King Crimson: Robert Fripp Unveils New Line Up and Plans for Autumn 2014 Shows

DOWNLOAD: King Crimson - "Snowflake", 3/21/01 (Free Download - Requires Signup on DGMLive.Com)
(From DGMLive: This previously unreleased little gem dates from the writing rehearsals of what would be The Power To Believe. That descending chord sequence has a whiff of the coda to People about it but the electronica-tinged beats take it somewhere else entirely.)

I'm pleasantly shocked that Robert Fripp has reactivated King Crimson as I had thought that his 'war' with Universal Group had sidelined the group permanently.

Uncut Magazine reported the following from Mr. Fripp: "King Crimson is returning to active service. We are on-call to be ready for a live performance on September 1, 2014. Seven members. Four English, three American. Three drummers. It’s a different configuration of King Crimson than before. Some are familiar names, maybe more than others. The first performance will take place in either North or South America," Fripp told Uncut. "There will be rehearsals primarily in England, and the final batch of rehearsals will most likely be in America in August or September 2014. There is a plan to include the UK in the tour dates, but it depends on a number of circumstances. Right now the primary geographical focus is the United States."

While I'm disappointed that Adrian Belew isn't back in the lineup, King Crimson VIII is comprised of Fripp, Gavin Harrison, Bill Rieflin, Tony Levin, Pat Mastelotto, Mel Collins and Jakko Jakszyk. Mel Collins return to the lineup strikes me as particularly exciting as he was the saxophonist, flautist, keyboardist, etc. in the 70's Crimso lineups from In the Wake of Poseidon through Red.

Links:
King Crimson

King Crimson Posts ProjeKct Six (Fripp/Belew) Rehersal Track 'Persian E' as Free Download (Recorded 10/2/06)

DOWNLOAD: King Crimson/ProjeKct Six - "Persian E"

I had gotten out of the habit of checking Robert Fripp's DGM Live for free downloads of Fripp/King Crimson related rarities but happened to take a look last night as was pleasantly surprised by this most recent freebee. 

ProjeKct Six was the last of the King Crimson side projekcts prior to Crimson briefly reforming in 2008 and this projekct featured Fripp on guitar and Adrian Belew on drums.  The track, "Persian E", which is posted as a free download is described as "[t]aken from the rehearsals at Adrian Belew’s studio, ProjeKct Six sketch out some of the areas they’d be visiting as support to Porcupine Tree later in the month. The mood is somewhat restrained here but there’s a certain intensity present in the wreathes of soundscapes which billow and hover around Belew’s straight-ahead beats. Fripp’s soloing is on slow-burn mode rather than being set to “incinerate” but an engaging little toe-tapper from the team nevertheless."

Links:
DGM Live / King Crimson

King Crimson Releases Free Download from "The Power To Believe" Sessions

PLAY: King Crimson - "Buzzsaw" (Track hosted on DGMLive)

This week's free download from King Crimson is a "Garage Mix" track from the The Power To Believe sessions (recorded 17 July 2002).

From the same Pat’s Garage Mix as the riotous Happy Nouveau Metal. We think the session dates from the making of The Power To Believe. What a belter this was, is, and might-have-been. Quite why this idea was never worked up into something more complete we’ll never know. As it is though there’s plenty to enjoy - thundering drums, Trey channeling his inner Levin, and some weird-shit soloing that makes you sit up and say “what did they just do back there?” We love the bit at the very end where Robert asks to listen back to it “if only to draw breath!” We know the feeling!

Links:
Robert Fripp
King Crimson

King Crimson - Live Stream from Robert's NYC Soundscape Show // Free Download from The Vicar

I really dropped the ball by not seeing Robert Fripp perform at World Financial Center this past December as I think this clip (hosted by WNYC) from his live show is brilliant. If you go over to WNYC's site, there are some audio interviews with Robert on being sampled by Kanye for "Power" and on finding the original master for In The Court of the Crimson King.

DOWNLOAD: The Vicar - "Show Reel"

This week's free download from DGMLive.com is from The Vicar. I've been a fan of King Crimson for over 25 years and I have absolutely no idea how The Vicar fits within the whole Crimso family but...give it a spin and see if you can figure it out.

This is Stormy's fast ride through the world of The Vicar, Song Book No.1. Encompassing the many moods of this wonderful album in less than ten minutes!

Links:
Robert Fripp
King Crimson

King Crimson Releases Improv Bass Jam with Trey and Tony from Thrak Sessions

PLAY: King Crimson - "Two Sticks" (Track hosted on DGMLive)

This week's free download from King Crimson is an improv bass jam with Trey and Tony from the Thrak sessions (recorded 9 Nov 1994).

What happens when you put two formidably talented Stick players in a room with an idea? They try and try again to iron out the creases and wrinkles. This is Trey and Tony taking time out from the main recording of Thrak to see if they could get an idea to fly. Despite going on for an hour (this is just an extract) it never quite made it from the drawing board stage. Fascinating nevertheless. I don’t know about you, but does this particular idea share some of the same DNA of Trey’s labyrinthine bass line to The ConstruKction of Light?

Links:
Robert Fripp
King Crimson

BrooklynRocks Top 10 List for 2010

There were a lot of great releases this year so it was tough to pick only ten albums. After spending more time than I would have thought narrowing down the list, below is my 2010 Top-10 list (in no particular order):

01) The Art of Shooting – Traveling Show

02) Tim Kasher – The Game of Monogamy

03) Automatic Children – New Is Beautiful

04) Earth - A Bureaucratic Desire for Extra Capsular Extractions

05) The Canon Logic – FM Arcade

06) King Crimson – Islands (40th Anniversary Edition)

07) School of Seven Bells – Disconnect From Desire

08) Lissie – Catching A Tiger

09) J. Roddy Walston and the Business – Self-Titled

10) Early Graves – Goner

Happy New Year Everyone!

King Crimson Releases Snippet of Vocal Track from "In the Court of the Crimson King"

PLAY: King Crimson - "Ah" (Track hosted on DGMLive)

This week's free download from King Crimson is a snippet of the vocal tracking for "In the Court of the Crimson King".

Mister Stormy has dusted off this snippet of the vocal tracking for Court of the Crimson King. Recorded at Wessex in the summer of '69 we can hear Greg, Ian and Mike giving it their all.

Links:
Robert Fripp
King Crimson

King Crimson Releases Demo of "Inner Garden" (from Thrak) as a Free Download

PLAY: King Crimson - "Running DAT 8" (Track hosted on DGMLive)

This week's free download from King Crimson is a studio session from Thrak where the band is working through an early version of "Inner Garden".

After Pat’s count-in, we hear the happy-sad sound of Inner Garden but in this earlier form it comes with double drums. Adrian guides the team through the changes on this work-in-progress rendition that would eventually dispatch the percussive parts in favour of something slightly more open-ended and ambiguous on the Thrak album.

Links:
Robert Fripp
King Crimson

Robert Fripp Releases "Non-Loop Idea" Tracks from 1979 as Free Download

PLAY: Robert Fripp - "Non Loop Idea VIII"
DOWNLOAD: Robert Fripp - "Non Loop Ideas VIII & IX" (Requires Free Registration on DGMLive)

This week's free download from Robert Fripp/King Crimson are some short instrumental pieces that were recorded in 1979.

It’s interesting how ideas might come along but don’t necessarily find their place until many years later. The driving chords of Brightness Falls by Sylvian and Fripp are instantly recognisable on the first of two unplugged outings from 1979. Fifteen years would pass before the record buying public would get a chance to wig out and exchange dandruff to this little head-banger. As far as these ears can tell, Non Loop Idea IX sounds as though it has still to find a proper home, although that ascending run near the end would surely make for a lovely bitter-sweet ballad.

Robert Fripp is coming to NYC in December to "soundscape" in World Financial Centre's Winter Garden. The concerts take place on Friday, December 3rd at 12.30 p.m. and 7.00 p.m. and Saturday, 4th December at 12.30 p.m. and 7.00 p.m. For anyone who hasn't heard Fripp's Soundscapes, check out the powerful performance he gave in November of 2000.

Links:
Robert Fripp
King Crimson

King Crimson: Islands (40th Anniversary Series) CD Review

After watching record labels repeatedly reissue a band’s back-catalog citing allegedly increased sonic fidelity with each reissue (Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin) or appending a limited set of what looks to be haphazardly selected bonus tracks (Blondie, The Replacements), I now approach reissues with a healthy degree of skepticism. In this case, my skepticism was unfounded with the 40th Anniversary Series edition of King Crimson’s Islands.

I’m not going to attempt to review the original six-track album as there is little that I can add to the scores of reviews that have been written over the past forty years. The one thing that I do want to note though is that the sound on this remastered reissue is impressive as it captures the audio warmth of an analog vinyl record with the clarity of a pure-digital recording. I’ve probably listened to my vinyl copy of Islands dozens of times but I heard more separation, depth and clarity on this reissue than I ever heard on the vinyl.

Now for the bonus tracks – there are six bonus tracks (billed as an alternate version of Islands) added to the CD and a second disc (DVD-A) that holds additional unreleased audio tracks. The CD bonus tracks aren’t quite an alternate version of the full Islands album as “Islands” is a 2 minute snippet from the song that focuses on a middle-section with the oboe, “Prelude: Song of the Gulls” is swapped with a previously unreleased track and a number of the other songs are shorter run-throughs than what ended up on the final release. It is fascinating though to hear how these songs evolved as each of these bonus tracks contains notable differences from the previously released versions. The real stand-out track though is the previously unreleased “A Peacemaking Stint Unrolls” as this song contains segments that were later used in “Larks’ Tongue in Aspect” and “Lament”.

CD Bonus Tracks/Islands: The Alternate Album
- Islands (studio run through with oboe prominent);
- Formentera Lady (Take 2);
- Sailor's Tale (alternate mix/edit)
- A Peacemaking Stint Unrolls (previously unreleased)
- The Letters (rehearsal/outtake);
- Ladies of the Road (Robert Fripp & David Singleton remix)

DVD-A Content/Bonus Tracks

2010 Remaster:
- Formentera Lady
- Sailor's Tale
- The Letters
- Ladies of the Road
- Prelude: Song of the Gulls
- Islands

Original album:
- Formentera Lady
- Sailor's Tale
- The Letters
- Ladies of the Road
- Prelude: Song of the Gulls
- Islands

Islands: The Alternate Album:
- Formentera Lady (Take 2)
- Sailor's Tale (alternate mix/edit)
- The Letters (rehearsal/outtake)
- Ladies of the Road (rough mix)
- A Peacemaking Stint Unrolls (previously unreleased)
- Islands (studio run through with oboe prominent)

Route to Islands:
- Pictures of a City (Islands lineup rehearsal - song first recorded with original lineup)
- Sailor's Tale (Islands lineup rehearsal)
- Islands (fragment: Robert Fripp reference cassette—mellotron on vibes setting)
- Formentera Lady (rough mix)
- Sailor's Tale (rough mix)
- Drop In (Early rehearsal by Islands lineup)
- The Letters (Live at Plymouth)
- Sailor's Tale (Live at the Zoom Club)

Additional tracks: Assorted Ladies:
- Ladies of the Road (Robert Fripp & David Singleton remix)
- Ladies of the Road (Take 5)
- Ladies of the Road (Take 1)
- Ladies of the Road (Take 3)
- Ladies of the Road (Take 4)

For years, the only other recording from this lineup was the bootleg sounding live LP Earthbound. While KCCC have rectified this by issuing a number of live albums over the past decade, this set shows just how solid this under-appreciated lineup was in the studio.

In closing, I’m still scratching my head over how Boz could go from playing almost free-form jazz in King Crimson to Bad Company.

Links:
King Crimson

King Crimson Posts Free Download from "Vroom" Recording Session // Robert Fripp Plays Two Shows in NYC in December

LINK: King Crimson - "Running Dat 3" ("Vroom" Special Edit)
(This is a free download [hosted on DGMLive.com] but registration is required)

My favorite comment on this picture is "Smiling? It might not be a good sign." Having watched Robert stop shows in the 80's to admonish photographers, he may be thinking about some form of exquisite torture for whomever took this photo.

Here is how DGM describes the currently posted free download: "A fantastic confection of Vrooom intercut with the day-today drudgery of getting levels prior to recording. Whilst Real World offered a relatively luxurious environment compared to what Crimso were usually used to, the headphones in the Stone Room (where Pat and Bill were located) were problematic from the get-go as you can clearly hear!"

Robert Fripp is also coming to NYC in December to "soundscape" in World Financial Centre's Winter Garden. The concerts take place on Friday, December 3rd at 12.30 p.m. and 7.00 p.m. and Saturday, 4th December at 12.30 p.m. and 7.00 p.m. For anyone who hasn't heard Fripp's Scounscapes, check out the powerful performance he gave in November of 2000.

Links:
Robert Fripp
King Crimson

Robert Fripp Announces Three UK Shows with The Humans (Toyah Willcox) / Free Live Download

Robert Fripp & the Humans - "Is It Wrong", Live in Estonia, 5/1/09

Robert Fripp-King Crimson
Originally uploaded by jamesstamper

Later this month, Robert Fripp is playing three shows with The Humans. This is a somewhat rare series of shows as Fripp hasn't toured th UK as part of a band since King Crimson’s appearance at the Shepherds Bush Empire in 2000.

Here are the details on the upcoming shows:
22 Feb 2010 Assembly, Leamington Spa

23 Feb 2010 The Junction, Cambridge

24 Feb 2010 The Scala, London

Links:
The Humans
DGM Live

John Wetton - Agenda/Amorata/Amata CD/DVD Review (Metal Mind)

This is a limited edition (ltd to 1,000 copies) 2CD/1DVD box set that compiles two live shows that John Wetton recorded in Poland in 2003. Recently, I've approached the slew of John Wetton live CDs with some trepidation as I've gotten a few 'bum' ones (Hazy Monet, Live at XM Satellite Radio) but this set is a real gem. Both shows are soundboard recordings and Wetton sounds in excellent form, both with a full band (Agenda/Amorata) and on his near solo acoustic performance (Amata).

Agenda and Amorata are a CD/DVD set from a show that was recorded live in front of a sizable crowd in Poland in April 2003. The 75+ minute set spans material across Wetton's career and includes songs from King Crimson, UK, Asia and John's solo work. John has grown into his 'elder statesman of rock' role and looks like he is enjoying himself throughout this show. His band is quite top-notch and includes John Mitchell (from Arena) on guitar and Martin Orford (from IQ) on keyboards and flute. The band adds some new life to John's back catalog and does a wonderful job reinterpreting some of the old UK classics. The disc includes great versions of UK's "In the Dead of Night", "Easy Money" and "Rendezvous 602". The set was filmed with multiple cameras and a nice job was done in the editing booth to showcase each of the members of the band. On a related and interesting note, the DVD includes a bonus interview with John Wetton and, while John's candor is fascinating, the video bumps and moves like a hand-held audience bootleg.

Amata was also recorded in Poland during the same April 2003 tour. This is an acoustic performance which features John on vocals and acoustic guitar, Martin Orford on keyboards and backing vocals and John Mitchell on guitar and backing vocals. This set is a bit shorter than the electric set on Amorata and runs for about 40 minutes. The eleven track set starts with two instrumental pieces ("The Circle of St. Giles" and "Mondrago") before going into King Crimson, Asia and solo material. Unlike the electric set, the focus of this performance is John's clear voice and guitar playing. There is a lot of overlap in material between the acoustic and electric sets but the renditions of the songs are completely different so neither feels like a re-hash of the other. Amorata also includes a few more songs from John's solo releases along with a version of King Crimson's "Night Watch".

I don't know what it is about John Wetton and Poland but, next month, John is reuniting with Eddie Jobson for three shows in Poland under the banner of UK's 30th Anniversary. The shows are taking place:
November 3rd--Krakow, Studio Club
November 4th--Warsaw, Palladium
November 5th--Bydgoszcz, Philharmonic Hall

Links:
John Wetton

The Antikaroshi - "Crushed Neocon" CD Review (Exile on Mainstream Records)

This disc was mailed to me a few months back and somehow it slipped through the cracks...it is somewhat of a scary thought but it looks like I'm slowly getting caught up with my CD review pile. The next big project is to move off of Blogger and over to a real .com site. I've gotten pretty fed up with the limitations of Blogger and this "No more than 2,000 labels" is the last straw.

Crushed Neocons is the debut CD from The Antikaroshi, who are a fairly new three-piece band hailing from Potsdam, Germany. It is hard to put a label on The Antikaroshi as their music sounds like the bastard child of King Crimson and Fugazi (and, somewhat sadly, it is significantly better than many of the recent King Crimson releases). The band shifts styles (while retaining their prog/art-rock core) across this disc and embrace elements of dub, electronica and indie-rock.

Musically, The Antikaroshi have a lot in common with the 80's line-up of King Crimson. Bassist Ntik starts the disc with some stand-out rolling bass lines that could give Tony Levin a run for his money. Thea lays in some guitar/keys that ranges between 'Adrian Belew-style' syncopation (which falls somewhere between "Elephant Talk" and Belew's work with the Talking Heads) and Robert Fripp's big crushing "Red"-style guitar riffs. Crushed Neocons is musically adventurous and one of the most exciting debut CDs that I've heard in a while.

While there is little doubt that The Antikaroshi aren't George Bush fans (in addition to the CD title, there is a picture on the cover of a man who looks suspiciously like Dick Cheney falling over and holding his heart), the emphasis of this disc is on the music. Guitarist/vocalist Thea has an urgent vocal delivery style that is similar to Ian MacKaye but, unlike Fugazi, the vocals are layered beneath the churning rhythms of the band which makes it difficult to discern any lyrical themes.

The Antikaroshi played their first live show two years ago today and hopefully they will make it over to the States one of these days. While waiting for the band 's US tour dates, you can check out five of the nine tracks from Crushed Neocons which are streaming on The Anikaroshi's MySpace page.

Robert Fripp Releases Studio Session for "Disengage" (with John Wetton and Phil Collins)

Robert Fripp opened the floodgates to the King Crimson/Fripp vaults a few years ago and steady stream of live material and studio outtakes has followed.

Fripp has just released the "Disengage Online EP" which consists of four studio takes of "Disengage" that were recorded in December 1977 with John Wetton and Phil Collins. The EP is available as an online download in MP3 format for $1 and in FLAC format for $2.

"Consisting of four different takes of the same track, we get to hear the anatomy of Disengage as it begins to breath and stretch. It's interesting to hear each musician trying out little experiments, pockets, retreats and chancing the occasional headlong thrust as the temperature rises or the inclination takes them."

Links:
"Disengage Online EP"