King Crimson

[Boilk]

I've just realised it wasn't Thrak, as I mentioned earlier, it was Thrakattak which was the last KC album that I liked - it was all improv. I have a mini-album called Vrooom which has about half a dozen tracks - that was OK.

Three Of a Perfect Pair was the last KC album that I (mostly) liked, although its two predecessors (Discipline and Beat) really were a perfect pair. Subsequently KC albums began to take on more of the pretensions of '70s KC output (e.g. the pointless 'high-brow' string quartet interjections which bore no relation to the band music).

As you doubtless know, Bill Bruford and Tony Levin after leaving KC formed Bruford Levin Upper Extremities. I think that band was more interesting than what KC was doing at the time. David Torn was a great choice for guitarist - very imaginative with his loops and sonic textures. Chris Botti's trumpet was a tad too polite for my liking.

I excitedly got that Bruford Levin Upper Extremities album when it came out, but was disappointed overall. I think in "choosing" David Torn they returned the compliment, in that David Torn recorded an album called Cloud About Mercury on the ECM label in 1986, and his handpicked lineup was Mark Isham on trumpet and Bill Bruford on electric drums, who no doubt suggested Tony Levin on stick (although it was toured with ex. Japan's Mick Karn on bass).

Cloud About Mercury is a more jazzy/fluid relation of early '80s Crimson with added trumpet. In fact the tunes are so good it's probably one of my top 10 jazz fusion albums of that decade. Here's the opener...

[anorak]

Yes, I have 'Cloud About Mercury', but I've never played it much. It might sound a bit daft but I could never reconcile Bruford, Levin and Torn with ECM, which tends to smooth out and clean up some of the rougher edges of a musician's style. I felt there was a bit more danger in the music when they became Upper Extremities. ECM even managed to make Evan Parker's projects sound relatively 'safe'. I say this as a big fan of ECM, particularly their 1970s albums.

Btw, what do KC fans on here make of BEAT, the planned line-up of Adrian Belew, Tony Levin, Steve Vai and Danny Carey, which will be performing the early 80s trilogy. It's an anniversary project. Belew is leading the project, but Fripp and Bruford declined to be involved. I'm cynical enough to think that it's primarily a money-spinner...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbQM09t5E2c