Are you a fan of King Crimson?

Question

I've heard a lot of good things about this band. Mostly what intrigues me are the good things that come from various members of Tool. I listened to one King Crimson CD a while back, and it didn't seem to be anything more than random noises on the guitar. Can anybody recommend a good track/CD that might help me get introduced to what they do? I feel like I'm missing out.

Answer 1

There's a pretty wide-ranging 4-CD box set called "Frame By Frame", but even that leaves out everything newer than 1984 . . . the problem with starting blind into the world of King Crimson is that the band has played in so many different styles, with so many different lineups and configurations, and within and outside of so many genres, that randomly picking up an album or downloading a few tracks is liable to get you literally anything (or nothing recognizable as music). Crimson has always been a vehicle for whatever was going through Robert Fripp's head at any particular moment over the last 38 years, and his interests are so widespread and his personal vision so intense that there really isn't any way to know or even guess what to expect based on what came before or what came after, or in a couple of instances from what was being recorded simultaneously. This makes fandom problematic as well; I consider myself a fan and yet probably a quarterof the albums I've heard I would consider nearly unlistenable (and I know there's lots of albums I'll probably never hear, given that since free-form FM radio died out in the mid-70's there's been absolutely no radio play for anything recorded since 1969, and my economic status won't allow me to buy or download the music I know I like, let alone try and sample stuff I'm not sure of). You're much better off finding someone who is a fan of a particular period of Crimson, checking out what they recommend, then finding a fan of another period, checking out their recommendations, and so on; that way, you'll have some guidance rather than diving headfirst into Fripp's consciousness without a safety net.

Answer 2

If you think they sound eerie and pretentious, well, that was their style. I remember the album "In The Court of the Crimson King", in which the title song pretty much served as self-advertising (with a suitably pompous chorus).

Nowadays, I think they are better remembered for who was in the band, rather than anything specific they recorded. Band members included Greg Lake, who quit the band after a poorly attended tour to join Emerson, Lake and Palmer; Bill Bruford of Yes, John Wetton of Family, and David Cross of CSNY. It seemed like the band broke up after every album, only to reform with new personnel.

Answer 3

when i was a sensitive young hippie i liked 'talk to the wind', but of course 'court of the crimson king' was the opus of the album but it seems to me that '21st century schizoid man' is the most relevant, sort of reeks of the times facing us now, war, all about torture in or country's name, prison camps, medical experiments, and the year 2012 hanging over our heads like the sword of Damocles, yea my pick is 21st century schizoid man. as for the second part of the question i guess i go with bob fripp he was always considered the mastermind.