King Crimson
King Crimson. ‘Red’, 1974. T’Crimson pretty much invented Prog with their 1969 album ‘In The Court of The Crimson King’. Robert Fripp on axe is the main man throughout the band’s different line-ups. This version of the band was a power trio: bass, guitar, drums. This album still sounds like something that could’ve been recorded today. It’s mostly instrumental and takes no prisoners. Bill Bruford is on drums and attacks his kit with gusto. The bass is big and fat and in your face. Fripp slashes his axe with glee.
‘Red’ the title track is all big power chords and clattering drums and relentlessness. ‘Fallen Angel’ starts soft and is almost a pretty tune but with an edge. ‘One More Red Nightmare’ is big chords and almost funky with added sax skronk. ‘Providence’ starts with slow violin with guitar FX and goes all freeform Stravinsky with distorted bass. ‘Starless’ is 12 minutes of almost post-Punk guitar, years before Punk happened, with Floydian atmos. Honestly, this is stuff made by people who loved the possibility of what their instruments could do, especially Fripp’s guitar. He thought the world was going to end in 1981 and hated the music business anyway. He later married Toyah Wilcox. Go figure. Check out other albums like ‘Lark’s Tongue In Aspic’. Unique band.
King Crimson
King Crimson. ‘Red’, 1974. T’Crimson pretty much invented Prog with their 1969 album ‘In The Court of The Crimson King’. Robert Fripp on axe is the main man throughout the band’s different line-ups. This version of the band was a power trio: bass, guitar, drums. This album still sounds like something that could’ve been recorded today. It’s mostly instrumental and takes no prisoners. Bill Bruford is on drums and attacks his kit with gusto. The bass is big and fat and in your face. Fripp slashes his axe with glee.
‘Red’ the title track is all big power chords and clattering drums and relentlessness. ‘Fallen Angel’ starts soft and is almost a pretty tune but with an edge. ‘One More Red Nightmare’ is big chords and almost funky with added sax skronk. ‘Providence’ starts with slow violin with guitar FX and goes all freeform Stravinsky with distorted bass. ‘Starless’ is 12 minutes of almost post-Punk guitar, years before Punk happened, with Floydian atmos. Honestly, this is stuff made by people who loved the possibility of what their instruments could do, especially Fripp’s guitar. He thought the world was going to end in 1981 and hated the music business anyway. He later married Toyah Wilcox. Go figure. Check out other albums like ‘Lark’s Tongue In Aspic’. Unique band.