King Crimson were a pioneering prog-rock band formed in England in 1969 by guitarist Robert Fripp and drummer Michael Giles. In their many incarnations, their sound incorporated a range of influences including psychedelic, heavy metal, classical, and new wave.
In 1969 King Crimson played their first big gig, to 200,000 people at the Hyde Park concert organized by The Rolling Stones (the concert where Mick Jagger released thousands of butterflies). Their debut album was released a few months later: In the Court of the Crimson King was an instant success, reaching No.3 in the charts and being credited with setting the tone for the prog-rock movement. Subsequent releases were moderately successful but after seven albums, the band split up in 1975.
In 1981 King Crimson reformed with Robert Fripp on guitar, Bill Bruford on drums, Tony Levin on bass and vocals, and Adrian Belew on guitar and vocals. The band now mixed electronic, funk, new wave and experimental ideas for a trilogy of albums: Discipline, Beat, and Three of a Perfect Pair. After recording the third album the band separated.
Fans had to wait until 1994 for King Crimson to reform and release an album of experimental work ThRaKaTTaK. After this, there followed a series of 'projeckts' by individual band members. The group were back again with The ConstruKction of Light in 2000 and The Power to Believe in 2003. At the same time 21st Century Schizoid Band, featuring Michael Giles and a number of other former band members, went on tour performing the group's early output.
In 2005, Robert Fripp began opening Porcupine Tree live shows in the UK. He also was featured on guitar in a studio track for their album Nils Recurring. Robert Fripp then worked with Porcupine Tree frontman Steven Wilson to remix classic King Crimson albums into high quality digital and 5.1 surround, and released as 40th anniversary editions. A Steven Wilson quote from the liner notes of the In the Court of the Crimson King DVD set, "I got the master tapes for Crimson and listening through to 'Schizoid Man'... And you realise that this was basically cut live..." It was done that way because, according to Sid Smith, author of the liner notes, "...these five young men...told one of the most successful record producers of the day that they'd rather go it alone." The clarity of the DVD-A recording is startling, but requires a proper player to hear it. Standard DVD players can only play the CD and DTS versions of the album, all included in the set. Four other King Crimson albums were released this same way: Lizard, Red, In the Wake of Poseidon, and Islands. There are currently no Blu-ray releases.
