I'm asking about when the records were first released, ie those who already and knew familiar with the band's past, when Discipline was first released, what was yoru reaction? Likewise for Vrooom and/or Thrak? Did you fall in love immediately with "the new model", or did you say "This isn't the King Crimson I know?" or what?
Oh my god...I cannot adequately express the reaction I had to Vroom. I had read in Rolling Stone of all places, a tiny 1/16 spot in the news section of the impending release of Vroom.
I purchased it and it was transformational for me. I was in a band (keys) and for that Xmas, I bought each member a copy on CD.
It changed the way we rehearsed, incorporating even more improv and dissonance into our rehearsals. I have hours of this on disc.
When Thrak was subsequently released, we went to shows together as a band (which we never did previously) and every time through whether HORDE or solo, we were there.
Even now, though not playing together anymore, for the band mates I still speak to, we hit KC when they hit town. Except for this last go around; we all had the same Starless reaction, my take is well documented elsewhere.
VROOM and THRAK while not the first KC I ever owned, is by far and clear the most influential on me.
Death inspires me like a dog inspires a rabbit
I can't speak for Discipline since it was the first Crim album I heard (although even then it took me a trip through A Young Person's Guide and Live at Frejus to really "get it"), but when I first heard VROOOM, I loved it and listened to it constantly. It seemed to tie old ('70s) and new ('80s) together. The Thrak album itself was perhaps a bit of a disappointment, I thought the production of the songs from VROOOM was better. But overall I found the music strong, and it was a strong period live.Originally Posted by GuitarGeek
My only real complaint about both periods is that there were so many great pieces that never caught on with the band. So much of the (previously) unreleased material is quite compelling.
I had been a big KC fan since about 1969-1970, also saw them several times in the 70's. I liked Discipline the first time I heard it. Also liked some of the Vroom/Thrak stuff. They lost me after that.
Having discovered KC rather late (in the latter part of the 80s), I came to being as fan with the classic stuff and was wholeheartedly disappointed with their 80s efforts. While there are some fine parts on Discipline, I'm really not much into the other two 80s-era albums and I think they're pretty tedious next to most other "seriously" experimental music of that phase in rock development. As for the 90s releases, I bought them, listened for a few weeks and sold them off; all too desperately self-conscious in its dedication to avant-garde as tactic rather than as substance. I've kept both The ConstrucKtion of Light (?) and Power to Believe and enjoy some of it quite a bit, but I find myself listening only very rarely.
Still a fan, though.
"Improvisation is not an excuse for musical laziness" - Fred Frith
"[...] things that we never dreamed of doing in Crimson or in any band that I've been in," - Tony Levin speaking of SGM
Was so looking forward to Discipline when it was released, I was very disappointed. Still not a fan of those three albums. When Thrak came out, I wasn't expecting much and didn't pick it up right away. When I did get around to buying it, I was totally floored. Not a breath of fresh air, more like a hurricane coming thru. It's not the type of music I normally listen to, but it is great. I still give it an occasional spin. Unfortunately, the same can't be said for Thrakattack. I was really looking forward to it, but to me it's a steaming pile of noise. I haven't been back for any KC since.
Last edited by Tangram; 12-22-2017 at 05:38 AM.
I like everything from COTCK to RED.
Nothing more.
Vroom was one of those disks that got listened to once, maybe twice, then put away. I didn't throw it away because it was KC, you know, but it sounded horrible to my ears.
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A gentleman is defined as someone who knows how to play the accordion, and doesn't.
Loved Discipline era at the time, unfortunately, never got to see them live. Then, I very much enjoyed Sylvian/Fripp project; kind of stopped after that as it reminded me how much I didn't like Belew's voice, and saw the double trio as an extension of that.
"Always ready with the ray of sunshine"
I think I’m one of 5 people who loves Thrakattak.
The first KC I heard and loved was Larks, and this period is probably my favorite KV incarnation. I had no problems whatsoever to adapt to the Discipline era.
Loved Discipline the first time I heard it. Musically the intelligent version of Talking Heads.
Vroom and Thrak - I liked the sound immidiately, but some of the tracks are too repetetive whithout enough spice.
I didn't get Discipline when it came out, but did see the band on the Discipline tour. I didn't like Belew, so I passed on getting the album. But I heard the album a lot as various friends had it and people played it quite a bit. It just never sunk in for me. What I heard of the 80s stuff after Discipline did even less for me. So when Thrak came out, I wasn't particularly excited. I don't recall if I even heard it at that time. Probably Dinosaur and a couple of others, but I don't think I bought it then.
It wasn't until I heard Construction of Light that Belew-era KC resonated with me. I then went back and bought the 80s albums and Thrak, and of those the only ones I kept were Discipline and Thrak. I've come to a certain kind of peace with discipline. It's still not a favorite, but I recognize it as a special album. I like Thrak a lot better, and wish maybe I'd tried harder when this came out to get into it.
Bill
Before Discipline came out I'd JUST been getting interested in KC and had only heard (and liked) ITCOTCK. My first exposure to Discipline was seeing them live on that tour in Syracuse, and I was blown away (I've told the story before of how I was with John Fishman, later to be drummer for Phish - he was blown away too). The next morning I ran out and bought Discipline and my own copy of ITCOTCK (I'd been listening to friends' copies), blew off my college classes, and just listened to those albums and.
I of course then bought everything as it was released, and liked Beat and TOAPP a lot but never liked them as much as Discipline. Like Zeuhlmate says above, I thought of them as sort of a more intelligent or interesting version of Talking Heads. I also saw KC on the TOAPP tour in NYC.
VROOM and Thrack I wasn't so into. The sound was just too dense and cacophonous for me. I didn't see KC live again until 2015!
Then #2 is right here!
Love ATTAKcATHRAK too.
I found out about KC about a year before Discipline came out. I was blown away by S&BB at a used record shop and m life hasn't been the same since. But I thought the band was dead as a doornail. So it was a big surprise when I saw a previously unseen red album cover peeking at me from the KC bin. What is this? Of course I bought it right away and ran home. It blew me away as much as S&BB had. I played it to the death and still love every minute of it. One of those albums I can play in my head from start to finish.
Beat and 3oaPP, not so much. I didn't really start loving the Beat material until some Collector's Club releases came out from the tour. In a live setting, the Beat tunes had room to breathe. They became flexible, playful, fun. In the studio they were rigid and IMHO just weird.
Fast forward another 10 years. Living in Ann Arbor MI a friend of mine had a radio show on the UM station. He called me and said they had gotten Vroom in, and do I want to come to the station and listen while he debuted it. Of course! So I ran down there, he put it on and well... It was OK. I wanted to like it.
Over the years Vroom/Thrak has grown on me. To a point. Once again, live shows from the era are better than the studio outings. But it will never be close to my favorite KC era.
I listened to the KC catalog regularly as a teen in the 1970s. I remember clearly buying the Discipline LP during my first year of university. It was a breath of fresh air. One of my favourites in their catalog.
I was very happy with Thrak when it was released.
That is a pretty wide timeline of KC.
Liked Discipline, saw the tours back then, Dicipline, Beat, three of a perfect pair , up to vrooom and Thrak.
Liked them all pretty good. Felt that it was a reasonable progression of the KC thing.
They lost me in the ProjeKcts.
I saw a couple of them and felt used as a fan.
"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it."
-- Aristotle
Nostalgia, you know, ain't what it used to be. Furthermore, they tells me, it never was.
“A Man Who Does Not Read Has No Appreciable Advantage Over the Man Who Cannot Read” - Mark Twain
I loved Discipline from the first I heard it. It remains one of the few "perfect" albums for me (check my pulse if I don't react with joy to hearing any of it played live, including the latest versions from the current tour).
OTOH, I never really connected with Thrak. I find that I prefer the live versions performed by the later incarnations of the band. Perhaps the material just needed the years of refinement to really gel.
I'm #3. Haven't heard ATTTAQKCTHWACKCQ yet.
The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off
I was a big fan through Red, love the Wetton era
Didn't like Discipline at all, then or now
Liked the Thrak and Projects even less
Saw them front row in the 90's, (95 I want to say), and it epitomized what I don't like
Fripp clearly playing second fiddle to Belew, Bruford doing more coloring than bashing
No thanks
Discipline was my introduction and I was immediately hooked. Saw the ToaPP tour. Loved Thrak then and now. Saw that tour twice I think. Also love the Wetton era.
Discipline amused me.
Thrak scared me.
That whole "return to Red" sound was HEAVY.
In good ways...
It's been awhile since I've heard it, but I remember liking it when I first bought. I might not have gotten on the day of release, but it was very soon afterwards, and it was Best Buy, of all places (yes, believe it or not, there was a tiem when Best Buy used to progressive rock, jazz, even contemporary classical CD's). But I think as I listened to it more I lost interest in it. But since I'm on a King Crimson kick lately, after seeing them performing on Thanksgiving Friday, I'll probably get to it eventually (I know exactly where the CD is, unlike a few of my other Crimson CD's, so it'll probably be sooner rather than later).
#4!!!
I use Thrakattak as the background tunz when I play stuff like Doom and Wolfenstein
Death inspires me like a dog inspires a rabbit
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