimson Double Trio culled its set from a larger pool of material with certain consistencies, including the proto-nuevo metal of “Red,” the elliptically grooving “Elephant Talk,” the weighty stream-of-consciousness “Sex, Sleep, Eat, Drink, Dream” and power-pop “Dinosaur.” But this is the only officially released recording of the sextet playing the stylistically hybridized, wood drum-driven “Sheltering Sky,” making it of clear interest to committed Crimson followers.

This final (ever) performance of the Double Trio finds a band that is undoubtedly tired and feeling the strains of such intensive energy-consuming dates. Adrian Belew whips through the beat poetry of “Indiscipline” faster, perhaps, than any live version on record, but it sure doesn’t feel tired. Instead, there’s a different kind of energy at play, of a group sprinting with last-minute energy to the finish line.

If there’s a star of this show, it has to be Belew, who’s particularly vicious during his solos on “Elephant Talk,” the perennial “21st Century Schizoid Man” and relentless “Larks’ Tongues in Aspic Part II.” Drummer Pat Mastelotto, who didn’t really get the chance to blossom in this incarnation, is more a foil to longstanding Crimson drummer Bill Bruford’s precision grooves. Meanwhile, touch guitarist Trey Gunn doesn’t stand out as much as the group’s ineffable groove-meister, bassist/stick man Tony Levin. But they both add to the jagged density that was a differentiator of this line-up, as it reaches out for greater improvisational territory on the complex head-banger, “THRAK”.

“Live in Philadelphia” may not be the Double Trio’s best show, but it’s still a fine one, and a worthwhile document for those who continue to follow this group’s every move.

Line-up:
- Adrian Belew / Guitar, Vocals
- Robert Fripp / Guitar, Soundscapes
- Trey Gunn / Touch Guitar
- Tony Levin / Basses, Stick
- Pat Mastelotto / Acoustic & Electronic Drums And Percussion
- Bill Bruford / Acoustic & Electronic Drums And Percussion

Track List:
CD1
01. Conundrum – 1:32
02. Thela Hun Ginjeet – 6:00
03. Red – 6:19
04. Dinosaur – 6:49
05. One Time – 5:55
06. VROOOM VROOOM – 4:56
07. Waiting Man – 4:32
08. Neurotica – 4:34
09. Elephant Talk – 4:59
10. Sheltering Sky – 6:52
CD2
01. B’Boom – 5:44
02. THRAK – 8:39
03. Sex, Sleep, Eat, Drink, Dream – 4:47
04. Indiscipline – 6:04
05. Lark’s Tongues in Aspic Part II – 7:01
06. Prism – 5:11
07. 21st Century Schizoid Man – 7:16
08. VROOOM – 3:52
09. Coda – 3:33

Link in comments.

Adrian Belew, Bill Bruford, King Crimson, Live, Pat Mastelotto, Robert Fripp, Tony Levin, Trey Gunn

King Crimson – KCCC37 Live At The Pier (1982) (@256)

21 Dec 2009

(Review from allaboutjazz.com)

“Live at the Pier” is a crisp and clear recording that finds 1980s Crims about half-way through its near four year run. And it’s a hot one.

With five of the ten tunes culled from the group’s just-released second album, “Beat”, the new wave edge-meets-gamelan-meets-minimalism ethos of 1980s Crim had evolved considerably from its early days as “Discipline”. This may be the least expansively improvisational Crimson line-up, with no extended group improvs heard in prior and subsequent incarnations. But that doesn’t mean that this more song-friendly, groove-happy Crimson didn’t take risks each and every night. The differences could be as subtle as Robert Fripp’s gradually evolving elliptical patterns behind fellow guitarist Adrian Belew’s solo of reckless abandon on “Waiting Man” or more direct during drummer Bill Bruford’s lengthy electro-acoustic solo at the beginning of the lyrically obtuse “Indiscipline”.

The group stretches out a little more with Belew’s ad lib of “New York, New York” on “Indiscipline”, some added mayhem on a slightly longer take on one of the few pre-1980s songs this Crimson would perform, “Larks’ Tongues in Aspic: Part II” and a lengthier solo from Fripp on the log drum-driven “The Sheltering Sky”. What made 1980s Crimson so unique was its ability to challenge even the committed progressive fan, but in a most approachable way; it was music that you could dance to… as long as you weren’t challenged by moving your feet in 21/8.

It’s also a performance that helps dispel a common (and unfounded) misconception that Belew, the singer, was merely aping Talking Heads’ David Byrne. As good as Byrne was and is, he could never match Belew’s gritty delivery of a definitive version of “Neal and Jack and Me” that’s more open-ended than Beat’s considerably more concise studio take.

Live at the Pier, with its greater emphasis on Beat’s repertoire and with equally excellent sound, deserves to be heard by more than just undying Crimheads.

Line-up:
- Adrian Belew / Guitar, Vocals
- Robert Fripp / Guitar
- Tony Levin / Stick, Bass Guitar
- Bill Bruford / Drums, Percussion

Track List:
01. Waiting Man – 7:40
02. The Howler – 4:53
03. Frame By Frame – 5:31
04. The Sheltering Sky – 11:05
05. Neal And Jack And Me – 6:09
06. Neurotica – 5:42
07. Elephant Talk – 5:14
08. Indiscipline – 12:22
09. Sartori In Tangier – 5:02
10. Lark’s Tongues In Aspic- Part II – 7:17

Link in comments.

Adrian Belew, Bill Bruford, King Crimson, Live, Robert Fripp, Tony Levin

King Crimson – KCCC36 Live in Kassel (1974) (@256)

20 Dec 2009

(Review from planetmellotron.com)

Live in Kassel, April 1, 1974 is anything but an April Fool; a slightly unusual set for the time, featuring four “Starless & Bible Black” pieces, and another “Dr Diamond” (so why didn’t they record this for Red, anyway?), with only two from “Larks’ Tongues”, although it’s truncated a few minutes into “Fracture”, probably missing a closing “Larks’ Tongues II”.

Previous KCCC releases have diligently given retrospective titles to thirty year-old jams, but all we’re given here is Improv I/II/III. I is essentially an extended intro to Dr Diamond and II performs the same function for Exiles, only more extended, leaving the brief guitar/violin duet III as the only one of the three worthy of particular mention.

There is a reasonable helping of mellotron, with the customarily short flute part on opener “Great Deceiver” and the standard segments on “Exiles”, “Night Watch”, “Lament” and “Starless”.

Line-up:
- David Cross / Violin, Mellotron, Electric Piano
- Robert Fripp / Guitar, Mellotron, Electric Piano
- John Wetton / Bass Guitar, Vocals
- Bill Bruford / Drums, Percussion

Track List:
01. The Great Deceiver – 3:55
02. Improv. I – 2:11
03. Doctor Diamond – 5:00
04. Improv. II – 6:08
05. Exiles – 6:00
06. The Night Watch – 4:53
07. Lament – 4:16
08. Starless – 12:13
09. Improv. III – 2:04
10. Easy Money – 7:01
11. Fracture – 4:00

Link in comments.

Bill Bruford, David Cross, John Wetton, King Crimson, Live, Robert Fripp

U.K – Live In Boston (1978) (@256)

09 Oct 2009

(Review from progarchives.com)

Recorded live in Boston in 1978, this recording is finally available as a proper release after long been only found as a bootleg. The sound quality is good. It sounds as though no studio overdubs were punched in later. Each musician has his share of clams (mistakes) that are very apparent.

The tracks, a mix of those from the selftitled U.K. release and the follow up, Danger Money. Hearing Bruford and Holdsworth’s playing “Carrying No Cross”, “The Only Thing She Needs” and “Caesar’s Palace Blues” offers a slight variation from the studio project. There is some improvisation, obviously these takes offer a bit more air and spontaneity than on the future Bozzio propelled album. Wetton’s voice is good, cracking and a bit off here and there, but nothing to ruin the moment. Holdsworth’s jazzy underpinning in the softer lyrical opening to “Carrying No Cross” is enjoyable. He plays fills and lightning runs throughout. Wetton’s live bass action harkens back to King Crimsons glory days, even taking a solo 6 minutes in. Jobson sounds compelled to give Holdsworth a run at center stage as the piece moves forward, swelling and evolving with full band interplay. Holdsworth pulls off a stunning solo before breaking back into the vocal theme.

The “Thirty Years” intro is a beautiful clean picked guitar over synthesized sweet violin washes. Wetton attempts to be soft but struggles a bit with a few notes. The audio is very clear, narry any crowd noise, with Bruford’s cymbals filling space before the band leaps into a tight instrumental sections. Wetton fuzzes up his bass lines and Holdsy chords along before Jobson’s keys take control. Another smoking guitar solo before coming back down to another verse. Holdsworth solo out to Jobson’s “Presto Vivace” synth intro to “In the Dead of Night”. Holdsworth rips it up again, getting outside into a improvisation showcase. No shortage of fireworks here. Even little stumbles get you into the moment, rather than detracting.

The final track, “Caesar’s Palace Blues” is interestingly contrasted from the studio take with some fun trade-offs from Jobson and Holdsworth, sounding like they are totally digging the play. Jobson saws the hell out of his violin. This one appears to be fun and spontaneous.

Line-up:
- Allan Holdsworth / guitars
- Bill Bruford / drums
- Jon Wetton /bass guitar, vocals
- Eddie Jobson / keyboards, electric violin

Track List:
01. Alaska – 1:33
02. Time To Kill – 7:16
03. The Only Thing She Needs – 7:21
04. Carrying No Cross – 9:58
05. Thirty Years – 10:03
06. Presto Vivace / In the Dead of Night – 7:49
07. Caesar’s Palace Blues – 4:30

Link in comments.

Allan Holdsworth, Bill Bruford, Eddie Jobson, John Wetton, Live, U.K.

King Crimson – KCCC32 Live in Munich (1982) (@256)

14 Aug 2008

(Review from dgmlive.com)

Tight, complex, startling and sonically ambitious, this is a King Crimson full of energy.

The sound is very compressed, like from out of TV speakers; but it also has a slightly distorted quality that makes for a cool variation on that heavily chorused 80′s sound. Belew’s solos in particular sound like 3-D, and Levin’s bass sound is super clean and sharp as well.

A fine companion to the other 1982 concerts.

Line-up:
- Adrian Belew / guitar & vocals
- Robert Fripp / guitar, vocals
- Tony Levin / bass guitar & Chapman Stick
- Bill Bruford / drums & percussion

Track List:
01. Waiting Man – 10:00
02. Thela Hun Ginjeet – 6:54
03. Frame By Frame – 5:59
04. Matte Kudasai – 3:46
05. The Sheltering Sky – 10:40
06. Neal And Jack And Me – 5:49
07. Elephant Talk – 5:00
08. Indiscipline – 11:06
09. Heartbeat – 4:16
10. Larks Tongues In Aspic II – 7:00

Links in comments.

Adrian Belew, Bill Bruford, King Crimson, Live, Robert Fripp, Tony Levin

King Crimson – KCCC31 Live at the Wiltern (1995) (@256)

13 Aug 2008

Thanks to Bragi Taliesin for the contribution.

(Review from stagerat.com, dgmlive.com)

Fripp believed the Wiltern gig to be a major show and wanted to release it straight away. Belew agreed and a mix was partially completed but the tapes were lost. The planned record was shelved; superseded by B’Boom and the all-improv album, THRaKaTTaK.

With the tapes recovered, here we have the whole show — it may yet be the most powerful live album of the double-trio line-up.
The band is very clearly enthusiastic and excited to play, and it shows throughout every piece in the set. Perhaps it’s that “last night of the tour” mindset that allows for this. Whatever the case, this is a show not to be missed.

One of the interesting aspects of this show is “Prism”, the percussion piece that featured Bruford, Mastelotto, and Belew. Most versions featured all three in front of a percussion table at stage front, playing together. However, the version in this concert has Bruford playing from his kit. It sounds as if Mastelotto is at least doing some of his percussion from the kit as well (if not all of it), and he even appears to throw in some samples of soundscapes in the midst of it!

The concert features the brilliant arrangements and master mind of a sextet perfectly executing counter rhythms while avoiding the usual mindless cluster of notes and nuances before it becomes inaudible and indistinguishable between all the players.

Line-up:
- Adrian Belew / guitar, voice
- Robert Fripp / guitar, soundscapes
- Trey Gunn / touch guitar
- Tony Levin / basses, stick
- Pat Mastelotto / acoustic & electronic drums and percussion
- Bill Bruford / acoustic & electronic drums and percussion

Track List:
CD1
01. Introductory Soundscape – 6:16
02. VROOOM VROOOM – 5:22
03. Frame by Frame – 5:23
04. Dinosaur – 7:17
05. One Time – 5:52
06. Red – 6:36
07. B‘BOOM – 6:36
08. THRAK – 5:52
09. Matte Kudasai – 3:47
10. Walking on Air – 8:36
CD2
01. People – 6:22
02. Improv: Two Sticks – 2:42
03. Elephant Talk – 4:33
04. Indiscipline – 8:51
05. Prism – 2:27
06. The Talking Drum – 3:04
07. Larks’ Tongues in Aspic: Part II – 8:12
08. VROOOM – 3:56
09. Coda: Marine 475 – 4:16
10. Walking on Air – 8:36

Links in comments.

Adrian Belew, Bill Bruford, King Crimson, Live, Pat Mastelotto, Robert Fripp, Tony Levin, Trey Gunn

King Crimson – KCCC29 Live in Heidelberg (1974) (@256)

11 Aug 2008

(Review from progarchives.com)

This show was recorded in Heidelberg at 29th of March in 1974. The sound quality is excellent, just as the concert itself.

The recording starts with an improv, which is more or less an intro to Dr Diamond. This track was never released on a studio album but Crimson played this song a lot during the first months of 1974. It is a dark track about a driver of an underground train. Next is a long version of Exiles with excellent mellotron and violin interplay. This is followed by the second improv of this show. It starts heavy but ends in the vain of Trio, which is a nice bridge to the wonderful Starless. This is one of the classic Crimson tunes. It starts as a ballad and then developes through some heavy bass lines to an excellent epic. Next are two melodic tracks: Night Watch, about Rembrandt’s painting and Lament. Then comes the heavy Easy Money and the album ends with the opening bars of Fracture.

The only flaw on this album is that the tape runs out during Fracture, so only the first three minutes appear on this album.

Line-up:
* David Cross – violin, mellotron, electric piano
* Robert Fripp – guitar, mellotron, electric piano
* John Wetton – bass guitar, vocals
* Bill Bruford – drums, percussion

Track List:
01. Improv: Heidelberg I – 2:43
02. Dr. Diamond – 7:03
03. Exiles – 10:04
04. Improv: Heidelberg II – 6:48
05. Starless – 12:46
06. The Night Watch – 4:39
07. Lament – 4:19
08. Easy Money – 6:35
09. Fracture – 3:08

Links in comments.

Bill Bruford, David Cross, John Wetton, King Crimson, Live, Robert Fripp

King Crimson – KCCC26 Live in Philadelphia (1982) (@256)

07 Aug 2008

Recorded at the Mann Music Centre, Philadelphia, USA, July 30, 1982.

Line-up:
* Adrian Belew – guitar & vocal
* Robert Fripp – guitar
* Tony Levin – bass guitar & Stick
* Bill Bruford – drums & percussion

Track List:
01. Thela Hun Ginjeet – 7:14
02. Red – 5:56
03. The Howler – 4:45
04. Frame by Frame – 4:55
05. Matte Kudasai – 3:40
06. The Sheltering Sky – 9:28
07. Discipline – 5:22
08. Elephant Talk – 5:07
09. Indiscipline – 11:12
10. Neurotica – 6:29
11. Heartbeat – 4:18
12. Sartori In Tangier – 4:20
13. Lark’s Tongues In Aspic Part II – 6:43

Links in comments.

Adrian Belew, Bill Bruford, King Crimson, Live, Robert Fripp, Tony Levin

King Crimson – KCCC24 Live in Guildford (1972) (@256)

05 Aug 2008

(Review from progarchives.com)

“Live in Guildford, 1972″ presents us the concerts which established the Wetton / Cross / Muir line-up of King Crimson and also show up the birth process of their classic “Larks’ Tongues in Aspic” album. Its sound quality is better than the previous KCCC releases with Muir.

The show opens with a very aggressive version of “Larks’ Tongues in Aspic – part one”, and that distorted tone of Fripp’s guitar is just a pure killer. The two second movements after the violent main theme are here quite similar, later the bass and drum patterns evolved separating these moments as more different from each other. The number is also here longer than in the Beat Club performance, having the violin “Larks’ Ascension” solo part, missing only the nightmarish coda, which ends the studio version and later performances of this brilliant avant-garde number. The violin tunes are followed with “Book of Saturday”, creating a nice contrast and a calm moment to the more violent and chaotic moments here. Here the song has some tambourine backing it up, usually it doesn’t have much percussions played over it. The name of the song is also yet “Daily Games” according to Fripp’s following polite and disciplined speech. The speech also reveals that the set should end up with “Larks’ Tongues in Aspic – part two”, which sadly didn’t got on this recording, as the tape ran out too quickly.

The next “attack towards culture” is a freeform collective improvisation which is built up by the same principles as the long improvisation of the era-concerts. It opens up with really loud and violent communal crashing of the instruments, and then stage is free, players presenting themes and demanding reactions from others. If you like interactive jamming and old rock sounds with Mellotrons, here’s a gourmet dish of this for you!

The record ends to the beginning of the harmonic “Exiles” rising up from the “Mantra” theme, which was used also in the 1969 concerts as an opener for other musical ideas. The version here is incomplete, and the tape runs out after three minutes, which is a really sad thing but from the documentary point of view it’s good to have it here, as it’s nice to hear how Muir coloured the beginning with his bird whistles.

Line-up:
- David Cross / violin, flute, mellotron
- Robert Fripp / guitar, mellotron
- John Wetton / bass guitar, vocals
- Bill Bruford / drums
- Jamie Muir / percussion & allsorts

Track List:
01. Larks’ Tongues In Aspic (Part I) – 8:58
02. Book Of Saturday (Daily Games) – 4:23
03. Improv- All That Glitters Is Not Nail Polish – 25:38
04. Exiles – 3:40

Link in comments.

Bill Bruford, David Cross, Jamie Muir, John Wetton, King Crimson, Live, Robert Fripp

King Crimson – KCCC22 ProjeKct One Jazz Cafe Suite (1997) (@256)

03 Aug 2008

(Review from progarchives.com)

This album contains 50 minutes of improvised music by four members of King Crimson, divided in three suites. Some parts may sound familiar, since small bits and pieces were released on the album “Live at the Jazz Cafe”. It was the last time Bill Bruford was a member of King Crimson.

The album opens with a soundscape and after a few minutes the band starts to play. This means the distinctive rhythm provided by Bruford / Levin, complemented with guitar parts from Fripp / Gunn. The music that follows is very groovy, lively, sometimes boring, but more often fascinating. It changes between fast and slow, has great soloing (especially from Gunn) and some strange sounds. The second suite also starts slow. As its main attraction it has some trademark Fripp solos. After a while it sounds a lot like the space rock of ProjeKct Two. The shortest and third suite starts with the xylophone sounds where the second suite ended with, but soon picks up a groove with bass sounds everywhere.

ProjeKct One wasn’t the first of the ProjeKcts, it also probably wasn’t one of the best of the ProjeKcts. When a band plays improvised music it can both create magical moments and boring times. That also happened with this release. It is a joy to listen to the Bruford / Levin tandem, but the music that is played is not from the highest order.

Line-up:
* Robert Fripp – guitar
* Trey Gunn – Warr guitar
* Tony Levin – bass guitar, Stick, synth
* Bill Bruford – drums and percussion

Track List:
01. Suite One – 29:02
02. Suite Two – 15:13
03. Suite Three – 6:25

Link in comments.

Bill Bruford, King Crimson, Robert Fripp, Tony Levin, Trey Gunn

King Crimson – KCCC21 Champaign-Urbana Sessions (1983) (@256)

02 Aug 2008

(Review from progarchives.com)

The new 80s incarnation of King Crimson made a head start. In 1981 the excellent “Discipline” was released and this was followed by “Beat” in 1982. Touring went well and when it became 1983 it was time to think about yet another album. From January 17 until 30 they went to C.V. Lloyd Music in Champaign-Urbana to rehearse for the next album. In the end, no album was released in 1983 by King Crimson and this album consists of those sessions.

The music is more experimental than on their next album, “Three of a Perfect Pair”. Of course most of the material is rather fragmented, but since some of the tracks segue into each other this doesn’t bother. There are some nice heavy, groovy tracks (“San Francisco”, “Tony bass riff”, “Not one of those”). You can also find complete tracks that could easily have been included on a regular album (Steinberger Melody” and “Grace Jones”). The track “Fragmented” was re-recorded as “Industry” on their next album. A good one is also “Heat in the Jungle” (a faster and heavier “Thela Hun Ginjeet”).

Line-up:
* Adrian Belew – Guitar
* Robert Fripp – Guitar
* Tony Levin – Bass Guitar, Stick
* Bill Bruford – Drums

Track List:
01. San Francisco – 2:06
02. Tony Bass Riff – 3:28
03. Sequenced – 3:55
04. Steinberger Melody – 4:59
05. Fragmented – 4:01
06. Not One Of Those – 1:45
07. Zzzz’s – 2:10
08. Reel 3 Jam – 2:34
09. Robert And Bill – 2:08
10. Say No – 2:46
11. Robert’s Ballad – 3:44
12. Heat In The Jungle – 7:07
13. Grace Jones – 5:45
14. Adrian Looped – 1:19

Link in comments.

Adrian Belew, Bill Bruford, King Crimson, Robert Fripp, Tony Levin

King Crimson – KCCC20 Live at Zoom Club (1972) (@256)

01 Aug 2008

(Review from progreviews.com)

This double album spanning nearly two hours of music with two sprawling, occasionally awe-inspiring improvisations taking up more than half of the running time. It also offers historical significance; the show documented was the first live appearance by the Larks’-era band, and it’s one of the few recordings available showcasing the talents of madcap percussionist Jamie Muir. Given the short time that the band had had to gel at the time of this show, it’s remarkable how tight they already are and how mature some of the compositions are.

“Larks’ Tongues” is a killer way to open the set, though it stops after Cross’ violin solo and segues into a somewhat embryonic “Book of Saturday”. The latter is a little different from the final album version, but is still very nice, marred only by some surprisingly awful flute playing from Cross. “Easy Money” is a really great surprise; it lacks the aggression of both the studio cut and subsequent live versions, instead offering Cross space for a soothing violin solo — even Wetton steps back and plays a soft, relaxed supporting role. The end result is unexpected but undeniably pretty.

Of course, the real attraction point of this set are the improvs. The two shorter ones on disc 2 are easily approached: “Easy Money” goes straight into what would end up being the central guitar riff for “Fallen Angel” on Red, and of course it’s fascinating to hear how the riff originated and what the other bandmembers do around it. Between improvs on disc 1, comprise nearly 70 minutes of spontaneous music. It’s beyond power to satisfactorily describe such a beast, but suffice it to say that — to surprise — the band keeps up the intensity throughout. The interplay between Fripp and Wetton is particularly fun, as is the first half of “Zoom” which features Wetton scat-singing along to his bass playing, with Fripp interjecting accents here and there and the rest of the band mostly just taking a back seat and letting Wetton do his thing. Cross gets more of a chance to shine the latter half of “Zoom”, after a long and seriously intense Fripp solo. “Zoom Zoom” is impossibly long, and the band hits on countless themes; while admittedly it begins to sound samey after a while (46 minutes is a long time!), these guys have a good feel for pacing and there’s always something interesting happening.

Line-up:
- David Cross / violin, flute, mellotron
- Robert Fripp / guitar, mellotron
- John Wetton / bass guitar, vocals
- Bill Bruford / drums
- Jamie Muir / percussion and allsorts

Track List:
CD1
01. Larks’ Tongues In Aspic (Part I) – 8:22
02. Book Of Saturday – 3:16
03. Zoom – 22:03
04. Improv: Zoom Zoom – 44:48
CD2
01. Easy Money – 4:08
02. Improv: Fallen Angel – 4:12
03. Improv: Z’Zoom – 4:48
04. Exiles – 8:36
05. The Talking Drum – 6:13
06. Lark’s Tongues In Aspic (Part II) – 8:37

Links in comments.

Bill Bruford, David Cross, Jamie Muir, John Wetton, King Crimson, Live, Robert Fripp

King Crimson – KCCC16 Live in Berkeley (1982) (@256)

28 Jul 2008

(Review from progreviews.com)

The 80s line-up of King Crimson wasn’t as much an improvising band. However, they rarely resist the opportunity to rework their stuff live, which can be interesting too. This concert was recorded at the Greek Theatre, Berkeley, USA, August 13, 1982.

The material from Discipline is so well developed and still short of over-treated, its like getting the whole album redone. We have an especially manic and actually just plain crazy rendition of “Indiscipline” (where on the studio album it sounds like a suitably tense but light-hearted expression of what it feels like to be obsessive compulsive). At the end of the song the entire band applies such a force and energy toward the main theme. Its really a tangle between Fripp and Belew, with Levin keeping time and Bruford battering away, buried by the hectic sound of angels descending from heaven on silver lightning bolts playing electric trumpets. At least at that moment, it all came together. The song (and set) ends with the announcement that “I like it!” — I did.

There also is a rare live performance of the “Sheltering Sky” which is louder and more chaotic than its studio counterpart; the drums are louder, the bass fatter and more dominant, and the original organized, upward spiraling lead lines are replaced with some fiery and erratic improvisation (still using the strange “pipe” guitar synth sound though). The live versions of “The Howler” and “Neurotica” are great to hear; it is especially fun hearing Adrian Belew making all those crazy noises that sound like sirens and traffic and other assorted city-like noises.

Line-up:
* Adrian Belew – Guitar, Vocal
* Robert Fripp – Guitar
* Tony Levin – Stick, Bass Guitar
* Bill Bruford – Drums, Percussion

Track List:
CD1
01. Waiting Man – 9:49
02. Thela Hun Ginjeet – 8:00
03. Red – 6:33
04. The Howler – 5:10
05. Frame By Frame – 5:10
06. Matte Kudasai – 3:39
CD2
01. The Sheltering Sky – 9:36
02. Discipline – 5:42
03. Neal and Jack and Me – 6:03
04. Neurotica – 5:48
05. Elephant Talk – 5:36
06. Indiscipline – 11:10

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Adrian Belew, Bill Bruford, King Crimson, Live, Robert Fripp, Tony Levin

King Crimson – KCCC15 Live at Mainz (1974) (@256)

27 Jul 2008

(Review from wikipedia, progarchives.com)

This show took place at Elzer Hof, Mainz, Germany, March 30, 1974. Like other concerts from the European tour of early 1974, it was recorded directly from the soundboard. “Live at Mainz” is actually a very good supplement for any serious collection of King Crimson’s 1972-1974 era albums. There is a heavy does of instrumental improvised material here, and also many special versions of their basic tracks.

The first three of the songs are pleasantly extended with impressionistic free form sound wall openings, from where the composed songs then emerge. The starter “Improv: The Savage” / “Dr Diamond” is an excellent performance, clearly the best version of this song so far I have heard. This composition didn’t do it on any of the band’s studio albums, but it’s present on many of their live recordings of years 1973- 1974. “Improv: Arabica” opens “Exiles” with nice layers of percussions, and the performance is a a very good, lasting 10 minutes. “Improv: Atria” has some good parts, but there seems to be some problems to find a common direction in some moments too.

Upcoming “Night Watch” is perfect with no edits or switches from one performance to other. “Starless” is a good song, and this is a decent version, featuring those a bit clumsy early lyrics which may be interesting to spot if they not yet familiar. “Lament” is a good track too, and the next song “Improv: Trio” is an interesting track, as it isn’t technically a complete improvisation anymore, it’s more like a reprise of an earlier improvisation from the Amsterdam concert 1973. It has maybe evolved as a jam pattern, and a small embryo of composition growing up from it. Some themes of the songs “Lament”, “Dr. Diamond” and “Fallen Angel” can be witnessed in the live recordings of the Muir-era line-up at 1972 in similar manner. And it’s a pretty tune, a relieving contrast for the aggressive material done by this band. The final tune “Easy Money” is a good version too, and it also has a bit different lyrics on stage as it had on the studio album.

Line-up:
- Robert Fripp / guitar, mellotron, electric piano
- David Cross / violin, mellotron, electric piano
- John Wetton / bass guitar, vocals
- Bill Bruford / drums, percussion

Track List:
01. Improv: The Savage – 2:12
02. Dr Diamond – 5:48
03. Improv: Arabica – 2:29
04. Exiles – 7:01
05. Improv: Atria – 6:14
06. The Night Watch – 5:07
07. Starless – 12:27
08. Lament – 4:20
09. Improv: Trio – 4:36
10. Easy Money – 7:51

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Bill Bruford, David Cross, John Wetton, King Crimson, Live, Robert Fripp

King Crimson – KCCC13 Nashville Rehearsals (1997) (@256)

25 Jul 2008

(Review from progarchives.com)

After the studio album Thrak, which was released in 1995, and a series of concerts, King Crimson was back in a recording studio to work out some ideas for the next release. They went to SIR studios in Nashville in May 1997. As we all know another release of the double trio would never be released. Some ideas that were rehearsed in Nashville would however resurface in some sort of form in the ProjeKcts and on the first release by the double duo (“The ConstruKction of Light”).

The overall sound of these tracks has more in common with the sound of the ProjeKcts than with THRAK. The problem with this release is that it is very fragmented. You mainly hear bits and pieces that could have ended up in a song. Most of the tracks lack any form of structure. Exceptions are the groovy “Presidents”, the heavy “Snugel”, the eerie “Jimmy Bond” and the melodic “Sad Woman Jam”. Another interesting track is the closer “Tony’s Jam”. This is a long jam with a rhythm that changes faster than you notice.

This release is of interest for the KC aficionado who is interested in the working process of the band and who is curious how some of the tunes were born. If you like the ProjeKcts than this album will also not be a disappointment.

Line-up:
* Robert Fripp – Guitar, Soundscapes
* Adrian Belew – Guitar
* Trey Gunn – Warr Guitar
* Tony Levin – Basses, Stick
* Pat Mastelotto – Acoustic & Electronic Drums & Percussion
* Bill Bruford – Acoustic & Electronic Drums & Percussion

Track List:
01. Presidents – 7:04
02. Scapeplay – 3:37
03. Snugel – 5:45
04. Off Sets – 4:23
05. Big Funk – 3:29
06. Jimmy Bond – 7:06
07. Have U Got? – 1:05
08. Mulundrum – 0:38
09. Too many eeee’s – 1:11
10. Nice To Start – 0:12
11. Pat’s Meckanical Fives – 3:03
12. Seizure – 0:51
13. Circulation – 1:03
14. KCF – 0:31
15. Ragin’ Drone – 3:40
16. JB in 7 – 2:41
17. Split Hands – 4:36
18. Sad Woman Jam – 2:35
19. Tony’s Jam – 12:57
20. Trey, Pat & Bill – 0:47

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Adrian Belew, Bill Bruford, King Crimson, Pat Mastelotto, Robert Fripp, Tony Levin, Trey Gunn

King Crimson – KCCC11 Live at Bath (1981) (@256)

23 Jul 2008

(Review from progreviews.com)

On April 30, 1981, the Moles Club in Bath did not host a band named King Crimson. At that point, the precocious four-piece band was still known as Discipline – but for all intents and purposes, of course, this is King Crimson. One can only wonder what the lucky folks in the audience were thinking as they were regaled with “Red”, “Larks’ Tongues in Aspic Part 2″, and a whole slew of new waveish dual-guitar stuff with Adrian Belew on vocals (the album Discipline was, at this point, still unfinished, of course). Did they recognize history in the making?

Oddly, despite this being Crimson’s first 80s live appearance, most of the new songs are largely in their final form. “Discipline”, “Indiscipline”, and “The Sheltering Sky” are all basically finished products, and are all performed with the blazing intensity typical of this incarnation of the band (“Discipline” in particular sounds great). Some quirks pop up in “Thela Hun Ginjeet” – Belew’s vocals are markedly different from the album version – and “Frame By Frame” sounds pretty rough, but for the most part the songs here sound much like we expect them to, if a little less polished. The two songs from the previous Crimson era are well-represented with solid, if not particularly notable, performances.

As a true live album, King Crimson has countless better ones than this (the definitive from this incarnation of the band being Absent Lovers); but as a historical document, Live at Moles Club is a valuable curiosity for die-hard KC fans. It’s certainly neat to hear the band in its embryonic stages. The band was only three weeks old at the time of this show, which is utterly remarkable given the state of the compositions and the tightness of the group interplay.

The sound quality of the show is about on the level of a good bootleg.

Line-up:
* Robert Fripp – Guitar
* Adrian Belew – Guitar & Vocal
* Tony Levin – Stick, Bass Guitar
* Bill Bruford – Drums & Percussion

Track List:
01. Discipline – 5:57
02. Thela Hun Ginjeet – 5:42
03. Red – 6:11
04. Elephant Talk – 4:45
05. Matte Kudasai – 3:43
06. The Sheltering Sky – 8:48
07. Indiscipline – 7:02
08. Frame By Frame – 4:58
09. Larks’ Tongues In Aspic (Part II) – 6:37

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Adrian Belew, Bill Bruford, King Crimson, Live, Robert Fripp, Tony Levin

King Crimson – KCCC10 Live at NYC (1974) (@256)

22 Jul 2008

(Review from progreviews.com progarchives.com)

This concert was recorded at Central Park, New York, USA, July 1, 1974.

The show begins with a tape playing then recent Fripp & Eno collaboration “No Pussyfooting”, and then the band kicks in with a fine version of “21st Century Schizoid Man” featuring a Fripp on fire. The following “Lament” is also a good version of the song, there’s a furious interplay going on between Bruford and Wetton especially! The tuning before “Exiles” morphs into a very oppressive and chaotic improvisation, which then transmutes to the mantra and then as the main song. The contrasts are exceptionally fine here, the beautiful minor ballad rises from the maelstorm of a violent nightmare. Then comes the full-improvised number, named as “Cerberus”, which is an OK number. The quarrels within the band had escalated, and it can be heard in these “blows”, the rhythm section dominates the playing, and Fripp and Cross try to punch in their melodic passages desperately.

On “Fracture”, Wetton’s bass performance is stunningly virtuosic (or maybe just really, really loud), and gives the piece an almost funky flavor here that I’ve never heard on any other recording. Definitely one of my favorite renditions of this piece. The performance of “Starless” is blazing, and pretty close to the version that ended up on Red, although unfortunately the volume level seems to peter out a bit just as the climax hits. David Cross’ performance on “The Talking Drum” is definitely notable, and this piece in general is quite brutal here. “Larks’ Tongues Part 2″ is almost anticlimactic as a closer, but still has sections that burn.

Robert Fripp claimed that this concert, the last concert King Crimson played in the 1970s, was the only one that matched the fury and intensity of the 1969 live band. Unfortunately the sound quality of this release is average, but still pleasurable.

Line-up:
- Robert Fripp / guitar, mellotron, electric piano
- David Cross / violin, mellotron, electric piano
- John Wetton / bass guitar, vocals
- Bill Bruford / drums, percussion

Track List:
01. Walk On ,,, No Pussyfooting – 2:11
02. 21st Century Schizoid Man – 7:58
03. Lament – 4:49
04. Exiles – 7:53
05. Improve: Cerberus – 8:27
06. Easy Money – 6:26
07. Fracture – 11:20
08. Starless – 12:31
09. The Talking Drum – 5:30
10. Larks’ Tongues In Aspic: Part 2 – 6:57

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Bill Bruford, David Cross, John Wetton, King Crimson, Live, Robert Fripp

King Crimson – KCCC08 VROOOM Sessions (1994) (@256)

20 Jul 2008

(Review from progreviews.com)

The eighth edition in the King Crimson Collector’s Club presents outtakes from the first series of rehearsals of the ‘double trio’ of the band in 1994.

The sessions heard here are largely an exhibit of six musicians just beginning to oil their joints as a unit with no firm material yet established. So, one can’t fault Fripp and company too much for stretching out in what is clearly a rehearsal setting not recorded with an eye towards release.

Still, even in these simple jams, there’s a slightly detectable forced ‘descent into busywork’ that seemed to dog this lineup at the expense of a more focused simplicity. Eventually this led to the oversaturation and the band moved towards partitioning into ‘fraKctals’.

That’s not to say there aren’t some interesting moments to be found here. The aptly titled “Monster Jam”, with Fripp’s sinister soundscapes and Bruford’s thundering drumwork, shows the tremendous force that this band could summon with little difficulty. Among the other tracks, “Bill & Tony” recalls “Waiting Man” from Beat, and there are instrumental run-throughs of “One Time” and an embryonic version of “Sex Sleep Eat Drink Dream” (here entitled “No Questions Asked”). Also, “Krim 3″ would eventually see light as a track on Adrian Belew’s solo album under a different name.

Obviously one wouldn’t expect to hear anything inspiring, though it provides insight into this particular time slot in Crimson’s history for the interested.

Line-up:
* Robert Fripp – Guitar, Soundscapes
* Adrian Belew – Guitar
* Trey Gunn – Stick
* Tony Levin – Basses, Stick
* Pat Mastelotto – Acoustic & Electronic Drums & Percussion
* Bill Bruford – Acoustic & Electronic Drums & Percussion

Track List:
01. Bass Groove – 4:34
02. Fashionable – 4:59
03. Monster Jam – 8:38
04. Slow Mellow – 2:57
05. Krim 3 – 3:20
06. Funky Jam – 4:57
07. Bill & Tony – 1:36
08. No Questions Asked – 3:24
09. Adrian’s Clouds – 1:39
10. Calliope – 5:58
11. One Time – 5:24
12. Booga Looga – 3:46

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Adrian Belew, Bill Bruford, King Crimson, Pat Mastelotto, Robert Fripp, Tony Levin, Trey Gunn

King Crimson – KCCC05-06 Broadway (1995) (@256)

18 Jul 2008

(Info from wikipedia)

The tracks on the album were recorded at the Longacre Theater in New York City, USA, on November 20, 21, 22, 24 and 25, 1995, as the band was touring to promote the album Thrak.

“Vrooom Vrooom” live album features one disc with recordings from the Broadway concerts. The final track, “Fearless and Highly THRaKked”, is also featured on the live album THRaKaTTaK. An alternative version of this track, entitled “Biker Babes of the Rio Grande”, is featured on the “Vrooom Vrooom” live album.

Lead singer and guitarist Adrian Belew performed John Lennon’s “Free As A Bird” as a solo piece throughout the Broadway engagement. This was not included on King Crimson On Broadway, but was released on Belew’s solo album Belewprints and on the “Vrooom Vrooom” live album.

Line-up:
* Robert Fripp – guitar
* Adrian Belew – guitar, vocals
* Tony Levin – bass guitar, Chapman stick
* Trey Gunn – Warr guitar
* Bill Bruford – drums, percussion
* Pat Mastelotto – drums, percussion

Track List:
CD1
01. Conundrum – 1:57
02. Thela Hun Ginjeet – 6:43
03. Red – 6:29
04. Dinosaur – 7:16
05. Vrooom Vrooom – 4:48
06. Frame By Frame – 5:10
07. Walking On Air – 5:28
08. B’Boom – 5:35
09. Thrak – 6:31
10. Neurotica – 4:34
11. Sex,Sleep,Eat,Drink.Dream – 4:58
CD2
01. People – 6:14
02. One Time – 5:55
03. Indiscipline – 7:16
04. Improv: Two Sticks – 2:02
05. Elephant Talk – 4:17
06. Prism – 3:56
07. Talking Drum – 2:59
08. Larks’ Tongues In Aspic (Part II) – 7:27
09. Three Of A Perfect Pair – 4:22
10. Vrooom – 3:54
11. Coda: Marine 475 – 2:41
12. Fearless And Highly THRaKked – 2:31

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Adrian Belew, Bill Bruford, King Crimson, Pat Mastelotto, Robert Fripp, Tony Levin, Trey Gunn

King Crimson – KCCC04 Live at Cap D'Agde (1982) (@256)

17 Jul 2008

9 comments

Tracks 1-6 recorded at the Arena, Cap D’Agde, France, August 26, 1982. Tracks 7-9 recorded at the Arena, Frejus, France, August 27, 1982.

The quality of the recording is astounding, rivaling the ‘mainstream” release of “Absent Lovers”.

Line-up:
* Robert Fripp / guitar
* Adrian Belew / guitar, vocals
* Tony Levin / bass guitar, Chapman stick
* Bill Bruford / drums, percussion

Track List:
01. Waiting Man – 7:09
02. Thela Hun Ginjeet – 4:30
03. Matte Kudasai – 3:58
04. The Sheltering Sky – 9:48
05. Neil And Jack And Me – 5:38
06. Elephant Talk – 4:57
07. Indiscipline – 12:31
08. Heartbeat – 4:05
09. Larks’ Tongues In Aspic II – 7:50

Links in comments.

Adrian Belew, Bill Bruford, King Crimson, Live, Robert Fripp, Tony Levin

King Crimson – KCCC03 Live at Bremen (1972) (@256)

16 Jul 2008

9 comments

(Review from progarchives.com)

This concert was recorded on the German programme Beat Club, in Bremen, Germany, on October 17, 1972.

The first track is named as “The Rich Tapestry Of Life”, which I recall is Fripp’s quotation from a letter he got from Jamie Muir. So this one begins with few minutes of anxious waiting, there’s some muffled speaking, tuning and such going on, and strangely it works as a nice contrast to the chaotic improvisation, which suddenly begins after two and a half minutes. The chaotic one minute blast clams down to beautiful tones of the mellotron, violin and bass guitar. Wetton begins to form a funky rhythm which the others join, and the famous King Crimson musical improvisation begins to blow, creating long layers of both calm and aggressive musical sequences. There also a funny anecdote here, as Cross plays some real flute in some parts of this track. If you are in to free jazz and old heavy rock of the 70′s, this is a must material for you, as it combines both of these elements. The players are very bold, and they are not afraid of small “mistakes” or “misjudgments” which shall most surely occur in this kind of collective musical adventuring. Considering this, one can also find a nice metaphoric idea in Fripp’s name selection for this piece! The half hour long jam most surely contains the full scale of life’s all emotions!

After the final waves of the massive improvisation begins to fade, the beautiful forms of sounds emerge from the sea of chaotic turbulence, and the music changes straight as the song “Exiles”. The version of “Exiles” it self is a bit clumsy, but if you are interested how these numbers evolved during time, this is an essential document of that process. Cross also does some singing on this one. The final number on this concert is “Larks’ Tongues in Aspic – part one”, which is a decent version but not essential. It’s a bit shorter version, as it ends in the part where the violin solo begins.

The sound quality is not remarkable, but good. There’s also some tuning problems with mellotrons, singers and the violin… More matured versions of “Exiles” and “Larks’” are also available in other releases, but they have historical values, and the big improvisation (taking up two-thirds of the album) is great.

Line-up:
* Robert Fripp – guitar, mellotron
* John Wetton – bass guitar, vocals
* David Cross – violin, mellotron
* Bill Bruford – drums
* Jamie Muir – percussion

Track List:
01. Improv: The Rich Tapestry Of Life – 29:49
02. Exiles – 7:53
03. Larks’ Tongues In Aspic (Part I) – 6:53

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Bill Bruford, David Cross, Jamie Muir, John Wetton, King Crimson, Live, Robert Fripp

King Crimson – ProjeKct One Live at the Jazz Cafe (1997) (@256)

03 Jul 2008

(Review from progarchives.com)

Improvisatorial, non-conformist, heavy experimental, sound chaser King Crimson has become by the end of the millennium more than a fact, an affinity or a special side of them. It has become a genuine character, a strong brand and an always intriguing viewpoint of their music.

King Crimson delved into more research and development, exploring the capabilities of the six member line-up by forking into four subsets (frakctals). What they did to do some experimental, mostly live, mostly improvisational music in pairs.

ProjeKct One’s “Live At The Jazz Cafe”, is impressive through clear scales, rigorous composition, keen adaptation. Less abstract, more melodic; less wild, more pragmatic; stable in a convenient form. Music goes enchanting (though this word can seem out of King Crimson definition, if you think about it), being a complete of a speech done to perfect value and minute form. Serves as a good reference. Does a great impression. Speaks a veridical language. Good, simple, clean, pure, light in the meaning of fluency, nonetheless of the right mood and the right approach. A titled hint of style, a conserved and understandable crimsonian movement.

Line-up:
- Robert Fripp / guitar
- Bill Bruford / drums, percussion
- Trey Gunn / touch guitar
- Tony Levin / basses, Stick, synth

Track List:
01. 4 i 1 – 6:11
02. 4 ii 1 – 3:29
03. 1 ii 2 – 4:27
04. 4 ii 4 – 7:58
05. 2 ii 3 – 4:27
06. 3 i 2 – 8:14
07. 3 ii 2 – 6:32
08. 2 ii 4 – 4:27
09. 4 i 3 – 4:32

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Bill Bruford, King Crimson, Live, Robert Fripp, Tony Levin, Trey Gunn

King Crimson – Vrooom Vrooom (Live 1995-96) (@256)

02 Jul 2008

(Review from progarchives.com)

For a line-up which released only one studio album (Thrak) , there’s an awful lot of material by the double trio available, especially if you count in the ProjeKcts. This double set gives a good selection of live versions of 90s material, updated versions of older material, some improv and a cover version thrown in for good measure. King Crimson has always come alive on stage, and these double album show just how powerful they can be when they’re firing on all cylinders.

The two discs were recorded during different concerts, in Mexico City (disc 1, and New York (disc 2). Somewhat confusingly disc 1 was recorded 9 months after disc 2, which means that the band sounds slightly less polished on disc 2 if you listen to them in order. Although they were drawing on the same repertoire for these shows, only one piece (Thrak) crops up twice.

Disc 1 sees the mighty Crim beast launch a non stop, no holds barred assault on their audience, 60 minutes of the kind of high intensity few other bands can deliver. The first five selections come from Thrak, including a storming version of Dinosaur with Belew in fine voice. This is followed by a blast from the past as they give us The Talking Drum and LTIA II, with Bruford and Mastelotto almost matching the Muir/Bruford partnership for manic interplay. Neurotica is another bravura vocal from Belew, a white knuckle ride on a piledriving rhythm that constantly threatens to fall apart but somehow holds together. Two other oldies get the double trio makeover; Red, which sounds a bit messy compared to the version on “Absent Lovers”, and a nu-metal reworking of 21st Century Schizoid Man which works surprisingly well once you get over the initial shock.

Disc 2 is a slightly looser affair which draws mainly on Thrak and the 80s albums. The 80s material is reworked by the expanded line up to great effect, especially Elephant Talk which gives Gunn and Levin an opportunity to trade licks at lightning speed. Indiscipline shows the bands mastery of wildly fluctuating dynamics and stop/start rhythms, while the gentler songs show that the double trio was also capable of great subtlety and restraint, particularly the the closer, Walking on Air. An unexpected surprise is a cover version of the Beatles’ “Free as a Bird”, which was released at the time of these concerts. Belew does a remarkably fine job as a Lennon impersonator, and you can hear the band and audience audibly cracking smiles during this performance.

Vrooom Vrooom is a great Crimson live album, it gives a good overview of a remarkable line-up in full flight.

Line-up:
- Robert Fripp / guitar, soundscapes
- Adrian Belew / guitar, voice
- Trey Gunn / Warr touch guitar
- Tony Levin / basses, Stick
- Pat Mastelotto / acoustic drums, electronic drums, percussion
- Bill Bruford / acoustic drums, electronic drums, percussion

Track List:
CD1
01. Vrooom Vrooom – 5:01
02. Coda: Marine 475 – 2:44
03. Dinosaur – 5:05
04. B’Boom – 4:51
05. Thrak – 6:39
06. The Talking Drum – 4:03
07. Larks’ Tongues In Aspic [Part II] – 6:13
08. Neurotica – 3:40
09. Prism – 4:24
10. Red – 7:03
11. Biker Babes of the Rio Grande – 2:27
12. 21st Century Schizoid Man – 7:37
CD2
01. Conundrum – 1:57
02. Thela Hun Ginjeet – 6:44
03. Frame By Frame – 5:12
04. People – 6:12
05. One Time – 5:52
06. Sex Sleep Eat Drink Dream – 4:55
07. Indiscipline – 7:16
08. Two Sticks – 1:50
09. Elephant Talk – 5:14
10. Three Of A Perfect Pair – 4:16
11. B’Boom – 3:47
12. Thrak – 6:43
13. Free As A Bird – 3:03
14. Walking On Air – 5:35

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Adrian Belew, Bill Bruford, King Crimson, Live, Pat Mastelotto, Robert Fripp, Tony Levin, Trey Gunn

King Crimson – B'Boom Live in Argentina (1994) (@256)

01 Jul 2008

(Review from progreviews.com, progarchives.com)

B’Boom is exactly what it says it is, an “official bootleg”. Fripp apparently isn’t that fond of people bootlegging shows, because it allows bad shows to be heard by more people (so he says). So, in an effort to let the band tap into bootlegging for the band, B’Boom came to be. As one of the first shows of the Thrak tour, it was recorded live at the Broadway, Buenos Aires, Argentina in October 1994

The concert was digitally recorded from the mainboard. Because of this, the recorded sounds are exactly how the microphones heard the performance, not how the audience heard it. This produces a very detailed live record due to the sound engineer’s unique talent.

There is a good helping of Thrak material but the real fun is listening to what this double-trio lineup does with the older material. “Indiscipline” is downright scary it’s so good: just the right mix of anger and whimsy. “The Talking Drum” and “Larks’ . . .” are really something. Some of the other Discipline-era material sounds a bit congested with the six piece group but it doesn’t detract significantly from the performance. Of course there is some improv here, notably around “B’Boom” and “Thrak”, but it doesn’t go on too long or go off on too many tangents.

This is the triumphant return of King Crimson to the live stage in the 90s.

Line-up:
- Adrian Belew / vocals, guitar
- Bill Brudord / drums, percussion
- Robert Fripp / guitar, soundscapes
- Trey Gunn / Warr guitar
- Tony Levin / Stick, basses, vocals
- Pat Mastelotto / drums, percussion

Track List:
CD1
01. VROOOM – 7:06
02. Frame By Frame – 5:24
03. Sex, Sleep, Eat, Drink, Dream – 4:48
04. Red – 6:08
05. One Time – 5:35
06. B’Boom – 6:48
07. THRAK – 6:28
08. Improv – Two Sticks – 1:25
09. Elephant Talk – 4:25
10. Indiscipline – 7:20
CD2
01. VROOOM VROOOM – 6:18
02. Matte Kudasai – 3:36
03. The Talking Drum – 5:44
04. Lark’s Tongues In Aspic Part II – 7:31
05. Heartbeat – 3:51
06. Sleepless – 6:05
07. People – 5:22
08. B’Boom (Reprise) – 4:16
09. THRAK – 5:33

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Adrian Belew, Bill Bruford, King Crimson, Live, Pat Mastelotto, Robert Fripp, Tony Levin, Trey Gunn

King Crimson – Vrooom (EP 1994) (@256)

01 Jul 2008

(Review from allmusic)

To reward longtime King Crimson fanatics who waited ten long years (1984-1994) for new studio material, the band issued this EP of six tracks that would (for the most part) later appear on the full-length Thrak.

The band is caught at its rawest and most passionate, erasing any doubts that may have surfaced concerning whether the regrouped King Crimson could still cut it. They haven’t rocked this hard in years, the proof being in the first two songs — the long and winding instrumental title track and “Sex Sleep Eat Drink Dream,” which contains some classic paranoid Adrian Belew vocals. “Cage” is a not-so-distant ancestor to their old track “Neurotica” (off 1982′s Beat), due to its message and approach. And as for the three other songs, “Thrak” is as primal as King Crimson have ever gotten; “When I Say Stop, Continue” is moody background music; and “One Time” is a slow, pretty number.

As on past releases, King Crimson are not scared to use cacophony to create musical tension — there’s lots of it on VROOOM.

Line-up:
- Adrian Belew / guitar, vocals, words
- Bill Bruford / acoustic & electronic percussion
- Robert Fripp / guitar
- Trey Gunn / Stick
- Tony Levin / Stick, basses
- Pat Mastelotto / acoustic & electronic percussion

Track List:
01. VROOM – 7:34
02. Sex Sleep Eat Drink Dram – 4:42
03. Cage – 1:35
04. Thrak – 7:18
05. When I Say Stop, Continue – 5:20
06. One Time – 4:27

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Adrian Belew, Bill Bruford, King Crimson, Live, Pat Mastelotto, Robert Fripp, Tony Levin, Trey Gunn

King Crimson – Absent Lovers : Live in Montreal (1984) (@256)

29 Jun 2008

(Review from progarchives.com)

“Absent Lovers” showcases the ground-breaking potential of the much-maligned (and equally praised) 80s line-up of this legendary band, whose final performance was captured in this double album.

Even a superficial listen should quickly disabuse those who thought the ‘trilogy’ released at the beginning of the decade was little more than King Crimson-lite. While their studio recordings may have been partly characterised by a somewhat ‘poppy’, even danceable quality, “Absent Lovers” shows quite a different story. The first of the two CDs in particular features oodles of state-of-the-art improvisation by a quartet of musicians possessed of technical chops and creative energy in equal doses.

7 out of 8 tracks of “Discipline” are featured here. While “Discipline” sounds distinctly unlike the band’s 70s output, a good deal of what can be heard on this album bears a very clear resemblance to the sound of their ’73-’74 incarnation, even though Belew’s quirky, supercharged vocal style (an acquired taste to many) is light years away from John Wetton’s alternately warm and gruff tones. The presence of two classic from that era, “Red” and “Larks’ Tongues in Aspic pt. 2” bears witness to this continuing connection.

In comparison to “Discipline”, the band’s sound is definitely darker, more metallic and spacey. Nowhere is it more evident than in the instrumental tracks included on CD 1, such as the ominous intro “Entry of the Crims”, which flows effortlessly into “Lark’s Tongues in Aspic pt. 3”, and the aptly-titled “Industry”. This CD’s highlight is probably the stunning, slow-motion, 10-minute-plus version of “Indiscipline”, in which the contrast between Belew’s spoken-word, distorted vocals and the explosive guitar riffing is used to maximum effect. On the other hand, the presence of the laid-back, atmospheric “Matte Kudasai”, the upbeat “Three of a Perfect Pair”, and the manic, intense “Thela Hun Ginjeet” provides a nice balance to the brooding heaviness of the above-mentioned tracks.

CD2 is definitely more song-orientated, from the rarefied atmosphere of “The Waiting Man” to the more energetic “Frame by Frame”, through the jagged rythms of “Sleepless” (a cracking version of a sadly underrated song) and the supreme quirkiness of vocal tour-de-force “Elephant Talk”, which closes the album in style), King Crimson prove to their audience that they are not only about instrumental virtuosity and intricate time signatures.

As is always the case with King Crimson, there is a genuine live feel to this album. The four band members are in top form, Belew and Fripp’s guitar creating all sorts of weird, intriguing soundscapes over the background provided by the stellar rhythm section of Bruford and Levin.

This is progressive music in the true sense of the word, harsh at times, soothing at others, improvisational, technically brilliant, intellectually challenging, lyrically odd, overall extremely stimulating.

Line-up:
- Adrian Belew / lead vocals, guitar
- Bill Bruford / drums, percussion
- Robert Fripp / guitar, devices
- Tony Levin / Stick, basses, backing vocals

Track List:
CD1
01. Entry of the Crims – 6:27
02. Larks’ Tongues in Aspic (Part III) – 5:05
03. Thela Hun Gingeet – 7:07
04. Red – 5:49
05. Matte Kudasai – 3:45
06. Industry – 7:31
07. Dig Me – 3:59
08. Three of a Perfect Pair – 4:30
09. Indiscipline – 8:12
CD2
01. Sartori in Tangier – 4:39
02. Frame by Frame – 3:57
03. Man with an Open Heart – 3:44
04. Waiting Man – 6:26
05. Sleepless – 6:08
06. Larks’ Tongues in Aspic (Part II) – 7:54
07. Discipline – 5:04
08. Heartbeat – 5:15
09. Elephant Talk – 8:55

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Adrian Belew, Bill Bruford, King Crimson, Live, Robert Fripp, Tony Levin

King Crimson – Great Deceiver (Live 1973-74) (@256)

28 Jun 2008

6 comments

(Review from progarchives.com)

This box set features live recordings of the band from 1973 and 1974. All recordings feature the lineup of Robert Fripp, John Wetton, David Cross and Bill Bruford. Jamie Muir, who left the band in early 1973, is not featured on the set.

Throughout the four discs, the listener goes through many different concerts and ultimately is presented with many different songs (although there are a few repeats) as well as a plethora of improvs that really show the experimental nature of the group.

The first disc of this album is taken from a concert from Providence, Rhode Island, and stretches onto the second disc (for the first two songs). The set list is varied and has a stellar version of Starless with David Cross giving a superb violin part. Of the two improvs, which are Providence (which would eventually find its way onto Red with the crowd track cut out) and A Voyage To The Center of the Cosmos, the latter one really shows how the band could play completely improvised music and make it sound like it was well rehearsed and planned out… utterly stunning to put it shortly. Fracture also has a particular kick this time around, with the raw sound quality really coming and making it just a bit better than the other versions. The two songs on the second disc from this show, being 21st Century Schizoid Man (which is good, but the Night Watch version is better) and Walk Off Providence No Pussyfooting (which would act as the introduction and the closer of the show).

The second disc has a couple of rarities in Cat Food and Peace- A Theme as well as some wicked improvs (although they aren’t as spectacular as the Cosmos one on the first disc). The version of Larks’ Tongue in Aspic Part I is especially biting here with more violin presence. There’s also an abridged version of Easy Money as well as another full version on the same disc. Anyway, there’s more crowd presence on this disc, which gets a bit bothersome in the quieter pieces like Book of Saturday and Peace- A Theme. Despite that, though, it just doesn’t live up to the overall energy and feel (as well as the set list) of the first disc. It’s good, just not to that extent.

The third disc has four improvs as well as the only official release of Doctor Diamond (a song that was almost featured on Red but was cut out at the last minute) as well as another stellar version of Starless. Of the four improvs, the final one really is the best of them because of the great interplay between Bruford and Wetton (with Fripp playing excellently as well). This is also the first disc to feature a Talking Drum/Larks Tongues in Aspic Part II segue (with LTiA II being abridged) and for the most part it also comes off rather nicely. This disc also sounds wonderful with a nice overall ambience and a great balance in the instruments.

The final disc is from Toronto’s Massey Hall and a show from Switzerland. The opening four pieces range from constructed pieces (Fracture and the Night Watch) to all out improvs. The two improvs here, titled Clueless & Slightly Slack and The Golden Walnut, are a bit longer than the standard improvs on this set, but they are very captivating and really show the overall cohesiveness and intensity that the group was able to convey through their seemlessly complicated and intricate improvisational pieces that sound more like a rehearsed piece than something done completely on the fly. The rest of the disc comprises of 3 more improvs (one actually based on the No Pussyfooting theme) and a two part one titled The Law of Maximum Distress, which is probably my least favorite improv in the collection. Another strong version of Larks Tongue in Aspic part I and a rousing and sudden finale in The Talking Drum are also here, and for the most part they are pretty good.

Line-up:
* Robert Fripp – guitar, mellotron, electric piano
* John Wetton – bass guitar, vocals
* David Cross – violin, mellotron, electric piano
* Bill Bruford – drums, percussion

Track List:
CD1
01. Walk On … No Pussyfooting – 0:48
02. Larks’ Tongues In Aspic, Part Two – 6:24
03. Lament – 4:38
04. Exiles – 8:57
05. Improv – A Voyage To The Centre of the Cosmos – 15:03
06. Easy Money – 7:12
07. Improv – Providence – 10:18
08. Fracture – 11:14
09. Starless – 12:03
CD2
01. 21st Century Schizoid Main – 8:26
02. Walk Off from Providence/No Pussyfooting – 2:11
03. Sharks’ Lungs in Lemsip – 2:31
04. Larks’ Tongues In Aspic – 7:49
05. Book Of Saturday – 3:02
06. Easy Money – 6:41
07. We’ll Let You Know – 4:54
08. The Night Watch – 5:17
09. Improv – Tight Scrummy – 8:58
10. Peace – A Theme – 1:01
11. Cat Food – 4:36
12. Easy Money (2) – 2:20
13. …It Is For You, But Not For Us – 9:10
CD3
01. Walk On … No Pussyfooting – 0:58
02. The Great Deceiver – 4:26
03. Improv – Bartley Butsford – 3:12
04. Exiles – 7:19
05. Improv – Daniel Dust – 4:09
06. The Night Watch – 4:39
07. Doctor Diamond – 5:11
08. Starless12:25
09. Improv – Wilton Carpet – 5:52
10. The Talking Drum – 5:29
11. Larks’ Tongues In Aspic: Part Two – 4:07
12. Applause & Announcement – 2:12
13. Improv – Is There Life Out There? – 14:49
CD4
01. Improv – The Golden Walnut – 11:46
02. The Night Watch – 4:37
03. Fracture11:51
04. Improv – Clueless and Slightly Slack – 8:12
05. Walk On … No Pussyfooting – 0:53
06. Improv – Some Pussyfooting – 2:26
07. Larks’ Tongues In Aspic: Part One – 8:16
08. Improv – The Law of Maximum Distress: Part One – 6:31
09. Improv – The Law of Maximum Distress: Part Two – 2:33
10. Easy Money – 7:32
11. Improv – Some More Pussyfooting – 5:53
12. The Talking Drum – 6:02

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Bill Bruford, David Cross, John Wetton, King Crimson, Live, Robert Fripp

King Crimson – Night Watch (Live 1973) (@256)

27 Jun 2008

(Review from progarchives.com)

Never mind the studio stuff: Crimson was and always will be at their best on stage, and this 2-disc live set from the Amsterdam Concertgebouw vividly captures what many fans consider to be the band’s best line up at their creative peak, in late 1973.

Hearing the show in its (more or less) uninterrupted entirety, and with a reconstructed sound that shames most contemporary live recordings, is nothing less than a revelation. this one performance belatedly sums up all the awesome power and ingenuity of the Bruford-Wetton-Cross-Fripp configuration.

Every song is dramatically superior to its studio counterpart, from the first sudden downbeat of “Easy Money” to the final crescendo of “Larks Tongues in Aspic Part II”. Listen to the band working its way through the spiral groove of “The Talking Drum”, gradually shifting gears upward into overdrive with near telepathic precision. Or breaking into a funky mock-rock ‘n’ roll stomp during the acerbic “Lament”, with Fripp soloing all over the auditorium (unlike his tame sustained fuzz on the later album version). Or sidestepping an unexpected technical glitch with textbook grace under pressure, after David Cross’ mellotron audibly short circuits mid-way into the second verse of the title track. A quick thinking shift to electric piano alters the entire chemistry of the song, for the better in my opinion: adding a touch of delicacy sometimes lacking in the faux-string arrangements.

However, it’s the group improvisations that have always defined the various Crimson Kings, and on this night the band was certainly firing on all cylinders, despite the claims of chronic tour burnout. You can perhaps hear their fatigue in the way each of the three improvs begins from a point of zero energy and absolute silence. But the act of spontaneous music making must have had a galvanizing effect, judging by how each one develops.

“Trio” is an oasis of calm in the often discordant sea of classic Crimson noise and fury. “Starless and Bible Black” gradually builds into a mind-frying jam of epic proportions, propelled by the Wetton-Bruford rhythm section at full steam. And in “The Fright Watch”, meant as little more than a prelude to “The Talking Drum”, John Wetton coaxes sounds from his bass guitar that need to be heard to be believed, reminding me of a slumbering subterranean dinosaur slowly emerging from some ancient primordial swamp.

The first two improvisations were both featured on the “Starless and Bible Black” album, but hearing each of them in the context of a complete show puts the music in an entirely fresh perspective.

It is, pure and simple, beyond criticism, and the next best thing to having been there in Amsterdam on that late November night.

Line-up:
- Robert Fripp / guitar, mellotron
- Bill Bruford / drums
- David Cross / violin, mellotron
- John Wetton / bass, vocals

Track List:
CD1
01. Easy Money 6:15
02. Lament 4:14
03. Book Of Saturday 4:08
04. Fracture 11:28
05. The Night Watch 5:27
06. Improv- Starless And Bible Black 9:13
CD2
01. Improv- Trio 6:09
02. Exiles 6:37
03. Improv- The Fright Watch 6:03
04. The Talking Drum 6:34
05. Larks’ Tongues in Aspic (Part II) 7:51
06. 21st Century Schizoid Man 10:38

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Bill Bruford, David Cross, John Wetton, King Crimson, Live, Robert Fripp

King Crimson – Thrakattak (Live 1995) (@256)

20 Jun 2008

(Review from progreviews.com)

In King Crimson’s long history they never put an album out quite like this one. Consisting of eight improvisations tacked together in a seemingly random manner, THRaKaTTaK is not for the faint of heart. There are moments of great violence followed by lengthy soundscapes and sparse percussion. There are a couple of moments that might sound somewhat avant, but on the whole this doesn’t quite make it up there with the mindset of RIO. It’s still rooted in Fripp and Crim’s ethos, which precludes the kind of alien quality most really good avant-prog seems to have.

Nevertheless, this is a release that is worth exploring for Crimson fans who would like to hear something different. On the one hand, you have to admire the bravery of the band to release something like this at this point in their career. At times they approach the searing success of their 70s improv efforts, except from a less accessible end.

Line-up:
- Adrian Belew / guitar, vocals
- Bill Bruford / acoustic & electronic drums, percussion, marimba
- Robert Fripp / guitar, soundscapes
- Trey Gunn / Warr guitar
- Tony Levin / NS Upright bass
- Pat Mastelotto / acoustic & electronic drums, percussion

Track List:
01. THRAK – 2:20
02. Fearless and Highly THRaKked – 6:35
03. Mother Hold The Candle Steady While I Shave The Chicken’s Lip – 11:18
04. THRaKaTTaK Part I – 3:42
05. The Slaughter of the Innocents – 8:03
06. This Night Wounds Time – 11:16
07. THRaKaTTaK Part II – 11:08
08. THRAK reprise – 2:52

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Adrian Belew, Bill Bruford, King Crimson, Live, Pat Mastelotto, Robert Fripp, Tony Levin, Trey Gunn

King Crimson – Thrak (1994) (@256)

19 Jun 2008

(Review from progarchives.com, progreviews.com)

In 1994, Fripp woke King Crimson from the netherworld once more, with another evolution in the line up, this time the formulation of six members which breaks down rhythmically as two trios to blend a very interesting construction of soundscapes. The previous band would return along with Trey Gunn, as well as Pat Mastellotto on drums. Both had played with Fripp in a collaboration with avant-garde artist David Sylvian.

The sound harkens back to the Red-period band, with aggressive instrumentals and some fiery improvisations. The new marque of this heavy instrumental music displayed more musical maturity and finer execution over mainstream heavy metal to “117 guitars almost hitting the same chord simultaneously”. Expansive arrhythmic soundscapes which drew from “Frippertronics” concepts give imposing auras which were generated by the mellotron in the King Crimson of the early 70s.

The title track is possibly as overtly dissonant and aggressive as the band has ever sounded, while “VROOOM” and its pseudo-reprise are uptempo workouts that fit nicely in the band’s canon. Adrian Belew returns as frontman, and doesn’t miss a beat incorporating his modern-rock take on the Beatles and Talking Heads into the Crimson sound.

The lively opener “VROOOM” prooves that the band can still rev it up. The classic King Crimson formula of juxtaposing raging, rockish sections with softer, understated sections is put to use here, as is the new double trio lineup. The two drummers shine especially, with Mastelotto laying down the basic groove and Bruford dancing around him. For further evidence, check out their drum feature/intro “B’Boom”.

“Dinosaur”, a Belew-penned tune is about, of all things, getting older. Imagine the mid-life crisis of the world’s alltime greatest fan of Magical Mystery Tour, beef up the metallic guitars, and you’ve got this slab of prog-pop. Heavy yet nerdy.

Welcome to the King Crimson of 90s.

Line-up:
- Adrian Belew / guitar, voice, vocal
- Bill Bruford / acoustic & electronic percussion
- Robert Fripp / guitar, mellotron, soundscapes
- Trey Gunn / stick, back vocals
- Tony Levin / basses, back vocals
- Pat Mastelotto / acoustic & electronic percussion

Track List:
01. Vrooom – 4:38
02. Coda- Marine 475 – 2:41
03. Dinosaur – 6:37
04. Walking On Air – 4:38
05. B’boom – 4:11
06. Thrak – 3:59
07. Inner Garden I – 1:47
08. People – 5:53
09. Radio I – 0:43
10. One Time – 5:22
11. Radio II – 1:03
12. Inner Garden II – 1:15
13. Sex Sleep Eat Drink Dream – 4:50
14. Vrooom Vrooom – 5:50
15. Vrooom Vrooom- Coda – 3:03

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Adrian Belew, Bill Bruford, King Crimson, Live, Pat Mastelotto, Robert Fripp, Tony Levin, Trey Gunn

King Crimson – Beat (1982) (@256)

18 Jun 2008

(Review from progarchives.com)

The album which followed in June 1982, Beat, which was largely influenced by the writings of Beatnick visionary Jack Kerouac, featured more technology and artistically went even further beyond musical comprehension. Another dose of “Discipline”, this time favoring the languid, dreamy side of the quartet’s combined powers.

“Beat” isn’t much different from their last album, so the shock value associated with “Discipline” is lost. “Neal And Jack And Me” won’t surprise anyone who’s heard “Frame By Frame”, “Heartbeat” doesn’t hold any magical treats that “North Star” didn’t already unlock years ago, “Neurotica” is a familiar indulgence of indiscipline, etc.

There are some new ideas at work here, treading into Steve Hackett’s dark forest on “Sartori In Tangier”, showcasing Frippertronics on the closing “Requiem”, exploring “Beat” imagery on “The Howler” and “Neal And Jack And Me” (hence the title).

The superlative, mathematical approach of this King Crimson attracted a whole new audience of younger listeners who viewed the band as champions of instrumental envelope pushing.

Line-up:
- Adrian Belew / guitar, vocals
- Bill Bruford / drums
- Robert Fripp / guitar, organ, Frippertronics
- Tony Levin / Stick, bass, back vocals

Track List:
01. Neal and Jack and Me – 4:22
02. Heartbeat – 3:54
03. Sartori in Tangier – 3:34
04. Waiting Man – 4:27
05. Neurotica – 4:48
06. Two Hands – 3:23
07. The Howler – 4:13
08. Requiem – 6:38

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Adrian Belew, Bill Bruford, King Crimson, Robert Fripp, Tony Levin

King Crimson – Discipline (1981) (@256)

17 Jun 2008

(Review from progarchives.com)

In 1981, Fripp formed a band called Discipline which followed the art/rock framework in the sense that it drew ideas from foreign sources which included rhythmical elements of Javanese music combined with rock and pop stylings. In order to achieve a contrast with his own unique guitar technique he asked Adrian Belew (fresh out of Zappa band, touring with The Talking Heads at the time) to join him and former King Crimson drummer Bill Bruford along with master bassist Tony Levin (from innumerable jazz/rock band) in his latest musical endeavour.

Not only were fresh musical ideas sought out but innovations in technology were also exploited with the use of guitar synthesisers, electric drums and Levin’s use of the Chapman Stick, a multi stringed instrument on which bass lines and chords could be played simultaneously by means of a tapping technique. The resulting sound was “decidedly dangerous” and occupied a grey area somewhere between the Talking Heads and the new metal derived grunge and industrial music which was also beginning to surface in the early 80s. It embodied many aspects of the previous 1974 King Crimson entity as well, including improvisation with heavy emphasis on intricate instrumental ability in addition to, perhaps most importantly, artistic freedom within the concept of a collective group effort. Prior to the release of the group’s first album it was decided to change the name to King Crimson thus ushering in a new era of music that would continue to devastate.

The new album was appropriately entitled Discipline which accurately reflected the mindset which was required in order to execute the demanding nature of the various compositions. Their impossible time signatures, polyrhythms and hypnotic guitar phrasings would also set the norm for the two succeeding works, “Beat” and “Three Of A Perfect Pair” along with Belew’s charismatic vocals and stage presence which would also recall Jamie Muir’s antics from the early 70s.

A more pop oriented attitude along with world beat ingredients was evident on the new album and at first they didn’t sit too well with some older fans who were expecting a re-emergence of the darker more foreboding Crimson creature of 72-74. But times had changed considerably and the Crims quickly found an audience both young and old. Some ghosts of the past did indeed linger within the new music as exemplified in the title track’s evil twin , “Indiscipline”. With its overdriven power guitar chords, it was by far the heaviest track recorded by the band to date. Their fiery live performances continued to outshine the studio albums with improvisations as well as updated interpretations of earlier material.

Line-up:
- Adrian Belew / guitar, vocals
- Bill Bruford / drums
- Robert Fripp / guitar, devices
- Tony Levin / Stick, basses, back vocals

Track List:
01. Elephant Talk – 4:42
02. Frame by Frame – 5:10
03. Matte Kudasai – 3:48
04. Indiscipline – 4:33
05. Thela Hun Ginjeet – 6:26
06. The Sheltering Sky – 8:23
07. Discipline – 5:06

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Adrian Belew, Bill Bruford, King Crimson, Robert Fripp, Tony Levin

King Crimson – USA (Live 1974) (@256)

16 Jun 2008

(Review from progreviews.com, progarchives.com)

The posthumous live effort of the Larks’-era King Crimson is quite simply one of those great live album documents to emerge from the 70s. This remastered edition of the album brings the great sound quality lacking in ‘Earthbound’ with the addition of three more tracks.

With some notable exceptions, in this album melody and delicacy of touch are largely replaced by sheer strength, aggression and stunning technical proficiency. The sound is at times harsh and metallic, with John Wetton’s powerful yet intricate bass lines providing a solid background for Fripp’s angular guitar excursions. Bruford’s drumming, stellar as always, is unfortunately somewhat swamped by the bass in a mix which, while miles better than its predecessor “Earthbound”, does not enhance all the instruments in the same way. Even David Cross’s violin sounds harsher and less lyrical than on the studio albums.

To further the level of necessity for this particular live recording, “Asbury Park” is one of the best -nowhere else available- improvisational cuts ever released. Its signature and key might seem trite at first, but the energy reaches several peaks, giving it distinction above a great many of their improvised operations.

Line-up:
- Bill Bruford / drums, percussion
- David Cross / violin, keyboards
- Robert Fripp / guitar, mellotron
- John Wetton / bass, vocals
with
- Eddie Jobson / violin (2), piano (3)

Track List:
01. Walk On … No Pussyfooting – 0:34
02. Larks’ Tongues In Aspic Part II 6:24
03. Lament 4:21
04. Exiles 7:23
05. Asbury Park 6:53
06. Easy Money 7:11
07. 21st Century Schizoid Man 8:10
08. Fracture 11:19
09. Starless 14:53

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Bill Bruford, David Cross, Eddie Jobson, John Wetton, King Crimson, Live, Robert Fripp

King Crimson – Red (1974) (@256)

15 Jun 2008

(Review from progreviews.com, vintageprog.com, wikipedia)

With David Cross’ exit from the band, King Crimson forged ahead as a trio, and produced this, the last album Crimson would make in the 70s. Red is often cited as the strongest of the three Larks’-era albums, and sometimes of King Crimson’s entire discography. Generally, here the band is consistently heavier in force and tighter in focus than ever before, with the departure of any remaining possibility for the violin line of abandon from Cross.

The first side is a juggernaut of solid musicianship and probably represents the most accessible and distilled album side for this era of the band. The title-track opens the album, and is as typical for this version of Crimson as it can get, consisting of a simple but yet powerful and heavy riff that carries the track all the way through. “Fallen Angel” is a strong vocal-track with the mellotron mixed very far back in the sound on the verse, while the chorus is a far heavier and more electric thing. “One More Red Nightmare” is another prime example of how Fripp could use a very simple riff to create a really powerful and enjoyable progressive rock track.

The masterpiece of Red, however, is doubtlessly the album’s closer “Starless”. It’s hard to find a more emotional, down-to-earth moment in Crimson’s repertoire than Wetton’s weary voice clutching for a ray of hope as it enters past the melancholic, mellotron-drenched opening: “Sundown, dazzling day…” The thunderous climax (in 13/8) and sweepingly powerful ending of the song closes the chapter on 70s Crimson like an unstoppable (and unforgettable) deluge.

Robert Fripp, increasingly disillusioned with the music business, was turning his attention to the writings of the mystic George Gurdjieff, and did not want to tour as he felt that the “world was coming to an end”. The Red line-up never toured, and two months before the album’s release Fripp announced that King Crimson had “ceased to exist” and was “completely over for ever and ever” and the group officially disbanded on late September 1974.

Line-up:
- Robert Fripp / guitars
- Bill Bruford / drums
- John Wetton / bass, vocals
with
- Mark Charig / cornet
- Mel Collins / soprano saxophone
- David Cross / violin
- Ian McDonald / alto saxophone
- Robin Miller / oboe

Track List:
01. Red – 6:17
02. Fallen Angel – 6:04
03. One More Red Nightmare – 7:07
04. Providence – 8:11
05. Starless – 12:18

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Bill Bruford, David Cross, Ian McDonald, John Wetton, King Crimson, Mel Collins, Robert Fripp, Sakalli's Pick

King Crimson – Starless and Bible Black (1974) (@256)

14 Jun 2008

(Review from progreviews.com)

With a bang, this album starts and doesn’t let up for air until about mid-way through. Of all the King Crimson mid-period, this one perhaps is there most consistently breathless — let’s see: we’ve got hyped-up blues-prog in “Great Deceiver”, the schizophrenic narrative “Lament”, marvelously cohesive improv in “We’ll Let You Know”, “Trio” and the title track, the symphonic ballad “The Night Watch”, the spooky, atmospheric “The Mincer”, and arguably Fripp’s finest masterpiece, “Fracture.” If ever a progressive band was lean, mean, and ready to fight, it was this one.

Fripp has stated that he always thought his drummer and bassist of this period were great players, but never sure if they were a great rhythm section. In any case, Bruford and Wetton set the tone for many of the pieces on this album. Tightly wound, precise punches and jabs; bladed, metallic bass figures rip through thin layers of mellotron and violin, while high-tuned toms and snare keep ahead of the beat and make no room for error, or even diversion. This is not to say the two men weren’t sympathetic performers, but driven.

While the whole-tone adventures of “Fracture” and later pieces such as “Red” and “One More Red Nightmare” have captured the attention of many progressive fans, the most distictive aspect of this band may have been its willingness to step out of its structured pieces into improvisation. The mid-period King Crimson were doubtlessly the *most* popular proponents of free-improv in the history of prog. “Trio” is simply that: Fripp, Cross, and Wetton delicately composing in the moment; “We’ll Let You Know” is avant-funk without the burden of a dancefloor; “Starless And Bible Black” is exotic, dark, and well-timed – leading into the explosive “Fracture” in much the same way as “The Talking Drum” led into “Larks Toungue part II” on the previous album.

This album saw the band at the height of its powers, and should be a reference to all those defending progressive as something other than bombastic flower-music.

Line-up:
- Robert Fripp / guitars
- Bill Bruford / drums
- David Cross / violin, viola, kbds
- John Wetton / bass, vocals

Track List:
01. The Great Deceiver – 4:02
02. Lament – 4:06
03. We’ll Let You Know – 3:41
04. The Night Watch – 4:41
05. Trio – 5:40
06. The Mincer – 4:11
07. Starless And Bible Black – 9:12
08. Fracture – 11:14

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Bill Bruford, David Cross, John Wetton, King Crimson, Robert Fripp

King Crimson – Larks Tongues In Aspic (1973) (@256)

13 Jun 2008

(Review from wikipedia, vintageprog.com, progarchives.com)

Shortly after the Earthbound tour, that Crimson line-up completely disintegrated. Once again, Fripp began the task of looking for new members. These included improvising percussionist Jamie Muir; vocalist and bassist John Wetton, formerly of the band Family and a college acquaintance of Fripp; violin, viola and keyboard player David Cross; and drummer Bill Bruford, who had chosen to leave the commercially successful Yes for the comparatively unstable and unpredictable King Crimson. With Sinfield gone, the band recruited a new lyricist, Wetton’s friend Richard Palmer-James.

Ushering in a new era for the band, “Larks’ Tongues in Aspic” showcases the new King Crimson playing progressive rock of a kind and in a way no other band had done before them. Their new style was often based in very heavy and loud riffs built around raw and freaked-out improvisations.

The title-track bookends the album, with the first part being subtle and understated and the second almost heavy-metal in its intensity. The above-mentioned “Book of Saturdays” and “Exiles” are both wistful, moving ballads, the second punctuated by Cross’s romantic violin strains; while “Easy Money” has an interesting structure, with an almost funky feel and rather weird lyrics. The quirky “The Talking Drum” leads then the way for the monstrous riffing and complex rythmic patterns of “Larks’ Tongues in Aspic pt. 2″.

Line-up:
- Bill Bruford / drums
- David Cross / violin, viola, mellotron
- Robert Fripp / guitar, mellotron, devices
- Jamie Muir / percussion
- John Wetton / bass, vocals

Track List:
01. Larks’ Tongues in Aspic, Part One – 13:37
02. Book of Saturday – 2:56
03. Exiles – 7:41
04. Easy Money – 7:53
05. The Talking Drum – 7:27
06. Larks’ Tongues in Aspic, Part Two – 7:08

Link in comments.

Bill Bruford, David Cross, Jamie Muir, John Wetton, King Crimson, Robert Fripp

Steve Hackett – Genesis Revisited (1996) (@256)

28 Mar 2008

(Review from progarchives.com)

If you’re going to revisit some of the songs you created with one of the world’s greatest rock bands, you might as well do it properly. Hackett does exactly that with this album. He gathered together some of the finest musicians available, with the noticeable exclusion of any of his former band mates but including the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

The opening “Watcher of the skies” is slightly slower, more majestic, than the “Foxtrot” original. The wonderful introduction sounds even better as the mellotron is accompanied by full orchestra. John Wetton’s vocals can make any track sound good, but where he guests on tracks on this album, as he does on “Watcher of the Skies” (and “Firth of Fifth”) he adds an atmosphere to them which changes their feel completely. Hackett takes on vocal duties himself for “Dance on a volcano”, which is a pity really, as it’s otherwise superb. He does the same on “Fountain of Salmacis”. With so many talented vocalists to hand, such self indulgence is at best unnecessary.

“Firth of fifth” is transformed completely. The intro is a delicate piece of orchestration, while out goes the flute solo and intricate Tony Banks keyboard solo. In comes a completely different precursor to Hackett’s famous guitar solo. Just as you’re starting to despair and think that Hackett has done the unthinkable and disposed of his finest contribution to the Genesis archive, the sound of his guitar breezes in ever so gently before soaring even more beautifully and to even greater heights.

A couple of the tracks are not really re-visits as such, “Valley of the kings” and “Déjŕ vu” not being original Genesis tracks. That said, Peter Gabriel apparently started the latter in the 1970’s while still with the band, and Paul Carrack’s vocals are excellent on the finally finished product. “The waiting room” is nominally the track from “The lamb..”, but in reality, it’s a completely different piece in the form of a jam with heavy jazz overtones. For me, it doesn’t work, and would have been better left off the album altogether. The other tracks are interesting, and at times inspired re-workings, closing with the always excellent “Los endos”.

It’s easy to question some of the songs Hackett has chosen to “revisit”, and there are many others which it would have been good to have seen included, but remember these are his personal choices.

“Watcher of the skies” and “Firth of fifth” are the clear beneficiaries of Hackett’s re-interpretations, and it has to be said that some of the others would have been better left alone, but overall it is a commendable album indeed.

Line-up:
- Steve Hackett / vocals, guitars, percussion, harmonica, orchestration
with
- John Wetton / vocals, bass
- Bill Bruford / drums
- Tony Levin / bass
- Chester Thompson / drums
- Ian McDonald / saxophone, flute
- Paul Carrack / vocals
- Colin Blunstone / vocals
- Alphonso Johnson / bass
- John Hackett / flute
- Pino Palladino / bass
- Julian Colbeck / keyboards
- Aron Friedman / keyboards, orchestration, programming
- Hugo Degenhardt / drums
- Nick Magnus / keyboards, programming
- Will Bates / saxophone
- Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Sanchez / Montoya Chorale
- Roger King / keyboards, vibraphone, orchestration, programming
- Jerry Peal / keyboards, programming
- Ben Fenner / keyboards, orchestration, programming

Track List:
01. Watcher of the Skies (8:40)
02. Dance On A Volcano (7:28)
03. Valley Of The Kings (6:29)
04. Déja Vu (5:53)
05. Firth of Fifth (9:39)
06. For Absent Friends (3:02)
07. Your Own Special Way (4:18)
08. Fountain of Salmacis (9:53)
09. Waiting Room Only (6:53)
10. I Know What I Like (5:37)
11. Los Endos (8:51)

Links in comments.

Bill Bruford, Ian McDonald, John Wetton, Steve Hackett, Tony Levin

Genesis – Three Sides Live (1982) (@256)

17 Mar 2008

(Review from wikipedia)

Like Seconds Out, the live album which preceded it, Three Sides Live documents the end of another major period in the evolution of the band.

As a concert band, the group is instrumentally at the top of its game, and the tracks are incredibly energetic renditions of the studio recordings. Focusing mostly on material from Duke and Abacab, including large sections from Duke’s thematic song cycles, the third side contains what had become the centerpiece of their last few tours, the “Cage” medley. Replacing their previous centrepiece, “Supper’s Ready”, the “Cage” medley melded together the longer song “In the Cage” (off the The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway album), with an instrumental which combined motifs from “Cinema Show” and a changing set of melodies from Wind & Wuthering and The Lamb. From here the song then slowly melds into “Afterglow”, producing a medley which lasted over 15 minutes and served to satisfy many of the fans’ wishes for older material in the live shows. As a compilation of many of Banks’s most popular keyboard solos from the live shows, this medley, a staple of their shows for many years, encapsulates Genesis’ strengths as a ‘musicians’ band.

Though a good live album- the song selection and sequencing could have been better; certain tracks here don’t gain from live performance (some songs suffer for it..) but everything from ‘Abacab’ is transformed to become very good live numbers.

Line-up:
- Tony Banks / keyboards, backing vocals
- Bill Bruford / drums and percussion (CD2-06)
- Phil Collins / drums and percussion, lead vocals
- Steve Hackett / lead guitar (CD2-06)
- Mike Rutherford / lead guitar, bass guitar, backing vocals
- Daryl Stuermer / lead guitar, bass guitar, backing vocals
- Chester Thompson / drums & percussion

Track List:
CD1
01. Turn It On Again 5:15
02. Dodo 7:18
03. Abacab 8:46
04. Behind The Lines 5:26
05. Duchess 6:38
06. Me & Sarah Jane 6:02
07. Follow You Follow Me 4:58
CD2
01. Misunderstanding 4:05
02. In the Cage (Medley – Cinema Show/Slippermen) 11:52
03. Afterglow 5:13
04. One For The Vine (Part One) 5:04
05. One For The Vine (Part Two) 6:00
06. Fountain Of Salmacis/It/Watcher Of The Skies 15:59

Links in comments.

Bill Bruford, Genesis, Live, Mike Rutherford, Phil Collins, Tony Banks

Genesis – Seconds Out (Live 1976-77) (@256)

14 Mar 2008

6 comments

(Review from progarchives.com)

This live album was recorded pretty soon after the departure of Peter Gabriel,. Phil Collins therefore takes on the lead vocals on many tracks previously fronted by Gabriel, post Gabriel Genesis material being in relatively short supply . It should be borne in mind that although “A Trick of the Tail” had given a firm indication that there was life after Gabriel, fans attending live gigs were still apprehensive, seeking the reassurance that the old favourites would not simply be ditched.

This in itself gives the album a purpose, as it is interesting to compare and contrast the way the two Genesis singers perform the songs. Collins does an excellent job with the older material, sounding of course very similar Gabriel. The version of “I know what I like” included here is particularly good, being considerably extended, and incorporating an extract from “Stagnation”.

Also included is a superb rendition of “Supper’s ready”. Given the way Gabriel had developed his performance of this track, both aurally, and visually, performing it without him was a brave move, but there’s no question it works.

This was the beginning of Collins now well worn path between drum stool and front centre stage Chester Thompson and Bill Bruford (here on “Cinema show” only) were therefore brought in to fill in for Collins while he was out front. This though offered an excellent opportunity for some interplay between the drummers during instrumental passages, which is exploited to superb effect.

The only minor blemish is the missing piano introduction to “Firth of Fifth”, allegedly because it was too hard to play live. The track starts rather abruptly without it, perhaps even a taped intro would have been preferable.

“Seconds Out” is a good mixture of old and (at the time) new, with only the newly released “A Trick of the Tail” representing the post Gabriel era. As Peter Gabriel said at the time on his “Solisbury Hill” single, “Today I don’t need a replacement”. “Seconds Out” went a long way to showing that to be the case.

Line-up:
- Tony Banks / RMI electric piano, Hammond T. organ, APR Pro-Soloist, Mellotron 400, Epiphone,
12 string guitar, backing vocals
- Bill Bruford / drums and percussion (10)
- Phil Collins / drums, percussion, lead vocals
- Steve Hackett / lead guitar, Hodaka, 12 string guitar
- Mike Rutherford / electric 12 string guitar, bass guitar, 8 string bass guitar, bass pedals,
backing vocals
- Chester Thompson / drums and percussion

Track List:
CD1
01. Squonk (6:36)
02. The Carpet Crawl (5:60)
03. Robbery, Assault & Battery (6:03)
04. Afterglow (4:24)
05. Firth Of Fifth (8:55)
06. I Know What I Like (8:42)
07. The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway (4:59)
08. The Musical Box (Closing Section) (3:18)
CD2
01. Supper’s Ready (24:32)
02. Cinema Show (10:58)
03. Dance On A Volcano (5:09)
04. Los Endos (6:30)

Links in comments.

Bill Bruford, Genesis, Live, Mike Rutherford, Steve Hackett, Tony Banks

U.K. – Shadows from the Sun (Live 1978) (@256)

06 Mar 2008

U.K. went on two lengthy American tours to support their debut album during June-October 1978.

This is a good soundboard recording of their concert at the Agora Ballroom in Cleveland, on the 1st of September.

It’s a fair representation of the live performance of the first line-up of U.K.

Line-up:
* Eddie Jobson / Electric Violin, Keyboards
* John Wetton / Vocals, Bass
* Allan Holdsworth / Guitars
* Bill Bruford / Drums, Percussion

Track List:
01. Alaska
02. Time To Kill
03. The Only Things She Needs
04. Carrying No Cross
05. Forever Till Sunday
06. Thirty Years
07. By The Light Of Day (ending)
08. Presto Vivace
09. In The Dead Of Night

Link in comments.

Allan Holdsworth, Bill Bruford, Eddie Jobson, John Wetton, Live, U.K.

Yes – Something's Coming (BBC Recordings 1969-1970) (@256)

31 Oct 2007

16 comments

Oops, I forgot this one earlier :)

(Review from progarchives.com)

“Something’s Coming” charts Yes’ sessions for the BBC in the late 60s/early 70s, promoting their first two albums and assorted singles. Peter Banks and Tony Kaye are still in the band at this stage, and their roots are showing (The Nice, Vanilla Fudge and The Beach Boys spring to mind when hearing these early tracks).

One thing that is apparent here is that one of the band’s early champions was the late DJ John Peel. These sessions are obviously before the days (such as when presenting BBC’s coverage of Glastonbury a few years ago when Yes played) he would claim that the only relationship he had with Yes was ‘one of long standing hatred’. In the 1960s, Peel had a (now legendary) show called ‘Top Gear’ and a lot of recordings are sourced from that, alongside other shows presented by period DJs such as Dave Lee Travis and Johnny Walker. Judging by the quality of the recordings, the mastertapes no longer exist for any of these tracks, and presumably the sources are ‘transcription discs’ or fan recordings. However, the sound is generally listenable and as a valuable historical document, its status is assured.

There is only one ‘new’ song here; ‘For Everyone’, which itself emerged in part later on ‘The Yes Album’ classic ‘Starship Trooper’. Elsewhere, ‘Yes’ and ‘Time And A Word’ are heavily dipped into. They specialised in radically re-arranged cover versions of pop standards, and their influence is clearly seen in the many covers present here. ‘Something’s Coming’, originally released as the B side to their ‘Sweetness’ single, is a track from ‘West Side Story’ and traces of their later arrangement of ‘America’ can be heard here. Other covers include Ritchie Havens’ ‘No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Needed’, with the theme tune of western ‘The Big Country’ thrown in, The Beatles’ ‘Every Little Thing’ and Buffalo Springfield’s ‘Everydays’. All of these cover versions are characterised by instrumental virtuosity, a tendency that took Yes into superstardom as the 70s progressed.

As for originals; alongside the single ‘Dear Father’, from the debut album comes the laid back pop of ‘Sweetness’ and the Fifth Dimension meets The Nice stylings of ‘Looking Around’, and the more ambitious follow-up ‘Time And A Word’ showcases ‘Then’ (the arrangement of which has some sections very close to the later classic ‘Heart Of The Sunrise’). However, some songs from ‘Time And A Word’ showed little progression from the debut- ‘Sweet Dreams’ and ‘Astral Traveller’ bear witness to that, though both songs are perfectly good.

Whilst sound quality sometimes gets quite rough, and some songs are duplicated (though from different sessions), this is still an intriguing release for Yes fans.

Line-up:
- Jon Anderson / vocals
- Chris Squire / bass
- Tony Kaye / keyboards
- Bill Bruford / drums
- Peter Banks / guitar

Track List:
CD1
01. Something’s Coming (7:39)
02. Everydays (5:13)
03. Sweetness (4:15)
04. Dear Father (5:33)
05. Every Little Thing (5:32)
06. Looking Around (3:40)
07. Sweet Dreams (3:26)
08. Then (4:20)
09. No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Needed (4:19)
CD2
01. Astral Traveller (6:02)
02. Then (5:15)
03. Every Little Thing (6:49)
04. Everydays (6:07)
05. For Everyone (4:36)
06. Sweetness (5:17)
07. Something’s Coming (7:59)
08. Sweet Dreams (4:15)
09. Beyond And Before (5:28)

Links in comments.

Bill Bruford, Chris Squire, Jon Anderson, Peter Banks, Tony Kaye, Yes

Yes – Symphonic Music of Yes (1993) (@320)

23 Oct 2007

(Review from wikipedia, progarchives.com)

When the Union tour was over in 1992, Bill Bruford and Steve Howe recorded an album of Yes instrumental music reinterpreted by an orchestra for RCA Victor, which featured Jon Anderson’s vocals on two of the songs. Entitled “The Symphonic Music of Yes”, the album offered some fresh sonic presentations of Yes masterpieces. String arrangements were done by David Palmer (who also arranged for Jethro Tull), and the record was produced by Alan Parsons.

The ten tracks included here will all be familiar to Yes fans, being taken from their early albums up to “90125″. A few have been significantly edited, “Close to the Edge” loses a full 10 minutes, “Heart of the Sunrise” a couple, and only the closing “Soon” section of “Gates of Delirium” is used.

While the album is basically a vehicle for the London Philharmonic Orchestra to render orchestral versions of Yes songs, it is afforded greater credibility through the presence of Steve Howe, Jon Anderson and Bill Bruford.

Anderson sings on only two tracks, the opening “Roundabout”, and “I’ve seen all good people”. “Roundabout” is a pretty faithful rendition, with Howe repeating his guitar sections with little deviation. The keyboards parts are replaced by the orchestra in true Yes’ symphonic style. “Your Move” is completely absent from “All Good People”, with only the repetitive second section being used. Anderson is joined by the London Community Gospel Choir for this gospel tinged version. Unfortunately, Anderson tends to rather dominate the mix, to the exclusion of the choir.

All the sections of “Close to the Edge” are used, but each is pared down significantly. For such a familiar piece, this can initially be quite disconcerting. The version here is entirely instrumental, with the orchestra taking the vocal melody in true orchestral rock fashion. “Owner of a lonely heart”, “Heart Of The Sunrise”, “Soon”, and “Starship Trooper” are all presented in a similar way. “Owner of a Lonely Heart” is interesting, as the guitar is the dominant instrument, Steve Howe offering his own interpretation of Trevor Rabin’s composition. On “Soon”, Howe speaks briefly at the start of the track, reciting a line from elsewhere in “Gates of Delirium”.

Two tracks feature The English Chamber Orchestra in place of The London Philharmonic Orchestra. “Mood for a Day” features Howe’s (the only Yes man to appear on all the tracks) familiar guitar recital, but his piece is transformed by some highly effective orchestration. “Survival” is probably the most successful track. The melody of the verses is played by solo violin or flute, with the chorus section being sung by the London Community Gospel Choir, this time without Anderson. The result is a truly moving rendition of this early Yes classic.

The album is made of some very pleasant and imaginative interpretations of familiar pieces. Some are more successful than others, but as a package, worthy of investigation by those who enjoy the music of Yes.

Line-up:
- Steve Howe / guitar, vocals
- Bill Bruford / drums
- Jon Anderson / vocals
with
- Tim Harries / bass
- Julian Colbeck / hammond organ
- David Palmer / synthesizer, piano, Hammond organ
- London Philharmonic Orchestra
- English Chamber Orchestra
- London Community Gospel Choir

Track List:
01. Roundabout (6:10)
02. Close To The Edge (7:39)
03. Wonderous Stories (3:53)
04. I’ve Seen All Good People (3:50)
05. Mood For A Day (3:01)
06. Owner Of A Lonely Heart (4:43)
07. Survival (4:17)
08. Heart Of The Sunrise (7:49)
09. Soon (6:16)
10. Starship Trooper (7:16)

Links in comments.

Bill Bruford, Jon Anderson, Steve Howe, Yes

Yes – Union (1991) (@256)

21 Oct 2007

(Review from wikipedia, progarchives.com)

While Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman & Howe went their own way, Yes were working on their follow-up to “Big Generator”. The band had been shopping around for a new singer in case Anderson would not be involved. They worked with ex-Supertramp Roger Hodgson, and songwriter Billy Sherwood of World Trade. Hodgson enjoyed working with the group; but thought it unwise to attempt to pass off the music as Yes. Other names were being mentioned as possible replacements, most notably Steve Walsh of the band Kansas. However Walsh was almost immediately dropped from consideration as it was felt that his vocal styling would not mesh with the current sound that the band was trying to produce at the time.

Arista, ABWH’s new label, encouraged ABWH to seek outside songwriters, and Trevor Rabin ultimately sent a demo. Predictably, Arista sensed the commercial possibility of a union of Yes and ABWH. This would lead to the end of Yes having new albums released by Atlantic Records after more than 20 years of their initial recording contract.

Throughout early 1991, phone calls were made, lawyers soothed, and agreements were struck, with Yes joining ABWH for the Union album. Each group did its own songs, with Jon Anderson singing on all of the vocal tracks, and Steve Howe contributing a trademark acoustic guitar solo. Chris Squire sang backing vocals on a few of the ABWH tracks (with Tony Levin doing all the bass on those songs). None of the songs on “Union” featured all eight members at once.

The collective work of both factions yield a tour de force. These fourteen songs far exceed anything that the individuals involved, solo or otherwise, have recorded since “90125″. The record has something for everyone: arena-scale rockers that outperform anything on “Big Generator”, complex arrangements that succeed where the first ABWH album failed and individual contributions that ooze with atmosphere.

Steve Howe’s inspired guitar licks (including another acoustic solo piece, “Masquerade”), Bill Bruford’s off-kilter drumming, the decision to allow Tony Levin’s bass to fill the same space as Chris Squire once did, Trevor Rabin’s dead-on hooks, and Jon Anderson’s voice paired once again with Squire. “Union” really does represent the best of both worlds. Where “Big Generator” sounded mechanical, “Union” feels organic; where the ABWH experiment lacked direction, here it is focused like a high-powered laser. Each of the fourteen tracks is a miniature treasure for fans, but even so some moments rise to the top: “Lift Me Up”, “Saving My Heart”, “Miracle of Life”, “Silent Talking”, “I Would Have Waited Forever”, “Shock to the System” and “Dangerous (Look in the Light of What You’re Searching For)” belong with their best tracks from the ’80s and ’90s.

If Yes seemed to take its heritage lightly with “Drama”, “Union” settles the score with fans. As a further treat, the entire lineup supported the album with a live tour.

Line-up:
- Jon Anderson / vocals on 1, 2, 4-5, 8, 10-12, 14
- Chris Squire: bass on 4, 6-7, 9, vocals on 1, 4, 6-7, 9
- Tony Levin / bass on 1, 2, 5, 8, 10-12, 14
- Tony Kaye / keyboards on 4, 6-7, 9
- Rick Wakeman / keyboards on 1, 2, 5, 8, 10
- Alan White / drums on 4, 6-7, 9
- Bill Bruford / drums on 1, 2, 5, 8, 10
- Trevor Rabin / guitars and vocals on 4, 6-7, 9
- Steve Howe / guitars on 1-3, 5, 8, 11-12, 14

Track List:
01. I Would Have Waited Forever (6:32)
02. Shock to the System (5:09)
03. Masquerade (2:18)
04. Lift Me Up (6:30)
05. Without Hope You Cannot Start the Day (5:18)
06. Saving My Heart (4:42)
07. Miracle of Life (7:30)
08. Silent Talking (4:01)
09. The More We Live – Let Go (4:34)
10. Angkor Wat (5:24)
11. Dangerous (Look in the Light of What You’re Searching For) (3:39)
12. Holding On (5:24)
13. Evensong (0:52)
14. Take the Water to the Mountain (3:10)

Links in comments.

Alan White, Bill Bruford, Chris Squire, Jon Anderson, Rick Wakeman, Steve Howe, Tony Kaye, Tony Levin, Yes

Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman & Howe – An Evening of Yes Music Plus (1989-90) (@256)

21 Oct 2007

(Review from progarchives.com, wikipedia)

Though Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman & Howe (ABWH) had lost the legal rights to use the name of their parent group Yes, it was agreed that they could refer to their origins in Yes on tour posters and merchandise. Thus their 1989-90 world tour was advertised by the phrase “An Evening of Yes Music Plus”.

Tony Levin, who played bass on the studio album as well as most of the tour, was ill during the concert recorded on this album. He was replaced by bassist Jeff Berlin.

The concert is split in its double-CD emotion, but the stage act of classic Yes immense pieces, new ABWH hits or short different music motives gathers a unique tempo of emotions, dynamics and size-explosive rock. The musicianship offering its full soul and energy is a bit of clique, but works to the intensity of the show. The music quality is high-involving, maybe only random to taste. The sense of Yes music is equally challenging, rumbled inside the typical atmosphere and repeated excessively. The modern air of Yes is undeniable, but the passion comes from the greater good of uniform play and basic artistic astound. There are bits of acoustic craft that don’t sound terrific, nor improve the impression, there are wondrous moments when the “script of play” isn’t respected, it’s only taken, benevolently, into a fresh-illusionary performance. The is rock, glam classic, new-age sparkles, fleeting symphonism and perfect-rounded pop (or accessible) expressions. The album is huge to the usual size of resisting the Yes flavor, but what’s worth taking rarely escapes the typical occasion of excitement, heart sign or gold shine. Less typical is the fact that ABWH don’t evolve to their special sign, in any good, spoiled or unpredictable to taste moment.

A “Yes” concert by the special musicianship of glamorous essential artists Jon Anderson, Bill Bruford, Rick Wakeman and Steve Howe. ABWH remains a project that could have continued in shining tempo.

Line-up:
- Jon Anderson / vocals
- Bill Bruford / drums
- Rick Wakeman / keyboards
- Steve Howe / guitar
with
- Jeff Berlin / bass
- Julian Colbeck / keyboards
- Milton McDonald / guitar (rhythm) and vocals

Track List:
CD1
01. Benjamins Brittens Young persons guide to the orchestra
02. Time and a World-Teakbois-Owner of a lonely Heart
03. The Clap-Mood for a day
04. Gone but not Forgotten-Catherine Parr-Merlin The magician
05. Lond distance roundaround
06. Birthright
07. And you and I
CD2
01. Close to the Edge
02. Theme
03. Brother of Mine
04. Heart of the sunrise
05. Order of the Universe
06. Roundabout

Links in comments.

Bill Bruford, Jon Anderson, Live, Rick Wakeman, Steve Howe, Yes

Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman & Howe – Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman & Howe (1989) (@256)

20 Oct 2007

6 comments

(Review from wikipedia, progarchives.com)

Jon Anderson grew tired of the musical direction of the “new” Yes line-up. He wanted the band to return to its classic sound. Following the 1988 tour, Anderson began working with former Yes members Rick Wakeman, Steve Howe, and Bill Bruford. Some in the group (particularly Bill Bruford) wanted to distance themselves from the “Yes” name. As it turned out, Anderson and the former Yes members were contractually unable to use the name, as Squire, White, Kaye, Rabin and Anderson jointly held those rights, dating back to the 90125 contract. Jon Anderson suggested they call themselves “The Affirmative” but the other band members felt that was disingenuous. The name “No” was also suggested, but in the end, they decided to simply name themselves — “Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman & Howe” or simply ABWH. The project included session bassist Tony Levin, brought in by Bruford, after the two had worked together in King Crimson.

The end of the 80s was progressive’s darkest period so it’s easy to see why ‘ABWH’ was welcomed as a classic then, and it doubtless sounded very fresh upon its release, utilising contemporary production techniques and instruments combined with the old wave Yes sound.

The album opens with “Themes”, a multi part track that has some great keyboards from Wakeman and a fun walking stick line from Levin. From the get go, you’ll notice that Anderson’s lyrics aren’t as cryptic and dense as his past progressive efforts with Yes. Fist of Fire is a more atmopsheric piece with some dated keyboards from Wakeman (which represent trumpets) and some precision drumming from Bruford. “Brother of Mine” has some sincere vocals from Anderson, some great guitar work from Howe, and many complex vocal sections that really bring back memories of the old Yes. The final minutes of the track is arguably the best part of the album. Birthright has some interesting acoustic work from Howe and some underlying atmopsheric synthesizers from Wakeman, and it evolves into a bombastic and grandiose composition with great riffing from Howe throughout the entire thing as well as some overly played keyboards from Wakeman.

“The Meeting” is a piano/vocal duet between Wakeman and Anderson. It’s one of Wakeman’s more emotional and melodic performances on the album and it overall comes out very well. Quartet suffers from dated and somewhat contrived keyboards, and yet has some smooth guitar and some wicked soloing from Howe. “Teakbois” is a latin influenced song with marimba sounds. “Order of the Universe” has some solid bass from Levin as well as some great guitar fills from Howe and some solid harmony vocals and lead vocals. The album ends with Let’s Pretend, a somber and acoustic ballad with some interesting chord progressions and some nice keyboard work, as well as some stellar acoustic guitar work from Howe. It ends the album on a lighter note and really suits the atmosphere.

The material is generally quite strong, even if Chris Squire’s bass is sorely missed.

Line-up:
- Jon Anderson / vocals
- Bill Bruford / drums
- Rick Wakeman / keyboards
- Steve Howe / guitar
with
- Tony Levin / bass, vocals and stick bass
- Milton McDonald / rhythm guitar
- Matt Clifford / keyboards, programming, orchestration, vocals

Track List:
01. Themes (5:58)
02. Fist of Fire (3:27)
03. Brother of Mine (10:18)
04. Birthright (6:02)
05. The meeting (4:21)
06. Quartet (9:22)
07. Teakbois (7:39)
08. Order of the Universe (9:02)
09. Let’s pretend (2:56)

Links in comments.

Bill Bruford, Jon Anderson, Rick Wakeman, Steve Howe, Tony Levin, Yes

Yes – Yessongs (Live 1973) (@192)

10 Oct 2007

(Review from wikipedia)

After the recording of “Close to the Edge”, and at the height of the band’s success, Bruford quit the band to join King Crimson. He was replaced by former Plastic Ono Band drummer Alan White, a more conventional rock drummer and a distinct contrast to the jazz-influenced Bruford.

White was brought into Yes several months before the release of “Close to the Edge”. Their early touring with White was featured on their next release, the three-record live collection Yessongs, recorded on their world tour in late 1972 and early 1973. The album included two tracks with Bruford, notably the song “Perpetual Change” with an extended Bruford drum solo, as well as backing Chris Squire in his solo “The Fish”, while White played drums on the rest of the tracks.

The album features most of the material from the three previous albums. The performances are extremely tight and energetic, and that’s really impressive when you think about the complexity of the material. The versions of “Close to the Edge”, “Roundabout”, “Perpetual Change” and “Yours is no Disgrace” bursts with power and energy. The addition of Wakeman’s mellotron on the tracks from “The Yes Album” is also a very pleasant feature.

Yessongs showcases Yes’s ability to breathe new life into their songs in live performances which made them a top draw for concerts. Some songs are extended to almost double the length of their studio counterparts as well as given a more high-octane performance.

Line-up:
* Jon Anderson – vocals
* Chris Squire – bass and vocals
* Steve Howe – guitars and vocals
* Rick Wakeman – keyboards
* Bill Bruford – drums (4 and 10)
* Alan White – drums (everything else)

Track List:
01. Opening (excerpt from ‘Firebird Suite’) – 3:47
02. Siberian Khatru – 9:03
03. Heart of the Sunrise – 11:33
04. Perpetual Change – 14:11
05. And You and I – 9:33
06. Mood for a Day – 2:53
07. Excerpts from ‘The Six Wives of Henry VIII’ – 6:37
08. Roundabout – 8:33
09. I’ve Seen All Good People – 7:09
10. Long Distance Runaround/The Fish (Schindleria Praematurus) – 13:37
11. Close to the Edge – 18:13
12. Yours Is No Disgrace – 14:23
13. Starship Trooper – 10:08

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Alan White, Bill Bruford, Chris Squire, Jon Anderson, Rick Wakeman, Steve Howe, Yes

Yes – Fragile (1971) (@256)

09 Oct 2007

(Review from vintageprog.com, wikipedia)

Tony Kaye was replaced by the classically-trained Rick Wakeman, who had just left the band Strawbs, who proved to be the last piece in the puzzle of the ultimately best line-up of the band. As a soloist, Wakeman proved to be a good foil for Steve Howe. He also brought two vital additions to the group’s instrumentation: the Mellotron (which Kaye had been unwilling to employ) and the Minimoog synthesizer. Surrounded by banks of keyboards, Wakeman’s flowing blond hair and sequened cape provided a strong visual focus on stage.

The first recording by this lineup (Anderson, Bruford, Howe, Squire and Wakeman) was a dynamic ten-minute interpretation of Simon & Garfunkel’s “America”, which originally appeared on a compilation album. The mellotron work (end of track) was actually played by Bruford. It was both the end of one era (their last non-original track) and the beginning of another, showcasing all the elements of the new Yes sound in place.

The same year, Yes released their fourth studio album. Considering its enormous qualities, it’s a bit surprising that “Fragile” was recorded and written in a short amount of time, and was mostly a result of the spontaneous creative energy coming from a band who were enthusiastic and overwhelmed by their own newly discovered chemistry.

The album opened with the classic “Roundabout”. Driven forward by Howe’s acoustic guitar riff, Squire’s superb bass, Anderson’s catchy vocal-lines and newcomer Wakeman’s colourful keyboards, “Roundabout” was the definitive progressive rock hit song, catchy enough to appeal even to the mainstream but at the same also complex and demanding enough to keep the progressive rock listener satisfied. “South Side of the Sky” is one of the band’s most overlooked gems, showing them almost in heavy-prog mode, but also featuring a beautiful and very typical Yes-chorale in the middle dominated by Squire and Anderson’s vocal harmonizing. “Long Distance Runaround” would prove to become one of the favourites from the album, even if this light but sophisticated and cheerful jazzy pop was rather unusual for Yes. And last but not at least we had “Heart of the Sunrise” that in my opinion has to be one of the ten best progressive rock compositions of all time. Alternating between aggressive riffs, beautiful and passionate vocal melodies, sweeping symphonic passages dominated by Wakeman’s Mellotron and complex and technically insanely demanding instrumental bits, this is classic, ’70s symphonic progressive rock at its best in a nutshell.

The record also gave room for a short solo-piece from each of the five members. Wakeman did a little thing based on Brahms in “Cans and Brahms”, Anderson experimented with overdubbed vocal-harmonies in “We Have Heaven” and Bruford delivered 35 rhythmically very complicated seconds in “Five Per Cent for Nothing”. The two best-known of these solo-piece were however Squire’s legendary bass-solo “The Fish (Schindleria Praematurus)” and Howe’s “Mood for a Day” that next to “Clap” was his most beloved acoustic piece.

“Fragile” also marked the beginning of a long collaboration with artist Roger Dean, who designed the original version of the group’s logo and illustrated their album covers, as well as designed their stage sets.

Line-up:
- Jon Anderson / vocals
- Chris Squire / bass and vocals
- Rick Wakeman / keyboards
- Bill Bruford / drums
- Steve Howe / guitars and vocals

Track List:
01. Roundabout (8:29)
02. Cans And Brahms (1:35)
03. We Have Heaven (1:30)
04. South Side Of The Sky (8:04)
05. Five Percent For Nothing (0:35)
06. Long Distance Runaround (3:33)
07. The Fish (Schindleria Praematurus) (2:35)
08. Mood For A Day (3:57)
09. Heart Of The Sunrise (10:34)
10. America (Bonus) (10:33)
11. Roundabout (Bonus early rough mix) (8:35)

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Bill Bruford, Chris Squire, Jon Anderson, Rick Wakeman, Steve Howe, Yes

Yes – The Yes Album (1971) (@256)

08 Oct 2007

(Review from vintageprog.com, allmusic.com, wikipedia)

Yes took a major step forward when Peter Banks was replaced by ex-Tomorrow guitarist Steve Howe in 1971. Their first album with Howe was also their first classic one, so the title “The Yes Album” was no coincidence. Yes had found most of their trademark sound and style here; build around science-fiction concepts, folk melodies, and soaring organ, guitar, and vocal showpieces.

The album opens with the superb “Yours is no Disgrace” and this track really proved that Yes now had become one of the greatest progressive rock bands ever. It featured powerful riffs, complex instrumental-parts, excellent organ and synth-work from Kaye and Howe’s playing varies from tasteful and atmospheric to raw and energetic.

Howe’s acoustic instrumental “Clap” also allowed him to demonstrate his unique style of playing. In many parts of the song “Clap”, Steve Howe uses an open-string guitar chord method to achieve an airy effect, resulting in a sound wherein the listener might believe that the song is being played as a guitar duet. The song was given its name because when Howe initially played it, his infant son Dylan began clapping along.

“Starship Trooper” was the first Yes-track divided into several parts and included the legendary riff of the closing-part “Würm”. “I’ve Seen All Good People” combined the lovely and atmospheric acoustic part called “Your Move” with the rocking energy of “All People” and demonstrated Yes’ phenomenal dynamics very well. “Perpetual Change” was yet another very strong and complex track.

Most of the material on the album would make an important part in their live-set for years to come.

After this album, organ/piano player Tony Kaye left the band. He was a skilled improviser, with Peter Banks (who left the band after “Time and A Word”) , they eventually formed their own progressive rock band, Flash.

Line-up:
- Jon Anderson / percussion, vocals
- Bill Bruford / percussion, drums
- Steve Howe / guitar (acoustic), guitar, guitar (electric), vocals
- Chris Squire / bass, guitar (bass), vocals
- Tony Kaye / organ, synthesizer, piano, keyboards, Moog synthesizer

Track List:
01. Yours Is No Disgrace (9:36)
02. Clap (Live) (3:07)
03. Starship Trooper: Life Seeker / Disillusion… (9:23)
04. I’ve Seen All Good People: Your Move / All… (6:47)
05. A Venture (3:13)
06. Perpetual Change (8:50)
07. Your Move (Bonus Single Version) (2:59)
08. Starship Trooper: Life Seeker (Bonus Single Version) (3:27)
09. Clap (Bonus Studio Version) (4:01)

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Bill Bruford, Chris Squire, Jon Anderson, Steve Howe, Tony Kaye, Yes

Yes – Time and A Word (1970) (@256)

06 Oct 2007

(Review from vintageprog.com, wikipedia)

Rather than stay with the same successful formula of the first album, Yes dipped their toes into unknown waters by adding an orchestra to their compositions. Their second album (and the last with original guitarist Peter Banks) was the first where the band began to move into a more symphonic direction. The sound on the album is dominated a lot by the tasty Hammond-work and the orchestral arrangements from Tony Kaye.

Just as with the first album, “Time and a Word” also included two cover-versions.

‘No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Needed’, is a superb opening salvo and arguably sounds more confident than anything on their debut album. The band and the orchestra are fully integrated here, blasting out the theme tune for the famed Western ‘The Big Country’ with gusto. The main song itself is a re-interpretation of a Richie Havens song, and Jon Anderson makes the song his own, with some superb shifting bass from Chris Squire. Tony Kaye’s Hammond organ adds gravitas and guts to proceedings, too.

‘Everydays’ is a cover of a Buffalo Springfield song, but the band make it their own yet again. It switches from a loping, jazzy groove to a full-on Vanilla Fudge style stop-start instrumental assault with Peter Banks and Bill Bruford on particularly strong form.

Some tracks here hint at their loftier, more ambitious later works. ‘Then’ has complex instrumental sections with lots of intricacies. ‘Astral Traveller’ is swirling with Lesley-speaker enhanced vocal and languid guitar groove.

With the ambitious decision to use string arrangements on most of the album’s songs, Peter Banks’ role as a guitarist was diminished. Tensions within the band increased, and just after the album’s recording was completed in early 1970, Banks was asked to leave, which he reluctantly did.

Line-up:
- Jon Anderson / vocals, percussion
- Chris Squire / bass, vocals
- Peter Banks / guitars, vocals
- Tony Kaye / piano, organ
- Bill Bruford / drums, percussion

Track List:
01. No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Needed (4:47)
02. Then (5:42)
03. Everydays (6:05)
04. Sweet Dreams (3:48)
05. The Prophet (6:32)
06. Clear Days (2:04)
07. Astral Traveller (5:50)
08. Time and a Word (4:31)

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Bill Bruford, Chris Squire, Jon Anderson, Peter Banks, Tony Kaye, Yes

Yes – Yes (1969) (@192)

04 Oct 2007

(Review from wikipedia, allmusic.com, rollingstone.com, vintageprog.com)

Based on their shared vision for creating a new sound, vocalist Jon Anderson and bassist Chris Squire formed a new band in 1968, bringing in their former bandmates Peter Banks and Tony Kaye. Banks came up with the name Yes, with the rationale that it would stand out on posters. Drummer Bill Bruford was recruited from an ad he had placed in Melody Maker.

Yes played their first show at East Mersey Youth Camp in England on August 4, 1968. Soon thereafter, they opened for Cream at their 1968 Farewell Concert from Royal Albert Hall. The group earned a reputation for taking other people’s songs and drastically changing them into expanded, progressive compositions. In September, they subbed for an absent band at Blaise’s and as a result of that appearance gained a residency at The Marquee club. Soon after, they made their first radio appearance on John Peel’s programme and, when Melody Maker selected them and Led Zeppelin as the two bands “Most Likely To Succeed”, it appeared that their future was assured.

Yes’ debut album is surprisingly strong, given the inexperience of all those involved at the time. In an era when psychedelic meanderings were the order of the day, Yes delivered a surprisingly focused and exciting record that covered lots of bases in presenting their sound. Their sound seems to be a mix of several of the most currently popular approaches, notably Crosby, Stills and Nash (vocally) and Vanilla Fudge (instrumentally). Unlike the Fudge, they have a sense of style, taste and subtlety, and the record is a pleasurable one, if a bit familiar-sounding. This is the kind of album that sometimes insinuates itself into your routine with a totally unexpected thrust of musical power. Because all of it is excellently done: brisk fuzz leads, whirring bass, a bit of the Beatles vocally, a touch of Wes Montgomery in the guitar solos—a definitive album, in fact, in the prevalent style of “hip” groups over the past two years. Some of the Yes-trademarks can already been heard here, like the falsetto vocal-harmonies and the powerful and distinctive bass-playing of Squire.

There are two covers, which the band use to demonstrate their penchant for massively reworking others’ songs; The Beatles’ “Every Little Thing” is turned into a grungy wall of sound with several tempo changes, and The Byrds’ “I See You” becomes a jazzy psychedelic workout for Banks and Bruford to display their instrumental virtuosity.

“Yes” marked a decent starting point for a band that would become one of the greatest progressive rock bands ever.

Line-up:
- Jon Anderson / vocals
- Chris Squire / bass and vocals
- Tony Kaye / keyboards
- Bill Bruford / drums
- Peter Banks / guitars

Track List:
01. Beyond and Before (4:50)
02. I See You (6:33)
03. Yesterday and Today (2:37)
04. Looking Around (3:49)
05. Harold Land (5:26)
06. Every Little Thing (5:24)
07. Sweetness (4:19)
08. Survival (6:01)

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Bill Bruford, Chris Squire, Jon Anderson, Peter Banks, Tony Kaye, Yes

King Crimson – Three of a Perfect Pair (1984) (@256)

08 Jun 2007

Request of Anil.

(Review from progarchives.com)

One half pop driven art rock and the other half abstract instrumental works. This is the last album of the 80′s Crimson line-up, the next album would consist of the double trio. Adrian Belew, who often doesn’t get enough credit for his guitarwork, makes notice on this album with precision playing while singing; Robert Fripp continues his refined and identifiable style as well as creates rich synth atmospheres; Tony Levin uses the standard bass guitar more than the stick on this album, and his technique is superb, often using a popping/slap sound to give the songs a meaty feel; and Bill Bruford, who drums with precision, although the sound of his kit on this album is not up to par with the rest of the band.

The first half of the album consists of vocal driven songs, the highlights of which being Three of a Perfect Pair, which features a startingly tricky 6/8 riff that Belew plays and sings with remarkable ease. Man With an Open Heart is one of the poppier tunes on the album, but it has a consistent riff (although part of it reminds me of Thomas Dolby’s “She Blinded Me With Science”) and some strong lyrics and vocals. Sleepless was the single from the album, and it is a strong track. Starting with an amazingly catchy Levin bass line, and some great guitar work from the two wizards, this and the next song, the instrumental Nuages, end the first side. The second side opens with Industry, which is a very slow instrumental. It starts out with snare and synth, but as time progresses, the sounds get more and more layered and many things go on at once. It’s a favorite of mine on the album. Dig Me is the closest thing King Crimson ever got to a Captain Beefheart type atmosphere. Belew’s disjointed, almost atonal, chords mix with the mayhem during the verses, but the chorus is catchy and makes the song worthwhile. No Warning is essentially a prelude to “Larks Tongue in Aspic Part III”, which is a continuation of the famed “Larks Tongue in Aspic” series. This is a more synthesized effort, but it nonetheless captures the “Larks Tongue in Aspic Part III” atmosphere from 10 years before.

Overall, this is a very strong finale to the 80′s incarnation of King Crimson.

Line-up:
- Adrian Belew / lead vocals, fretted and fretless guitars
- Bill Bruford / acoustic and electronic drums
- Robert Fripp / guitar
- Tony Levin / Stick, bass, synths, backing vocals

Track List:
01. Three of a perfect pair (4:11)
02. Model man (3:56)
03. Sleepless (5:20)
04. Man with an open heart (3:00)
05. Nuages (that which passes, passes like clouds) (4:42)
06. Industry (7:22)
07. Dig me (2:59)
08. No warning (3:28)
09. Larks’ tongues in aspic part III (6:01)
10. The King Crimson Barber Shop (Bonus) (1:37)
11. Industrial Zone A (Bonus) (1:44)
12. Industrial Zone B (Bonus) (4:33)
13. Sleepless (Bonus Tony Levin Mix) (7:26)
14. Sleepless (Bonus Bob Clearmountain Mix) (5:24)
15. Sleepless (Bonus Dance Mix – F. Kevorkian) (6:17)

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Adrian Belew, Bill Bruford, King Crimson, Robert Fripp, Tony Levin

Yes – Close to the Edge (1972) (@256)

30 Apr 2007

14 comments

(Review from progarchives.com)

Yes formed in 1968, was well-known and influential mainstream progressive from the 1970′s, and still around in some form ever since.

I know it’s all been said before, but this really is the pinnacle. The title track in particular is pure prog perfection. Wakeman especially never sounded better, but the whole band excels both in terms of composition and performance.

I have heard it said that it was Eddie Offord who took the various pieces Yes were working on, and spliced them together to form the track we all now know so well as “Close to the edge”. If that is true, it is time his vision was recognised properly. The structure of the track stand as an example, followed by many but never surpassed, of how to put together the ultimate prog epic.

“And you and I” is the only track worthy of following Close To The Edge. The power here can be almost overwhelming. By the way, if you have yet to hear the Yessymphonic version, you should do so without delay.

“Siberian Khatru” rounds off the album superbly, being a slightly simpler up tempo number, but with a sting in the tail (fly?).

Anderson is at his most lyrically obscure here, the words being selected because of their sound rather than their meaning. In most cases, this might point to a potential lack of coherence, but in this case more simplistic lyrics would somehow seem trite and unworthy.

This expanded remaster includes the single version of Yes’ interpretation of Simon and Garfunkel’s “America”, an alternative version of “And You And I”, a single(!) version of “Total Mass Retain” (which sounds completely out of place on its own), and a studio run through of “Siberian Khatru”.

Line-up:
- Jon Anderson / vocals
- Chris Squire / bass, vocals
- Rick Wakeman / keyboards
- Bill Bruford / drums
- Steve Howe / guitars, vocals

Track List:
01. Close To The Edge (18:50)
02. And You And I (10:09)
03. Siberian Khatru (8:57)
04. America (Bonus Single Version) (4:12)
05. Total Mass Retain (Bonus Single Version) (3:21)
06. And You and I (Bonus Alternative Version) (10:17)
07. Siberia (Bonus Studio Run-trough of “Siberian Khatru”) (9:19)

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Bill Bruford, Chris Squire, Jon Anderson, Rick Wakeman, Steve Howe, Yes

U.K. – U.K. (1978) (@256)

21 Apr 2007