Discipline (40th Anniversary Series)

by

King Crimson

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Several years after the band broke up, Robert Fripp resurrected King Crimson, but in a way no one would have expected. Returning was drummer Bill Bruford, and joining was bassist/stickist/backing vocalist Tony Levin and one of the few who could stand next to Robert Fripp holding his chosen instrument and not look inept, guitarist/vocalist Adrian Belew. Originally a band called Discipline, Fripp realized this was King Crimson and renamed the band. Wrapped in a red sleeve with a Celtic knot on the cover, this album is in many ways as the cover implies-- intertwining and interlocking-- Fripp and Belew's guitars play complex lines that live with each other and don't stand without each other, supported by Levin's thunderous bass and melody vs. countermelody playing on the stick. Below all of this, Bruford is easily holding it all together. The album is one of the true greats of its era, and is certainly among the best Crimson has ever recorded.

From the opener, "Elephant Talk", you know you're in for something different-- Levin's melody/countermelody intro overlayed with two intertwined guitars, elephant squeals on guitar, a half-spoken vocal, and two bizarre guitar solos. Five minutes later, you're overwhelmed, what's amazing is that its got a groove, its a great rhythm, its just plain amazing.

The rest of the album pretty much follows suit in terms of being brilliant to the point of overwhelming while the environment and the mood changes-- interlocking guitars rule several of the songs (the breathtaking "Frame By Frame", with impassioned vocals and some of the fastest guitar licks you'll ever hear, the frantic "Thela Hun Ginjeet", and the title track-- an instrumental where you can really hear Fripp and Belew get into a groove). These are offset by a couple great ballads ("Matte Kudasai", with its beautiful slide guitar seagulls and an almost lazy feel to the vocal, "The Sheltering Sky", featuring a horn-toned Fripp guitar melody). In the middle of all of this is a piece that sounds like it would fit the last generation of Crimson better-- "Indiscipline". Building tension until the release-- an explosion of guitar pyrotechnics and a blazing solo that almost seems out of place here, but works.

Something of note-- this is NOT a progressive rock album (in terms of the genre)-- in fact, its got more in common with new wave acts like the Talking Heads and the Police than it does with Yes and early Genesis. One of the reasons why I love Crimson so much is unlike many of those other progressive rock bands, they didn't stand still, they grew and changed and became something else over time.

Bottom line though-- this is one of the greats, highly recommended.

As a long time fan of progressive or art rock from the likes of Yes, Emerson Lake and Palmer, and more recently, King Crimson, I am always eager to find "new" music. By new I generally mean music from the 1970s that has a sensibility similar to the bands I just mentioned. And although I only recently began listening to King Crimson, I liked them enough to buy their first seven albums.

As I read reviews on Amazon for the first three from the 1980s, I got excited. I didn't bother listening to the supplied snippets as reviewers promised that these albums were even better than anything King Crimson released in the 60s or 70s. Well, suffice it to say I don't necessarily agree with some of the other reviews.

While I wouldn't call any of the three albums I purchased (Discipline, Beat, and Three of a Perfect Pair) bad, they are closer to a funky cross between The Talking Heads and Frank Zappa than anything the band did before. The music is indeed good, but it doesn't appear to be progressive rock anymore. Instead of a mix of classical, rock, and jazz, it's more of a cross between funk, rock, and jazz.

So buyer beware! If you're ready for something more current than what King Crimson released in the 60s and 70s, these albums will deliver that. But if you wanted something a little closer to the great progressive rock of that era, look elsewhere.