King Crimson – An Xperience Article

King Crimson – An Xperience Article – by Tony Mastrianni.

Speaking on behalf of King Crimson, Robert Fripp recently indicated he has begun work to record King Crimson’s first studio album in more than 20 years, their first since 2003’s ”The Power to Believe.” Recovering from a recent heart attack in May of this year, the “Crimson King” is now back. The musicians on the forthcoming album will be the same as those who completed King Crimson’s then-final tour in 2021. In addition to band leader and guitarist Robert Fripp, the players will consist of singer Jakko Jakszyk, bassist Tony Levin, saxophonist Mel Collins, and the three drummers Pat Mastelotto, Gavin Harrison, and Jeremy Stacey. Jakszyk’s 2011 solo album, “A Scarcity of Miracles,” which featured Fripp, Levin, Collins, and Harrison, and has been unavailable for some time, will also be reissued. It is promised that the new version of this record will include lots of improvisation and seriously alternate versions of songs that were not released.

Bombastic but calculated, Fripp was right on when he declared long ago that the creative impulse of “writing and playing in the formative years of King Crimson came from young men who didn’t know what they were doing, yet were able to do it.” The year was 1969 when this talent-laden lad from the UK was the force behind the band’s debut album, “In the Court of the Crimson King.” They blew the lids off their very heads with the idiosyncratic sounds of what was later defined as “progressive rock.” The opening track, “21^st Century Schizoid Man,” was a sound never heard before. As was the track “Epitaph.” Distortion and thunderous syncopation of heavy guitar, off-beat chord structures blended with mellotron and the blissful discordant cacophony, and the distortion of bass guitar married to drums. The debut title track sent the other so-called “prog rockers” like the Moody Blues and Yes running for cover. Pink Floyd recalibrated and stood tall, surviving the departure of madman Syd Barrett, though the Nice and Van Der Graaf Generator winked an eye. The album also featured Greg Lake’s lofty vocals and acoustic guitar on “I Talk To The Wind.” It was a blend of British creativity and splendor. The cadence was subtle but fragrantly beautiful and arresting. Mel Collins added a bouquet of fresh arrangements with his assortment of sax and woodwind instruments, with tinges of jazz refrains. The Giles brothers, Mike and Peter, kept pace with drums and bass, respectively.

I could go on about this album, which was the first to actually become real “P-R-O-G.” After seeing King Crimson in 1969, Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett was quoted as telling the then-band leader, Peter Gabriel, “We have to get a mellotron!” Incidentally, after Genesis’ career-defining album, “The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway,” was finished, Genesis became a commercial success as a very non-erotic drummer-turned-singer and band leader, Phil Collins, took over as Gabriel explored new territories with a critically acclaimed solo career.

I interviewed singer Greg Lake years later, when he first formed Emerson Lake & Palmer (ELP), another highly successful and monumental P-R-O-G band, this one with a classical backdrop. Anyway, Greg Lake was something special. I expected a less humble response to my questions. I remember asking him what famous British poets had inspired him to write such elegant lyrics and music. He shocked me by telling me he just wrote whatever came into his head. Though Greg and Robert (Fripp) had too much talent to co-exist in the same band, their parting was mutual, and Greg has forever taken his well-deserved place in the annals of British progressive rock history. And honestly, in their early years, they had a full-time poet as part of King Crimson in Peter Sinfield, who left, too. Brothers Mike and Peter Giles, who created the template for progressive rock drumming and bass, stayed on for a while longer. The early albums were alluring. There were many enchanted lyrics, and Fripp was still oscillating between avant-garde jazz-rock and idiosyncratic chaos. Coinciding with the early work, there were some simply beautiful tracks—“Cadence and Cascade” and “Ladies of the Road” come to mind.

Anyway, Crimson’s other early 1970s albums were intricately woven, as the follow-up records were also quite thunderous and lovely at once (a rare combination). Gordon Haskell replaced Lake on vocals. “Lizard” was a great album – progressive rock par excellence. Issued in 1970, this album was preceded by “In the Wake of Poseidon”and was followed by “Islands.”

These albums featured off-beat syncopation and the songs were often trademarked by Fripp’s beautiful, blasting guitar chords. Extra dimensions were added with a bit of breathtaking and blissful flute from Ian McDonald and some downright pretty sax refrains by Mel Collins. The band splintered further. They phased out some of the vocals and were becoming a less binary group. Singer Gordon Haskell had left and had a successful career with his solo efforts in Europe. Percussion became more intricate with the addition of Jamie Muir, and by the time “Larks Tongues in Aspic” was recorded, the vocals were nearly gone. They were fading faster than forever after “Lizard.” It was obvious the group splintered as Haskell and Andy McCulloch left and were replaced by Ian Wallace and future Bad Company bassist, Boz Burrell.

With “Starless and Bible Black,” Fripp began courting some extremely talented, unabashed players like bassist John Wetton and David Cross on violin, who both shared his passion for improvisational music. This spawned a handful of albums by the reformatted band, though they remained the innovative group of the early years. There was always something magical and passionately brilliant in all the band’s releases and concerts. That feeling of aesthetic brilliance is often exuded.

The prize for owning the collection of the early King Crimson magic was issued in 2024 as “King Crimson 1969-1972,” a six-disc LP limited edition box set consisting of the band’s first four studio albums, and a 2-LP 200-gram vinyl collection of rare and alternate versions of songs and some previously unreleased material. When issued by their record company, Discipline Global Music, the price was hefty bucks, and it has since fetched far more on the secondary market, already out of print.

Later in 2024, a second companion box set was issued, titled “King Crimson 1972-1974.” It is a (vinyl) 6-LP limited edition. This set contains three studio LPs: “Larks’ Tongues in Aspic,” which takes center stage with two different takes, as well as “Red” and “Starless and Bible Black.” However, the real prize herein is a 2-LP 1994 live album filled with previously unreleased, rare, unedited concert performances recorded at, of all places, Asbury Park.

However, do not fret over price and scarcity, as there is a 2-CD import set, “The Condensed 21^st Century Guide to King Crimson 1969-2003.” It contains 32 studio tracks, including singles, alternate takes, abridged versions, and rare songs. It comes with a complete information booklet chronicling the band’s greatest moments in the studio. This, too, is a Discipline Global Music import and is widely available on eBay and DISCOGS.

Also of note, two major players in the previous King Crimson iteration, Adrian Belew (guitar) and Tony Levin (bass), formed a new band, Beat, with Steve Vai, as King Crimson took a pause—at least for now.

The pre–King Crimson, long-out-of-print album, “The Cheerful Insanity of Giles, Giles & Fripp” (Panegyric import LP or CD) was recently reissued. It is the first stand-alone re-release of the songs from Giles, Giles & Fripp’s 1968 debut album, now with spoken word sections removed. This new 2025 remaster includes six bonus tracks. While 1967 is rightly remembered for an abundance of classic albums, there were also quieter debut LPs emerging, signaling popular music’s imminent changes to a more rock-oriented, musician-centered approach. It was the year that Robert Fripp applied for a “singing organist” role advertised by brothers Peter and Michael Giles, despite having no experience either as a singer or organist. Experiencing a few challenges and disappointments on the way, the year was an exciting one for the trio, who recorded a series of demo tapes which eventually led to them being offered a record deal with Decca Records. In 1968, “The Cheerful Insanity Of Giles, Giles & Fripp” album was released, bringing a mix of folk and psychedelic pop interspersed with Goon-ish humor, a slightly confusing cocktail of seriousness and comedy, but nonetheless an album showing some beautiful harmonies and fine guitar playing. For all its lack of commercial success, the album has been reissued on several occasions – though never in an edition that focuses purely on the songs. For this updated 2025 release, the somewhat dated spoken word/humorous interludes have been removed, which has allowed for the songs to flow as an album, revealing it as a charming, sometimes whimsical example of late British psychedelic music.

Also of note, yes, Robert Fripp has a lighter side for a magnanimous genius band leader. Just check out him and his wife, Toyah Willcox, on YouTube’s “Sunday Lunch,” doing satires of rock and roll bands. Zany stuff and brilliant British comedy shorts, like a skit of the Ramones’ “I Want To Be Sedated.”

The Crimson King shall live forever. I had the privilege of interviewing Robert Fripp in the late 1980s. Classic gentleman. They are ready now, as Robert is recovering well from a recent heart attack in May of this year. However, for the first time since 2004, the band is working together in the studio. Stay tuned. Hopefully, they will come back to the Egg in Albany again, like they did in 202,1 as they continued performing live after their two-decade-long recording hiatus. King Crimson is again busy in the recording studio. If all goes well, we can expect a new album and an extensive tour in early 2026. Rejoice The Crimson King is alive and well, once again!

 

 

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