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rastronomicals · 2 months

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4:30 PM EST February 28, 2024:

King Crimson - "Elephant Talk" From the bootleg Fripp's Return at the Court of the Crimson King (Recorded October 9, 1981)

Last song scrobbled from iTunes at Last.fm

Recorded at The Venue, London UK, and clearly an audience recording. The show was released by the bootleggers complete as a CD, and also as a set of three 7" 33-1/3 RPM singles, entitled Act 1, Act 2, and Act 3

#King Crimson #Fripp's Return at the Court of the Crimson King #Elephant Talk #bootleg

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the-prsc · 9 months

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Day 8

Previously on PRSC...

We are now over a week into the competition: two deaths have occurred so far, and we had the arrival of a surprise guest: Ian!

As for our regularly scheduled groups, Genesis appears to have made a major backslide in their progress following the death of Phil. It is unsure when or if they will recover.

The Conglomerate is still going strong, although running into some minor issues.

The Court has seen its first departure!

Death Count: 2

One More Red Nightmare at The Court!

We pick up where we left off yesterday at The Court: our self-appointed “Crimson King” has awoken to discover David’s escape. He called for a long meeting at his “court”, the strange structure built at the north end of his camp. We are unsure of what went on at this meeting, but it appears to have lasted several hours. However, everyone exited yesterday’s meeting alive, so it couldn’t have been that bad. Today, it appears that “His Royal Highness”, Fripp, has sent out his “Foreign Intelligence” and “Defense” scouts once more, this time to figure out where exactly David went. “Defense”, or put more accurately, Fripp’s Merciless Mercenary, Muir, probably has other plans for David if their paths meet. He has brought his sheet metal with him on his journey. Meanwhile, Fripp is trying to make up for the loss of one of his slaves workers , which does not look very successful. Does David’s escape spell the end of The Court? From Genesis to Revelations?

Conditions have not improved much at the Genesis camp, as they are now reduced to an equal number of useful and useless members. While they all have been heavily affected by the loss of Phil, they have been reacting in completely different ways. Tony seems to have entirely abandoned his Mona Lisa recreation, and has not left the shelter he claimed to himself for some time. Peter, on the other hand, seems to be suffering from a full-blown mental breakdown. He has been walking around the forest and muttering to himself, in full Slipperman costume. We are unsure why he picked that particular one. Meanwhile, Mike and Steve have thrown themselves into work to try and make up for their missing member (that is not a Lamb pun, we assure you!), however, it is rather disorganized: instead of dividing up the work like the other groups, they have been doing the same thing, leading to an overproduction of fish, but not enough shelter or firewood. News Spreads to The Conglomerate

As the day draws to an end, The Conglomerate is visited by Broof once again, this time informing them of Phil’s unfortunate demise. He hasn’t disclosed his role in it, of course. But that is not the reason for Broof’s visit: he has come to question them. He isn’t letting on it’s about David’s escape from The Court, but the others are able to put together that something is going wrong. Unable to find proof that The Conglomerate is harboring him, Broof moves on. As for the rest of the day, things have still been going rather smoothly, falling into a sort of routine: they each go off to do their roles in the morning, and return late in the afternoon, where they meet around the campfire, talk, and discuss the next day. These campfire sessions have included various forms of entertainment, bringing a homely feel to The Conglomerate. Most notable is the formation of “Two Dumb Blonds” a comedy duo comprising of Rick and Alex. We will have the transcript of one of their “shows” posted shortly! And a Song from the Wood… Perhaps the most exciting news to come out of yesterdays’ events was the addition of a new competitor to the PRSC! We have uncovered that Ian has been in the woods since the very beginning, and perhaps before, by complete coincidence! He has established his own base on the west side of the river, where he ran into David defecting from The Court. After a short confrontation, he has decided to take David into his camp, and join the game. David, however, isn’t doing quite so well. He hasn’t left Ian’s bungalow today, perhaps all-too-aware of his search. Thankfully for David, Fripp seems to be unaware that a new competitor has entered The Arena, so he will be safe… for now. Will this be the self-sufficient camp that wins the Prog Rock Survival Competition? Stay tuned to find out! That’s all for today, so we’ll see you tomorrow for...

The Prog Rock Survival Competition!

#progrocksurvivalcompetition #prsc #prog #prog rock #progressive rock #rush #yes band #genesis band #king crimson

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longliverockback · 2 years

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King Crimson In the Court of the Crimson King (An Observation by King Crimson) 1982 Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab ————————————————— Tracks: 1. 21st Century Schizoid Man (including «Mirrors») 2. I Talk to the Wind 3. Epitaph (including «March for No Reason» and «Tomorrow and Tomorrow») 4. Moonchild (including «The Dream» and «The Illusion») 5. The Court of the Crimson King (including «The Return of the Fire Witch» and «The Dance of the Puppets») —————————————————

Robert Fripp

Michael Giles

Greg Lake

Ian McDonald

Peter Sinfield

* Long Live Rock Archive

#MFSL #Mobile Fidelity #KingCrimson #King Crimson #Robert Fripp #Michael Giles #Greg Lake #Ian McDonald #Peter Sinfield #In the Court of the Crimson King #Reissue #Progressive #1982 #Debut

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flavia-draws · 2 years

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I am ridiculously late to the Progtober party, so the first 10 will be all one post.

1. How(e) did you first get into prog music? Everybody asks this, so I've gotten very adept at telling the story. It all started when I got the book Ready Player One for Christmas, 2019. That book, full of Rush references, got me into Rush at around the time COVID hit. I stayed obsessed with Rush until early 2021, when I got into Yes, and then it just exploded from there with Tumblr's help.

2. Baby's first prog memories THERE ARE SO MANY so I'm just going to make a list.

Sitting up and squealing the first time I listened to 2112 on headphones (before I started flapping, I used to squeal all the time at prog things).

Reading poignant YouTube comments about Neil Peart's death.

Downloading the rest of the Rush discography (I started with 2112, Moving Pictures, and Signals), then going on an unexpected trip (very long story that I will not tell here) before getting the chance to put it on my music player, then returning home and immediately listening to Grace Under Pressure and Power Windows.

(Writing that out, though, I realized that the way it actually went was I went in order, starting with the self-titled debut, so forget that last part I guess.)

Lying in bed listening to Power Windows.

Listening to half of Hold Your Fire in bed the night before Election Day, then pausing it because I decided to get up, go online, and RSVP for a last-minute campaigning thing an environmentalist group was doing. (I won't say who it was for because then people could figure out where I live, but I will tell you they didn't win.) I then decided I wasn't going to finish listening to the album until after the election.

Which meant I didn't finish it until the following Sunday, when Biden was declared the winner.

Elaine (remember her?) making so much noise I couldn't focus on In The Court.

Being so affected by "Heart of the Sunrise" I couldn't focus on Elaine.

Watching Yessongs videos with the sound off because I didn't have my headphones and didn't want to wake people up but I was still in love with Jon Anderson.

3. Prog band you thought was big but isn't There are probably so many of these too because I generally tend to think prog bands are less obscure than they are, but I do often get surprised when people don't talk about the Strawbs. Someone did think a drawing I did of Robert Fripp was Dave Cousins, though, so maybe they aren't the best example.

4. Prog band you thought was obscure but isn't This is hard! I don't have the opposite problem very much! I do remember thinking Rush was more obscure than they are, though.

5. Your top ten Big™ prog bands Pink Floyd. Uhhhh...Genesis? Does Genesis count? *looks around at posters* I don't know. Unless you want to argue that the Beatles are prog, which I don't really...howe big is Big? Does ELP count? If they count, doesn't Yes count? See, my sense of obscurity is skewed because the bands I grew up on varied in their levels of obscurity so much from Tiger Trap to the Roches to 80s Genesis to the freaking Beatles to local artists I don't want to mention for fear of people figuring out where I live.

Okay, let's say Pink Floyd, Kate Bush, Genesis, and no one else. Top three, in no order.

6. Songs you wish were 20 minute prog ballads I wish Firth of Fifth (by Genesis) was longer. It made me fall in love with Tony Banks. Yes, I know it's something like 11 minutes already, but I do not care! Wonderous Stories (by Yes)! It could have used a nice instrumental interlude or something!

8. Fave five prog albums of all times Making me pick five? You are cruel, Keef, cruel. 😂 ... Okay, okay, okay... Selling England by the Pound - Genesis Lizard - King Crimson Tales From Topographic Oceans - Yes Barrett - Syd Barrett (Okay, this one isn't exactly prog rock, but someone* called it "progressive acid folk," which is close enough for me.) Still - Pete Sinfield (If someone wishes to contest my blorbo-claim to Pete, this someone may unblock me and present his case. No, I'm sorry, that's a joke. The other fervent Sinfield-lover gets Pete, and I will be respecting his unwillingness to interact with me.)

*Wait, that was me.

9. Least favorite prog songs/albums/bands and why Well, Love Beach, to be sure. Except "Canario" and "Memoirs of an Officer and a Gentleman," the latter of which is a fucking underrated 20-minute prog suite, people. (Also, did anyone notice that Peter Sinfield's actually referencing a line in his earlier song "The Song of the Sea Goat" about officers and gentlemen?) "The Gambler" isn't half bad either, but the first three songs (I can't remember what "For You" is like) are lyrically so distasteful to me that I can't notice anything I might like about the music.

Other than that, I don't know. I like 90125 fine, but I'd probably like it more if it wasn't by the same band that was making prog epics the previous decade. Didn't stop me from flapping like crazy when Owner came on the radio at a restaurant one time, though. (And then "Another Brick In The Wall part 2"! Definitely some of the best prog luck I've ever had.)

I've only listened to Going For The One once in its entirety, but I remember not being so in love with it. (Strangely, I love Tormato.) "Wonderous Stories" is fantastic, though, and I've heard some great things about "Awaken" (from Rick Wakeman, to be fair, but still), so perhaps I'll give it another try.

10. Proggers with uncontainable fashion drip This one deserves a fanart. I will be editing the post with something suitable shortly.

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music2liveby · 5 years

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DAY 181: 21st Century Schizoid Man by King Crimson

Album: In the Court of the Crimson King Release: October 10th, 1969 Genre: Progressive Rock

I always love listening to bands that helped originate a genre in their own right. To call King Crimson the quintessential prog band is an understatement; they are influencers of rock music as a whole. Without the contributions of King Crimson, music very well may never have seen bands like Pink Floyd, Rush, and Yes come along and help further trailblaze the path for this musically complex sub-genre. In fact, the spark which led to King Crimson’s popularization is rooted in intentionally complicating song structure or rhythm just for the sake of sounding more difficult. Preceding King Crimson, brothers Michael and Peter Giles collaborated with local guitarist Robert Fripp on the aptly named project Giles, Giles, and Fripp. Their material wasn’t as disorganized as the progressive nature of their next project, but that did not stop the trio from rising up the ranks. However, this success lacked the X factor to push the project over the edge and was short lived after many lacking single releases and an underwhelming studio album. Keith Moon of The Who even publicly shared his displeasure for the band after its disbandment. It’s only ironic that two years later, Giles, Giles, and Fripp would evolve into King Crimson and debut with a cornerstone of an entire genre, an album that fellow member of The Who Pete Townshend would regard as “an uncanny masterpiece.” After the dissolution of Giles, Giles, and Fripp, the group would seek out to expand the variety of their sound and hired Ian McDonald, an all-around musician trained in keyboards, reeds, and woodwinds. Along with McDonald came musical partner Peter Sinfield, who did not play an instrument but played the role of the brains behind the band. Sinfield was responsible for song lyrics and stage direction, including designing and operating lighting for the elaborate shows King Crimson put on. Lastly, this change would not be complete without the exchange of members: Peter Giles was discouraged by the lack of commercial success and departed the band, replaced by an associate of Robert Fripp named Greg Lake. Rehearsals began in January of 1969, and as Peter Sinfield describes, "If it sounded at all popular, it was out. So it had to be complicated, it had to be more expansive chords, it had to have strange influences. If it sounded, like, too simple, we'd make it more complicated, we'd play it in 7/8 or 5/8, just to show off". The fruits of their labor showed in their iconic studio debut In the Court of the Crimson King, famous for its cover design by computer programmer Barry Godber who died not long after the album’s release. While the majority of the album is comprised of slower, odyssey-like compositions, the lone outlier is the triumphant opening to the album and King Crimson’s magnum opus 21st Century Schizoid Man. A magnificent journey from beginning to end, this song tests the abilities of each individual player especially by the middle section where utter chaos ensues during a jazz-inspired breakdown that puts on a clinic for how prog interludes can and should be done. Released at the height of American opposition to involvement in Vietnam, the lyrics are tied to the conflict specifically in the second verse which describes the innocent lives taken by napalm fire set up by the politicians in support of the war, namely Vice President Spiro Agnew. Greg Lake’s passionate delivery of the few lyrics the song has coupled with heavy distortion makes a huge impact in the emotional depth of a song already so deep in its content. In the Court of the Crimson King springboarded King Crimson to immediate acclaim, but the group quickly suffered heavy personnel losses for various reasons. Among the lost was original vocalist Greg Lake, who during the touring stint for King Crimson’s debut became good friends with Keith Emerson, keyboardist for opening band The Nice. After agreeing to return with King Crimson to record another album, Greg Lake left shortly thereafter to reunite with Emerson and form one of my all-time favorite superbands and pioneers of prog: Emerson, Lake, & Palmer. While the fate of King Crimson hung in the balance at the turn of the 70′s, the group eventually solidified their lineup and continued their career still considered one of the greatest prog acts of all time. So, I guess that kinda worked for both parties pretty well huh?

#21st Century Schizoid Man #King Crimson #In the Court of the Crimson King #Progressive #Prog #Rock #Greg Lake #Robert Fripp #365songs

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phroyd · 6 years

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When David Sylvian set about making his first solo album, 1984’s Brilliant Trees, he enlisted a handful of former collaborators, including Yellow Magic Orchestra co-founder Ryuichi Sakamoto as well as his Japan bandmates Steve Jansen and Richard Barbieri. The most crucial contributions, though, came from an artist with whom he had never worked before:Holger Czukay.

Surprisingly, Sylvian’s interest in the German artist’s work derived not from the latter’s tenure in the pioneering krautrock band Can but from his solo albums, particularly his 1979 release Movies. There’s a clear connection between the warped rhythms of that record and the equally off-balance funk of Brilliant Trees’ “Pulling Punches” and the fluid pop of “Red Guitar.” Czukay’s contributions—guitar, vocals, and samples played on old dictaphones—added just the right touch of tumult to Sylvian’s generally straightforward tunes. Where Czukay left his most lasting mark was as an improviser. As Sylvian told the British publication Fourth Door Review, “Holger’s approach was… joyful enthusiasm, wild invention, much paint thrown at the canvas to see what sticks.”

Those qualities, and the two men’s friendship, kept their paths intersecting through the 1980s. After expanding upon their freeform compositional ideas on 1985’s Alchemy - An Index of Possibilities, Czukay and Sylvian went on to collaborate on a pair of fantastic albums—1988’s Plight & Premonition and 1989’s Flux & Mutability—that presaged not only the more experimental turn Sylvian’s career would take in the 2000s but also the ambient strains taken up by 21st-century artists like Loscil and Grouper.

Those albums, newly remastered and re-released as a single two-disc package by Germany’s Grönland Records, each feature two long instrumental works built around drones from a synthesizer or guitar interrupted by random shortwave-radio intrusions and occasionally disorienting tape edits. But in keeping with the dynamic nature of the two musicians’ artistic relationship, the sessions for each record, and the moods they conjure up, were dramatically different.

In the case of Plight & Premonition, Sylvian initially visited Can Studio in Cologne under the pretense of recording a vocal for Czukay’s 1987 solo album Rome Remains Rome. Instead, the two men spent a pair of long nights improvising. Sylvian held court in the main recording space, teasing out melodies and drones on harmonium, synthesizer, piano, or guitar, while Czukay played loops and samples for him to respond to. Whenever Sylvian started falling into a pattern or found a hook, Czukay would encourage him to try something else. As Sylvian recalls inDavid Toop’s liner notes for this reissue: “He’d only wanted the process, the uncertainty, the ambiguity of the searching out of ideas.”

“Plight (The Spiraling of Winter Ghosts)” reflects that recording experience. The track starts in medias res with a harmonium and a bit of tape both coming to life. Some interwoven drones and a small piano figure float by before a brief sample of what sounds like a chorus line of cartoon skeletons collapsing in a heap bursts through. It’s a jarring moment, but it sets the tone for the piece, which feels meditative yet active—like listening to an ambient record on headphones at such a low volume that the background noise of the metropolis bleeds through. Floating chords and long stretches of chilling beauty find a rough harmony with police sirens and bits of radio broadcasts.

“Plight” benefits from Czukay’s judicious tape edits and processing. “Premonition (Giant Empty Iron Vessel),” which takes up the B-side of the album, is beautiful but far less exciting. Recorded as it was performed, the 16-minute track rolls steadily by with more radio sounds and little swells of electronic noise interrupted by Sylvian’s piano embellishments that are pleasant but almost intrusive to the otherwise enrapturing atmosphere.

Flux & Mutability was another collaborative effort—after a fashion. “‘Flux’ is Holger’s piece and ‘Mutability’ is mine,” Sylvian told The Wire’s Richard Cook in 1989, meaning that while the two men worked together on the album, each took conceptual charge of one sidelong track. Czukay’s side is the more active of the two. Driven by a small drum pattern played by Can percussionist Jaki Liebezeit, the piece is evocatively subtitled “A Big, Bright, Colourful World.” Its light synth drones and radio noise are illuminated by the lens flares of Markus Stockhausen’s flugelhorn and then slightly darkened by some fragmented guitar figures added by another Can member, Michael Karoli.

Sylvian’s side of the album is, again, not as impactful or challenging in comparison. It feels of a piece with the work that he and his collaborators had created for his solo albums Gone to Earth and Secrets of the Beehive—lovely washes of melody played on synth and guitar that drift to the surface before slowly sinking into the depths again—but with the pop elements stripped away. The subtitle (“A New Beginning Is in the Offing”) is apt, however. Looked at within the span of Sylvian’s 40-year career, the piece marks a turning point. He would better realize some of the same free-flowing ideas that he cultivated with Czukay into his next recordings, including Rain Tree Crow, his reunion with three of his Japan bandmates, and his work with King Crimson guitarist Robert Fripp.

Much of Sylvian and Czukay’s respective work, either as solo artists or in collaboration with other musicians, has been re-released or cherry-picked for compilations in recent years, but somehow this material never seems to make the cut. The albums’ return to print feels like a footnote to Czukay’s death in 2017 and the career-spanning box set Cinema earlier this year. The albums aren’t treated poorly; Grönland has remastered them warmly and wrapped them both up in new packaging that emphasizes photos of the two men together. But hearing them now and sensing the connection these records have to similarly minded modern efforts by Mirrorring, Liz Harris and Jesy Fortino’s dream-folk project, and Brian Eno’s recent studio collaboration with pianist Tom Rogerson, this reissue, while welcome, highlights the ways in which many of these ideas were more successfully executed by subsequent artists.

Phroyd

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toyahinterviews · 3 years

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TOYAH ON BBC RADIO 2 WITH STEVE WRIGHT 24.8.2021

STEVE: Toyah is in that rare category of only needing her first name to know who we're talking about. She's a British pop icon, actor and a broadcaster with a career covering more than 40 years. Her last album of new material “In The Court Of The Crimson Queen” came out in 2008, and last year she reissued some of her acclaimed early albums. But now she's back with new music. Her album, “Posh Pop” comes out this Friday. It's 10 new songs that feature the guitar work of husband Robert Fripp from prog rock legends, King Crimson. He was only given a chord sheet and told to do whatever he felt like. Well, that's some kind of privilege by being your man. He can do what he likes.

TOYAH: Thank you so much! What a wonderful introduction. With Robert he wanted the freedom to just play in the moment and he's a good enough musician that he doesn't have to rehearse beforehand, especially a pop album. He came in for half an hour one day a week, we handed him the code chart and he blew us away. STEVE: He’s sensational, isn’t he, really? Here’s a thing about your good self - you been round quite a time and to still be doing it with the verve and the enthusiasm and the musicality that you do it with and that's on top of being a known actress ... how do you do it?

TOYAH: Well, you know we're in a great profession. It's just utterly enjoyable. Every single moment is so enjoyable. What happened during lockdown is all artists lost their audience and that started to get very scary and I have to perform. I completely identify with life through performance and I found myself needing to write songs and needing to make videos and God bless my mobile phone because I made 10 videos on it while making the album. I just found that it was either an opportunity or nothing was going to happen. There was no middle ground. I started Toyah YouTube with "Toyah and Robert’s Sunday Lunch". 40 million visitors. The majority saying "thank you for making our Sundays. Thank you for making us laugh". The human life stories that came back to us were an inspiration from everyone who was working in the NHS, working in medicine around the world to those who are locked in single rooms with children and it just made us want to reach out and I think this is a human interest album. It’s called “Posh Pop” for two reasons. One, Robert is playing on it and if he wasn't it would just be called pop (Steve laughs) ... Add Robert Fripp to something and it suddenly goes up a gear. Also, we wanted people to get back into their lives and dance and celebrate and be able to hug each other. And we wanted this album to be very very up and it’s pop songs.

STEVE: It’s pop songs, yeah. I mean, with your older hits, they were something not outside of pop, but beyond pop and you can hear some of that in these songs. It's definitely you. TOYAH: Yeah, it's a shared rebellion because even though I think I've always stood outside of every genre, my audience - they know what I am and I’m still performing to 15,000 people at festivals. I also do small gigs to 200 people and every night is a riot. So my audience knows my voice, they know my personality and even within “Posh Pop” we’re picking out things that we’re passionate about. A song like “The Bride Will Return” is … every bride missed their wedding for 16 months so how can I not write a song about the bride will return? STEVE: It’s got a kind of a driving riff through it, a kind of underlay? Hasn't it really, that song?

TOYAH: I saw a clip about a bride in Beirut during a photo session when a warehouse blew up and this exquisitely beautiful bride, the photo caught the shock on her face. I went straight to my piano and started that tune and took it into the studio to my co-writer Simon Darlow and we just sat there in tears writing this song in honour of that bride. STEVE: I always remember you being quite definite about what you wanted and the other thing I remember about you in those very early days was that you lived somewhere strange. I wasn't sure where it was. It might have been like a railway arch or something like that ...

TOYAH: It was a British Rail warehouse (Toyah in her office at "Mayhem", above). It was freezing!

STEVE: But it was handy for the train! TOYAH: Very handy for the train. Every weekend Steve Strange would take it over and Boy George would turn up. Iggy Pop would turn up. We once had 400 people in this warehouse having a party for four days. STEVE: I always thought that must be a great place to be. TOYAH: There was just one small problem. STEVE: What? TOYAH: There was only one loo (Steve laughs) STEVE: I know you're touring, in fact this Friday, Somerset, the Watchet Festival ... TOYAH: Can’t wait! STEVE: August 27th. Have you done any gigs yet? TOYAH: Yeah! Non-stop festivals - I did five last week. It's so special, you could just kiss the stage (Steve laughs) and everyone is just so happy and it's rained non-stop for a month -

STEVE: Doesn’t matter - TOYAH: Everyone’s really happy. STEVE: Yeah. (Reads a list of upcoming gigs) You know, everywhere basically and then there's a thing, Toyah and Hazel O'Connor, Electric Ladies of The 80s tour dates, and that's in places like Buxton, Holmfirth, Gateshead, Manchester et cetera, et cetera. But that's June of next year, so we might mention that a little closer to the gig. TOYAH: Thank you so much, we’re trying to fit in all of last year's gigs. STEVE: You’re obviously acting still. When's your next TV or play? TOYAH: Well, there all backed up, so I had “To Be Someone” out in cinemas last month. That was me, Lesley Ash, Mark Wingate. Some of the cast from “Quadrophenia”. My next movie is (at) Halloween and it's called “The Ghosts of Borley Rectory” (Toyah as Estelle Roberts, below), which is a true story and I'm fabulous in it (Steve laughs) and I'm the female lead.

STEVE: Yeah. I heard that, yeah TOYAH: I’m the female lead in “Give Them Wings” which is due for distribution in the autumn.

STEVE: Tim (Smith, also in the studio), I know that you worked with Toyah in the past, up at Radio West Midlands.

TIM: Yeah long time ago we did a programme, you presented it, I produced it and I always remember the fact that we had to surprise you with Robert right at the end of the programme. So I'm liaising with Robert Fripp thinking “oh my God, I got Robert Fripp on the phone”, but a delightful man, as I'm sure you're well aware, we had quite a lot of fun actually doing that. Yeah, long time ago.

TOYAH: Well, you've always been fantastic to work with Tim, I adored being in your company.

STEVE: Really?

TIM: You’re very kind .

STEVE: Yeah … you’re the only one.

TOYAH: I thought I’d get that in.

STEVE: Yeah, I can tell.

TIM: Tell Robert I played a lot of air guitar to this album, it’s brilliant stuff.

STEVE: Yeah, it's a great. It is really, really nice. It's great. Toyah’s new album “Posh Pop” is out on Friday. Good to talk to you again and hopefully next time we’ll see you. Stay safe and all of that.

TOYAH: Thank you so much. See you out there.

STEVE: Okay, see you out there. There she goes, it’s Toyah everybody!

#toyah #toyahwillcox #toyah willcox #toyahbbc #toyah bbc #toyah radio #toyahradio #toyah2021 #the toyah interview archive #thetoyahwillcoxinterviewarchive #toyah 2021 #toyah interview #toyahinterview

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catsynth-express · 5 years

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King Crimson returns to the Fox Theater, Oakland

Our incredibly musical two weeks that began with Herbie Hancock concluded with King Crimson’s return to the Fox Theater in Oakland. We at CatSynth saw their last visit in 2017 and were excited to hear what the brought this time around.

It was a pleasure to see King Crimson back in action again, albeit with another lineup change. This time around, Bill Reiflin was not with the group, and so there was no full-time keyboardist. His duties were taken over by drummer Jeremy Stacey, and, at times, winds player Mel Collins. Of course, Robert Fripp was there, holding court seated stage left next to his tower of gear, as were longtime members Tony Levin on bass and Chapman stick and Jakko Jakszyk on lead vocals and guitar. Rounding out the trio of drummers were Gavin Harrison and Pat Mastelotto.

The group once again made a great overview of their 50-year history. I was particularly pleased to hear “Cat Food” from the 1970 album In the Wake of Poseidon played. “Cat Food Cat Food…again!” The music is malleable and adaptable to the current band’s instrumentation and abilities. Choruses are reharmonized, as was the case with “Cat Food”; vocal numbers are re-arranged into extended instrumental pieces, as in “The Construction of Light”; new melodies were added, as in “Indiscipline”; and so on. There were also new lyrics to the chorus of “Easy Money”. The combination of the three drumsets was even tighter than the previous tour, and more nuanced as well with each playing entirely different parts in a three-voice counterpoint that occasionally coalesced into a massive syncopated thunder. It should also be noted that the drums were a bit lighter because of Stacey’s keyboard duties.

The sound in the first set was a bit challenging at times; the winds and vocals in particular suffered. Thankfully, this was all corrected going into the second set. And just when it seemed they were going to get through the entire night without playing “21st Century Schizoid Man”, they returned with the tune as their encore, with extended abstract solos and instrumental sections.

As always, King Crimson is very strict about photography during their concerts, but at the very end, they ritualistically share a moment taking pictures of the audience while we picture them. This time both Tony Levin and Robert Fripp snapped pictures of the audience as we returned the favor.

King Crimson photographs us photographing them

Here is a photo of the audience from Tony Levin’s blog. We are somewhere in the lower left of the orchestra.

Tony photographs the audience [Tonylevin.com]

[Jason Berry contributed to this story]

King Crimson returns to the Fox Theater, Oakland was originally published on CatSynth

#catsynth

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popmusicu · 5 years

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The Court of the King Crimson

Today I want to talk about a music genre that is very special for me: Progressive Rock. This Sunday i went to the Movistar Arena. King Crimson, a really influent band from this Genre, was at that place. The progressive rock was devoloped from psycheledic rock as an attempt for giving more weight and credibility to rock music. These bands abandoned the pop way formula to get into instrumentalization and composition techniques more related to jazz or classic music as an effort for giving to the rock the same sofistication and respect from the critique. One of the expression of this change is having songs with a bigger length, passing from 3 to 4 munites, even up to 20, 30 or 40 minutes, using symphonic influences, lyrics with philosofical content and complex orchestations. This genre hits its higher level of popularity in the seventies, especially in the mid. The most influent bands of progressive rock were Premiata Forneria Marconi, Pink Floyd, Rush, Yes, Jethro Tull, Calmel, Genesis and the one that i watch live today, King Crimson.

King Crimson is an English progressive rock band formed in London in 1968, being very influential both on the early seventies progressive rock movement and many others comtemporary artist. The band have had a lot of different formations through history, but the only remaining original member is Robert Fripp, the main guitarrist, who is considered the band’s leader and driving force. Their debut album, In The Court of the Crimson King is their most successful and influential release, which has elements of jazz, classical and experimental music.

Neverthless, the band has taken a lot of different ways by the past of the years. As I told previously, the only original member is Robert Fripp. This means the band has passed through a lot of periods where the style has been changed a little (or a lot), but always keeping the progressive rock as a nucleus.

And well, a few ours ago I was sitted down with King Crimson ahead of me. I’m not a big fan of this tremendous band, but maybe this changed today. I did not had heard a lot of his songs, just maybe three, as I can remember. In adition, it wasn’t in my plans go to this concert. Im gonna tell something about that. My girlfriend has a cousin, Daphne. She works in a company, and this company always gift show tickets to their employes. This girl talked to my girlfriend and asked her if she knows this band called… King Crimson? and if she wanted the tickets. So well, my girlriend said yes and talked to me. She asked me if I wanted to go. Being honest, I wasn’t sure about going to the concert, because how I said, I already remember like three songs? So i was kinda doubtful. We talked about selling the tickets to getting some money or just going, because both of us know that King Crimson is a really important band in rock history, their music is amazing and is a thing that you can live just once because they are old. Well, we tried to sell it, but if we fail with that we’ll have to go (yes, I know. We are a pair of capitalist bastards that wanted the money. My alpologies) We almost sell them. We had a buyer. We buyer couldn’t do it. We got in the car and drove to the Movistar Arena. We arrived when they were playing the first song, The Sheltering Sky. We found our seats and well… it seems that life wanted to give us a wonderful experience and we were trying to get some stinky money. The show was AMAZING.

There was eight musicians over the stage, and guess what… THREE FUCKING DRUMERS. Three drumers that played really complex tempo shit totally perfect and cordinated without any mistake in the two hours of show. There also was a wind instruments musician, who played saxophone, flute and other wind instrument that I can’t identify; a bass guitarrist that played a traditional bass guitar, a double bass and a chapman stick bass; a guitarrist/singer man, and the great Robert Fripp. This show wasn’t the typical rock concert, that one that has fireworks, a bunche of lights, proyections and a screen that shows some video. It was just them. The seven men showing their creation, with precission and perfection. With no screams, no man running or jumping euphorically across the scenario. With no guitarrist playing moving his body or making guitar faces. All of them in their places and not moving of them in the whole show. They way they were located in the stage was also uncommon. The drummers were at the front and the rest of the musicians were at the back in a higher place. It was like watching a jazz big band. Even the clothes were pretty formal.

https://youtu.be/IpZxwe4SXY8 (Editor, por favor, inserte el video para que sea reproducible)

Ok, now to the main stuff, the music. I don’t know how to express it correctly but it was insane. Insane because I heard wonderful instrument armonies but which was, really complex rythms but also two instruments playing at a different tempo. It was like a descomposition of what we know as matter for making a new composition which gathers the different atoms for creating a totally new conception of matter. I heard a guitar sounding as I never sound before. I heard delicate pianos a suddenly it transformed into a heavy atmospheric synthesizer. In a moment I was at the bottom of the ocean. And then I found myself close to the sun. Like an unestable country economy, that runs between red and green numbers painting beautiful mountains.

In conclusion, I get to my house directly to listening to the discography of this amazing band. I started the day not giving a fuck about King Crimson. I returned to home loving them and saying to my self “you really are a huge dumb stupid crap for not having listened to this guys with more atenttion in the past as a fan of jazz and rock bands as Pink Floyd and Radiohead”. I guess i’ll be dived a few couple of weeks into their albums and the solo albums of Robert Fripp. One of my final thoughts is we passed all of our days listening to truly poor music, songs that can repeat two chords in its length without changing the rythm, generated by computers, while we could be listening to music with so much more spirit, passion and dedication. I blame the music industry. You?

Sergio Ramírez

#Music Video #Albums #submission

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rastronomicals · 15 days

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3:18 AM EDT April 11, 2024:

King Crimson - "The Sheltering Sky" From the bootleg Fripp's Return at the Court of the Crimson King (Recorded October 9, 1981)

Last song scrobbled from iTunes at Last.fm

Recorded at The Venue, London UK, and clearly an audience recording. The show was released by the bootleggers complete as a CD, and also as a set of three 7" 33-1/3 RPM singles, entitled Act 1, Act 2, and Act 3

#King Crimson #Fripp's Return at the Court of the Crimson King #The Sheltering Sky #bootleg

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the-prsc · 10 months

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Day 2:

Previously on PRSC…

Yes attempted to light a fire and failed, and are struggling to do much of anything. Everyone wants to go home, except for Jon, who is still gathering fruit and has discovered mushrooms…

ELP also have achieved absolutely nothing, except pissing each other off. Good job, guys.

Genesis are making some progress, no thanks to Tony or Peter, both of which are contributing nothing helpful.

Those darling Canadians, Rush, are doing just fine so far, and showcase the best cooperation and coordination. They’re giving us hope that they all won’t die in the first week.

Fripp is using his “leadership abilities” in King Crimson, and has dubbed his camp “The Court of the Crimson King”, although no one uses the full title. Death Count: 0

Departures occur at the Yes camp…

Fed up with the shenanigans of the Yes camp, Steve tells the others that he’s leaving, and departs sometime in the morning to go and join The Court (King Crimson’s camp). It being a difficult 10-mile hike to the north and east, as well as across the river, he arrives around midnight. After a short “trial” at a mysterious structure built by Fripp himself, he accepts Steve into this camp, and puts him to work with the others. Meanwhile, back at the Yes camp, Steve’s departure has individually inspired both Chris and Rick to try and leave for the ELP camp the next day, figuring their chances are better there than with Jon, or with their other choice, Genesis. They ultimately decide to leave together, without informing Jon or Alan.

Continuing Conflict at the ELP camp... Conditions have not improved much since yesterday. Greg and Keith have started an argument on whether or not to settle in one location, while Carl desperately tries to keep them all alive by attempting to build a fire, getting water from the river, and trying to do some gathering as well. His efforts go unnoticed. Keith is still yelling at him about the part in Karn Evil 9. It is a grim situation in the camp. To the East, Near a Pond… Genesis has improved quite a bit since yesterday. More shelters are erected, due to the work of Steve, Mike, and Phil. Peter is beginning to get a grip, and starts helping out as well. However, he has still not removed the flower costume. Tony still refuses to do anything, and claims the first shelter to himself. As for his Mona Lisa recreation, he is currently struggling with her difficult hair. The Rush Settlement It is only Day 2 of our Game, and Rush have already built somewhat of a functioning society. A sturdy shelter has already been erected, and they are working on a storage area. They have a steady campfire, and have used their camping gear to their full advantage: the tents they brought are being used as “lookout shelters”, they brought extra food and water (smart thinking!), first aid supplies, entertainment, including several books and an acoustic guitar, and “The Power of Friendship” (according to them). The only mildly off-putting thing about their camp is their insistence to tell terrible jokes. Finally, In The Court As mentioned in the Yes section, Steve leaves the disorganized mess of the Yes camp, in order to try it out in The Court. Prior to his arrival, Fripp allows John and David to pick their jobs in return for their cooperation. The Court is being built up rapidly, moving beyond the necessary shelters, and creating an actual “court”, from which Fripp does his job of overseeing everything. He has sent “Broof” out on an errand to find out what the other bands are doing, leaving Muir to have the all-important job of hunting and gathering. He journals his report each night.

That’s all for today, so we’ll see you tomorrow for...

The Prog Rock Survival Competition!

#progrocksurvivalcompetition #prsc #progressive rock #prog rock #prog #rock

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longliverockback · 5 years

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King Crimson In the Court of the Crimson King (An Observation by King Crimson) 1969 Island ————————————————— Tracks: 1. 21st Century Schizoid Man (including «Mirrors») 2. I Talk to the Wind 3. Epitaph (including «March for No Reason» and «Tomorrow and Tomorrow») 4. Moonchild (including «The Dream» and «The Illusion») 5. The Court of the Crimson King (including «The Return of the Fire Witch» and «The Dance of the Puppets») —————————————————

Robert Fripp

Michael Giles

Greg Lake

Ian McDonald

Peter Sinfield

* Long Live Rock Archive

#KingCrimson #King Crimson #Robert Fripp #Michael Giles #Greg Lake #Ian McDonald #Peter Sinfield #In the Court of the Crimson King #LP #Progressive #1969 #Debut

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rastronomicals · 16 days

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4:14 PM EDT April 9, 2024:

King Crimson - "Red" From the bootleg Fripp's Return at the Court of the Crimson King (Recorded October 9, 1981)

Last song scrobbled from iTunes at Last.fm

Recorded at The Venue, London UK, and clearly an audience recording. The show was released by the bootleggers complete as a CD, and also as a set of three 7" 33-1/3 RPM singles, entitled Act 1, Act 2, and Act 3

#King Crimson #Fripp's Return at the Court of the Crimson King #Red #bootleg

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rastronomicals · 18 days

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9:19 AM EDT April 8, 2024:

King Crimson - "Frame By Frame" From the bootleg Fripp's Return at the Court of the Crimson King (Recorded October 9, 1981)

Last song scrobbled from iTunes at Last.fm

Recorded at The Venue, London UK, and clearly an audience recording. The show was released by the bootleggers complete as a CD, and also as a set of three 7" 33-1/3 RPM singles, entitled Act 1, Act 2, and Act 3

#King Crimson #Fripp's Return at the Court of the Crimson King #Frame By Frame #bootleg

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rastronomicals · 6 days

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2:24 AM EDT April 20, 2024:

King Crimson - "The Sheltering Sky" From the bootleg Fripp's Return at the Court of the Crimson King (Recorded October 9, 1981)

Last song scrobbled from iTunes at Last.fm

Recorded at The Venue, London UK, and clearly an audience recording. The show was released by the bootleggers complete as a CD, and also as a set of three 7" 33-1/3 RPM singles, entitled Act 1, Act 2, and Act 3

#King Crimson #Fripp's Return at the Court of the Crimson King #The Sheltering Sky #bootleg

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rastronomicals · 1 month

Photo

8:38 PM EDT March 17, 2024:

King Crimson - "Frame By Frame" From the bootleg Fripp's Return at the Court of the Crimson King (Recorded October 9, 1981)

Last song scrobbled from iTunes at Last.fm

Recorded at The Venue, London UK, and clearly an audience recording. The show was released by the bootleggers complete as a CD, and also as a set of three 7" 33-1/3 RPM singles, entitled Act 1, Act 2, and Act 3

#King Crimson #Fripp's Return at the Court of the Crimson King #Frame By Frame #bootleg

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