Posted by Chris Inguanta on Sep 2, 2011 - This post is archived and may no longer be relevant

My thanks to Ulli Spiegel who points out that although the Greater Crim is currently hibernating, its various members are busy with lots of different projects.

Adrian Belew’s e for orchestra CD and DVD are now available directly from Adrian’s store. You should also check out Ade’s blog for a report back on the 3 Of A Perfect Pair camp.

You can head over to Tony Levin’s website for details on the 2 Of A Perfect Trio tour that starts later this month. Tony is also part of another trio, this time with ex-BLUE member, guitarist David Torn, and Yes drummer, Alan White. You can hear a snippet of their forthcoming album by going to their soundcloud site.

Pat Mastelotto is part of a quartet called Naked Truth who have a new album out now. You can hear some tracks from the group as well as read my take on the album over on the blog.

Pat has also been busy with Trey Gunn. As TU they have a new album out called TU - Live In Russia. Check out Trey’s store to listen to a track and buy a digital or physical copy.

Finally, in case you’ve been sleeping under a rock, the next in the 40th anniversary edition series of King Crimson reissues arrives next month.

Here’s the details for the 40th Anniversary Editions of Discipline.


Discipline

The seventh release in the King Crimson 40th Anniversary series.

On its release in 1981 Discipline represented a startling reinvention for this most restless of bands.


When Robert Fripp declared in 1974 that King Crimson had "ceased to exist" nobody could have foreseen that they would break their silence seven years later with an album that perhaps had more in common with the then current post-punk new wave than the band’s progressive rock past.

Released in 1981, Discipline was a startling reinvention with a new line-up performing radically different material that managed to delight fans, confound critics & pick up a substantial new audience along the way.

30 years on, Discipline remains one of the key albums of the early 1980s and one of the most popular and influential in King Crimson’s catalogue.

As different from the 1970s King Crimson, as the 1970s line-ups had been from the 1960s band, the new quartet of Robert Fripp, Bill Bruford, Adrian Belew (ex-Zappa, Bowie, Talking Heads) and Tony Levin (Peter Gabriel), rapidly established itself as a force on the live circuit.

The longer songs of the 1960s & early 1970s & the extended improvisations of the live performances from the earlier touring bands were replaced with a series of short taut songs imbued with a minimalist aesthetic that featured complex interwoven guitar lines, (coined ’rock gamelan’) Belew’s distinctive vocals, Bruford’s new armoury of electronic percussion & Levin’s fluid bass & Chapman stick lines.

Songs written for the album became firm fixtures in the band’s repertoire and the stature and influence of the material has grown over the years. Matte Kudasai for example, has become something of a modern standard recorded by jazz vocalist Kurt Elling last year & performed live recently by K.D. Laing.

The album charted on release in many countries - including the UK & USA - while the touring schedule took the band through Europe, the US & Japan in its first year of activity. By the end of 1981 Crimson was, once again, viewed as one of rock music’s premier outfits.

King Crimson had also achieved a rare feat for a rock group by becoming one of the very few acts to release a classic album in three separate decades. From In the Court of the Crimson King in 1969, via Red in 1974 to Discipline in 1981, with differing line-ups & radically different sounds the band’s reputation for innovation & progression (in the best sense of the word) was unassailable.

As with other albums in the King Crimson CD/DVD-A series, the stereo CD features a new stereo mix by Robert Fripp & Steven Wilson, while the DVD-A features 5.1 mixes of the album by Steven Wilson, high resolution stereo mixes of the original & new stereo mixes, a rough mix of the album presented in its first intended running order,video footage from The Old Grey Whistle Test TV show & further audio extras & rarities.

Preorder now for 3rd October 2011 release


CD:

1. Elephant Talk
2. Frame by Frame
3. Matte Kudasai
4. Indiscipline
5. Thela Hun Ginjeet
6. The Sheltering Sky
7. Discipline

Bonus tracks:

Alt. mixes of The Sheltering Sky & Thela Hun Ginjeet mixed by Steven Wilson.

Discipline
24/96 MLP Lossless 5.1 Surround DTS|9624 5.1 Digital Surround
 Elephant Talk
 Frame by Frame
 Matte Kudasai
 Indiscipline
 Thela Hun Ginjeet
 The Sheltering Sky
 Discipline
Mixed and produced from the original multi track tapes by Steven Wilson Executive producer Robert Fripp
Mastered by Simon Heyworth Super Audio Mastering, Devon, assisted by Andy Miles
24/96 MLP stereo 24/48 LPCM stereo
Elephant Talk
 Frame by Frame
 Matte Kudasai
 Indiscipline
 Thela Hun Ginjeet
 The Sheltering Sky
 Discipline

Original album 2011 stereo mix
Mixed & produced from the original multi track tapes by Steven Wilson Executive producer Robert Fripp
Mastered by Simon Heyworth at Super Audio Mastering, Devon, assisted by Andy Miles

Original album 1981, 30th anniversary remaster
Elephant Talk
Frame by Frame
Matte Kudasai
Indiscipline
Thela Hun Ginjeet
The Sheltering Sky
Discipline
Matte Kudasai (alternative version)

Produced by King Crimson and Rhett Davies
Mastered by Simon Heyworth

Album: Rough Mixes from recording sessions presented in original proposed running order.
Discipline
Thela Hun Ginjeet
Matte Kudasai
Elephant Talk
The Sheltering Sky
Frame By Frame
Indiscipline

These mixes date from the end of May 1981 and were prepared by Rhett Davies. The tape was almost certainly made as a “listening copy” prior to the full mixing stage. The tracks were assembled in Robert Fripp’s then preferred running order. The other point to note is the use of a far greater level of reverb than was applied to the final mix. Again this would have been a decision made by Rhett at the time and the levels applied were standard for the period. The fact that they sound so good – even in relatively unmixed form – is indicative of both the quality of the performances & the engineering. More generally, the early 1980s represented the dawn of an era when recordings can almost be carbon- dated to the year by the increased levels of reverb applied in each succeeding 12 month period, possibly to offset the limitations of then emerging digital technology. Robert Fripp’s decision to issue a final mixed album with minimal discernible reverb made “Discipline” stand out even further from the crowd. The rough mixes provide a suitable alternative. True to the spirit of the original ¼” tapes, the transfers were subject to no further mastering other than some noise reduction and a slight pitch correction applied at DGM by Alex R. Mundy.

Produced by King Crimson and Rhett Davies
24/48 LPCM Stereo
Additional Tracks
A selection of Adrian’s vocal loops
The Sheltering Sky (Alternate mix – Steven Wilson)
Thela Hun Ginjeet (Alternate mix – Steven Wilson)
The Terrifying Tale of Thela Hun Ginjeet
Elephant Talk 12” Dance mix

A small sample of Adrian’s vocal loops for the original album open this section followed by two Steven Wilson alternate mixes – including an instrumental version of ‘Thela Hun Ginjeet’ from the 2011 mixing session. ‘The Terrifying tale of..’ was assembled by David  Singleton & Alex Mundy at DGM for the 2008 US tour-box CD & consists of a talk given by Robert Fripp  at a Warner Bros. US sales meeting in NYC in 1981 outlining events, followed by tape of Adrian Belew from London’s Basing St. studios reliving events, followed by a blistering live take of the song from Philadelphia, PA in 1982. The 12” dance mix was issued as a radio promo in the USA.

Selections from The Old Grey Whistle Test
Elephant Talk (recorded live at The Venue, October 1981)
Frame By Frame
Indiscipline
Elephant Talk
2-4 recorded at the BBC, March 15th 1982, introduced by Anne Nightingale

For some unknown reason, the studio recording of ‘Elephant Talk’ was grafted on to the live performance of the BBC film. It’s possible that the audio recorded at The Venue proved unusable.

Music by King Crimson, elephantosity by Belew

Published by UMG Music Ltd.

DVD Design & Layout by Claire Bidwell at Opus Productions LtdDVD Authoring & Assembly by Neil Wilkes at Opus Productions LtdDVD QC testing by Jon Urban, Bob Romano, Bob Squires, Tim McDonnell & Chris Gerhard Audio tape transfers by Kevin Vanbergen at FX Copyroom
Video Tape Transfers by DGM tape Archive: Alex Mundy Package Art & Design by Hugh O’Donnell Compiled & Coordinated by Declan Colgan for DGM, with input & suggestions from Sid Smith & Steven Wilson

Here’s the details for the 40th Anniversary Editions of Starless And Bible Black. 

The sixth release in the King Crimson 40th Anniversary series.

An experimental hybrid of live material and studio recordings, Starless sits between the landmark releases, Larks’ Tongues In Aspic and Red.

Coming as it does between the startling re-invention of Larks’ Tongues In Aspic and the far-reaching repercussions of Red, when it comes to assessments of the King Crimson canon, Starless In Bible Black has often been overlooked. Yet even a cursory listen reveals this to be a powerful record, brimming with confidence borne out of the band’s increasing mastery of the concert platform.

Though the public weren’t aware of it when it was originally released in March 1974, Starless And Bible Black was in essence largely a live album, an experimental hybrid of in-concert material (much of it improvised) and studio recordings. Often the two are so finely dovetailed together it’s difficult to tell them apart.

Only two tracks on the record (The Great Deceiver and Lament) were fully recorded in the studio. The Night Watch contained a live introduction, while the instrumental backing to The Mincer was excised from an in-concert improvisation with vocals overdubbed later. The rest of the tracks were taken from concert recordings from the UK and Europe with the audience carefully edited out.

Starless And Bible Black demanded the attention and concentration of the listener. Crimson’s audience responded to the challenge, making it a much loved album by the band. As with the other recordings by the mid 1970s line-up, the intervening years have seen the album’s reputation increase among fans & musicians alike, while the then unusual approach to using live performances as core elements of subsequent studio recordings has also become increasingly commonplace.

Robert Fripp once talked about an album being a love-letter and a concert a hot date. Arguably, Starless combined the best of both worlds, making it the most accurate representation of the band’s uniquely powerful mid-70s identity.

As with other albums in the King Crimson CD/DVD-A series, the stereo CD features a new stereo mix by Robert Fripp & Steven Wilson, while the DVD-A features 5.1 mixes of the album by Steven Wilson, high resolution stereo mixes of the original & new stereo mixes, the full Law of Maximum Distress parts 1 & 2 improvs with The Mincer in their original unedited form/running order, Lament, The Night Watch & Fracture from the same Zurich concert, (completing the show presented in part on The Great Deceiver boxed set), a 1973 live recording of the concert favourite Dr. Diamond & an audio restored bootleg recording of the played onceonly  Guts on my Side.

The DVD-A also features live footage from New York’s Central Park in 1973 of Easy Money & the improv Fragged Dusty Wall Carpet the track that formed the basis of Guts on my Side.

* As a result of lost multi track tapes Trio & The Mincer have been up-mixed to 5.1 by Simon Heyworth & Robert Fripp.

Preorder now for 3rd October 2011 release

DGM Mail Order

Burning Shed

1. The Great Deceiver
2. Lament
3. We’ll Let You Know
4. The Night Watch
5. Trio
6. The Mincer
7. Starless and Bible
8. Black
9. Fracture

Bonus tracks:

Law of Maximum Distress (parts 1 and 2)
The Mincer improv
Dr. Diamond
Guts on my Side

DVD Content
24/96 MLP Lossless 5.1 Surround DTS|9624 5.1 Digital Surround
The Great Deceiver (Wetton, Fripp, Palmer-James)
 Lament (Fripp, Wetton, Palmer-James)
 We’ll Let You Know (Cross, Fripp, Wetton, Bruford)
 The Night Watch (Fripp, Wetton, Palmer-James)
 Trio (Cross, Fripp, Wetton, Bruford) *
 The Mincer (Cross, Fripp, Wetton, Bruford, Palmer-James)  *
 Starless And Bible Black  (Cross, Fripp, Wetton, Bruford)
 Fracture (Fripp)  
                                                                                 
Mixed and produced from the original multi track tapes by Steven Wilson and Robert Fripp
Mastered by Simon Heyworth and Robert Fripp at Super Audio Mastering, Devon, assisted by Andy Miles
Tracks marked *
*Upmixed to 5.1 from the original stereo masters by Simon Heyworth and Robert Fripp
                                      ---------------------------------------------------------
24/96 MLP Lossless 5.1 Surround DTS|9624 5.1 Digital Surround
Easy Money
Taken from the album “The Night Watch”
Mixed and produced from the original multi track tapes by Steven Wilson and Robert Fripp
                               ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
24/96 MLP stereo 24/48 LPCM stereo Original album 2011 stereo mix
The Great Deceiver (Wetton, Fripp, Palmer-James)
 Lament (Fripp, Wetton, Palmer-James)
 We’ll Let You Know (Cross, Fripp, Wetton, Bruford)
 The Night Watch (Fripp, Wetton, Palmer-James)
 Trio (Cross, Fripp, Wetton, Bruford) *
 The Mincer (Cross, Fripp, Wetton, Bruford, Palmer-James)  *
 Starless And Bible Black  (Cross, Fripp, Wetton, Bruford)
 Fracture (Fripp)                                                                                    

Mixed and produced from the original multi track tapes by Steven Wilson and Robert Fripp
Mastered by Simon Heyworth and Robert Fripp at Super Audio Mastering, Devon, assisted by Andy Miles
Tracks marked *
*Produced by King Crimson – taken from the original stereo masters (30th anniversary mix) Mastered by Simon Heyworth and Robert Fripp

Original album 1974 mix, 30th anniversary remaster
The Great Deceiver (Wetton, Fripp, Palmer-James)
 Lament (Fripp, Wetton, Palmer-James)
 We’ll Let You Know (Cross, Fripp, Wetton, Bruford)
 The Night Watch (Fripp, Wetton, Palmer-James)
 Trio (Cross, Fripp, Wetton, Bruford)
 The Mincer (Cross, Fripp, Wetton, Bruford, Palmer-James) 
 Starless And Bible Black  (Cross, Fripp, Wetton, Bruford)
 Fracture (Fripp)                                                                                    
Produced by King Crimson Mastered by Simon Heyworth and Robert Fripp

24/48 LPCM Stereo
Zurich Volkshaus: November 15th 1973
Lament (Fripp, Wetton, Palmer-James)
The Night Watch (Fripp, Wetton, Palmer-James)
Fracture (Fripp)                                                                                    
Improv – The Law Of Maximum Distress: Part One (Cross, Fripp, Wetton, Bruford)
Improv - The Mincer (Cross, Fripp, Wetton, Bruford, Palmer-James) 
Improv – The Law Of Maximum Distress: Part Two (Cross, Fripp, Wetton, Bruford) 

1 – 4, 6 mixed by Robert Fripp, Tony Arnold & David Singleton,
Produced by Robert Fripp
5 audio restoration to audience recording by David Singleton and Alex R. Mundy at DGM

Much of the Zurich concert was presented as part of “The Great Deceiver” 4CD boxed set overview of King Crimson live1973/74 (since reissued as two double CD sets). Tracks 1 – 3 were excluded from that set. ‘The Mincer’- the mid-section of ‘The Law Of Maximum Distress’ was extracted from this concert and ovrdubbed for the original “Starless and Bible Black” album. The multi-tracks for this extract remain, stubbornly, unfound. A more recently discovered bootleg audience recording of the ocncert, when restored, allowed DGM to reinstate the original version of ‘The Mincer’ into its original context as performed, between the parts of what would become ‘The Law Of Maximum Distress’. The difference in audio quality between the tracks is much reduced as a result of the restoration.

Additional Tracks
We’ll Let You Know (Unedited from “The Great Deceiver”)
Dr. Diamond (Live, June 23rd  1973, Richards Club, Atlanta, Georgia)
Guts On My Side (Live, March 19th 1974, Palazzo dello Sport, Udine, Italy
The Night Watch (Single edit – stereo)
The Night Watch (US radio single edit – mono)
30 second radio advert
60 second radio advert

1 mixed by Robert Fripp, Tony Arnold & David Singleton,
2, 3 audio restoration to audience recording by David Singleton and Alex R. Mundy at DGM
4 Produced by King Crimson
5 Reduced to mono without knowledge of or reference to the band

‘We’ll Let You Know’ was an improv taken from a concert on October 23rd 1973 in Glasgow. The original piece (as presented here) is slightly longer.
‘Dr. Diamond’ was a concert favourite from 1973 onwards, though never featured on a studio album. The 1973 performances differ somewhat from those in 1974.

‘Guts On My Side’ was, to the best of our knowledge, only performed once by the band in 1974. The song grew out of the improv ‘Fragged, Dusty, Wall Carpet’ (see video section).

The version presented here is a composite of two audience recordings that were layered together, mixed & mastered at DGM in 2011 by David Singleton & Alex R. Mundy.

‘The Night Watch’ single was issued in several countries. In the UK it was issued prior to the album. It is not clear that anyone in the band ever approved this edit prior to release.

The American mono mix – almost certainly a ‘fold- down’ of the stereo edit as no mono master was mixed by the band – was issued to radio stations. No member of the band would have been aware of this.

The radio adverts for the US & UK adverts were discovered in tapes returned to DGM some years ago.

            Central Park, New York, June 25th 1973
Easy Money
Fragged, Dusty, Wall Carpet.

King Crimson shared a concert platform in Central Park 1973 with fellow Atlantic artists Black Oak Arkansas. Both sets were filmed for promotional purposes by Atlantic Records with ‘Easy Money’ edited & widely distributed. The balance of the King Crimson performance, if filmed, has not been found, although a few seconds of a performance of ‘Larks’ Tongues in Aspic (part II), with the full credits for the filming of King Crimson and Black Oak Arkansas have been seen online.

DVD Design & Layout by Claire Bidwell at Opus Productions LtdDVD Authoring & Assembly by Neil Wilkes at Opus Productions LtdDVD QC testing by Jon Urban, Bob Romano, Bob Squires, Tim McDonnell & Chris Gerhard Audio tape transfers by Kevin Vanbergen at FX Copyroom
DGM tape Archive: Alex R. Mundy Package Art & Design by Hugh O’Donnell

Compiled & Coordinated by Declan Colgan for DGM, with input & suggestions from Sid Smith, Steven Wilson & Alex R. Mundy

My thanks to Spiegel for the heads-up.