# Would I like King Crimson?



## Varick (Apr 30, 2014)

I know they are considered prog rock, so I will make some clarifications:

I Love:

- Yes
- ELP

I Like:

- Moody Blues

I'm not crazy about

- Alan Parsons
- Renaissance
but I respect what they were doing.

I do not like

- Procol Harum
- Radiohead (I only put them here because I saw the Radiohead thread with comparisons between the bands)

So, knowing that taste profile, should I invest the time to delve into King Crimson? Do you think 
1. I would like them?
and/or
2. At least I would appreciate them?

I'm at the point in my life where I don't like to invest time into things that don't pay off, and seeing all this high praise for King Crimson has peaked my interest. Thanks.

V


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

Possibly, perhaps probably, but no guarantees. I'm a big prog fan myself, but some of the famous groups leave me cold (like ELP). Crimson, like Tull, is for me good, but not great - I can easily come up with a dozen or more prog bands I prefer. 

Try ITCOTKC and Red first.


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## haydnguy (Oct 13, 2008)




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## norman bates (Aug 18, 2010)

If you don't want to spend time even for one or two full albums, try with a few songs, like 21st century schizoid man (first song from their first 1969 album), or Starless from Red.
To me they are THE prog band.


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## Duncan (Feb 8, 2019)

Listen to these and then tell us what you think -









King Crimson - In The Wake Of Poseidon














King Crimson - The Battle Of Glass Tears (Dawn Song, Last Skirmish, Prince Rupert's Lament)






King Crimson - Sailors Tale














King Crimson - Larks' Tongues In Aspic Part I






King Crimson - Starless














King Crimson - Red






King Crimson - The Night Watch














King Crimson - Fracture (OFFICIAL)






King Crimson - Starless And Bible Black






King Crimson - Asbury Park






There are some better examples that could be offered but Robert Fripp guards his catalog quite fiercely and these are the selections that he has personally chosen to be showcased on YouTube -

https://www.youtube.com/user/DGMLiveHQ

Me? - I prefer Gentle Giant but to each his own, eh?


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## Simon Moon (Oct 10, 2013)

I am a huge KC fan, but they're not quite for every prog fan.

They tended to be (after their first few albums) a bit more thorny 'sounding' than YES and ELP. They also tended to have extended improvisations, more so than other prog bands.

On the same album, they could go from beauty to angular, at the drop of a hat.

And they also had several phases, where their style (still all prog) changed.

From their early Mellotron laced first few recordings (In The Court of the Crimson King, In the Wake of King Poseidon) , to the slightly more avant garde* (Lizard, Starless and Bible Black, Larks Tongue). Then a heavier side (Red), then after their 80's reformation, a vaguely Talking Heads vibe (although much more complex and much better musicianship). Then in the 90's to the present, they kind of went back to their 70's style, but without sounding retro.

So, there is a lot to explore there.



> 1. I would like them?
> and/or
> 2. At least I would appreciate them?


Of course it's hard to say if you'd like them. They are kind of credited with creating 'prog'.

Would you appreciate them? Quite probably. A very high level of musicianship, creativity, beauty, angularity, complexity, makes them easy to appreciate.

*avant garde compared to ELP and YES, and most well known prog bands. Not avant garde compared to the avant-prog bands, like: Henry Cow, Thinking Plague, Universe Zero, Aksak Maboul, Magma, etc.


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## eljr (Aug 8, 2015)

Varick said:


> Would I like King Crimson?


no

..................


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## LezLee (Feb 21, 2014)

They mix so many different things - rock, jazz, classical fused together. 
I saw them about 4 years ago, they were incredible, their musicianship is breathtaking. They're not like anyone else, just so special.
However since then I hardly listen to their records, they don't capture the atmosphere at all.


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## Red Terror (Dec 10, 2018)

Simon Moon said:


> I am a huge KC fan, but they're not quite for every prog fan.
> 
> They tended to be (after their first few albums) a bit more thorny 'sounding' than YES and ELP. They also tended to have extended improvisations, more so than other prog bands.
> 
> ...


Is Magma considered avant-garde? I find their music to be excessively repetitive and thus nowhere near as interesting as KC's. In rock music the avant-garde label is often used as a mere gimmick.


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## Simon Moon (Oct 10, 2013)

Red Terror said:


> Is Magma considered avant-garde? I find their music to be excessively repetitive and thus nowhere near as interesting as KC's. In rock music the avant-garde label is often used as a mere gimmick.


Yeah, you are probably correct. They are not avant garde.

I guess an argument can be made that avant-prog bands may not be truly avant garde, but there is no question that they fit the following description from Progarchves.com:

*Avant-prog is generally considered to be more extreme and 'difficult' than other forms of progressive rock, though these terms are naturally subjective and open to interpretation. Common elements that may or may not be displayed by specific avant-prog artists include:

- Regular use of dissonance and atonality.
- Extremely complex and unpredictable song arrangements.
- Free or experimental improvisation.
- Fusion of disparate musical genres.
- Polyrhythms and highly complex time signatures.*

King Crimson sometimes strays into this territory, but not to the extreme extent as other bands considered in this subgenre.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

Try the first three albums. The first two feature Greg Lake, and Lizard features a vocal by John Anderson.


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## Varick (Apr 30, 2014)

I have a friend who is going to give me a bunch of their stuff. Thank you for all the input. I will get back and let you know what I think. Thanks again.

V


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## Varick (Apr 30, 2014)

Listening to Starless right now. Interesting. The first half of the song the guitar sounds like Santana.

V


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## philoctetes (Jun 15, 2017)

I like the 80s stuff but I don't have a comprehensive view of their discography or shifting lineups. Most prog rock hasn't aged well for me except some Tull and Floyd. The KC Absent Lovers live set has most of what I want and sounds better than the studio albums. Can't say that about many live sets.

The 'Talking Heads' vibe mentioned was the influence of African pop music that spread all the way to Graceland. KC and TH made the most of this phase, a la Fela Kuti, and it still sounds pretty good.


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## Eva Yojimbo (Jan 30, 2016)

They're one of my favorite bands, but I think Simon Moon had the best response in this thread. King Crimson were a very original mix of hard rock, psychedelia, classical, and jazz, and as the years have gone on they've incorporated more and more diverse influences, from new wave/post-punk in the 80s to Tool/prog metal in the 90s and since then. It's entirely likely you'd like SOME King Crimson and not others if you're a picky listener. Me, I like their kind of off-the-wall creativity wherever I find it. In the Court of the Crimson King is an all-time top 5 album for me, but I also love Larks' Tongues..., Red, Discipline, and THRAK. They have tracks that are breathtakingly beautiful (Islands, Mattei Kudesai), some that are experimental and heavy (Larks' Tongues... part 1, Fracture), some that are more poppy (Heartbeat), some that are just really weird (Indiscipline), some humorous ones (Cat Food, Elephant Talk), some that resemble the jazz-fusion of time (most of the Lizard album).

Here's one of my favorite KC tracks that I never see anyone mention. It's one of their most beautiful: 





And here is KC at their most experimental and heaviest: 




^ That's one I love to crank because when that guitar riff hits it will kick the walls down. Stuff like this makes other prog bands sound like pansies by comparison.

FWIW, the best comparison for me with King Crimson isn't other 70s prog rock, but with Miles Davis's electric period. KC doesn't jam/improv quite as much as Miles did (at least, not in the studio) and they write more traditional songs, but there's a similar spirit of throw-everything-at-the-wall experimentation that was far beyond anything other rock bands of the era were doing.


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## Varick (Apr 30, 2014)

Well, I got the flash drive from my friend. He gave me everything that he had of KC:

- In the Court of the...
- In the Wake of Poseidon
- Discipline
- Beat
- Three of a perfect Pair
- Absent Lovers
- Thrak.

I will start listening to them in the next day or so.

V


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## Eva Yojimbo (Jan 30, 2016)

Wow, your friend missed all of KC's mid-70s albums. At the very least, Larks' Tongues and Red are essential. FWIW, I don't care much for Beat or Three of a Perfect Pair. Absent Lovers is one of their (many, many) live albums. It's a good one, though. Certainly one of the best documents of the 80s incarnation of the band.


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## Duncan (Feb 8, 2019)

Unless you have deep pockets or you're willing to hold up liquor stores and convenient marts do your best to avoid becoming one of those "must-have-everything-ever-released" types of KC collector - as you will rue the day you ever asked the question...

https://burningshed.com/store/kingcrimson/king-crimson-boxsets


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## Merl (Jul 28, 2016)

I'm a casual fan and don't like everything they've done (I'm not a big fan of Larks Tongue, if I'm honest and a few of the later releases leave me cold) however when they're good they're very good. I had the privilege of seeing them live in 1982, in Stuttgart (that was a great day festival), and they blew me away. This is my favourite track by them. Certainly not typical but achingly beautiful.


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## Varick (Apr 30, 2014)

Mollie John said:


> Unless you have deep pockets or you're willing to hold up liquor stores and convenient marts do your best to avoid becoming one of those "must-have-everything-ever-released" types of KC collector - as you will rue the day you ever asked the question...
> 
> https://burningshed.com/store/kingcrimson/king-crimson-boxsets


I'm never one of those people who have to have everything ever released by anyone. Often I will collect every studio album by a band or artist, but most Live albums I can live without. There are those classic Live albums that sometimes define a band's experience, but they are rare.

V


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## EddieRUKiddingVarese (Jan 8, 2013)




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## LezLee (Feb 21, 2014)

Merl said:


> I'm a casual fan and don't like everything they've done (I'm not a big fan of Larks Tongue, if I'm honest and a few of the later releases leave me cold) however when they're good they're very good. I had the privilege of seeing them live in 1982, in Stuttgart (that was a great day festival), and they blew me away. This is my favourite track by them. Certainly not typical but achingly beautiful.


That's gorgeous! I've never heard it before. Pity it's so short. I saw them in Edinburgh a few years ago (see Post 8). Took me a day or so to 'come down'. Experience of a lifetime.


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## Eva Yojimbo (Jan 30, 2016)

Mollie John said:


> Unless you have deep pockets or you're willing to hold up liquor stores and convenient marts do your best to avoid becoming one of those "must-have-everything-ever-released" types of KC collector - as you will rue the day you ever asked the question...
> 
> https://burningshed.com/store/kingcrimson/king-crimson-boxsets


I'm one of those types, and I have all those KC box sets. They're truly glorious, and I applaud whomever sacrificed the time and effort to put them together. They're all chock-full of great content, especially the live material and the multi-channel blu-rays.


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