dust volume 2 number 5january 1983 the industrious quartet of
fripp, levin, bruford, and belew is holed up
in the backroom of C.V Lloyde's Music Store
in Champaign Urbana, Illinois,
now a makeshift rehearsal space.
a thick mesh of cables snake across the floor,
out into the back alley and into
the Full Sail Mobile Recording Truck.
it's another wistful midwestern winter day
and the mighty Krim is slaving over new material
for our third record, (which turns out to be our last).
robert and I have spent many quiet hotel moments
in the hope of composing a follow up to our first ballad
matte kudasai.
on this afternoon bill politely keeps time
while tony plays a swelling bass line counterpart
to the whistling melody I play on the GR-300 guitar synthesizer.
the center of the song is robert's shimmering chorused guitar
which so closely resembles the style and flavor of matte.
I had no vocal yet, no words yet, so I didn't sing.
but the mood fit the sad chill in the air.
what words might have appeared on my notepad?
what surprised looks might have shone on their faces
when I finally began to sing something
heerr.nn...?
it wasn't meant to be.
before I could write a finish, we were off and running on one last tour.
I have often wondered what might have been had that particular band
found a way to continue forward under robert's supervision.
probably be doing a lucrative reunion at Bonaroo right now. ha!
note: you SMARTIES out there: this could be a good candidate for a re-write.
ignore the whistling guitar synthesizer. imagine a new melody instead.
also note: this is truly a rare offering from my archives,
one of only two or three unreleased bits I have from King Crimson.
as a rule the golden eggs laid in those years
are now carefully mother-hened by the folks at DGM.
robert fripp: guitar
tony levin: bass
bill bruford: drums
adrian: guitar synthesizer
recorded at C.V Lloyde's with the Full Sail Mobile Truck
engineer: gary platt
length:3:40
I'm (not quite) patiently waiting for this to become available at StoreBelew. :-)
ReplyDeletewhatever happened to Mr. Bill Bruford? is he a happy man today?
ReplyDeleteUnable to find the Dust cut Adrian. Is it posted?
ReplyDelete> I have often wondered what might have been had that particular band
ReplyDeletefound a way to continue forward under robert's supervision.
probably be doing a lucrative reunion at Bonaroo right now. ha!
That would really be awesome, because my cute 50-yr-old little brother Egress is taking me to my first Bonnaroo this year.
Baby's First Bonnaroo!
I was pretty confused when that band broke up, too - of course, in those pre-Internet days we barely knew that it had happened. At the risk of asking for an unpleasant Anecdote 606, I'd like to hear your perspective about that quartet's inability to remain a quartet.
But hey - whether that is what Anecdote 606 is or not, thanks for blogging, sir. - S.
Really cool track, nice blend of you & RF's tones.
ReplyDeleteReally cool track, nice blend of you & RF's tones. Sounds a little like if you were did a spot on I Advanced Masked. And Tony. Bill too.
ReplyDeletehow do I delete? doh
ReplyDeleteYour ballads make me cry.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I think you totally succeeded in topping Matte Kudasai with One Time. What an amazing song. I sing it to animals and it always soothes them. It always does! Try it if you have not yet!
I agree with finbar about One Time (except for the singing to animals part):)
ReplyDeleteHey, don't knock it if you haven't tried it! :P If you got a decent singing voice, mine is alright, it's gonna work.
ReplyDeleteMy musical ability was all aportioned to my hands and feet. I'm sure I'd scare all the animals away if I tried to sing to them. I'll leave that for you and Ade. :)
ReplyDeleteI could understand a unit like that not lasting. You're not constrained yet, you are. That on top of knowing that you're doing some incredible things but, the work/pressure/stress that it takes to get there is more than anyone can handle for too long of a period.
ReplyDeleteI was in a band like that (nothing on the level of KC) and we would spend days, weeks arranging instrumental parts, layering, carefully intertwining. When I look back on that period, it was some of the most amazing music and collaboration I've ever been involved in but, it was very very hard work. The stress of it all eventually fractured the band and at the same time, made us all better players. It was kind of like stepping out of a pressurized room and being able to breath again. I compared it to what I imagined it like being in KC back then.
Out of some of the hardest, thankless work come some of the most memorable moments.
I spoke with Bill only a month ago. he seemed very happy with his decision to concentrate on jazz and leave rock music to us fools.
ReplyDeleteI would like to write my personal perspective of what the 80's Krimson was like, but would not be able to do without offending someone. sorry to say, sid smith's version is not entirely correct. I found out the band was over a month after our last show when a friend called to say he read in Musician magazine "robert says the band has broken up". I was thinking we were taking maybe a year off.
"one time" was not really a co-write like matte was where robert and I sit down quietly to write something. in an upcoming download of my demo of "one time" I'll explain what I mean. I recorded the demo by myself before the band ever heard it.
being in Krimson in the 80's was traumatic for me personally, with "beat" being the most horrible recording experience of my life.
I returned from england with a stress disorder (alopecia areata) which made quarter-size clumps of my hair fall out completely! it was that stressful and unpleasant.
however, the band had my favorite people/players in it, was a great learning experience, was perhaps the best live band in the world at that point, and I'm proud of what we accomplished.
Oh! My God! :( I am so sorry to hear that... and Beat is one of my all time favourite albums.
ReplyDeleteIs this what I have to look forward to in my own life as a musician? The better and more fulfilling the project, the worse the stress?
Adrian said:
ReplyDelete"in an upcoming download of my demo of "one time" I'll explain what I mean. I recorded the demo by myself before the band ever heard it."
WHoa! Bring it on. I love this song. I still remember the KC double trio playing it at the State Theater in Cincinnati and those circular light beams dancing all around the crowd. It was a magical night (my first seeing KC but not the last).
> I spoke with Bill only a month ago. he seemed very happy with his decision to concentrate on jazz and leave rock music to us fools.
ReplyDeleteLaughter!!
All my heroes have learned enough about jazz to figure out how it works and apply some of those lessons to making rock music. The smartest smarties in rock music can do a little jazz, in my opinion. So thanks Bill for doing as much rock as you did.
> I would like to write my personal perspective of what the 80's Krimson was like, but would not be able to do without offending someone. sorry to say, sid smith's version is not entirely correct. I found out the band was over a month after our last show when a friend called to say he read in Musician magazine "robert says the band has broken up". I was thinking we were taking maybe a year off.
Well it's really too bad you all didn't get your year off together to do whatever non-Crimson projects were all on your minds, and then come back and continue to crush us. But everything seems to have come out OK. Thanks for explaining your position in a way that (hopefully) doesn't get people miffed.
> "one time" was not really a co-write like matte was where robert and I sit down quietly to write something. in an upcoming download of my demo of "one time" I'll explain what I mean. I recorded the demo by myself before the band ever heard it.
Excellent! I look forward to it. Both songs are beautiful accomplishments.
> being in Krimson in the 80's was traumatic for me personally, with "beat" being the most horrible recording experience of my life. I returned from england with a stress disorder (alopecia areata) which made quarter-size clumps of my hair fall out completely! it was that stressful and unpleasant. however, the band had my favorite people/players in it, was a great learning experience, was perhaps the best live band in the world at that point, and I'm proud of what we accomplished.
They sure had a great front man. That band was a beauty, from every aspect. I guess they thought your hairline was a small price for them to pay . . . !!!
Thanks Ade Baby! - S.