Level Five Review

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(More customer reviews)...Is it worth it though? I would say yes. I loved Heavy ConstrucKtion, but the version of ConstrucKtion of Light on Level Five is superior for a few reasons, the most important of which is that Pat Mastelotto's drum kit sounds like more of an acoustic drum kit. Like I said, Heavy ConstrucKtion was great, but at times I tired slightly of what sounded like a purely electronic kit. This is a welcome change, and makes King Crimson sound infinitely heavier (more appropriate for the tour with Tool from which the tracks on this album are taken).
Dangerous Curves and Virtuous Circle (tracks 1 and 3) sound like improv to me, and King Crimson never disappoints with their improv. They seem to be creating a more ambient, melodic mood with these 2 tracks than other live improvs. Level Five (track 2) is the new structured composition, and is the most worthwhile track on the disc. Dark and brooding, heavy and lurching, it shows why King Crimson is Tool's daddy, and why father and son decided to tour together (I heard that Danny Carey even sat in on Red and Frame by Frame some time on tour, it would have been amazing to hear that on this disc). That being said, the track Level Five sounds (to some small extent) like a synthesis of some of the ideas explored in Larks' Tongues pt. IV and FracKtured. Still sounds good and surprisingly fresh though.
A great version of The Deception of the Thrush appears here as well (my favorite is on Disc 3 of Heavy ConstrucKtion though), which benefits endlessly once again from Pat's new drum kit. A nice bonus improv at the end as a pleasant surprise.
Ultimately, I would say that the best reasons to buy this album would be to hear Pat's better sounding kit, and Trey Gunn's Warr Guitar (which is FINALLY balanced nicely in the mix to the point where you don't have to strain a little bit to focus on it). Robert Fripp and Adrian Belew are in top form as well. The band seems to have moved to the Level (Five) of synthesis between songwriting and instrumental chops appropriate for King Crimson's fifth major incarnation.

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Japanese 2002 release featuring 5 tracks, 'DangerousCurves' (new song), 'Virtuous Circle' (new song), LevelFive (new song), 'The Deception Of Thrush' & 'TheConstruKction Of Light'.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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King Crimson - Neal and Jack and Me (Live 1982-84) Review

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(More customer reviews)I say "See What You Missed" because so many music lovers never got a taste of how great this band was during this incarnation. These guys were full of invention and taste. Robert Fripp (guitar) continued to steward the band into new, highly progressive territory and continued to bring his significant skills in composition to the table. Adrian Belew (guitar, vocals) was in his prime, like a mature Jimi Hendrix, a master player and an engaging frontman. Tony Levin (bass & stick) contributed perfectly tasteful bass parts and Bill Bruford (drums & percussion) was at his absolute best during this era, when he was experimenting with electronic drums. Bruford's parts are constantly tasty and add an element of anarchy and excitement to this intricate music.
"The Noise" from 1982 is a great filmed performance that shows the band at their best. The 1984 performance is crisper and contains more material, and is great also.
The music mixes sonic experimentation ala Hendrix in his prime with a framework influenced by African & Asian music as well as 20th Century minimalism (Glass, Reich). Perfectly. Great band, great DVD. They tended to make fans out of whoever saw them live and I would guess this DVD will make you a fan of this band if you aren't already.


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Adrian Belew ­ guitar & lead vocal Robert Fripp ­ guitar Tony Levin ­ bass, Stick & vocal Bill Bruford ­ drums & percussionBrand new DVD of King Crimson in the 1980's. Showcasing one of the defining live acts of the period. As Robert Fripp puts it "Records and live performance are two worlds. One is a love letter, the other a hot date. Crimson were always the band for a hot date."These two concerts offer different and contrasting snapshots of the 80's Crimson: Live in Frejus, heavily featuring material from the album Beat and filmed on tour in Europe with Roxy Music; and Three of a Perfect Pair showcasing the band's triumphant 1984 Japanese performances.Three Of A Perfect Pair - Live in Japan 1984Track Listing: Three Of A Perfect Pair No Warning Larks' Tongues In Aspic Part III Thela Hun Ginjeet Frame By Frame Matte Kudasai Industry Dig Me Indiscipline Satori In Tangier Man With An Open Heart Waiting Man Sleepless Larks' Tongues In Aspic Part II Elephant Talk HeartbeatThe Noise - Live in Frejus 1982Track Listing: Waiting Man Matte Kudasai The Sheltering Sky Neil And Jack And Me Indiscipline Heartbeat Larks' Tongues In Aspic Part IIDVD Extras: Sleepless video - Tony's Road Photos - Discography

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King Crimson: Deja Vroom (1998) Review

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(More customer reviews)It was a thrilling visual document of Crimson's stunning return to form after a too-long hiatus, and it was an exploration of the then-fairly-new DVD format that's much more difficult than it needs to be. My rating is an average: five stars for the performance & extras, three for the "user-tailored interactive experience" of navigating the damn thing. Deja Vrooom is probably a proposition for the already-converted, so anyone new to this band and/or this lineup would be well-advised to check out Thrak or Vrooom Vrooom first.
First the cons. Rather than listing options, the menus cycle through them as if it's a memory game. The novelty of using a KC title for each function ("The Mincer" for a short essay on critics, "Vector Patrol" for choosing custom settings) is cute but too confusing. The video quality isn't spectacular and there's an occasional lighting-halo effect around the players; it's not terrible, but could be much clearer. On the other hand, this kind of raw powerful music really wouldn't be served by a slick super-sharp video anyway.
Pros: the performance itself is a stonker. The six-man lineup injects new life into older KC material and shows a smoothness & cohesion even beyond their studio recordings. It's always fascinating to watch just *how* everybody makes all that noise with their instrument of choice (or instrumentS in the case of Tony Levin - check that electric double-bass!). The impeccable skill and grace with which it's all pulled off is of course extraordinary. Extra points for the multiple camera angles available on some tracks.
Extras: a few of Tony's road movies (nice though inessential), Robert Fripp's essays on The Evil Music Industry (informative but I'll wait for the Cliffs Notes), an extensive band history/discography up to 1997, plenty of extra photos & artwork, and a "Schizoid Man" custom-mix feature. There's a mention of 'hidden features,' but apart from a solo RF Soundscape accessed through the TV-listing page, they must be well buried indeed.
Buy it? If you like this phase of the band, absolutely. The live visual aspect always adds another dimension to this music, even if Fripp still avoids anything brighter than a 100-watt lightbulb, and I say it's still well worth dealing with the other nuisances to get to it.
(Tracklist: Circular Improv - Vrooom Vrooom - Frame By Frame - Dinosaur - One Time - Red - B'Boom - Thrak - Matte Kudasai - Three of a Perfect Pair - Vrooom/Marine 475 - Sex Sleep Eat Drink Dream - Elephant Talk - Indiscipline - Talking Drum/Larks' Tongues in Aspic II - People - Walking on Air.)

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King Crimson: Eyes Wide Open Review

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(More customer reviews)i am an experienced guitarist of many years and record with professional equipment;therfore i am familiar with many guitar effects and a lot of the type of things crimson uses. i watched this very closely several times to see what the other review was refering to as overdubbed guitar solos of adrian, and i am confident that i have seen none. what i THINK the reviewer might be refering to are a few parts where adrian uses a reversing effect, in which everything you play is held in a processor's memory and reversed, then played a few miliseconds later. so you have to play a little bit ahead of the time signature, then what the viewer hears is a few seconds behind what your hands are doing. it takes a lot of skill to use this effect properly. this is not a trick or overdoub. it is a very common studio technique that is not often used live. i saw no evidence of any use of overdubbing. everything heard appeared by my experience to be played at the moment by one of the musicians on stage. i think this is an excellent dvd for any crimson fans and is fabulous material. they are vastly beyond most musicians in many ways, least of which being skill. i dont mean to contradict the other reviewer, but i am confident of what i say and i just wanted to offer my observation to others who might be deterred from this dvd because of such a thing. blessings, and enjoy =)

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40th Anniversary Tour Box Review

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(More customer reviews)I really don't feel good to say this, because I am a fan of KC since 1969, I grew up with the music, but this cd disappointed me so much, I would call it a cheap audio documentary, a few talk here and there and yes some music, but nothing special and sometime just part of what seem to be a track, I got so many stuff from king crimson, but this is the only one that I feel strongly that it is poor taste, you would think that for a 40 th anniversary, KC would have come with something from good to excellent, I mean, even the packaging is sad, a cheap dvd box, this band mean so much for me, that I would have like to see a real special package and music, never mine the talking, it is rare that a band last 40 years, even with different members, KC is very special and they are a big deal, I don't know what Robert Fripp was thinking to issue this poor product, I hope I didn't offended anyone, but that is the way I feel.

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