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King Crimson

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For the Stephen King character, see Crimson King.
King Crimson

King Crimson are a musical group founded by guitarist Robert Fripp and drummer Michael Giles in 1969. Their style has typically been categorized as progressive rock, although it also has diverse influences from jazz, classical, experimental, psychedelic, New Wave, heavy metal, gamelan and folk music. Although King Crimson has garnered little radio or music video airplay, they have a devoted following.[1] Their debut album, In the Court of the Crimson King, is widely regarded as a landmark in the history of the progressive rock genre; their later excursions into even more unconventional territory have been influential on many contemporary musical artists.[2]

In the late 1960s the band were very influential in popularising a previously unknown mellotron rock style; throughout the early 1970s their membership fluctuated with forays into jazz and funk at times before becoming a more stable unit in the mid 1970s, developing an improvisational sound influenced by heavy metal before breaking up. The band reformed in the early 1980s for three years, with a New Wave and gamelan-influenced sound, before breaking up again for around a decade. The 1990s saw King Crimson meld aspects of their 1980s and 1970s sound, which has continued into the 2000s, during which time several splinter groups of King Crimson known as "ProjeKcts" appeared.

Though its membership has fluctuated considerably throughout its existence, the band continues to perform and record music. The only constant member of King Crimson has been Fripp, who has arranged several disparate lineups of King Crimson, often working in different genres. However, he has stated that he does not necessarily consider himself the band's leader, describing King Crimson as "a way of doing things",[3] and noting that he never originally intended to be seen as the head of the group.[4]

History

1960s

Michael Giles, a drummer, and his brother and bassist Peter put out an advertisement for a singing organist. Robert Fripp, a guitarist who did not sing, responded. The trio of Giles, Giles and Fripp was formed. They recorded one album together, The Cheerful Insanity of Giles, Giles and Fripp.[1] Fripp said of the encounter: "The Giles Brothers were looking for a singing organist. I was a non-singing guitar player. After 30 days of recording and playing with them I asked if I got the job or not — joking like, you know? And Michael Giles rolled a cigarette and said, very slowly, 'Well, let's not be in too much of a hurry to commit ourselves, shall we?' I still don't know if I ever got the job."[5]

The initial band was changing, however, as their debut record had not been particularly successful, even being eschewed by Keith Moon of The Who in a magazine review.[1] Fripp had seen the band 1-2-3 (later known as Clouds) at the Marquee, which inspired some of Crimson's penchant for classical melodies and jazz-like improvisation.[6] The first musician to be added to their new lineup was the multi-instrumentalist Ian McDonald on keyboards, reeds and woodwinds, who had been writing songs, with lyricist Peter Sinfield who also joined the new group, in a band called Infinity, which briefly included Fairport Convention singer Judy Dyble.[1] McDonald had said to Peter in 1968 of his band Creation: "Peter, I have to tell you that your band is hopeless, but you write some great words. Would you like to get together on a couple of songs?" One of the first songs McDonald and Sinfield wrote together was "In the Court of the Crimson King".[7] Fripp's childhood friend, singer-guitarist Greg Lake, was recruited by the others and replaced Peter Giles on bass, also singing for the band.[1] Thus, the first incarnation of the band was "conceived" on November 30, 1968 and first rehearsed on January 13th, 1969.[1][4] Shortly afterward, they purchased a mellotron, and began using it to create an original orchestral rock sound. Template:Sound sample box align right Template:Sample box end The name King Crimson was coined by lyricist Peter Sinfield as a synonym for Beelzebub, prince of demons. According to Fripp, Beelzebub would be an anglicised form of the Arabic phrase "B'il Sabab", meaning "the man with an aim".[8] However, the original name is understood to be from ba'al zebul, "Lord of the High Place". (The name was later popularly corrupted to ba'al zevel, "Lord of the Dungheap", and ba'al zevuv, "Lord of the Flies", because the god's statue was constantly covered in blood.)[9] Template:Sound sample box align right

King Crimson "The Court of the Crimson King" (1969)
37 second sample from King Crimson's "The Court of the Crimson King".
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Template:Sample box end King Crimson made their live debut on April 9th, 1969[4] and made a breakthrough by playing the free concert in Hyde Park, London, staged by The Rolling Stones in July 1969 before 650,000 people.[1] The first King Crimson album, In the Court of the Crimson King was released in October on EG Records, described by Fripp as "an instant smash" and "New York's acid album of 1970", despite the fact that Fripp and Giles claim that the band never used psychedelic drugs.[4] The album received public compliments from Pete Townshend, guitarist with The Who, who called the album "an uncanny masterpiece."[10] The sound of the album has been described as setting the "aural antecedent" for alternative rock and grunge, whilst the softer tracks are described as having an "ethereal" and "almost sacred" feel,[11] and this album is also credited with starting the entire progressive rock movement that was popular in the early 1970s.[12]

After playing shows in England, the band embarked on a tour of the United States, performing alongside many contemporary popular musicians and musical groups, and "astounding audiences and critics" with their original sound.[1] Personal tensions within the band eventually reached a limit, however; the original lineup played their last show together on December 16, 1969[4] as Ian McDonald and Michael Giles left King Crimson to pursue solo work, recording the McDonald and Giles studio album in 1970. McDonald went on to be a founding member of Foreigner in 1976.[13]

1970s

Template:Sound sample box align right Template:Sample box end King Crimson's lineup fluctuated greatly during the years immediately following the breakup of the original band. The remaining trio of Fripp, Sinfield, and Lake persevered for a short while, releasing the single Cat Food/Groon in early 1970.[1] During this time, material was being developed for King Crimson's second album, In the Wake of Poseidon, often seen as being very similar to the band's debut album.[1] Woodwind player Mel Collins took part in the recording sessions, singer Gordon Haskell took vocals on one song and Giles, Giles & Fripp bassist Peter Giles appeared on several tracks.[14] Elton John was considered as a singer for the album.[15] Lake departed in early 1970 to form Emerson, Lake & Palmer, leaving King Crimson without a vocalist until Gordon Haskell took over singing, in addition to playing bass, for the band's third album, Lizard,[1] which had heavy jazz and classical influences and is described as being an "acquired taste".[1] Also, Andy McCulloch played drums for the album, with Jon Anderson of Yes performing vocals on one song.[1] Haskell and McCulloch left King Crimson before Lizard was released, however.[1]

Drummer Ian Wallace and vocalist Boz Burrell were selected for the new band,[1] among others who were unsuccessful including Brian Ferry and Rick Kemp.[1] Fripp decided to teach Burrell, who was only a singer and did not play an instrument, to play bass.[1] King Crimson undertook their first tour since 1969 in early 1971 with the new lineup, and that year the band released a new album, Islands, which is noted for its heavy Mellotron sound.[1] At the end of that year, King Crimson parted ways with long-time member and lyricist Peter Sinfield,[1] who then reunited with Greg Lake in becoming the primary lyricist for Emerson, Lake & Palmer.[16] The remaining members undertook a tour of the United States the following year, with the intention of disbanding afterwards.[1] Recordings from this tour were later released as the Earthbound live album,[1] noted and criticised[17] for its bootleg-level sound quality and a sound close in style to funk, with scat singing on the improvised pieces.[18] Shortly after the Earthbound tour, Collins, Wallace and Burrell left King Crimson to form a band called Snape, with British blues guitarist Alexis Korner.[1] Burrell would later become the bassist of Bad Company.[1] Template:Sound sample box align right

King Crimson "Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Part One" (1973)
30 second sample from King Crimson's "Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Part One".
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Template:Sample box end Once again, Fripp began the task of looking for new members. These included improvising percussionist Jamie Muir,[1] vocalist and bassist John Wetton, formerly of the band Family and a college acquaintance of Fripp,[19] violin, viola and keyboard player David Cross[1] and drummer Bill Bruford,[1] who had chosen to leave the commercially successful[20] Yes for the comparatively unstable and unpredictable King Crimson. With Sinfield gone, the band recruited new lyricist Richard Palmer-James,[1] a friend of Wetton.

Rehearsals and touring began in late 1972[1] and the album Larks' Tongues in Aspic was released early the next year.[21] The album was noted for its revolutionary sound, which was a significant change from what King Crimson had done before,[1] and had influences from the heavy metal[22] sound that was in its infancy. Muir left the group in early 1973[1] following an on-stage injury and joined a Buddhist monastery in Scotland,[23] and during the lengthy tour that followed, the remaining members began assembling material for their next album, Starless and Bible Black, released in January 1974,[1][24] earning them a positive Rolling Stone review.[25] Most of the album was recorded from live performances,[22] although in many respects it was treated as just another studio album with the live factor dismissed.[3] Template:Sound sample box align right Template:Sample box end During the band's 1974 tour of Europe and America, David Cross left the group after a performance in Central Park in New York,[1] and left the remaining trio to record a new album, Red.[1] The record included guest appearances by musicians from previous albums: Robin Miller on oboe, Marc Charig on cornet and former King Crimson member Mel Collins on soprano saxophone, David Cross on the live track "Providence", and Ian McDonald, from the original incarnation of the band, who guested on alto saxophone.[26] Red has been described as "an impressive achievement" for a group about to disband,[27] with "intensely dynamic" musical chemistry between the band members[28] that resulted in a record "aggressive and loud enough to strip the wallpaper off your living room wall".[29] McDonald had plans to rejoin as a full-time member of King Crimson while 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.[3] The Red line-up never toured, and two months before the album's release Fripp announced that King Crimson had "ceased to exist"[30] and was "completely over for ever and ever",[10] so the group disbanded on September 25, 1974.[1] However, a posthumous live album documenting this version of King Crimson's final tour of the United States[18], USA, was released in 1975 to critical acclaim, reviewers calling it "a must" for fans of the band[31] and "insanity you're better off having".[32]

1980s

Early in 1981, Fripp considered forming a new group, with no intention of reforming King Crimson;[3] however a step that led to this was contacting Bill Bruford to ask if he wanted to join the band that was forming.[3] After Bruford joined, the pair recruited Tony Levin, who had been a session musician for John Lennon and Yoko Ono,[33] Peter Gabriel and others.[34] Besides being a bass player, Levin brought a new sound with the use of the Chapman Stick, described as an "utterly original style" created by "one of New York City's most sought-after studio musicians".[35] Fripp also contacted guitarist Adrian Belew, who was on tour with Talking Heads and had previously worked with David Bowie and Frank Zappa.[36] Fripp had never been in a band with another guitarist before, so the decision to seek a second guitarist was indicative of Fripp's desire to create a sound unlike previous incarnations of King Crimson,[3] and Belew, who also became the band's singer and lyricist, joined following his tour with Talking Heads, and the four played live in spring 1981 using the name Discipline,[37] supported by The Lounge Lizards.[38] Template:Sound sample box align right

King Crimson "The Sheltering Sky" (1981)
33 second sample from King Crimson's "The Sheltering Sky".
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Template:Sample box end By October 1981, the band had begun using the name King Crimson.[1] The group released a trilogy of albums: Discipline in 1981, Beat in 1982 and Three of a Perfect Pair in 1984. Beat marked the first King Crimson album to have been recorded with the exact same band members as the album preceding it,[39] was the first King Crimson album not to have been produced by a member of the group,[39] and was named for the beat generation and its writings.[40] This theme was reflected in the music with song titles such as "Neal and Jack and Me" and "The Howler", with Belew even being asked by Fripp to read Keroauc's novel On the Road.[15]

This version of King Crimson bore some resemblance to New Wave music,[41] which can be attributed in part to the work of both Belew and Fripp with Talking Heads and David Bowie, Levin's work with Peter Gabriel, and Fripp's solo album Exposure and side project League of Gentlemen. With this new band, decribed as having a "jaw-dropping technique" of "knottily rhythmic, harmonically demanding workouts",[28] Fripp intended to create the sound of a "rock gamelan", with an interlocking rhythmic quality to the paired guitars that he found similar to Indonesian gamelan ensembles.[42] After Three of a Perfect Pair, King Crimson disbanded for around a decade, during which time Fripp formed the record label Discipline Global Mobile for King Crimson and related projects[43] besides starting the Guitar Craft music school in 1985.[3]

1990s and 2000s

Template:Sound sample box align right Template:Sample box end King Crimson reformed as a sextet in 1994, after numerous possible lineups were considered, consisting of the 1980s band, but with Chapman stick player Trey Gunn and drummer Pat Mastelotto added.[44] This "double trio" formation released the EP VROOOM in 1994, before the studio album THRAK in 1995 and the challenging, avantgarde[45] live album THRaKaTTaK in 1996. The new King Crimson sound featured elements of the interlocking guitars on Discipline and the heavy rock feel of Red.[44] The album THRAK was described as having "jazz-scented rock structures, characterised by noisy, angular, exquisite guitar interplay" and an "athletic, ever-inventive rhythm section",[46] whilst being in tune with the sound of alternative rock musicians in the mid-1990s.[47] However, the grandiose project of having a King Crimson with six band members did not last for long.

In the late 1990s, Discipline Global Mobile began to feature not only the works of King Crimson, but also of side projects. ProjeKcts One, Two, Three, and Four, each a splinter group (a "fraKctalisation", according to Fripp)[28] of King Crimson, released various recordings, demonstrating the improvisational musical highwire act that the constituent musicians are able to produce. These recordings, similar to the THRaKaTTaK album, have been described as "frequently astonishing" but lacking in melody, and are thus difficult for the casual listener.[28] The DGM record company also founded the King Crimson Collector's Club in 1998, a service that regularly releases live recordings from concerts throughout the band's career, which are now available for download online.[48]

By the time the ProjeKcts were complete, Bruford and Levin had ceased to be involved with King Crimson to work with Earthworks and Peter Gabriel/Seal respectively,[10] so Belew, Fripp, Gunn, and Mastelotto remained, releasing the studio album The ConstruKction of Light (2000),[10] accompanied by the album Heaven and Earth released under the name ProjeKct X in the same year.[49] The ConstruKction of Light was criticised for lacking new ideas,[50] while Heaven and Earth was also criticised.[49] The band toured around this time, and played shows opening for the band Tool in 2001,[51] during which their lead singer Maynard James Keenan humourously commented: "For me, being on stage with King Crimson is like Lenny Kravitz playing with Led Zeppelin, or Britney Spears onstage with Debbie Gibson."[51]

Continuing their activity throughout the decade, in 2002, the EP Happy With What You Have to Be Happy With was released[52] and in 2003, the studio album The Power to Believe came out[53] and the band toured in support of it. In late November 2003, Trey Gunn announced his departure from the band, but both Robert Fripp and Tony Levin reported that Levin will become the active bassist of King Crimson again, making the current line-up consist of Fripp, Belew, Mastelotto and Levin.[54] The new ProjeKct Six, consisting only of Fripp and Belew, toured in 2006 playing shows in the United States and Japan.[55] However, one of these shows was postponed due to the sudden death of Adrian Belew's longtime friend and engineer, Ken Latchney.[56] ProjeKct Six was eventually launched as a live performing unit, touring the U.S. in the fall of 2006, opening for Porcupine Tree.[55]

Also during the 2000s came a reunion of former King Crimson members from the band's first four albums, the 21st Century Schizoid Band, who toured playing material from the band's early period.[57] Former member Boz Burrell died on 21 September 2006 following a heart attack,[58] and five months and a day later, former member Ian Wallace died of esophageal cancer on 22 February 2007.[59]

Music

Fripp has described King Crimson as "a way of doing things",[3] among other quotes he has used to describe the project throughout the decades with many changes in membership, configuration, and instrumentation.

Influences

The music of King Crimson was initially grounded to some extent in the rock of the 1960s, especially the acid rock and psychedelic rock movements, as the band played Donovan's "Get Thy Bearings",[15] and were known to play The Beatles' "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" in their rehearsals.[15] However, unlike the rock bands that had come before them, King Crimson largely stripped away the blues-based foundations of rock music and replaced these with influences from classical composers. The first incarnation of King Crimson played the Mars section of Gustav Holst's suite The Planets as a regular part of their live set,[15] and the influence of Béla Bartók has also been noted by Fripp.[60] As a result of this influence, In the Court of the Crimson King is frequently viewed as the nominal starting point of the symphonic rock or progressive rock movements.[12] However, King Crimson also initially displayed heavy jazz influences, most obvious on the well-known track "21st Century Schizoid Man".[12] King Crimson's music from 1981 onwards also shows an influence of gamelan music[42] as well as late 20th century classical composers such as Philip Glass,[61] Steve Reich,[62] and Terry Riley.[63]

King Crimson have been influential both on the early 1970s progressive rock movement and numerous contemporary artists. Bands such as Genesis and Yes were influenced by the band's initial style of symphonic mellotron rock,[10] while more recently Tool are widely held to have been heavily influenced by King Crimson,[10][51][64][65] with their vocalist Maynard James Keenan even joking that "now you know who we ripped off. Just don't tell anyone, especially the members of King Crimson".[66] Also, Nirvana are also known to have been influenced by King Crimson as a result of Kurt Cobain having mentioned the importance of the Red album to him.[47][67][68] The band Porcupine Tree is influenced by King Crimson,[10] and as with Tool, King Crimson (in the form of ProjeKct Six) have been the support band at their shows.[55]

Musical themes

Some of King Crimson's albums are noted for sounding very similar to one another, whilst others are known for sounding vastly different. To understand this, it needs to be known that while the group constantly creates new sounds and new pieces,[69] several themes have remained constant from the earliest versions of the band to the present.

The most obvious of these themes is composition by the use of a gradually building rhythmic motif.[70] The Holst Mars that the first King Crimson played is a clear example of this, with its complex pulse in 5/4 time over which strings and winds, or mellotron in the case of King Crimson, play a skirling melody above. This piece evolved into "The Devil's Triangle", a piece composed on variations of the central theme of Mars, split into three parts which were increasingly removed from the original Mars, on the In the Wake of Poseidon album. It was followed by many other forms, from "The Talking Drum" in 1973 (on Larks' Tongues in Aspic), "Industry" in 1984 (on Three of a Perfect Pair) all the way to "Dangerous Curves" in 2003 (on The Power to Believe).[71]

A second recurring theme is an instrumental piece, often embedded as a break in a song, in which the band plays a passage of considerable rhythmic and polyrhythmic complexity.[72] One of King Crimson's best-known songs, "21st Century Schizoid Man", is an early example of this. Their series of pieces collectively titled Larks' Tongues in Aspic, as well as pieces of similar intent, such as "THRAK" and "Level Five", go deeper into polyrhythmic complexity, delving into rhythms that wander into and out of general synchronisation with each other, yet through polyrhythmic synchronisation all 'finish' together. These polyrhythms are abundant in the band's 1980s work, which contained gamelan-like rhythmic layers and continual staccato patterns overlaying each other.

Other themes harder to document clearly include the composition of difficult passages for individual instruments (especially Fripp's guitar, notably during "Fracture" on Starless and Bible Black);[3] pieces with a loud, aggressive sound not unlike heavy metal music, and the juxtaposition of ornate tunes and ballads with unusual, often dissonant noises.

Improvisation

From the beginning, King Crimson performances featured improvisations, in which the music can, and frequently does, go anywhere. Improvisations can be embedded into loosely-composed pieces such as "Moonchild" or "THRAK", and even "very structured pieces",[73] but most of the band's performances over the years have included at least one stand-alone improvisation, where the band simply started playing and took the music wherever it went, sometimes including passages of restrained silence (as with Bill Bruford's contribution to the improvised Trio). The earliest example of an unambiguously improvising King Crimson on record is the spacious, oft-criticised[74][75] extended middle-section of "Moonchild" from In the Court of the Crimson King, in which the composed parts act as bookends to the improvisation.

Unlike most rock improvisation or jamming, these sessions are rarely in any sense jazz or blues-based.[76] They vary so much in sound that King Crimson has been able to release several albums consisting entirely of improvised music, such as the THRaKaTTaK album. Occasionally, particular improvised pieces will be performed in different forms at different shows, becoming more and more refined and eventually appearing on official studio releases (the most recent example being Power to Believe III, which originally existed as the stage improvisation Deception of the Thrush, a piece played onstage for a long time before appearing on record).[77]

Membership

King Crimson has had seventeen musicians pass through its ranks as full band members; there are many others who have collaborated with the band at various points in lyric-writing, the studio and in live performance. Most of the musicians who have been members of King Crimson have had notable musical careers outwith the band, to the extent that it has been calculated that there are over a thousand releases on which members and former members of King Crimson appear.[78]

Current band

Robert Fripp, the guitarist and occasional mellotron player, is the only member to have always been in King Crimson, and is often seen as the band leader or "Crimson King",[4] even though when the band first formed in 1969 this was never planned. He has taken part in several completely different performing lineups of King Crimson in which he is the only common factor; for example on the albums In the Court of the Crimson King, Islands, Larks' Tongues in Aspic and The Power to Believe none of the musicians other than Fripp are the same (Peter Sinfield is excluded as he was not a musician as such), making King Crimson a band with only one constant member three times over. Fripp has also had a prolific career as a session musician and has recorded several solo albums, three of which were collaborations with Brian Eno. He also notably created his own New Standard Tuning for guitar.

Adrian Belew has been the band's guitarist and singer since 1981. Fripp considered replacing him with David Sylvian in the early 1990s although Sylvian declined the offer.[15] As with Fripp, Belew has had both work as a session and live musician since the 1970s and a prolific solo career, also touring with his new band, the Adrian Belew Trio, featuring a brother and sister in their early twenties backing him on drums and bass respectively.

Tony Levin has been the band's bass and Chapman stick player since 1981 with the exception of a brief stint outside of King Crimson between 1999 and 2003 when Trey Gunn superceded him before departing from the band. Levin has been accepted as a member of the band since 2003 yet has not worked with King Crimson since this time. Levin is also known for being an extremely prolific session musician and live player, and has worked with many artists, and has been the long-time bass player for Peter Gabriel.

Pat Mastelotto has been King Crimson's drummer since 1994, initially forming part of the "double trio" with Bill Bruford joining him on drums. He was the drummer for the 1980s pop rock band Mr. Mister, and has also been a prolific session musician.

Former members

Greg Lake was King Crimson's first frontman, playing bass and singing lead vocals for their debut in 1969 and doing the vocals on the second album In the Wake of Poseidon in 1970 whilst in transition to forming the trio Emerson, Lake & Palmer (ELP) with former The Nice keyboardist Keith Emerson and Atomic Rooster drummer Carl Palmer. ELP was a highly successful venture throughout the 1970s; in the 1980s he began a solo career before forming Emerson, Lake & Powell then reforming ELP in the 1990s before going solo yet again with his Greg Lake Band.

Michael Giles was King Crimson's original drummer, dating back to the days of Giles, Giles & Fripp. After leaving King Crimson in 1970 he recorded the McDonald and Giles solo album with Ian McDonald and left the music industry to spend time with his wife.[4] He was a member of the King Crimson alumnus group 21st Century Schizoid Band in 2002 before being replaced in that band by Ian Wallace.

Ian McDonald was the band's original multi-instrumentalist, playing saxophone, flute and mellotron before departing with Michael Giles in 1970 to record the McDonald and Giles album. He re-appeared in King Crimson in 1974 and intended to rejoin the band as a full member but did not get the opportunity to do so given Fripp's decision to split the group. He became a founding member of the band Foreigner in 1976, and recorded a solo album in 1998 before joining the 21st Century Schizoid Band in 2002.

Peter Sinfield was the band's original lyricist and also provided the lighting to their stage show. He left in 1971 during the band's tour to promote the Islands album following a dispute with Fripp and became the lyricist with Emerson, Lake & Palmer and recorded a solo album, Still, in 1973. Since then, he has gone on to write lyrics for other artists including Celine Dion.[23]

Mel Collins was Ian McDonald's initial replacement, playing the same three instruments as him on In the Wake of Poseidon, Lizard and Islands before re-appearing as a session musician on the Red album. He has been a member of other bands such as Camel and has done other session work, including the saxophone solo on The Rolling Stones' #1 hit "Miss You",[79] and in 2002 joined the 21st Century Schizoid Band.

Gordon Haskell played bass and provided vocals on the Lizard album in 1970, after guesting on vocals for the track "Cadence and Cascade" from In the Wake of Poseidon. He reportedly did not much like the style of music the band were playing during the recording of that album and found Sinfield's lyrics pretentious and nonsensical, making him utter a laugh at the end of "Indoor Games". Haskell had a long dispute with Fripp over royalties from his time in the band,[15] and has recorded several albums as a solo artist and had a #2 chart hit single in late 2001 in the UK.[80]

Andy McCulloch was Michael Giles' initial replacement, having worked with Manfred Mann, but as with Haskell he only played on the Lizard album for King Crimson. He worked with a number of other artists throughout the 1970s such as Greenslade, Fields and Anthony Phillips, but has not been active as a musician since then.

Boz Burrell played bass and sang on the Islands album in 1971 and the Earthbound tour of 1972; he came into King Crimson as a singer only but Fripp taught him how to play bass. He joined the band Bad Company soon afterwards and found success with them. He died in 2006.

Ian Wallace was the band's third drummer, appearing on Islands and playing on the Earthbound tour. Wallace recorded with many artists including Bob Dylan before his death in 2007.

John Wetton was King Crimson's bassist and vocalist between 1972 and 1974, an alumnus of the groups Mogul Thrash and Family. After King Crimson, he played in Roxy Music, Uriah Heep, U.K., Wishbone Ash and found fame and success as the lead singer and bassist of 1980s arena rock band Asia before having a solo career and joining the reunion of the original Asia in 2006.[81] He has also done much work as a session musician.

Jamie Muir played percussion for King Crimson on the Larks' Tongues in Aspic album released in 1973; he also played live with them briefly around this time, leaving the band before the album was released to join a Scottish monastery. He returned to music in 1981 to record an album with Derek Bailey and is now a painter.[15]

Bill Bruford was King Crimson's drummer from 1972 to 1998. He left the band Yes to join King Crimson, citing a desire not to repeat Close To The Edge and to expand his musical vocabulary and move into jazz-oriented improvisational music. He has participated in other projects during periods of King Crimson's inactivity such as U.K., his own short-lived project Bruford, a Yes reunion and his jazz band Earthworks which he currently plays with.

David Cross played violin, viola, flute, mellotron and electric piano between 1972 and 1974 for King Crimson, leaving prior to the Red recording sessions. He has recorded a solo album since and currently lectures in music at a London university.

Richard Palmer-James was responsible for King Crimson's lyrics between 1972 and 1974, although did not accompany the band on tour. As a long-time friend of John Wetton the two have collaborated on musical projects outside of King Crimson.

Trey Gunn played Warr guitar and Chapman stick for King Crimson between 1994 and 2003, acting as part of the "double trio" formation opposite Tony Levin. The youngest former member of King Crimson, Gunn is an alumnus of Fripp's Guitar Craft school. He left King Crimson in 2003 following the tour for The Power to Believe.

Additional and guest musicians

Peter Giles, brother of Michael Giles and a member of Giles, Giles & Fripp, played bass on King Crimson's second album In the Wake of Poseidon whilst Greg Lake only did vocals on the album. The band's jazz-influenced sound on the albums Lizard and Islands is largely the responsibility of the guest musicians who played with them around this time, including Keith Tippett on piano, Mark Charig on cornet, Robin Miller on oboe, Nick Evans on trombone, Harry Miller on double bass and Paulina Lucas on vocals, some of whom were working with musicians in the Canterbury scene around the same time. Jon Anderson of the band Yes was also responsible for some of the vocals on the title track of the Lizard album, and during 1974 King Crimson were assisted by Eddie Jobson on violin, electric piano, overdubbing some tracks on the USA album. Some of the musicians who played with the band on Lizard re-surfaced to contribute to the Red album. Whilst not a performing musician, Adrian Belew's then-wife Margaret wrote the lyrics to the song "Two Hands" from the Beat album in 1982.

Discography

Main article: King Crimson discography

Studio albums

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai King Crimson Biography. All Music Guide
  2. ^ Prog Archives: King Crimson biography
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Robert Fripp - From Crimson King to Crafty Master".
  4. ^ a b c d e f g From the liner notes of King Crimson's Epitaph live album (1997).
  5. ^ Interview with Robert Fripp in Musician
  6. ^ "The Illustrated History of Rock" - Clouds by Ed Ward
  7. ^ Interview with Peter Sinfield
  8. ^ "Robert Fripp on the King Crimson name".
  9. ^ "Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable", Millennium Edition 2000, revised by Adrian Room; ISBN 0-304-35096-6
  10. ^ a b c d e f g King Crimson biography. Discipline Global Mobile.
  11. ^ In the Court of the Crimson King. All Music Guide.
  12. ^ a b c In the Court of the Crimson King review. ABC Gold & Tweed Coasts.
  13. ^ Foreigner. All Music Guide
  14. ^ Prog Archives: In the Wake of Poseidon
  15. ^ a b c d e f g h Frequently Asked Questions at Elephant Talk, preserved by the Internet Archive.
  16. ^ ELP Biography. All Music Guide.
  17. ^ Earthbound. All Music Guide.
  18. ^ a b Earthbound, USA and THRAK review. BBC Music.
  19. ^ John Wetton biography. Prog Archives
  20. ^ Yes biography. All Music Guide.
  21. ^ Larks' Tongues in Aspic. All Music Guide.
  22. ^ a b Wilson and Allroy's Record Reviews. King Crimson.
  23. ^ a b The Marquee Club: King Crimson biography.
  24. ^ Starless and Bible Black. All Music Guide.
  25. ^ RollingStone.com: Starless and Bible Black.
  26. ^ Prog Archives: Red.
  27. ^ Red. All Music Guide.
  28. ^ a b c d King Crimson biography. Rolling Stone.
  29. ^ Belfast Telegraph, 14th December 1974.
  30. ^ New Musical Express, 28th September 1974.
  31. ^ Acton Gazette, 17th July 1975.
  32. ^ Cashbox, 10th May 1975.
  33. ^ Chris Hunt: John Lennon's Double Fantasy.
  34. ^ Tony Levin biography. All Music Guide.
  35. ^ "Why Robert Fripp Resurrected King Crimson". The New York Times, November 1981.
  36. ^ Adrian Belew biography. All Music Guide.
  37. ^ "Disicipline. Her Majesty's". The Times, 11th May 1981.
  38. ^ "Fripp for Discipline". Sounds magazine, 25th April 1981.
  39. ^ a b Melody Maker, June 19th, 1982
  40. ^ New Musical Express, July 3rd, 1982.
  41. ^ Discipline. All Music Guide.
  42. ^ a b "Robert Fripp - From Crimson King to Crafty Master, Chapter 9".
  43. ^ DGM: About.
  44. ^ a b THRAK. All Music Guide.
  45. ^ THRaKaTTaK. All Music Guide.
  46. ^ THRAK, Q, May 1995.
  47. ^ a b THRAK. Vox, May 1995.
  48. ^ King Crimson. Planet Mellotron.
  49. ^ a b Heaven and Earth. All Music Guide.
  50. ^ The ConstruKction of Light. All Music Guide.
  51. ^ a b c Laura Bond (2001). "Tool Stretch Out And Slow Down In Show With King Crimson". MTV.com. Retrieved 2007-03-23.
  52. ^ Happy With What You Have to Be Happy With. All Music Guide.
  53. ^ The Power to Believe. All Music Guide.
  54. ^ Blog Critics: "Tony Levin rejoins King Crimson".
  55. ^ a b c ProjeKct Six. Krimson News.
  56. ^ Sid Smith (July 27 2006). "Project Six Debut Gig Cancelled". DGMLive. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  57. ^ Biography. 21st Century Schizoid Band official website.]
  58. ^ Sid Smith's blog
  59. ^ Ian Wallace's website
  60. ^ Interview with Robert Fripp. Guitar World, November 1986.
  61. ^ The Modern Word - Music: Philip Glass.
  62. ^ Steve Reich. BBC Music.
  63. ^ Terry Riley Joins Bang On A Can All-Stars For "Pop Art". University of Iowa News Release.
  64. ^ Review of the album Lateralus by Tool. Pitchfork Media.
  65. ^ Debbie Jabbour (2002-10-05). "From My Perspective - Tool Concert" (PDF). Edmonton Journal. Retrieved 2007-06-24. Their roots lie with seminal alternative band King Crimson [...] {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  66. ^ August/September 2001 newsletter. Tool official website.
  67. ^ Interview with Robert Fripp.
  68. ^ Interview with Bill Bruford.
  69. ^ "King Crimson rolls out royal experiment music" (fee required). The Oregonian. 1998-10-30. Retrieved 2007-06-24. King Crimson repeatedly has reappeared in new and vigorous guises. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  70. ^ "Rhythm at the heart of the expanded King Crimson" (fee required). The Boston Globe. 1995-06-03. Retrieved 2007-06-24. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  71. ^ Nick Carter (2003-03-17). "King Crimson a study in contrasts". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved 2007-06-24. [...] the band manages to break free of all the aural fog, as it did on the rhythmically romping "Dangerous Curves" and "The World's My Oyster Soup Kitchen Floor Wax Museum," [...] {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  72. ^ Bruce Whitney (2005-03-17). "Don't miss this one from Cat Stevens: 'Majikat' is pure magic" (fee required). North Adams Transcript. Retrieved 2007-06-24. [...] King Crimson-esque polyrhythm [...] {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  73. ^ Kevin Purcell (2001-12-14). "Interview: Talking with the experimental guitarist of King Crimson" (fee required). University Wire. Retrieved 2007-06-24. Gunn: [...] We have a couple loose-form songs where improvisation can take place. Even within the very structured pieces Pat (Mastelotto) and I change what we do. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  74. ^ John Morthland (1997-06-17). "In the Court of the Crimson King review". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2007-06-24. "Moonchild" [...] is the only weak song on the album. Most of its twelve minutes is taken up with short statements by one or several instruments. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  75. ^ "CD Reviews: Pop CD of the Week" (fee required). Birmingham Post. 2000-08-12. Retrieved 2007-06-24. For those with long enough memories think of King Crimson's Moonchild, the bit no one plays, and you're almost there. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  76. ^ "A different shade of King Crimson: red hot" (fee required). The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. 2001-07-22. pp. L4. Retrieved 2007-06-24. It's not the diddling, noodling kind of improvising often associated with jazz. This has an aggressive, muscular sound that open-minded listeners can find just as rewarding as it is challenging. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  77. ^ The Power to Believe review. Prog Archives.
  78. ^ The Never Complete List of King Crimson-related albums. Rate Your Music.
  79. ^ "Miss You". Time Is On Our Side.
  80. ^ Gordon Haskell official website. Discography.
  81. ^ Original Asia, with John Wetton.

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