After three years and four albums, the '80s incarnation of King Crimson, featuring Adrian Belew (guitar/vocals/drums), Bill Bruford (drums/percussion), Robert Fripp (guitar) and Tony Levin (bass/stick/synth/vocal) wrapped up their initial collaborative efforts at the conclusion of their 1984 North American tour. Absent Lovers (1998) presents the July 11, 1984 parting performance at the Spectrum in Montreal, Quebec in its entirety. As the show was simulcast on FM radio, decent sounding copies have been traded amongst the faithful for years, although not in such stunning fidelity or completeness. While the contents draw primarily from the Discipline (1981), Beat (1982) and Three of a Perfect Pair (1984) long-players, the quartet likewise dip into the vintage Krim catalog…
The only progressive rock band from the '60s to be making new, vital, progressive music in the '90s, King Crimson returned from a ten-year exile in 1995 with THRAK, their first album since 1984's Three of a Perfect Pair. As with the '80s band, guitarist/ringleader Robert Fripp recruited singer/guitarist Adrian Belew, bassist Tony Levin, and drummer Bill Bruford for this incarnation of his classic band. However, he added to this familiar quartet two new members: Chapman Stick player Trey Gunn and ex-Mr. Mister drummer Pat Mastelotto. Effectively, Fripp created a "double trio," and the six musicians combine their instruments in extremely unique ways. The mix is very dense, overpoweringly so at times, but careful listens will reveal that each musician has his own place in each song; the denseness of the sound is by design, not the accidental result of too many cooks in the kitchen…
The 19-disc limited edition box set 'On (and Off) The Road' presents a complete overview of the enduringly popular 1980's incarnation of King Crimson…
There are so many King Crimson retrospective albums on the market that all but the most carefully attentive fans must to be hopelessly confused. Cirkus, great as it is in terms of content, doesn't help matters any…
The Elements of King Crimson is a box set series by King Crimson. Originally created to promote the band's 2014 tour of the same name, it is sold exclusively through the band's merchandise booth on the tour and from the Discipline Global Mobile online stores…
“Beat” was released in June 1982 just eight months after the 80s Crimson lineup debut album “Discipline”. It marked the first occasion where a King Crimson line-up had remained intact for a two album stretch and was also the first album by the band to employ a separate producer – Rhett Davies. The juxtaposition of lyrics heavily influenced by 50s beat luminaries Jack Kerouac and Neal Cassady. As with other albums in the King Crimson CD/DVD-A series, the stereo CD features a new stereo mix by Robert Fripp and Steven Wilson, while the DVD-A features 5.1 mixes of the album by Steven Wilson, high resolution stereo mixes of the original and new stereo mixes. Additionally, the original album is presented in rough mix form along with additional audio extras, video performance footage of two songs from The Alabamahalle, Germany and the original promo film for Heartbeat.
It appears that just when you thought the folks at Discipline Global Mobile had re-released every single King Crimson track in as many configurations as possible, they surprise you with another compilation: 2005's The 21st Century Guide to King Crimson, Vol. 2: 1981-2003. Following in the footsteps of 2004's The 21st Century Guide to King Crimson, Vol. 1: 1969-1974, the second volume combines the best tracks from Crimson's studio albums from the advertised period, as well as mixing in live takes and rarities. When Crimson reconvened in 1980 after an extended hiatus, no one could have predicted that the group would have more in common sonically with Talking Heads and the Police than Yes and Genesis.