Crimson w/ Wetton in the Future???

[flowerking]

We're talking about a band with three drummers, right?

Good point. I said earlier that if Levin was in the band, there'd be no room for Wetton to play bass. But between what you said here and the triple double they used to tour as I retract my statement. There is room for Wetton.

As far as why should Fripp stand up to play live? I don't know, ask Hackett. I don't think its impacted his ability to play and its so much more friendly toward the audience. Oh what am I saying, Fripp being friendly toward the audience that pays him lots of money? That will never happen...

[Skullhead]

I hate to see all these 70's prog bands getting so old. Days are numbered, so enjoy anything you can. The 80's prog bands still left will not be nearly as interesting, and it only gets worse from there.

It was a special time, and I don't see it happening again anytime soon.

[Spinaltap]

I would love to see JW with Crimso again, but he has stated, I would have to search for the quote, that he no longer plays bass like he did in Crimso anymore.

[District97]

I'm guessing you did NOT get to a District 97 show with John Wetton where they played everything you could hope to hear from those KC albums....

Thanks, Greg. Yes, it was an honor to play that music with John, and he still sounded absolutely fantastic on it. For the time being, our live album with him is the closest you'll get to him being a part of Crimson again. Here's a taste of him singing that material for the first time in 40 years:



And a live video of Schizoid Man:


One More Red Night is available at http://www.district97.net/store as well as Amazon, iTunes etc. Truly amazing that we got to revisit that part of his past with him!

[bondegezou]

But it's been pretty clear for a very long time that Fripp is in a place musically that JW doesn't really want any part of, and vice versa.

To say Wetton doesn't really want any part of the Crimson legacy would be a mistake. Wetton has played King Crimson numbers in recent years with District 97, with UK, with Icon and with Asia. He's also played UK material in UK and Icon. Indeed, Wetton has shown more willingness to visit his back catalogue live than many musicians.

Henry

[Scrotum Scissor]

I'd like for Robby Flipp to sit on stool, don a wig (check the wonders of G. Simmons and R. Blackmore) and stop using contact lenses at any thinkable point - thus closing in on his aesthetic of the 70s so as to approach the given ideal of real prog. And I'd like for him to stay exactly like that for the upcoming 35-40 years, performing only covers on his own Curriculum for audiences wearing wigs as well.

He must!

[Paulrus]

To say Wetton doesn't really want any part of the Crimson legacy would be a mistake. Wetton has played King Crimson numbers in recent years with District 97, with UK, with Icon and with Asia. He's also played UK material in UK and Icon. Indeed, Wetton has shown more willingness to visit his back catalogue live than many musicians.

Henry

Henry, it's very different for JW to occasionally play music from his own time with KC, versus being involved with RF in a current KC-related project. That's what I was trying to say.

[bondegezou]

Henry, it's very different for JW to occasionally play music from his own time with KC, versus being involved with RF in a current KC-related project. That's what I was trying to say.

Current Crimson: only plays old music.

John Wetton: has done several tours only playing old music.

There isn't an obvious mismatch.

Henry

[calyx]

Henry, it's very different for JW to occasionally play music from his own time with KC, versus being involved with RF in a current KC-related project. That's what I was trying to say.

Given how much touring the current KC does, being in KC would hardly be more of a full-time job than UK or D97.

In any case, it seems KC is destined to remain with the same line-up. What is intriguing is whether there was any discussion of JW joining and, if so, why it didn't happen.

[jamesmanzi]

What is intriguing is whether there was any discussion of JW joining and, if so, why it didn't happen.

Crimson's tour last fall coincided with Asia's - that might be a start.

[bondegezou]

My guess would be that if Fripp said, "Come on tour and sing some old Crimson numbers," Wetton would be up for that. He's got problems playing bass these days -- did he just sing with District 97 while someone else played bass? -- although Wetton still did UK (the band, not the country) dates. Why wouldn't he given the tours he has done? So did Fripp never offer, or was Fripp's way of doing things not to Wetton's liking?

Henry

[NogbadTheBad]

Current Crimson: only plays old music.

Henry

Apparently they are working on new material, I'm hopeful it's more Crimsony that the Scarcity Of Miracles material.

[NorthNY Mark]

IIRC, at the time the new KC was announced (after quite a few tantalizing hints that JW might be involved, as referenced above), John said that he was never asked, and that it wouldn't have made sense anyway, unless Robert was envisioning a primarily "song-oriented" format. My own reading between the lines is that with John's carpal tunnel issues, he can only play the bass to a limited extent (though he seemed quite good with UK material, that may mark the limit of what he can comfortably do, and even then I suspect he had to play through a lot of pain), which leaves him out of Robert's more instrumentally ambitious ideas.

This reality is disappointing to me, because JW has always been my favorite rock vocalist, and I would love to see him working within the more artistically ambitious context of KC. But given the realities of his carpal tunnel situation and his desire to focus primarily on pop singing/songwriting, I understand why it probably will never happen.

[Haruspex Carnage]

IMO everything about those D97 videos and the JW of today rubs me completely the wrong way...no interest whatsoever about him being in any new Crimsons...new Crimson at large should be cool though with over a dozen Harrison-led drum bits (P@ said something about this over FB) and three new songs for the upcoming Euro and Canadian tours it's looking like.

[ItalProgRules]

Wetton could play some piano and acoustic guitar, besides singing, in such a theoretical reunion, leaving Tony Levin to play bass.

[Spiral]

Current Crimson: only plays old music.

2000-2011 isn't that old.

[hightea]

New Crimson is very little singing. See no need for Wetton this is a musician first band now and Wetton is not up to that anymore.

[bondegezou]

2000-2011 isn't that old.

No, but they don't only play music from 2000-11. They have, so far, played music from 1969 to... well, yes, 2014 with the short percussion pieces.

Ignoring the short new bits, I make it, based on the first show:

1960s: 1
1970s: 8
1980s: 0
1990s: 0
2000s: 2
2010s: 2

Henry

[bRETT]

Ignoring the short new bits, I make it, based on the first show:

Hate to say it, but four post-2000 pieces is downright radical for a veteran band these days.

[Spiral]

They have, so far, played music from 1969 to... well, yes, 2014

Just what I meant. They may disappointingly be skewing that way by having 2/3 of the set from the earliest few years, but it's not only old stuff.

Hate to say it, but four post-2000 pieces is downright radical for a veteran band these days.

Being willing to rearrange the older stuff and making it sound as powerful as ever (for the most part) is just as radical, I'd say. Or at least unusual.

[zeprogmeister]

Fripp doesn't seem to be the reunion/revisit the past sort of fellow. But if he was short on cash anything's possible..

[bondegezou]

Hate to say it, but four post-2000 pieces is downright radical for a veteran band these days.

True... well, in spirit, but you exaggerate, I think. Four, rather short post-2000 pieces is less than many. It's probably about the same playtime(?) as the new material on the most recent Yes shows (two pieces, ~15 minutes).

Rush are doing 6 post-2000 songs currently. I saw Toto recently: 5 songs from their new album, including the long one. The recent live Asia release, recorded late 2012, had 5 recent (post-reunion) songs; 7 post-2000 compositions if you include Howe's two solo pieces. Ian Anderson, if he counts for Jethro Tull, was doing all of Thick as a Brick, but with all of the new Thick as a Brick 2.

On the other hand, UK was all oldies.

Henry

[bondegezou]

Being willing to rearrange the older stuff and making it sound as powerful as ever (for the most part) is just as radical, I'd say. Or at least unusual.

Again, is that particularly unusual? Numerous acts have re-arranged older stuff. How successful they've been is a matter of taste, but the idea of re-arranging older material is not uncommon. Yes did acoustic "Roundabout" and "South Side of the Sky", and chopped around "Mind Drive", a few years ago. Even now, in playing whole albums with their original arrangements, they're changing the arrangements from what they've been playing live for years. I've seen UK and Asia play re-arranged King Crimson numbers, while Icon (Wetton/Downes) did new arrangements of various older pieces they'd been associated with.

Henry

[2steves]

Fripp doesn't seem to be the reunion/revisit the past sort of fellow. But if he was short on cash anything's possible..

Pretty sure he's short on cash---but he never does what a fan wants---even 3 drummers is just to annoy Bruford. lol

[Haruspex Carnage]

Again, is that particularly unusual? Numerous acts have re-arranged older stuff. How successful they've been is a matter of taste, but the idea of re-arranging older material is not uncommon. Yes did acoustic "Roundabout" and "South Side of the Sky", and chopped around "Mind Drive", a few years ago. Even now, in playing whole albums with their original arrangements, they're changing the arrangements from what they've been playing live for years. I've seen UK and Asia play re-arranged King Crimson numbers, while Icon (Wetton/Downes) did new arrangements of various older pieces they'd been associated with.

Henry

i feel like, in the case of YES, there's a difference between rearrange and completely butcher.

And let's be honest, as cool as the KC songs were, they weren't rearranged/reinterpreted at all from a compositional standpoint.