Fripp announces King Crimson to return

I hate to say it, but I am slightly disappointed. I was hoping the plan would be to debut live with a decent amount of fresh material. That seemed to make sense given the drastically different line-up.

Focusing on historical material seems rather retrograde for a guy like Fripp, no?

 

Personally I am more interested in hearing new interpretations of 70s material in particular, having never heard most of that live, apart from the few instrumental cuts covered by the Belew fronted lineups.

 

They did all old material in 2008 too.

 

Very excited about this reforming of KC. The world is a better place when IT lives!

 

There is a plan to include the UK in the tour dates, but it depends on a number of circumstances.

Thanks a bunch...

 

Yeah, that is a surprise. In the past, he eschewed revisiting the past for the most part, aside from a few standards. I'm not entirely sure how I feel about them going back and "reconfiguring" old material. I know some fans may disagree, but I thought "FraKctured" was kinda pointless compared to the original.

 

The lineup I want:

Robert Fripp (of course): Guitar
John Wetton: Vocals and Bass
Ian McDonald: Electric Saxophone, Mellotron (or Synthesizer producing said effect), etc.

Seeing as there will be 3 drummers...

Michael Giles
Bill Bruford
...really hope they're both there, although most likely neither will

* I would want Lake, but his voice ain't the same as it was in 1969.
I don't care for the years with Belew, so...that explains that

 

Crimson has a great history of recording NEW material live. Most of Starless and Bible Black & parts of Red were recorded this way.

 

Starting to sound like 21st Century Schizoid Band Phase II.

 

Well, I think you'd need a time machine to take you back to 1975. Then you'd have to convince a neurotic Fripp not to retire the band for a few years. It almost coulda happened, but it wasn't in the cards.

 

I know... :/

 

Prog was at a crossroads by that point and it was soon to go into decline (IMO). Though I would have been very curious to hear a continuation of what was hinted at on Red, I tend to think that Fripp inadvertently made the smart play by withdrawing, recharging his batteries and then moving ahead with a new approach.

 

They could have done one more record before folding up shop before Disco and Punk...and after what Red gave us (imo, their best album, tied with the debut) I think it would've been something to remember!

 

The first U.K. was pretty close to what the next Crim album would've sounded like (despite the differences between RF and AH).

 

I'm trying to keep an open mind about it despite being a bit disappointed about the lack of a new record. that said, RF does have a tendency to change his mind if he sees writing on the wall--maybe the rhythm-section-in-front idea will be sufficiently interesting to all of them that new material will be born out of rehearsals.

I do trust RF not to turn KC into a nostalgia act.

 

Only after one day, there's disappointment and somebody else is calling this 21st Century Schizoid Band II.

For gosh sakes, let them develop chemistry in the lineup in concert settings. Then, new material will emerge, which will be better after having been developed live. Plus, don't forget that this is almost a year out, giving plenty of time for writing.

 

Bill Rieflin and Fripp have been working together on many projects, one of the bands they're in is called the Humans, fronted by Toyah Wilcox, furthermore, very professional and friendly rapports have existed between Rieflin and Fripp for several years now. I'm happy to see Mr. Rieflin involved in this, he's one of my favourite drummers of all time.

 

Sorry, don't get the love for Red. I'm ready for a nostalgia act. First set Islands, second set Lizard. with these drummers they could throw in a Larks Tongues and I'll be happy.

 

?

They're fairly dissimilar to me. If he'd named it anything else, I'd be surprised if anyone would ever make the comparison.

FraKctured is a favorite in this house. Definitive Crim. Ridiculous virtuosity. No vocals . Fripp showcase.

And it takes nothing away from Fracture in the process.

 

Fripp actually offered this lineup to Ian back in the 90's to play small clubs and Japan, but McDonald said it would have to be the original lineup or nothing at all. Fripp said his migraine crawled thru the phone, up his arm to his head. Hence the double trio. Read Sid Smith's book about it. They were even going to focus on material from 69-74. You gotta give Fripp points for at least trying. Fripp and Lake haven't gotten along in a long time.

 

Not to mention that "FraKctured" was absolutely mind-blowing performed live on that tour.

 

Yup. Caught it twice. Lucky me.

Lucky insofar as it was never played after that initial tour. Just plain ol' too difficult.

Trivia: I remember reading that Fripp nailed the studio version solo on the first take.

 

Fripp isn't actually in that band, though I think he's given some help. (I saw their brief US tour last year).

 

I saw this tour at Park West and I recall they opened with this piece and Fripp muffed one of the opening phrases, and self-deprecatingly shook his head.

 

Yeah, I had a feeling you were going to call me on that, hence my opening clause. I'll admit that the playing is impressive, particularly on the live versions, but somehow it just felt like extra noodly variations on an older formula--Fracture now with spiraling fraKctualizations! It left me a little cold and gave me the impression that King Crimson was finally starting to eat its own tail, but I'm glad that others enjoy it.