14… Three of a Perfect Pair King Crimson

15… Court of the Crimson King King Crimson

when I was watching MTV, around 1984-85, they had a Saturday night concert series. And there was King Crimson, “Three of a Perfect Pair”, live in Japan.

Oh my.

I had never heard or seen anything like this… it was WEIRD. And I was hooked. Since I listened to rock radio, you would NEVER hear a King Crimson song. But thanks to MTV, there was Crimson, believe it or not.

Robert Fripp, seated (for a concert, which I thought was hilarious), hardly flinching, not much more than a smirk, playing these lightning fast ostinato patterns on the guitar. Tony Levin, playing a 10 stringed Chapman Stick, which I’d never seen before. Bill Bruford with tons of electronic drums around him in this rather dazzling wall display, and Adrian Belew, evoking sounds out of an electric guitar I still don’t understand.

This was the some of the most complicated and glorious music I’d heard in my life.

Once I got the album, it only got better. The title track “Pair” and “Sleepless” just knock me out every time I hear them. Die-hard Crimson fans aren’t fans of this record, I’ve learned. But I sure am…. most likely because I saw the concert video first.

Following “3Pair” I had to get other King Crimson recordings, and that led me to the 1969 release “Court of the Crimson King”. The original KC had a completely different musical lineup, aside from founder Fripp. It featured vocalist Greg Lake, of ELP and Asia fame.

This was another “Dark Side of the Moon” for me.

“Schizoid Man” “Talk to the Wind” and “Epitaph” always transport me to another world, where music has no limitations. All of the tracks aren’t so much songs as they are journeys.

If you’ve never heard of King Crimson, and have an audio sense of adventure, give these a spin if you can find them. You’ll have to find the used CDs on the internet, as downloads are just not available. Seems there are endless remixes and remasters and collections of all sorts that have more than dismantled the original flow of the recordings.

If you want a “greatest hits” type of collection, I highly recommend the CD “the compact king crimson”. But if you're not a prog rock junkie like me, it may take some time to get used to what you are hearing…

  ¶ 3:39 PM