Yesterday's painful "Larks' V" guitar playing to click, initiated by Pat & Trey, worked very well as an MO. They came in this morning at 11.00 and proposed that we adopt this way of working, and create templates of all the pieces. This determines the form. Then, we may listen & fine tune the parts. If the recording is successful, we have begun recording the album. If not, then we are refining form & arrangements. The full team playing the repertoire, repeatedly, has served its use and is now counter productive. It exhausts us, and doesn't allow much fine tuning.
Conventionally, at this point Crimson would go on the road for 3-6 weeks to develop the written material to its next level, and then record the album. Precedents: "ITCOTCK", "Islands", "Larks'", "Starless", "Discipline", "THRAK". In this moment, we are using the studio to take the material further.
From one point of view, this Crimson is a new group. From another point of view, the musicians are familiar with each other's playing and the repertoire has been in process of construKction for around 3 years. I know that, after several months of live performance, the music will acquire a patina and develop a greater character than is possible now. But the players & music are sufficiently advanced in their processes that this work is honourable, at the least.
So, today we began recording: "The ConstruKction Of Light". This is already, to ears from the guitar stool, already a Crimson classic. On one of the interlocking guitar exchanges of the main theme, hurtling along at 160bpm, the front line become wonderfully unhinged - construKcted to be almost unplayable, the second guitarist (your Diarist) clings to the upbeats by his (metaphorical) fingernails, chasing Adrian around the harmonies. Hair-raising stuff.
This demonstrates how the group operates: if someone sees what is needed, they speak up. If they're right, that is, if their opinion is not arbitrary, mechanical, associational or self-serving but in the group's larger interest, the group usually has the nonce to recognise necessity. And so with Pat & Trey, the Rhythm Buddies.
20.28 But I haven't yet reported this little stunner: during yesterday's repertoire run-through (probably the last) we let rip an improv before playing "Larks' IV". The tempo, key & time signature are related to LIV. It begins unforgiving, unrelenting, unapologetic and then moves forward from there. If anyone has any doubt that 11/8 can pulp 4/4 flat in terms of hard rock power, snarling self-assertion and stonk, well you'll just have to wait a little while longer. Listening to Tool's "Undertow" over the weekend has obviously unseated your Diarist's mellow complacency in the afterglow of his youth.
21.48 Several more hot, searing programs stored to the lunar module. Adrian came down to check in & was enthused upon. The unforgiving, unrelenting unapologetic beast has also excited Ade.
Other reports of the day:
This was the first morning I have been unable to give time to reading.
Toyah will be in the air now, flying to Manchester via London for "The Heaven & Earth Show" on Sunday morning. At least we were in the same country for awhile.
"The centre of discipline: the degree to which we are able to hold ourselves in front of a challenge."
